February 14 💌

Episode 4: what happens when love has been there all along?

Feb 14, 2026

Sometimes you realise that love had always been there all along; you just never saw it. It’s like the Father’s love — always present, but it takes your eyes being opened to see that you’ve been deeply loved, even before you knew it.

Lara got home tired and dying of thirst. She reached into her bag to grab her keys, but they slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground. She sighed, frustrated, because she really needed to get inside. As she bent down to pick them up, something happened — something that seemed extraordinary. Her next-door neighbour of about two years suddenly caught her eye. No, not that. She finally took a moment to really look at Kunle, and she could sense the Holy Spirit whisper, He’s the one I’ve been preparing you for, Lara. She stopped in her tracks, unable to believe what had just happened. She eventually opened the door and went inside, but suddenly she lost the desire to quench her thirst, as her mind settled on Kunle.

She had always known him to be good-looking, but there was just something about earlier that made him stand out. What was it? She took a deep breath. He wasn’t even at his best — he was taking out the garbage, so she couldn’t say he looked good to impress her. But even when he wasn’t trying, his caramel skin shone against the streetlight, his built body revealed his commitment to the gym, and his eyes…there was just something about them, like he could see through her. She didn’t know whether she was feeling butterflies in her belly or was just being outrightly delusional. Was that really the Holy Spirit? she thought to herself.

What was even more embarrassing was that he caught her staring and said hello, like he normally did. Usually, she would just respond casually with a “hi” and walk inside, giving no room for any conversation. But today, it was different. She had been staring for God knows how long until he snapped his fingers repeatedly to jolt her back to reality. And instead of saying hi, she stuttered and said, “Hi, Lara — oh sorry, I meant hi, Kunle.” He looked at her, surprised for a second, then let out a small laugh before telling her goodnight and walked away.

“Gosh, what is wrong with me?” she said angrily, hitting her fist on the kitchen island. She let out a painful “ouch” and went to the fridge to get a glass of water. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, but she was sure of one thing: her world was about to be turned upside down, orrrrrrrr right side up. Time would tell.

A Quick Backstory.

This was Lara — a young lady who had devoted herself to loving the Lord after a messy breakup almost three years ago. Even though she had moved on, she just wanted to stick with Jesus; after all, He would never break her heart (or try to) like her ex did. She sometimes blamed herself for thinking Femi would marry her when she was only fresh out of the university. She didn’t have a job or security of any form, and unfortunately, Femi wasn’t one of those people who thought women were made for the kitchen. He wanted a working-class boss lady so he wouldn’t have to spend his money on a woman. Yes, he had several sources of income and was doing well financially, but his money was his money.

She somehow fooled herself into thinking she could work her way into getting him to marry her. She cooked, cleaned, and did all that an intending wife would do, only for him to propose to someone else - someone of his calibre, and move on from her like she never meant anything to him. Well, maybe she didn’t; his actions had proven that. But he didn’t even have the decency to break things off with her. She didn’t know which hurt more — the fact that he kept hinting he was going to pop the question soon, or the fact that he just ghosted her and got married as though their two years together meant nothing to him.

She thought of showing up at their wedding or reaching out to the lady, but she decided not to. For all she knew, she was the side chick and the lady; the main chick. Besides, who would have believed that one of the most sought-after bachelors in the city of Lagos had something to do with her? They were from two different worlds, and everyone would see her as a clout chaser. With Instagram and blogs being the current news stations, she didn’t want to get involved in any social media drama. She didn’t have much, but she had her father’s name to protect, and so she chose peace over drama.

She let out a deep sigh. She had been doing it again — thinking about her past. It wasn’t something she liked to remember, and when her mind wandered there, she questioned whether the Lord was really working on her heart. If He was, why was she still going back? I wish I could erase all of those ugly experiences, but unfortunately, humans aren’t wired that way. She wrote in her journal, “Jesus, you have to help me.”

