NOT MY USUAL WORLD Novel Chapter 8

NOT MY USUAL WORLD
EPISODE 8
The cold air of Boston touched Ronke’s face the moment she stepped out of the airport, but she barely noticed it.
Everything inside her felt colder.
Eight months had passed since Tobe disappeared from her life without a trace. Eight months of sleepless nights, unanswered questions, and the heavy silence that followed her everywhere.
Her father, Chief Adebayo, had insisted that she travel to the United States to rest. According to him, the change of environment would help her heal.
But Ronke knew the truth.
This was not about rest.
It was about control.
She was staying in one of her father’s luxury apartments in Boston, a quiet glass building overlooking the Charles River. Everything inside the apartment screamed wealth, marble floors, white leather sofas, large glass windows.
Yet the place felt empty.
Lonely.
Her father had also arranged something else for her.
Ronke now worked in one of his company branches in the United States. It was one of the international divisions of the Adebayo Group, a company dealing with luxury fashion accessories and high-end leather products.
The work kept her busy during the day.
Meetings.
Reports.
Business events.
But none of it filled the emptiness inside her.
Every morning she woke up hoping that somehow Tobe would find her.
But every day ended the same way.
Nothing.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Guangzhou, China, Tobe stood inside a noisy production factory filled with the constant humming of machines.
The bag manufacturing company where he worked was massive. Long rows of workers sat behind sewing machines, cutting leather, stitching zippers, and assembling bags that would eventually be shipped across the world.
The work was exhausting.
The hours were long.
But Tobe endured it.
Because he had promised himself one thing.
He would not remain the same man who left Nigeria.
Through the help of the same connection from their king who brought him to China, Tobe registered for an online university degree program.
It was a long journey.
Four years.
Sometimes after returning from work late at night, he sat on the small bed in his tiny hostel room, studying under a weak table lamp while the other workers slept.
Some nights exhaustion nearly defeated him.
But he kept going.
Because he believed education was the only thing that could change the direction of his life.
And sometimes, when the nights were quiet, he knelt beside his bed and prayed.
He prayed for strength.
He prayed for his uncle.
And he prayed for Ronke.
He often wondered if she was happy.
If she was safe.
If she still remembered him.
There were nights he dreamed about her.
The way she stood at the door of his small room and parlour BQ in Lagos.
The way she confessed that she loved him.
Those memories once felt so close.
But as the months slowly turned into two years, something painful began to happen.
Her face in his memory started to fade little by little.
Not because he wanted it to.
But because time was quietly moving forward.
And life was pulling them further apart.
Back in Boston, Ronke slowly adjusted to life in America.
She worked hard in her father’s company and gradually became one of the most trusted executives in the branch.
Many people admired her intelligence and calm personality.
But very few people knew the sadness she carried inside.
Anthony still called sometimes.
At first she answered.
Later she stopped.
One evening in Lagos, Anthony sat inside Chief Adebayo’s massive living room with a troubled expression.
Chief Adebayo sat opposite him, calm as always.
Anthony finally spoke.
Sir, I came to speak honestly.
Chief Adebayo nodded slowly.
Go on.
Anthony sighed.
I cannot continue like this.
The older man frowned slightly.
What do you mean.
Anthony leaned forward.
Your daughter does not love me. She has made that very clear. I have waited and tried to be patient but she refuses to even return to Nigeria.
His voice carried quiet frustration.
I cannot keep waiting for something that may never happen.
For a moment the powerful businessman said nothing.
Then he nodded slowly.
I understand.
But inside his mind, Chief Adebayo was already calculating his next move.
Life continued.
Months passed.
Then a year.
Then another.
Two years later, Ronke had grown stronger, calmer, and more focused on work.
One afternoon during a strategy meeting in the Boston office, a senior manager presented a proposal to the board.
The company had been invited to participate in a major international fashion and leather exhibition in Asia.
One of the biggest trade exhibitions in the industry.
And it would take place in China.
Ronke listened carefully as the presentation continued.
Several company representatives would attend.
Business partners from different countries would also be present.
When the meeting ended, Ronke sent a message to her father requesting permission to represent the company at the exhibition.
Chief Adebayo approved almost immediately.
For him, it was a normal business decision.
For Ronke, it was simply another work trip.
Neither of them knew something important.
Somewhere in that same country, in the busy industrial city of Guangzhou, Tobe was still working in a bag production factory while struggling through the long years of his university degree program.
Two people.
Two different lives.
Both in China.
Yet neither of them knew how close their paths were slowly moving again.
To be continued