HAPPILY EVER AFTER Novel

Ukpono, the fourth of five children from a small Nigerian village, discovered her passion for reading and writing at age ten. Influenced by romance novels and Disney cartoons, she dreamed of finding her own happily ever after. Initially reading only short books, her perspective changed in senior secondary school after meeting Grace, a classmate who could finish 500-page novels in days and retell them brilliantly. Inspired, Ukpono borrowed one of Grace's books and became hooked, frequenting her local bookstore until graduation. In her final secondary school year, Ukpono prepared for WASSCE and JAMB exams with fierce determination. Unlike her peers who simply wanted to pass, she aimed to surpass her older siblings' achievements by passing both exams on her first attempt and entering university at sixteen. While awaiting results, ambition struck again: why follow her siblings to the same local university? With internet access, she could research international scholarships and potentially study abroad.