Kunle’s POV:

It was time — he just knew it. He had spent the past year trying to get Lara to notice him, but she seemed not to notice anything surrounding her. He knew she loved the Lord and initially fought his feelings because she seemed like someone who would be a eunuch for Christ, like the Apostle Paul. So when he prayed and the feelings intensified, he knew there was more. He had fasted, asked his prayer partner to tarry with him in the place of prayer, asking what God’s will was. The Lord opened his eyes to see that she was the one. And he remembered the dreams…

Dreams he had when he newly moved into that estate, about a young lady coming to knock on his door, crying and asking for help. Sometimes they had conversations about her past, and he sensed it was the Lord giving him privy information, but he never knew who the lady was — until one day she told him her name. It was Lara. He woke up and had forgotten, but he knew it started with the letter L. And that was the first time he saw her. He introduced himself as the new neighbour and asked for her name.

“Hi, I’m Lara. Welcome to the estate,” she said.

It was as though a bulb had come on in his head, and everything made sense. Still, she seemed to be oblivious to everything that was happening, so he began to pray that the Lord would open her eyes to see. The verse of scripture he often got each time he prayed was, “At the right time, I the Lord, will make it happen.” Isaiah 60:22 So he kept his calm.

But that evening, he knew something had shifted. He couldn’t explain it, but he just knew. How was it that he wanted to throw out the garbage at the time he normally did, but for some reason, his homeboy from way back called, and they stayed talking on the phone for almost an hour? By the time he went out, he sensed someone staring at him. It was cringe and scary — only for him to turn around and see Lara, who had never taken more than five seconds to dash into her apartment each time he said hello, standing there, taking him in.

It was shocking, to say the least, but after saying hi, she was tongue-tied. When had she ever been? And even after he went in, he still saw her standing there before she fully regained consciousness, the door to her apartment open, and her walking in. God, did you tell her something? He smiled as he lay back on the bed and faced the ceiling.

He knew Lara — she would try to fight those feelings, no matter how little, and run away. He was so sure because he had seen her do the same in his dreams. How, each time he tried to help her, she would pull back and walk away… and the Lord would tell him softly, “Kunle, she’s not your project to handle; she’s mine.”

“Oh Lord, make it easy for me. For us. If truly this is Your will.” Those were the last words he muttered before drifting into dreamland.

Lara woke up with a terrible headache and realized her phone had been ringing for a while now, but because the volume was low, she didn’t hear it ring. She checked the caller ID - Mum; and sighed. She knew what early morning calls like that meant: her mother was calling to remind her that her birthday was only a few days away — February 14 and she was running out of time.

She was turning 27 and didn’t have any man calling her or asking her out. How terrible was that? It was days like this she wished she had siblings so at least her mother’s focus would not be on only her. But unfortunately, her mother wasn’t able to conceive after she had her. In fact, the doctor said it was a miracle she had Lara because there were complications along the pregnancy journey. So her mother had simply waited all her life to have grandchildren, but unfortunately, Lara wasn’t granting her heart’s desires.

“Oko mi, I’ve told you — maybe it’s the apartment you’re living in and the car you’re driving. Men don’t approach women that are too successful. Not every man can handle it. Why don’t you move to a smaller apartment and take cabs to work instead of driving? That way, you get to meet men who can have the courage to ask you out. At your age, I was already married and you were almost three years old. I want to carry my grandchildren in my arms, Omolara. Or you don’t want to give me grandchildren?”

Her mum’s words echoed from the other end of the call, and Lara sighed. What was really the problem with men anyway? When she was broke and hustling, Femi couldn’t marry her. Now she was rich and thriving, and her money was still a problem? She couldn’t get over it.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she responded, “Mummy, don’t worry. God will do it in His time. Why wouldn’t I want to give you grandchildren? Ehn! I’ll give you plenty of them. By God’s grace, you’d even get tired.”

She heard her mum laugh on the other end and smiled — she won this time.

“Okay, oko mi,” her mum said.

“Erm, mummy, I have to prepare for work now. I’m already running late. You’ll see me in your bank account this morning, don’t worry.”

“Eee, Oluwa seun o. Ese gan ni o, omo dada,” she said, and ended the call.

As she prepared for work, she thought to herself, Is there really a problem with me? Men hardly approached her, and when they did to collect her number, they never reached out — not even a call or a text. It didn’t bother her at first, but now that she put two and two together, it seemed like a negative pattern she would have to pray against.

