Ten Seconds
# Ten Seconds
The conversation about knowing him did not end that night.If anything, it made things worse.
Because now I was curious in a way I had never been before. I wanted to know what he looked like. Not because I expected anything.
At least, that was what I told myself. I simply wanted to put a face to the voice.
A face to the ridiculous Spider-Man obsession. A face to the mysterious snaps. A face to the man who somehow managed to disappear behind every photograph he posted.
So one evening, after we had been talking for a while, I finally said it. “Send me your picture.”
The reply came almost immediately. “Why?”
I replied “Because I want to see you.”
Nass: “You've survived this long without seeing me.”
“Yes, and I'm tired.”
He laughed. “You're impatient.”
sead: “Very.” A few minutes passed. Then my phone vibrated.
A snap from Nass💵. My heart gave a tiny jump.
I opened it. The picture was blurred. Very deliberately blurred. I could make out the outline of a person.
Dark clothing. A room behind him. Something that looked like glasses. But his face? Unclear.
I stared at it. Then laughed. “Seriously?”
He replied: “What?”
“You sent me a blurred picture!”
Nass: “You asked for a picture. Not evidence of a picture” He laughed. I shook my head. This man.Then typed: “Oh, be a good gentleman man and allow this innocent girl see her Sugar.”
There was a pause.Then: “Innocent?” I smiled.
“Very.” Hmm.. He didn't answer.
Instead, the typing indicator appeared. Disappeared. Then— A notification. Snap from Nass💵. My heart suddenly began beating much faster. I sat upright. Why was I nervous? It was only a picture. Just a picture. I tapped it.
And everything went quiet.
---
He was sitting in what looked like a bedroom or private room. The walls were painted a soft shade of grey, illuminated by warm, carefully positioned lights that gave the room an understated elegance.
Behind him was a large bed—or perhaps a large headboard; I couldn't tell clearly before the image began counting down. And then there was him. Dark-skinned. Not excessively slim. Not heavy.
Just naturally built, with the kind of proportions that made him look effortlessly masculine without appearing as though he had spent his entire life trying to look impressive.
He wore a simple black top.Nothing elaborate.
Yet somehow, it suited him perfectly. Black-framed glasses rested neatly on his face, giving him an even more enigmatic appearance.
His eyes were dark. Slender. Quiet. The kind of eyes that seemed as though they were always observing something you hadn't noticed.
His lips were naturally pinkish, soft-looking against his darker complexion. There was something composed about his face.
Not the polished perfection of someone who looked like he belonged on a billboard. Something more dangerous. Real.
The kind of handsome that became more striking the longer you looked. And then—
10 I blinked. 9 His expression shifted slightly. 8 I couldn't look away. 7 My heart was beating so hard it felt ridiculous. He put a timer on thr pic😩
6 The glasses. Those eyes. That mouth. 5 Ya Allah. 4 I stared as though I could somehow memorize every detail before the timer ran out.
3 He gave the faintest smile. 2 And that was it.
1 The snap disappeared. I remained staring at my screen. My mouth was slightly open. My heart was somewhere near my throat. “What…”
I laughed to myself. “Ya Allah.” I replayed it.
Then again. Then once more. Not because I needed to. Because I wanted to.
I studied the picture as though I were preparing for an examination. The shape of his face.The glasses. The eyes. The little smile. The black shirt. Everything. Then I typed: So this is my gentleman.
His reply came. “Apparently” I smiled.
Then: “Masha Allah, you're not that bad.”
He replied almost instantly. “Not that bad?”I laughed. “Don't let it enter your head.”
He replied “Too late” I shook my head. Then remembered something.
WHY DID YOU PUT A TIMER?!
His response came after a few seconds. “Was there a timer?” I burst out laughing. “Nass!”
“What?”
se’ad: “You did that on purpose!”
Nass: “I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Liar.” He sent a laughing emoji.
Please send another one. After about 7 secons he responded “Why?” I sighed “Because ten seconds isn't enough.” Nass replied “It was enough,You saw me.”
Se’ad:”Barely!” He laughed. I added: “And no timer this time.” There was a pause.
Then: “We'll see.”
I stared at the message. That man was enjoying himself. And the worst part? So was I.
---
After that, something changed. Not suddenly.Not dramatically. But enough. Now I had a face to associate with the voice. And somehow, knowing what he looked like made every conversation feel different. When he laughed, I imagined the smile I had seen. When he teased me, I imagined those dark eyes behind the black frames. When he sent a snap, I wondered whether I would finally get another glimpse of him.
He noticed. Of course he did. “You're quiet,” he said one night” I replied “I'm listening.”
Nass: “To what? se’ad: “You.” He chuckled “Why? se’ad: “Nothing.”
Nass: “You're studying me again.”
Se’ad: “Maybe.”
Nass: “You're strange.”
se’ad “You started it.”
Nass: “How?”
se’ad: “You gave me ten seconds.” He laughed.
“I gave you ten seconds?” “Yes.”
“And you replayed it?” I went silent. “How do you know?” he replied “Snap notification “
I groaned. “I forgot.” “You forget a lot.”
“Shut up.” He laughed.
---
I began calling him Sugar more often. Sometimes he pretended to dislike it. He never did. I knew. One evening, I said, “Goodnight, my not-so-gentle gentleman.”
He laughed. “You've really made that your thing.”
“ Yes.” “I don't think I'm getting rid of it.”
