“I’ve loved you too,” he said quietly. “For a long time now.”
She looked at him, surprised.
But then she smiled, and her eyes shimmered.
In that little room with cracked walls and a flickering bulb, they sat side by side, saying nothing more.
Because sometimes the heart speaks loudest in silence.
News travels fast, even in quiet places.
Sasha had stayed off the radar for weeks, waiting for the scandal to die down.
But then one afternoon, while scrolling through her messages, she saw something that made her heart jolt.
That beggar that approached you—I learned he’s not homeless anymore. Someone said he is now living with a supermarket girl in Surulere.
Her fingers froze.
Daniel—the man she had mocked and discarded—was staying with a sales girl.
It must be that same know-it-all who had defended him that day.
Sasha saw red.
The next day, just before noon, Evelyn was arranging items on a lower shelf near the cleaning supplies when a loud voice cut through the store.
“So, this is where you hide?”
Evelyn stood up, startled, and turned to see Sasha storming toward her—flawless makeup, bright nails, but fury burning in her eyes.
“Excuse me?” Evelyn asked, confused.
“You think you’re smart, huh? You think you can steal a useless man and destroy my name?”
“Ma’am, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb,” Sasha snapped. “You’re the reason that video got out, right? You work here after all. You leaked it to embarrass me.”
Evelyn’s brows drew together. “I didn’t leak anything. I had nothing to do with that video.”
“Oh, please,” Sasha scoffed. “You can keep Daniel. The beggar version, anyway. I had him when he was worth something. Now that he’s broke and crippled, you can enjoy what’s left.”
The other workers froze. Customers turned to listen.
Evelyn remained calm, her voice steady. “Money doesn’t define a person. You don’t throw someone away just because life knocks them down.”
Sasha laughed bitterly and looked her up and down. “That’s cute. Really. Poverty mentality at its peak.”
With that, she turned on her heels and stormed out, shoes clicking furiously against the tiles.
Later that evening, Evelyn sat alone on the edge of her bed. The house was quiet. Her mother had gone to visit a neighbor, but Evelyn couldn’t stop thinking about the encounter.
She truly had nothing to do with that video, yet she had been accused like a criminal.
Sasha’s words echoed in her mind.
Enjoy what’s left of him.
She sighed and rubbed her eyes, trying to push the bitterness away.
That was when Daniel rolled out from the corner of the room, watching her closely.
“Are you all right?” he asked gently.
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