She sighed. She had done it — taken Uber rides to increase her chances of meeting guys and to prove to herself that she wasn’t too proud to come down from her high horse to be seen by a man, but it never worked. No one was kind enough to offer her a ride from the office, maybe they were confused as to why she wasn’t driving. The Uber drivers were either rude or elderly men, and somehow she got home more tired than she would on a normal day, when she drove.

She snapped out of her thoughts. She had a meeting by 10 a.m., and it was almost 9 a.m. She liked being around an hour early to settle in and regain her composure, so it was best she left now.

Grabbing her car keys and files, she hurriedly locked her apartment and got into the car. She became visibly frustrated when it wouldn’t start. She didn’t like booking morning rides, so she just stood there, confused and unsure of what to do.

Is it because I didn’t pray this morning? she thought. Maybe God is punishing me.

“Oh,” she said, almost in tears, “have mercy on me, Jesus.”

“God can’t do that. He’s not wicked.”

She turned around to see Kunle walking up to her. When he got to a safe distance, he stopped.

“Oh, sorry — you were thinking out loud, and I didn’t mean to pry, but I just wanted to put it out there: God wouldn’t punish you, especially not this way, just because you didn’t pray.”

She sighed.

“Car trouble?”

She nodded like a five-year-old.

“I’m on my way to the gym, mind if I drop you off?”

Not thinking about it, she nodded and finally said, “I don’t mind.”

“Oh, she talks!” Kunle said and let out a small laugh. “You’ve just been nodding since morning. I almost thought you were hiding mouth odour.”

“What!” she said and laughed out loud.

She seemed calmer now. Leading her to his car, he opened the front door and she got in. He closed the door and got in himself.

“So where’s your office?” he asked.

“It’s around Sandfill bus stop, before Lekki Phase One.”

“Ouu, okay,” Kunle said. “But what’s the exact address so I can just drop you off directly?”

“Oh no, the bus stop is fine,” she said shyly.

“Little miss passenger, I insist.”

“Alright then,” she said and gave him the address.

For some reason, she thought the ride was going to be awkward, but Kunle asked one question, which turned into a full-blown conversation, and she didn’t realize when she eased into him — laughing, giggling, and just being someone she hadn’t allowed herself to be for years. It was as though he brought out the child in her, and she really liked it.

When they arrived at her office, she wished she could stay a bit and chat, but work was calling.

“Thank you for the ride,” she said. “Plus, you’re great company too.” She smiled.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, little miss passenger,” Kunle replied. “Have a great day!”

Before she could open the car door, Kunle had come down, opened it, and led her out of the car. She smiled and waved as he got back in and drove off.

“Oh Lord, what just happened?” she said.

Kunle’s POV:

Was this how proactive God could be? He had simply said a prayer the night before, and things were already moving this fast? He didn’t think Lara could be that childlike — especially around him. She had always kept a straight face and her relationships cordial, not just with him but with the other neighbours as well. Yet, today, he saw a different side of her.

He enjoyed listening to her talk. She was a Human Resource Manager at MAC & Co, and she spoke about predicting the company’s workforce over the next ten years, given the introduction of AI to make the process more seamless. He didn’t really understand it, but he was excited listening to her speak. He was a numbers person too, just in a different light — the definition of what Gen Zs would call a tech bro. If only he could program his way into her heart, perhaps all his years studying computer science would finally pay off.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. He went to the gym, got home and freshened up, observed his quiet time — which was more of him talking to God about Lara than listening, did one or two other things, and before he could say jack, evening had come. He wondered how her meeting went. He wanted to call her, but then he realized he hadn’t asked for her number. He considered getting it from the estate group chat, but he didn’t want it to come off the wrong way, so he waited… until he couldn’t wait anymore. After all, her office wasn’t too far from the house. He would drive down there to see if she would come out.

It wasn’t up to thirty minutes after Kunle arrived that he saw Lara walk out, visibly tired. He had been proactive enough to get her food, and since he didn’t know what she liked, he ordered a bit of variety — pasta, rice, and fruits, in case she was a fit fam like him.

“Little miss passenger,” he called out, watching her turn around to look for who was calling her.

