Somewhere in the future, we will be able to meet again after a long time of saying goodbye. As we have said goodbye, but my heart will always still belong to you and I hope at that moment, we can stay together and talk about what has happened in our casual life

•|•|•|•|•

A year and a few months later (which means they are in early 2016), Kim sat with a few friends sporting a shorter hair do. She looked disinterested in a man among the group talking to her and politely dismissed herself.

“That guy was really handsome Kim” a woman said disappointed. She had come to Kim after the group dispersed.

“Yeah but I just didn’t feel the connection” Kim defended. She walked out with the woman and another woman.

“Leave her Efosa, she hasn’t been in a stable relationship for the past months, why bother?” the other woman said sourly.

“Don’t be rude Linda” Efosa scolded.

“What? She has had short-term relationships with over twelve guys in the past four months” Linda argued and Efosa pinched her.

“I can see you are drunk” Efosa said glaring. Linda just scowled at her.

“She isn't wrong” Kim admitted, “none of them feel right. I just keep searching for something in them. They are missing something.”

Linda and Efosa looked curious but didn’t ask questions. The friends walked for a while before going their way. Kim entered a taxi that drove her home.

She entered the house and greeted the kids and her sister and Uncle and Aunty warmly. She hugged Mallory and the twins. She cooed at the grownup Timothy and joined her family for dinner.

Kim talked with everyone at how proud she was that Cindy was graduating soon and Mallory was going to start university. Everyone had grown.

Cindy stared at her all smiles sister and her memory flashed back to when Kim was still in  the hospital and undergoing psychiatric treatment for the psychological trauma.

Kim was sitting on a bench under a tree outside the hospital and Cindy approached her. After Kim had read Tristan’s letter, her family expected her to lash out at them but she stayed strangely calm.

Cindy sat down. “Why…didn’t you ask anybody about Tristan?” she quietly asked, “you were always so defensive about him so why not now? Do you hate him?”

“I don't” Kim quietly answered, “back then I thought that if I held on, he wouldn’t leave. I never thought of the pressure I put on him.”

“Choosing to let him leave is my way of making him feel better” Kim said as Cindy looked at her. “maybe someday when we will no longer hurt each other by staying by each other's side, maybe then…”

In the present, Kim left the house after dinner. Cindy stared at her wistfully as she narrated, ‘after that, my sister changed more than usual. She was happy but not happy enough.’

Kim entered a taxi that took her to a new apartment. She came inside and greeted Imade who was working on her laptop.

“Ooh, that might take all night” Kim said when she saw the work on Imade's laptop.

“I know right, i'm wondering when Mr. Osunde will just retire” Imade whined. Kim chuckled and went inside. She entered a room and changed her clothes.

Kim dropped on her bed with a sigh; she was now living with Imade. She stared at the ceiling unable to sleep then got up.

Kim opened a drawer and picked up a small box. She opened it and saw Tristan’s engagement ring inside. She looked up remembering when Imade came with a gift from Darren.

She had opened it and found the ring inside. She thought she had lost it since was kidnapped by Bruce. Kim cried after seeing it.

The memory faded and Kim shut the box. She laid back on the bed and fell asleep.

The next day, Kim woke up early and dressed up then left the house with Imade. Imade quickly dropped her in front of bar.

Kim waved goodbye and entered the bar. The workers there cleaning greeted her and Kim took her place behind the counter.

She quit her job months ago to open this bar and she didn’t regret it. The atmosphere here was fun and she got to meet a lot of people.

Later in the day, some people came to eat and Kim was busy on her phone when Carter bounced in. “Kimberly” Carter said excitedly.

“Carter, you are back” Kim said with the same excitement and when he met her at the opening of the counter, they did a cute handshake.

“How was your trip?” Kim asked.

“It was good” Carter said, “how about you? Did you miss me? It has been a long week without you?”

“I missed you” Kim said, then tentatively asked, “what about Tristan? How is he?”

“Way too busy, he overworks. Honestly, you need an appointment to see him now. He is so busy, I didn’t know he was so boring” Carter joked and Kim smiled amused. He continued, “he is mostly done with the Brotherhood so the SNDA is taking care of them.”

“That’s good” Kim said with a small smile. “Don’t forget to come by this evening.”

“I won't, bye” Carter said and left. Kim smiled fondly at him. She thought of what he said about Tristan.

“I'm waiting for you to come to me, just once” Kim said to herself.

•|•|•

At Tristan’s company, Tristan looked a bit different now. He wore thick glasses-that looked good on him-and he was sporting a bushier but groomed beard.

He shook hands with some investors in the board room after finalizing a contract. “Mr. Ogunkoya, I heard you were getting married before” an investor said.

