"Esaaba, I don’t trust that guy. He seems too perfect, like someone’s taking really good care of him. And it’s only been three weeks—just three weeks—and he’s already bought you a phone and offered to pay half your rent? It’s too good to be true." Ruby, Esaaba's close friend, tried to caution her.

But Esaaba was adamant. "He came over to meet my mom last week. A man with bad intentions wouldn’t meet my family," she replied confidently.

"What about his family? Have you met them? Sometimes, a man with bad intentions will meet your family, but you'll never meet his," Ruby countered.

Esaaba smiled and asked, "So what will you do if he takes me to meet his family?"

"I’ll stop being a pain in your ass," Ruby replied, half-joking.

"Deal," Esaaba responded with a grin.

Later that day, Reggie came over, and both Esaaba and her mother scrambled to make him feel at home. Reggie watched them, smiling. They seemed like genuinely nice people. Esaaba was a good girl, and if he wasn’t already married, he would have married her without hesitation. Realizing his thoughts were drifting, he mentally snapped himself back to reality.

As they sat together, Esaaba turned to him with a thoughtful look. "Reggie, there’s something that’s been on my mind for a while now."

Reggie's heart skipped a beat, afraid she might have caught on to him. "What is it?" he asked, nervously sipping his juice.

"You’ve met my family—my mom and sister—but when am I going to meet yours?" she asked.

Reggie sighed in relief. "Soon. They’re out of town right now, but when they’re back, I’ll take you to meet them. Is that why you haven’t accepted my proposal?"

"I just feel like I don’t know you fully. I haven’t even seen where you live," she admitted.

Reggie nodded, considering her point. "Fine, tomorrow I’ll pick you up and take you to my place."

"Why not today?" she pressed.

Reggie gently took her hand, rubbing it softly. "I have a meeting today, and I won’t be home early. Tomorrow, I promise."

Satisfied, Esaaba didn’t push the issue further, and the rest of the visit went smoothly.

On his drive home, Reggie called Nancy. "Honey, I have to bring Esaaba home tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course not! Why would you even think about bringing her here?" Nancy snapped, sounding outraged.

"She won’t accept my proposal until she knows where I live. How am I supposed to get her pregnant if she won’t even commit to being with me?" he explained, frustrated.

"I don’t care, Reggie! Deal with it, just don’t bring her here," she snapped again before abruptly hanging up, as though this wasn’t all her idea in the first place.

With no other option, Reggie called Reuben. "Ru, I need your help," he said.

"With what?" Reuben asked.

"Esaaba wants to know where I live, but Nancy says no. I need a favor, bro."

"What are you asking for? A place to rent?" Reuben asked, confused.

"No, can we pretend we live together?" Reggie suggested.

"Until when?" Reuben asked, clearly unimpressed.

"Until... until she gets pregnant," Reggie replied hesitantly.

There was a long pause on the other end before Reuben finally said, "Anything for you, bro."

Reggie smiled, relieved.

Other chap 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22