“Over here,” he signalled with a wave of his hand, and she saw him.

He quickly got down, helped her into the car, got in himself, and asked how her day went.

“Oh, the presentation went well, thanks for asking. Today was just from one meeting to another; I didn’t even know when it was already evening.”

“Aww, I can imagine how tired you must be. Had dinner yet?”

She laughed. “Dinner ke? I couldn’t even have lunch.”

“Well, you’re in good hands,” he said as he lifted a big bag. “Pasta, rice, or fruits?”

“Ouu, I see someone is fighting for the title of Mr Intentional.”

“Well, I try my best,” Kunle replied.

She laughed as she said, “I’d have pasta, thank you.” He handed her the plate of pasta, and as they journeyed home, he noticed Lara’s table manners as she engaged him more than she spoke. He liked the glimmer in her eyes when he told her he was currently co-building an initiative with one of his friends — not just to take children off the streets, but to give them access to quality education. He especially liked it when she proposed a name: S2S (Street to School) because he hadn’t even thought of that yet.

They soon arrived home, and he noticed her hesitation to step out of the car, so he kept the conversation going. When it started getting really late, he suggested they continue talking outside the car. He didn’t trust himself to be alone with Lara. Yes, he was a child of God and had his stance on physical boundaries when it came to relationships, but he preferred to be safe rather than sorry. Besides, they weren’t even together yet, so why spoil the possibility of what could be with one silly move?

After talking for what seemed like forever, but was only two hours — Lara took the cue and said goodnight. She thanked him for being her PA for the day and for the meal. He smiled to himself and made a mental note to tip the waiter the next time he went there.

She was almost inside her apartment when he remembered something and ran after her just as she was about to close the door.

“Uhm, is it okay if I get your number? You know, just to make sure you’re safe?”

She raised an eyebrow, as though to imply, Duh, you live right next door, what could possibly happen?

“Okay, that didn’t come out right,” so he tried again.

“Can I please get your number so you can let me know when next you need my services — you know, driving you to and from work, and making sure your belly is filled?”

Lara laughed this time, and that was his cue to hand over his phone. She hurriedly typed in eleven digits, and handed it back to him.

“Uhm, thank you,” he said, smiling. “And sleep tight, little miss passenger.”

Lara’s POV

Lara wasn’t sure if she should be excited or not that Kunle had collected her number. A number of guys had done the same before, but none ever reached out. She decided to wait and see if he would text her, because with the other guys, she never really cared. But she was getting fond of him, so a huge part of her was very expectant.

She soon settled in and was about to go to bed after prayers when her phone chimed, and a notification popped up. It was from Kunle (iMessage): “Little miss passenger, ready for bed?” She smiled, staring as she noticed the three dots indicating he was still typing.

“Oh, so there’s more,” she said, giggling, and sat up excitedly on the bed, waiting for the next message. She was almost distracted when her phone chimed again, and she saw the text:

"Uhm, I know this may seem too forward, but can I take you out to dinner on Valentine’s Day? What I’m asking is: ‘Lara, will you be my Val?’"

It was then Lara knew, once and for all, that everything was going to change — or rather, was already changing. She may have been single for so long, but her life was shifting in the twinkle of an eye.

"Let me think about it," she replied, not even giving Kunle a chance to respond before muttering, "Oh God, please lead me," and she slept off.

Author’s Note: There you have ittttttttt! My first Christian fiction series has officially come to an end.

I honestly can’t explain how excited and grateful I am. This is one of the many things the Lord laid on my heart that I’ve wanted to explore, and I’m so glad I finally stepped out and did it.

If you missed any episode, I encourage you to go back and read them. This is a non-linear series, meaning you can read the stories in any order, except for the second story, which is split into Episode 2a and 2b. Everything ties together in the end.

Each story answers a different question about love: Episode 1: What happens when love becomes an idol Read here.

Episode 2: What happens when love reaches out to restore? Read 2a here, 2b here.

Episode 3: What happens when love is surrendered to God again? Read here.

Now, I’d love to hear from you. Do you have any comments, feedback, or suggestions on how I can do better next time? Please drop them in the comments below 👇

Growth & Vulnerability 🌱💜

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