Doris and two of Tristan’s employees in the boardroom looked uncomfortable. They had seen how Tristan was a mess way back and they found out it was because of an accident Kim was involved in. No one knew what happened after.

“What happened? Has it been postponed?” the investor asked.

“No, my fiancée and I broke up” Tristan answered and Tristan’s employees suspicions were confirmed.

“That's terrible. Your fiancée shouldn’t have done that” the investor said piteously. “I heard she was your secretary right. Women this days just do ridiculous things for money–”

“I was the one who called it off and wronged her. Our relationship, what happened is between us so I don’t appreciate any comments” Tristan curtly said, “goodbye sir.”

Doris and the other two employees looked wow while Tristan walked away, leaving the offended investor.

At evening time in the bar, Cindy was in the bar with a man looking goofily as he was teaching her something. Kim just stared disapprovingly at her sister.

“What kind of guy agrees to teach someone at a bar? “ she asked incredulously.

While she asked disapprovingly at them, Iyke and Deborah came in hand in hand. They were already dating. Kim grinned at them.

Deborah smiled and was about to meet Kim when Iyke saw Cindy. “Hey Debbie, come” Iyke said and took her in the direction of Cindy.

“Cindy hi,” Iyke warmly said and Cindy looked surprised to see him.

“Iyke! It's been long. You look so different” Cindy said chuckling, “It’s crazy that we haven’t seen each other for long even though my sister owns the place.”

“Yeah, I don’t come here often” Iyke said and Deborah fake coughed. Iyke just rolled his eyes and introduced, “this is Deborah, my girlfriend.”

“It's nice to meet you” Deborah said and she and Cindy shook hands. Cindy looked at her impressed.

“Wow, I love your style” she complimented.

“Thank you, you can check out my fashion boutique” Deborah said, handing her a card. “I am sure you will get something to your taste there, and there is a discount. What do you think?”

“Sounds Nice” Cindy said and Iyke and Deborah went to Kim. They greeted each other and Kim looked around them.

“Hey, I thought Nadia was coming” Kim said.

“She is coming with Kazeem and Waris” Deborah answered.

“Aww, just look at you two. You are just like Nadia's parents, it's so cute” Kim said in a cutesy voice and Iyke looked embarrassed.

“What about Darren?” Kim asked.

“Ever since Darren resumed work full time, he can barely leave the hospital. Besides, things have been tough for him this week” Deborah said sympathetically. “I still think he will make it.”

“Oh” Kim said nodding.

Cindy and the guy she came with left and Kazeem, Waris and Nadia arrived. Darren arrived shortly with Carter and they started the party which was actually for Carter's birthday.

Darren kept staring at his phone throughout the party. “What are you up to?” Iyke asked suspiciously.

“Nothing special” Darren said, then his phone pinged. His eyes widened in glee at the message and he composed himself.

“You guys come, come with me” Darren said and pushed everyone except Kim into a corner. “Can you start clearing up first? I have something to tell them?” He said and left.

“You better hurry up” Kim yelled and started cleaning.

“What’s going on?” Deborah asked.

“Just watch, and be quiet” Darren said and peeked out of the corner. Everyone followed.

Outside, a car pulled over and a man in suit stepped out. He walked towards the bar and entered. He saw Kim but her back was facing him.

“Sorry, we aren’t having any customers at the moment” Kim said, turning around. She looked up and dropped the broom in surprise.

The man looked at her in surprise too, it was Tristan. “What are you…doing here?” He asked.

“This is…my bar. We are celebrating Carter's birthday” Kim haltingly answered and Tristan looked away, muttering curses under his breath.

“…screw you Darren” Tristan muttered, adjusting his glasses and looked at Kim.

“You look good” Kim softly said.

“You too” Tristan awkwardly answered. He turned to leave, “it was a mistake that I came here. I should go, tell Carter I will see him at home.”

“Wait!” Tristan turned to leave but Kim called out to him. He paused in his steps, his back turned to her.

“I…am glad that you are doing well. I'm doing well too, i'm glad that I could see you after so long” Kim said, “thank you for living well.”

Tristan trembled, still affected by her but he opened the door and left. The audience in the corner stared at the two in disbelief.

“That’s it” Kazeem whispered in disappointment.

“But it's still clear they love each other right?” Darren asked.

“Yes” Iyke answered.

They watch Kim stand there in indecisiveness. They almost came out to approach her but she ran out after Tristan.

“Yes, that's my girl” Deborah said pumping her fist in the air.

“Tristan!” Kim said, coming out just as Tristan opened the car door to enter. Tristan froze and turned around. He looked at her.

