Rising Star

“He is right now paying dowry for his fiancée. The wedding is scheduled in a few days.” Becky took in a sharp breath. “How do you know all these, Ruth?” Leleti asked. “Like I said, we have come from far with Bruce. I still have contacts with some of his relatives.” “Is the fiancée among the women you have shown us?” Becky asked with the smallest of voices. “No, this one is from the USA. They have been dating for a while now. She came down the other day specifically for this ceremony.” “How come you never told us this before, Ruth? Why now?” Leleti was livid. “Everything has got its own time. This was the right time.” Becky was shocked beyond comprehension. She wondered why Bruce would do such a thing to her. She had never done anything wrong to deserve such kind of treatment. If anything, she had been a loyal friend and girlfriend to him. They had shared so many good times together. Becky had never suspected anything. He was always available whenever she needed him whet

  “You don’t know your ‘man’. He is fire. How many women does he have? More importantly, where is he this weekend?” “He went for a vacation with the boys.” “And you believe that?” “I have no reason not to,” Becky said as she became more interested in the conversation. Everyone else had fallen quiet when Bruce’s name was brought up. Becky looked at Leleti inquisitively but she avoided her eyes. “Let me now tell you, gal. I see you hanging out with him and I feel pity for you. Though this is the first time we are closely interacting, you seem like a nice girl to me. Bruce is not what you think he is.” “What do you mean?” “I know him from way back. He has this way of presenting himself as a good man. Charming, even. He is far from that. Bruce has left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. My cousin is one of his victims. Elsie fell into depression because of this man. Not only that but he also has a string of children he does not take care of with different women. He is a de

I t had been an uneventful week for Becky. The Boss had been out of the University for the better part of the week. As the weekend approached, she was not sure what she was going to do. Bruce had also gone out of town with the boys for, as he called it, a ‘men only’ vacation. It was way past 5pm on this Friday evening but she was still seated on her desk doing nothing in particular. She had watched as one by one her colleagues left the office to celebrate the end of the week. She particularly did not feel like going to her house that evening. Her phone rang. “Becky, this is Leleti. How are you? Where are you?” “Hello Leleti. I am still in the office. What’s up?” “Care to join us this weekend? My girls and I have a sleepover at one of my girl’s apartments. We will Netflix and chill.” “The whole weekend?” “Yes. It will be fun. Trust me.” “What do I need to bring?” “Just you and may be some few cloths.” “Okay. Where does your girl stay?” “Milimani. I will come pick you u

The Aggrey Kisato University of Technology was one of the best universities in the country. It was named after a man famed to have championed for provision of quality education to everyone. Tale had it that Aggrey Kisato made it his vision and one ambition to dedicate his life to lobbying for this course he strongly believed in. He had engaged in various activities nationally and internationally in order to bring the much-needed change he desired to see. His efforts had paid off. He had influenced policies in the education sector in the country which kept most institutions alive up to the present. He was spoken of with so much pride and reverence. Becky felt lucky and privileged to work in this great institution. She loved her job and the challenges it came with. She was never one to back down from anything which could grow her career. “Becky, the Boss wants to see you.” She remembered the Boss’ secretary calling her one Monday morning. “What is it about? Do you know?” she nervou

It was not her fault that she believed in the good of people. To her, human beings were inherently good until they were not. First impressions did matter to her. She liked Bruce. The first time she saw him, she thought he stood out from the rest. She was absentmindedly listening to the speaker going on about the topic of the day when he walked in. His confidence defied the fact that he had come in later than everyone else as he took the seat opposite her. Everything seemed to stop as the speaker acknowledged his presence. She felt his aura radiate across the floor to where she was. Suddenly, she became too conscious and aware of herself.   It made her uncomfortable. Her personality was one that made her stay on the periphery. She hated attention. So, it bothered her that she felt seen by him. His gaze on her cut right through the air and reached her. Becky tried keeping herself occupied by doodling particularly nothing on her notebook. She had since lost the train of deliberation