Buchi was once known as the best mechanic on the street. Engines spoke to him the way music speaks to a singer. Customers trusted him, apprentices admired him, and his hands always stained with oil built an honest life from nothing.
Then he met Nkiru.
She walked into the workshop one afternoon dressed clean, confident, and impossible to ignore. People noticed her curves before they noticed her words, and Buchi was no different. At first, she only watched him work, praised his skill, and waited nearby. Slowly, she became a distraction.
“You’re too smart to be wasting your life here,” she would say.
“Look at the money others are making.”
Buchi began leaving the workshop early. Jobs were rushed. Mistakes crept in. Customers complained. Apprentices left. The man who once lived for engines now lived for approval.
When the workshop finally shut down, Nkiru didn’t leave.
Instead, she pushed him further.
She introduced him to fast-money conversations, people who promised wealth without sweat. Buchi resisted at first, but desperation has a way of silencing pride. One bad decision led to another. Soon, he abandoned the skills that once defined him and chased shortcuts that hollowed him out.
By the time Buchi realized he was being used not loved it was too late. Nkiru had driven him forward with promises, pressure, and comparisons, until he crossed lines he could never erase. The money came briefly, then vanished. So did she.
Buchi ended up alone, feared instead of respected, haunted instead of hopeful.
The workshop was gone.
The skill was rusty.
And the cost of betrayal of himself and others was permanent.
In the end, Buchi learned too late that not every smile is support, not every push is love, and not every road that looks easy leads anywhere worth reaching.
#relationship #truestory #livestory