“Nope.” “Why?” “Because I like it.” There was a pause.
Then, quietly: “I like it too.” I smiled.
There were moments like that. Tiny moments. Nothing anyone else would consider significant.
But to me, they were beginning to matter. Too much. And that frightened me. Because I knew myself, I knew how deeply I loved.
I knew what had happened the last time I gave someone my heart without protecting myself. I didn't want to repeat it. So I tried to keep things light. I joked, teased him but avoided asking too many serious questions. Whenever a conversation began sounding too intimate, I would change the subject.
Whenever I caught myself waiting for his message, I would put my phone down or when I found myself smiling because of him, I would remind myself: “Slow down, Se’ad.”
But feelings don't always obey instructions.
---
I began falling for him. Quietly. Against my own plans. Against my own caution. And perhaps the strangest part was that I wasn't angry with myself for it. I was scared
But somewhere deep inside, there was a strange peace. I had once believed that if I loved someone hard enough, I could change the ending. Now I understood better. People were not mine to control. Hearts were not mine to command. And perhaps love wasn't something I had to force into existence.
Perhaps it was something Allah allowed to find me. So I didn't make promises to myself.
I didn't tell myself that Nass would be my future and surely didn't imagine a wedding. I didn't give him a permanent place in my heart.
Not yet. I simply allowed myself to know him.
One conversation at a time. One laugh at a time.
One little piece at a time.
And I trusted Allah with whatever came next.
---
Then Ridhwan returned. Not physically.
Just a message. “How are you?” I stared at the screen. For a moment, I didn't know what to feel.
I replied simply: “I'm good.” His response came quickly. “Are you?” I paused. Then: “Yes.”
Another message. “I know you're not.”
My smile disappeared. I didn't answer.
He called. I watched his name appear on my screen. For several seconds, I considered ignoring it. Then I answered.
“Hello.” “Se’ad. “Hm?”
“Are you okay?” “Yes.”
“You don't have to lie to me.” I looked down.
“I'm not lying. “You are.” I laughed softly.
“Why do you always think you know everything?”
“Because I know you.” There was something painful about hearing that.
He continued. “Please don't become depressed because of me.” I smiled faintly. “I won't.”
“I'm serious.” “I know.”
“Don't hurt yourself because of this.” I went quiet. Then, unexpectedly, I laughed. He immediately noticed.
m “Why are you laughing?” I responded with “Nothing.” He called out “se’ad, I'm serious.”
“So am I.” I could hear the concern in his voice.
“I know how much you loved me.” My throat tightened. “I know.”
“And I know what I did hurt you.” He paused.“I should have been wiser.”My eyes started watering but I didn't say anything. “I shouldn't have started something I wasn't certain about.”
His voice softened. “I knew how much you cared about me, and I couldn't bring myself to hurt you.” I closed my eyes. The irony almost hurt more than the words.
He had hurt me precisely because he had tried not to. “I didn't wish for things to end this way,” he continued. “I know.”
“You deserve someone who will love you properly. I smiled faintly. “Anyone would be lucky to have you.” I laughed again. He sighed.
“You're laughing.” “No.” “You are.”
I repleid “Maybe.” “I'm serious,Move on, Se’ad.”
My heart tightened. But this time, I didn't collapse. I didn't beg, didn't ask him to reconsider. I simply whispered, “Okay.”
He was silent. Then: “You'll be fine.” I looked toward the window. Maybe I would.
Maybe I wouldn't.
But for the first time, I wasn't waiting for him to decide what my life would become.
---
That night, I opened Snapchat. A new snap from Nass💵. I smiled.
The contrast was almost strange. One man was teaching me how to let go.
Another was teaching me how to laugh again.
And neither of them knew the full story.
Not yet.
---
A few days later, Nass💵 finally gave me another piece of himself. Not his face. Not his wealth or his mysterious world. His name.
We were talking casually when I asked again.
“Are you ever going to tell me your full name?”
He replied: “Nasib”. I smiled. “Nasib what?”
There was a pause. Then: “Nasib Wali.”
I repeated it quietly. “Nasib Wali.” Hmm.” “I like it.” he responded “Good.” I added “Very mysterious.”
he replied with “You're the mysterious one.”
I laughed. “Me?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“You ask too many questions.”
“That doesn't make me mysterious.”
“It does.” I shook my head.
Later, I discovered he was from Bauchi State but lived in Abuja. He had eight siblings. He spoke about them casually, never making a big deal about his family.
And he never once told me how wealthy he actually was. I only knew what his snaps revealed. His lifestyle. His cars. The places he went. The offices he visited The restaurants.
The trips.The way people seemed to know him wherever he went.
And eventually, I began noticing something else.
His work.
There were occasional snaps from what looked like official government buildings. Long corridors.
Meeting rooms. Documents.
The sort of environment that made me curious.
One afternoon, I asked. Where exactly do you work? He replied: “The Senate.”
I stared at the screen. The Nigerian Senate?
Yes. I blinked. Of course.
Of course this mysterious, Spider-Man-obsessed, dentist-anxious, suspiciously wealthy man had somehow ended up working around the Nigerian Senate.
I laughed. “You're actually full of surprises.”
His reply came: “You haven't seen anything yet.”
I smiled. For some reason, that sentence stayed with me. Because I had a feeling he was right.
I had only seen a fraction of Nasib Wali.
And I was beginning to wonder just how much of the man behind Nass💵 was still hidden.