“Daddy, I’m trying really hard to believe you but I’m sorry I can’t. All men are the same. They are evil and I’m never going to trust any of them again. Never!” Favour said as she stood up.

 “I need to be alone right now daddy”. She went into her and locked the door behind her. She had been hurt really bad.

As she lay on her bed crying, her eyes strayed and landed on the picture of the young man at a corner of her dressing mirror. She stood up and ripped it into pieces just the way he did her heart.

Favour was 26-year-old, she was beautiful both on the inside and out, she also had the brains that paved way for her in her profession. She was an easy-going young lady that had every other thing in place except one- a good relationship. Favour had literally found favour in about every area of her life save this. She had a cheerful heart with an ever-smiling face which attracted all kinds of guys; the good, the bad and the ugly. When it came to relationships, she had standards, not the unrealistically high ones that many ladies these days have but ones based on biblical principles. She was not going to allow anything or anyone going to lower them.

She loved God and was a committed Christian, she had a growing intimate relationship with her heavenly Father and her love for Him helped her not to compromise or settle for less than His will for her life which she was certain will be the best for her.

Her life had not always been without flaws. Before she met Christ a few years back, she had been in three relationships. She had high hopes that the will end in marriage but instead led to another heart break. It with a text message stating that he was just not ready for a relationship and wanted them to just be friends. Talk about friend zoning after months of intimacy, that’s heart breaking. She met Christ not to long after, gathered the broken pieces of her heart, gave it to Him and allowed Him to fill the void in her heart.

For a while, she was fine. She didn’t see a need for a man in her life but like every young lady, the desire began to grow. She began to crave the company of one who will love her and take care of her. Nevertheless, she still wasn’t going to lower her standards. This made her turn down many offers and people began to ask her if she knew what she wanted. Others said her standards were too high but she tried not to let those comments get to her. The pressure started increasing and in her alone time, she found herself asking questions like ‘are my standards really too high?’, ‘maybe he doesn’t have to be so spiritual after all’, ‘it may not be all that bad if goes to church only on Sundays at least, he sha goes to church’. But quickly she would go back to God’s Word and remind herself that God promised to grant her the desire of her heart if she delights herself in Him (Ps 37:4) and that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all she can ask or think (Eph 3: 20)

On this fateful, while she was at work, a good looking young man walked in through the glass doors that led into the company. She worked in the Human Resource department but was on her way out for lunch break. He was tall, well-built and good looking. As her eyes got a glimpse of him, she could not take them off. She could feel her heart beat faster as he walked towards her desk.

 He greeted her warmly, “good day ma’am, I will like to make an inquiry”.

“Please go ahead, how may I be of help,” she could hear herself stammer as a result of her nervousness but she tried hard to compose herself.

He went on with his question and all she could see as he spoke was how good looking he was

“How can I go about it?” he asked politely.

Favour was miles away, lost in the world of her thoughts.

He cleared his throat to get her attention. “What is the procedure here?” he rephrased his question.

“Oh I’m so sorry” she jerks back to reality. “You can speak to the head of IT. He’s office is the second door on your left,” She pointed to the door.

“Thank you very much Mrs Favour. I’m not the type to beat around the bush, is it okay if I get your number?”

“It’s Miss,” she smiled. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you know my name?”

He chuckled and pointed to the ID card hanging on her neck, “I believe that’s you.”

“Oh my bad, I forgot,” she smiled, a little embarrassed. “I didn’t get your name?” She asked trying to cover her embarrassment.

“Bayo, pardon my manners,” he smiled.

“Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine but you haven’t answered my question. Can I please have your number?” He asked again, politely.

Although she found him attractive, Favour wasn’t sure she wanted to go down that road again. Her heart had been broken one too many times. 

“Please?” He pleaded with a smile.

“Alright no problem.” She gave him her number.

“Thank you,” he appreciated her before leaving for the office.

That evening she got back home. She still lived with her parents in a four bedroom duplex. She went straight to her room to change. As she was taking off her jacket, her phone rang, she reached out for her bag and picked the phone. It was an unknown caller but thanks to the app, truecaller, the caller’s identity was revealed.

It was an Adebayo Onuga. She figured it was Bayo so she picked up. The call lasted some minutes and a date and time was fixed for them to meet. She could feel excitement well up within her. She believed it was God’s will because everything seemed to be perfect. Days turn to weeks, they became really close, and she was most grateful that he was a sound Christian and also upheld biblical principles.

Gradually and as expected, the feelings began to grew. Weeks turned to months and he asked her for a relationship. She had prayed about him and believed it was God’s will for them to be in a relationship so after a week, she gave him a resounding YES.

The relationship was a godly one by all standards. They met to pray, had days they fasted, had Bible studies together. They set godly standards; no kissing, no intimate hugs, no caressing and definitely no sex till marriage.  She was so sure Bayo was what she desired and so didn’t waste time to tell her parents about him.

They were happy for her and were eager to see him but the feelings weren’t mutual as Bayo always gave one reason or the other why he couldn’t see them yet. Favour was a pretty understanding lady and didn’t bother pushing it.      

Eight months into the relationship, an opportunity came up for Favour to travel to another state for a conference. It was supposed to last a week. She informed Bayo and he was in full support.

“Honey, you know what?” He began

 “What?” She was all ears.

“When you return, we would go and see your parents and start planning towards our wedding.” He told her with so much excitement.

“Are you serious?” Favour exclaimed and jumped for joy.

“Yes dear I am.”

Favour couldn’t wait. She was happy her life was finally beginning to have direction.

On the Saturday she was to travel, she went to his place to see him before leaving for the airport. They hugged and said their goodbyes. It was the first time they were going to be miles apart since their relationship began.

“I’ll have really loved to see you off to the car park but I need to go and check on my mum, I just go a call the she wasn’t feeling so well,” he explained.

“Wow! I hope it’s not something serious?” Favour asked with concern.

“No, I believe it’s not.”

“Alright then, that is fine, we’ll see when I return.”

She took a taxi to the car park. As they arrived, she noticed her wallet wasn’t in her bag. She had forgotten it at Bayo’s place. She quickly told the driver to turn back and promised to pay him double.

On getting to Bayo’s house, she saw a car parked at the gate. She had seen the car there a couple of times but hadn’t paid attention. The gate wasn’t locked either ‘this is strange’, she thought to herself as she entered the compound.

 Bayo lived alone in a two-bedroom boy’s quarter. The occupants of the main house had travelled out of the country and so he was the only one that had lived in the compound for the past one and a half years. She walked to the back of the compound, where the BQ was and was about to press the doorbell but changed her mind and decided to open the door. She did and what she saw left her devastated. To be continued…

Don’t miss any episode of Favour’s story. Follow any of the below links:
Favour’s  Love Story
Favour’s  Love Story 2
Favour’s  Love Story 3
Favour’s  Love Story 4
Favour’s  Love Story 5
Favour’s  Love Story 6