title: The Almost Kiss
author: Nwaogu, Nick
description: The Almost Kiss, set in modern Nigeria, narrates the story of Chioma Okafor who is pressured by her over-ambitious mother into an unwanted romantic relationship with Uche, a young, sophisticated university lecturer. Chioma yields to her mother's pressure, hoping she would eventually fall in love with Uche as her mother had assured her, but she never did. On a Valentine date with Uche, she gets a glimpse of what her relationship has been missing as she feels love for the first time with Emeka, a handsome stranger who's unfortunately expecting a baby with Amara, a girl who Uche used to date in his university days.
  Shocking and ugly truths are set loose that night.
  Uche turns a relationship that he intended to blow up into an engagement to Chioma on Valentine's Day, into a blood bath before midnight. Chioma who survives the near-death experience, narrates her Valentine dilemma to Femi, a clever Police Sergeant. Everybody thinks Uche died that night, but Femi discovers a strange text message sent from Chioma's phone to Emeka, which triggers a series of twisted events that proves that the jealous and malicious Uche is still alive, and that the life of Chioma is now hanging down by a thin thread.
  The ultimate question is: 'Since Uche is still alive, then who is the man laying lifeless in the mortuary?'
  Chioma is certainly not pleased with the answer. Femi forcefully becomes Chioma's personal bodyguard, while he hunts down Uche, an innocent-looking man who he met a day ago and poorly judged. Follow Femi as he uncovers an intriguing murder mystery that nobody even knew happened.
  The Almost Kiss is an oddly unusual story of love, betrayal, lies, pretense, jealousy, conspiracy, and ambition.