“I have been waiting, every single day of my life for you to see me. I wanted us to meet when we would no longer be a burden to each other” Kim said, her eyes glistening with tears, “I’m glad you came to see me. I will keep on waiting until we can be together.”

“Kimberly, that is no–”

“I'm still waiting, but don’t make me wait too long” Kim said, wiping her tears with a smile. “I have till I get thirty so you have two more years, i'm twenty eight now. Also, before I fall for someone else, that is how long you have.”

Tristan and Kim just stared at each other pained until Tristan entered the car and drove away. Kim held her heart trying to control her tears of happiness at seeing him.

By the door of the bar, Kazeem asked, “why was Tristan so shocked to see Kim?”

“Tristan only monitored Kim till she quit Green Acres” Darren said, “he stopped so he would be able to leave her properly so he didn’t know she owned the bar.”

“What was your purpose for doing this Darren? You know they broke up” Deborah said, “they look in pain to see each other.”

“No, they are in pain because they think they can’t be with each other” Darren cleverly corrected, “a long time has passed since then and the brotherhood isn't a threat anymore, don't they deserve happiness?”

“Yes, but how since Tristan is so damn stubborn” Iyke said. Everyone began to think.

“The only person who can convince Tristan is Kim. Now that Kim has given him a timer to how long she will wait for him, he will be anxious” Darren said, “Kim did well.”

“That still won’t change much” Deborah said pessimistically. Everyone began to think again.

“If Tristan is really over Kim, do you think Kim will agree to date me?” Carter asked and everyone looked at him in disbelief.

“Are you serious?” Deborah asked.

Kazeem shook his head disapprovingly. “Stealing your brother’s girl…”

“What? He doesn’t want, I want” Carter said defensively. Deborah pinched him for that remark while Iyke shook his head. Darren just looked at him incredulous until a brilliant idea crossed his mind.

A devious smile replaced his incredulous look at Deborah looked at him creeped out. “What’s that?” she asked disgusted.

“I have an idea” He said.

•|•|•

Days later, now that Tristan knew where Kim was, He couldn’t stay away. He hung around opposite the bar just watching her. Later, at Tristan's apartment, Darren came to get something.

“Are you angry with me?” Darren asked. Tristan ignored him.

“Stop being so petty, Kim was really happy to see you in front of her” Darren said and added, “maybe that was the closure she needed to move on.”

Tristan didn’t respond but Darren could tell he had caught Tristan's attention. He continued, “Kim had been going out with guys for some months now but it hasn’t been going well. Maybe now it will be better.”

Darren left with a smug smile and Tristan looked at the nonsense he had typed on his laptop. He sighed in frustration.

For the next few days, Tristan watched Kim and there was always one man or the other around her. He couldn’t help but feel jealous.

At a family outing with Tristan’s family, Tristan was with Darren, Deborah, Carter and Darren's parents. Tristan sat by the side while Deborah and Carter stood close by. Darren and his parents were busy on the other side.

“…why do you like visiting the bar so much? Don’t tell me you are an alcoholic?” Deborah asked Carter.

“No.” Carter answered.

“Then why? Tell me, tell me, tell me” Deborah insisted.

“It’s just…Kimberly is so beautiful and nice.” Carter said and Tristan arched an eyebrow interested. Carter continued, “she is a really great person, I like her.”

Tristan coughed a bit on the juice he was drinking.

“Like her? Like how?” Deborah asked.

“Like a man likes a woman” Carter answered and that was the last straw for Tristan. He was full on coughing. He excused himself and left.

Tristan entered the bathroom and washed his face. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. ‘No, it can't be. I simply didn’t hear well.’ He convinced himself.

Days later, at his apartment, Tristan was working when his phone started pinging nonstop. He checked the messages and saw it was from a group chat.

“Carter is proposing to Kim today”

Tristan got up abruptly in disbelief. He began reading the chats with the utmost concentration.

Kazeem – What? But Kim is his brother’s ex-girlfriend? How can he?

Deborah – he doesn’t seem to care, he is confessing to Kim this afternoon.

Iyke – there is no way Kim will accept.

Darren – she may not but isn't it an awkward situation? Your ex-boyfriend’s younger brother is confessing to you?

Kazeem – This is one drama I did not expect to hear. Is Tristan seeing this chat?

Darren – Even if he is, what can he do? He doesn’t care. If Kim doesn’t accept this, at least she will accept others. She can’t wait for Tristan all her life.

Deborah – hey, what if she fell in love with Carter? Carter is always around her, it's inevitable.

Iyke – That is a plausible idea.

Tristan dropped the phone with his shaking hands and tried not to react. “Relax, relax, it can’t happen” He shakily said, his hands on his hips. “Carter doesn’t…”

“It’s just…Kimberly is so beautiful and nice. She is a really great person, I like her.”

