Sasha laughed too. “Now you’re talking. I told you I secured the bag a long time ago.”
“Even if he goes broke,” the other friend added, “you’ll still take half.”
Sasha replied with a smirk, “That’s plan B.”
Daniel froze.
His heart didn’t break all at once. It cracked slowly, like thin glass under pressure. He wanted to walk in and say something, but he didn’t. He stood there, hoping what he heard wasn’t what they truly meant.
Later that night, when Sasha came into their bedroom acting sweet and caring, Daniel tried to pretend nothing had happened.
It’s just girls joking, he told himself. They were just playing around.
But the thought refused to leave.
Then one evening, his old friend Desmond came to visit. They talked, laughed, poured drinks, and as the night deepened, Desmond shared a story—one that would change everything.
“Bro, let me tell you,” Desmond began, shaking his head. “My cousin lost everything in one business deal. His fiancée—the girl he worshipped—left him. Not even one month later. Said she couldn’t live in poverty. She had another man all along. Richer, crueler. She didn’t care.”
Daniel sat quietly, staring into his glass. The story sank into him like a stone.
That night, he couldn’t sleep.
What if Sasha was only staying for the comfort? What if love wasn’t really in the picture—just security?
He needed to know.
Daniel decided he was going to find out the truth, even if it meant pretending to lose everything.
The air in his study felt heavier than usual. The ceiling fan turned slowly above him, pushing the warm Lagos air in lazy circles. He sat in silence, still thinking about Desmond’s story. His eyes were fixed on the glass of water on the table, but his mind was somewhere else—replaying Sasha’s laughter from that night, her friends’ voices echoing like shadows in his head.
“I secured the bag.”
“That’s plan B.”
Now the words were no longer harmless jokes. They felt like signs. Warnings.
Daniel had been hurt before, more than once. In university, his first serious girlfriend left him the moment he lost a scholarship and told her his father could no longer support him. Years later, a woman he dated while building his company ghosted him when his startup struggled to break even.
Each time he thought he had found someone real, he ended up alone.
This time, with Sasha, he had truly hoped it would be different.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “Maybe I’m overthinking things,” he muttered.
Just then, laughter drifted in from the balcony.
He stood up quietly and moved closer to the open door. Sasha was out there with Janet, her best friend—a popular lifestyle influencer known for her bold opinions and thousands of online followers.
Janet’s voice rang loud and clear. “Babe, I swear, even if Daniel loses everything, you’ve locked him in already. That ring, that wedding—you’re set for life.”
Sasha laughed. “Of course. Once we marry, I’ll control everything.”
They clinked their wine glasses together.
Daniel didn’t move. He didn’t blink. He just stood there.
It wasn’t just a joke this time.
It was her truth.
The pain was sharp and familiar. And this time, he didn’t push it aside. He stepped back into the shadows of the hallway, heart pounding. Every memory of Sasha’s expensive tastes, the way she dismissed his quiet moments, the way she always needed to be seen—it all started to make sense.
Back in his study, he sat down slowly and ran his hands over his face. The decision was already forming in his mind, but now it had a solid foundation. This wasn’t just fear anymore.
It was proof.
That night, he visited his mother.
Leave a Comment