Kenny adored his mother. She was introverted, hardworking and a homemaker. Kenny had decided he would only date women with a similar demeanour. It felt like a safe bet. Ironically, Kenny’s female friends were the exact opposite, but he never dated any of them.

Halima was the lady who owned the small food joint where Kenny got most of his meals from. She was beautiful, polite and an excellent cook. He also liked that she hardly went partying because she was too busy with her food joint.

“She doesn’t party like you guys,” Kenny told his female friends.

“She must have another vice,” teased one of his friends.

Dating Halima was everything Kenny thought it would be. She wasn’t demanding, was very grounded and had that ‘homemaker’ touch that he desired. Needless to say, he ate like a king. Halima loved experimenting in the kitchen, and Kenny was all too glad to give his reviews.

Halima dreamed of opening up a restaurant. She was also the firstborn of four children. Her family was struggling, so every extra coin went to them. Kenny admired her determination and devotion to family. He wasn’t making that much, but he offered to cover rent and utilities to ease Halima’s burden.

Halima’s focus saw her expand the small food joint. She opened another branch in the estate. She also started baking cakes commercially. Kenny took out a loan to help her buy the bakery equipment and helped with marketing. They were a perfect team.

Then Ron happened. Ron moved into the estate during the expansion period. He was Halima’s daily customer. Kenny hardly passed by the food joints, and even when he did, he called ahead to find out which branch Halima was at.

Ron was fun and spontaneous. Halima resisted his advances at first, but he was insistent. He offered to take her out, but she told him that she closed the business after 11 o’clock and was always too tired.

“That’s not a problem,” said Ron.

Halima was intrigued. On Saturday night, Ron showed up a few minutes after eleven.

“I’m here. I’ll be waiting in the car as you finish up,” Ron told Halima.

“I’m too tired to go out,” said Halima.

“You don’t open on Sundays, and I promise you that you don’t need energy for the place I have in mind,” said Ron.

Halima had done the resistance for too long and was curious. Kenny was dead asleep and wouldn’t call her until the following day. She left with him.

“Do I need to dress up?” Halima asked.

“Are you comfortable in what you’re wearing?” Ron asked.

“I guess so,” she said.

“Then we’re good,” said Ron.

They drove to the outskirts of town to a villa Ron had rented out for the weekend. From there, they could see the clear sky from the house’s beautiful pool. Ron had organised a lovely, romantic setup.

“I need to make it clear, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I just want to get to know you,” said Ron.

Halima knew that men say anything to get you at ease, but it worked. She was able to relax around him. It was a night away from responsibilities and expectations. She had never felt that way in her life. It was very different from how she spent her time with Kenny.

Kenny was good to her, but they were constantly worrying and planning the next step. Ron was like a breath of fresh air. She didn’t take him seriously at first, though. He was like a good fantasy you can take out of a box and put back when you need to get back to reality.

“What’s your wildest dream?” Ron asked as they watched the stars and the moon.

“I’m a simple girl. I just want to own a restaurant,” said Halima.

“There’s nothing simple about wanting to feed people. Food is at the heart of humanity,” Ron told her. He looked at her as though he needed her to see how big a deal her dream was. Something changed in Halima at that moment.

“So tell me about this boyfriend you keep telling me about,” Ron said.

They talked at length about her relationship with Kenny. She wasn’t unhappy. In fact, she didn’t know that something was missing until Ron showed her a different way of life. One getaway turned into many more. It was always something different with him.

Eventually, Kenny noticed the changes.

“Is there someone else?” Kenny asked Halima.

“I don’t want you to think that it was something you did. I just want more,” Halima told Kenny.

He couldn’t understand what had changed. Kenny pestered Halima for another chance.

“You’re no longer what I want, Kenny. I’m sorry.”

Check Out More Stories

I Messed Up By Cheating On The Love Of My Life, And 2 Years Later I Am Still Regretting That Decision 

We Started A Business Together But She Ran Off With Another Man

He Started A Business For Her But She Left Him For A Client

I Thought She Was Wife Material But She Was Playing The Long Con

The Singlehood Series: She Left Him Because He Wasn’t Flashy Enough