“Like her? Like how?” Deborah asked.

“Like a man likes a woman”

Tristan paused looking horrified. He shook his head with a pained smile. “Kim wouldn’t…” he trailed off, thinking back to the night they met.

“I'm still waiting, but don’t make me wait too long” Kim said, wiping her tears with a smile. “I have till I get thirty so you have two more years, i'm twenty eight now. Also, before I fall for someone else, that is how long you have.”

His eyes widened and he looked back at the chat, his eyes narrowing the line about her falling in love. “No!” Tristan said, dropping his phone like a hot potato. “they are trying to trap me, I will not fall for it.”

Tristan sat down idly, glancing at his phone and his feet tapping the floor erratically. His phone pinged and he saw a new chat.

Carter – Kim came, i'm going to tell her.

That was it for Tristan. Tristan wore a hoodie and dashed out of the house like a blur with his keys. He drove out in a mad rush.

Tristan found out where Carter and Kim were and searched frantically for them. He walked down a small stair path in a field and saw Kim standing near a railing looking over a body of water.

“Kim!” He yelled and Kim turned to him. He ran to her and when he reached her, he enveloped her in a hug. Kim stood surprised then slowly hugged him back with a smile.

Tristan pulled away and stared at her, “I-I don't want to lose you ever. I still love you.”

Kim stared at him stunned, then the brightest grin appeared on Kim's face and she hugged him. “I'm so relieved, I thought I was holding onto nothing” she said relieved.

Kim pulled away and Tristan stared at her. “I…” he was at a loss for words. He didn’t know what else to say.

“Maybe this will help get the words out” Darren said, popping out from the stairs higher than them. He was grinning nonstop. Deborah, Iyke, Kazeem and Carter popped out too with amused grins.

“What’s this?” Tristan asked.

“It was a plan to get you and Kim back together” Iyke said, “Carter pretended to like Kim to get your attention.”

A flashback to when Deborah and Carter were talking at the outing, they high-fived each other when Tristan left.

“The chat was even the best trick” Darren said happily, “we got Kim to participate at the last minute. Aren’t you happy? You've reconciled now.”

“You bastard” Tristan cursed, gritting his teeth. He raised his hand as if to hit him but Kim held him. Tristan turned back to Kim.

“I know you love me but are you willing to walk with me” Kim asked earnestly, “everything is over, the brotherhood, it's gone.”

“But i'm that man's son and you will–”

“I'm that man's son and everything is fine” Carter interrupted, “if you ever feel alone in that, look at me and know we are in that together.”

Kim smiled and Tristan looked like he was just realizing that. “I waited for you till you were ready and I think you are” Kim said determined, “we’ve grown past where we used to be so let's start anew. There is no need to stay miserable.”

“What about your family? They hate me” Tristan said sadly.

“Back then, I would have fought with them but I understand them now. We won't fight them, we will change their mind one by one, no matter how long it takes” Kim said supportively, “that is how much I love you.”

“I love you too” Tristan said tearfully. He hugged her and kissed her forehead. “Thank you for living.”

“I will make sure to live long, for you and for everyone else” Kim said softly and King leaned in to kiss her. Kim kissed him back and they held each other tightly.

“I missed you Sugar.” Tristan said, pulling away and resting his forehead on hers.

“I missed you Tyrant” Kim said smiling and Tristan couldn’t help but chuckle. Kim pulled away and brought out a box.

“What is it?” Tristan asked. Kim gestured for him to open it and he did. He was surprised to see the ring he used to propose to Kim. “Who...?”

Kim tilted her head to Darren and Tristan looked at him incredulously as he waved. “Sometimes, I hate you and I love you Darren” Tristan couldn’t help but say.

“See, he admitted it” Darren said laughing and the others chuckled.

Tristan turned to Kim and put it on her ring finger. He pulled her closer and she put her arms around his shoulder.

“I should get a girlfriend” Carter said, feeling like a single sucker.

“You should” Darren said in agreement and the team continued watching the lovebirds.

“I love you, so very much” Kim said happily.

“I love you too” Tristan said and kissed Kim deeply.

THE END.

________________________________________________________

Kim and Tristan's story is finally over. I really enjoyed writing their story and Carter was probably my favorite side character. I actually wanted to kill him off in the original but that would make him such a tragic hero.

Tristan finally ended his mission and ended up with Kim in the end. Tristan has a good family, Darren always encouraging him and he finally admitted he loved Darren.

Carter's and Kim's relationship was my favorite because Kim was the reason Carter turned to the light.

Now tell me your thoughts, please comment. It will be helpful. Thank you for following me on this journey, bye.