"Ma'am you are back. What would you like for me to get for you? I noticed you didn't take anything since morning." Freda said with so much concern.

"It's fine, I had something to eat at my father's place." Chloe lied.

She arrived at her father's place unannounced so he had not prepared anything and they were not even sure if they would have dinner that night.

"Alright, if you say so." Freda retreated to the kitchen to do the dishes and before Chloe would make her way to her room, she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Freda called out from the kitchen as she headed to the door.

"I would take it, you do the dishes." Chloe hurried to the door and was surprised to see the smiling face of Nathan behind the door.

"Hi Chloe, where is Code?" Nathan gave a warm smile and then switched to an angry face almost immediately.

"Nathan? So you knew about his whereabouts all these while and you kept on lying to me." Chloe said, totally ignoring his question.

"No, No, no Chloe he just called me this morning after a long time. I am here to query him." Nathan defended.

"Nathan my man, how are you doing?" Code said, walking down to the door. "Would you let him in or would you just keep him waiting outside?"

"I'm sorry, come on in" Chloe moved from the door.

"Don't ‘man’ me bro, I hate you" Nathan said to Code before his eyes fell upon the lady coming down the stairs.

Code traced his eyes and chuckled. "Beautiful, isn't she?"

"I'll pass," Nathan said, moving over to collapse on the couch.

Martina finally descended the stairs and Code thought it would be the right time to introduce her to Nathan. "Nathan, this is my fiancee, Martina, Martina this is my bestfriend Nathan"

"Fiancee?" Nathan exclaimed. "What about Chloe?"

"She is fine with it" Code replied.

Nathan exchanged a glance with Chloe, he could see the sadness in her eyes and he felt so bad for her. "Man, you are disrespectful."

Chloe couldn't stand it anymore, so she ran up to her room. "Hi Nathan"

Nathan rolled his eyes at Martina who was trying to act friendly. "Hell No! This is pure wickedness"

Dragging Code to a corner of the living room, "What are you doing?" Nathan snapped at him.

"Man I'm just planning ahead, don't blame me. What would I do when she leaves?" Code defended his stupid actions.

Nathan glanced at Martina who pretended not to be hearing their conversation. "Let's go upstairs, I don't want your nosey fiancee to eavesdrop on our conversation.

As they got upstairs, Nathan continued his yelling. "At least you could have waited for her to leave first. You keep hurting her and she just keeps quiet. Do you even know what she went through while you were not around? Chloe loves you, she cares about you, but what do you do in return? You break her heart at every single chance you get.

"That's not true," Code replied.

"Are you scared that you might fall in love with her? Or are you Already in love with her but your insecurity won't let you date another average girl?" Nathan's question came through like a ball hitting the wall.

"Of course, I can't, Carrisa was also an average girl, I gave her the chance and looked at what she did to me. Do you really expect me to make the same mistake again?" Code defended once again.

Nathan's disappointment was evident in the way he looked at Code, "Chloe is nothing like Carrisa, you should know that by now. Oh my bad, How would you know when you left her for six good months."

Code was more on the defense, "I only did that because I didn't want to get intimate with her, I want to return her as she was given."

"Really?" Nathan asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I swear,” Code confirmed his earlier statement.

“Okay let’s do it this way, How much does her father owe you?” Nathan inquired, maybe he could be of help to the poor girl.

“I don’t know, I think we have 20,000 USD to go.” Code replied nonchalantly.

“20,000 USD?" Nathan repeated. "If that be the case, I would pay you and take Chloe. I can’t watch her continue to suffer like this.”

Code rejected his offer in that instant, “Hell No! Do you even think she would want to be with you?”

“It doesn't matter, She doesn't want to be with you either but she had no choice.” Nathan defended.

“Are you really serious right now?” Code yelled in disbelief.

“Yes, I am” Nathan yelled back at him. “I want Chloe”

“I am sorry Nathan but you can’t have her” Code persisted.

“And why can’t I?”

“Cause I am in love with Chloe,” Code blurted out, his words reverberating in the room.

Nathan stared at Code in disbelief, his frustration mounting. "You're in love with Chloe? You must be kidding me. That's not how you behave when you're in love with someone."

Code's expression remained resolute. "I know it's complicated, Nathan, but I care about her more than you can imagine."

Nathan shook his head, his anger turning into disappointment. "I can't believe this, Code. I thought I knew you better than this. You're making a big mistake."

As Code and Nathan locked eyes in a tense standoff, the bedroom door creaked open. Chloe had overheard their conversation and couldn't hold back her tears. She stepped forward, her voice shaky, "What's going on here, guys?"

Code and Nathan turned to face Chloe, their expressions filled with apprehension. Chloe took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. "I heard what you said, Code. Is it true?"

Nathan hesitated, not knowing what to say. Code struggled to find the right words as he met Chloe's tearful gaze. The room fell into an agonizing silence, the tension thick in the air, as Chloe waited for a response.

Chloe stood there, her heart pounding, tears in her eyes, awaiting Code's answer and wondering if her world was about to shatter once again or if there was really a chance for her in his life...