He had never forgotten her.
And now he was back in the city where it had all started.
At first, he told himself he had returned for business. That was true, but not the whole truth. Somewhere in him, something still wanted to settle the score.
Their worlds collided on a rainy Thursday night.
Imani had been on her feet for hours already. The nightclub was noisy, crowded, and full of the usual laughter that meant nothing to her. She moved from table to table with practiced politeness, carrying bottles and glasses, ignoring the ache in her legs.
Then she turned toward one of the private sections and froze.
Chidi.
For one second, she thought her mind was playing tricks on her. But no, it was him. He sat like a man who belonged wherever he chose to sit. His suit was dark and expensive. His watch caught the low light. His face had changed in the way time changes men who have seen too much and won too much. He looked sharper now, harder, more controlled.
And beside him sat Nora Bassi—elegant, confident, beautiful.
The sight hit Imani so suddenly that her breath caught in her throat.
For a moment, she could not move.
Then Chidi looked up and saw her.
Their eyes met.
The noise around her seemed to disappear.
Imani had imagined many versions of seeing him again. None of them felt like this. Her chest tightened. Her fingers almost loosened around the tray in her hand.
Chidi’s face did not show shock for long. It settled too quickly into calm. Cold calm. The kind that made it worse. He let his eyes move over her uniform, her tired face, and the tray in her hand. He took in everything—the fall, the struggle, the distance between the girl she used to be and the woman standing before him now.
Something dark moved behind his eyes.
Satisfaction.
Pain.
He had wanted her to feel something one day, but the moment he truly saw how far she had fallen, the victory did not taste the way he had expected.
Nora turned toward Imani and smiled faintly, not yet understanding the depth of the silence between them.
Imani forced herself to step forward and do her job.
“Good evening, sir,” she said, but her voice almost betrayed her.
Chidi leaned back in his seat. “Good evening.”
Nothing in his tone suggested they had once been in love. Nothing in his face suggested he had ever known her deeply.
Then with deliberate calm, he glanced at Nora and said something low enough to sting and public enough to wound.
He referred to Nora as his fiancée.
Imani felt it like a blow, but she held her face steady. “Would you like anything else?”
“That will be all.”
She nodded and turned away before her expression could break.
For the rest of the night, she moved like someone in a dream. She could feel him in the room even when she was not near him. Every time she glanced toward that section, Nora was still beside him, smiling, relaxed, close.
By the time her shift ended, Imani was too shaken to think clearly.
Meanwhile, Chidi did not look as calm as he wanted Nora to believe. He had pictured this meeting differently in his mind many times. He had imagined anger. He had imagined satisfaction. He had imagined finally looking down on the woman who once made him feel small.
Instead, seeing her in that uniform—tired and thin, with quiet struggle in her face—unsettled him. Part of him wanted her to feel the insecurity he had once felt. Another part wanted to pull her out of that place immediately.
That confusion was where his revenge began.
The next day, Imani arrived at her office and sensed tension before she even reached her desk. People were whispering. Managers were moving too fast. Files were being carried in and out of offices.
Not long after, the news spread.
Their company had been acquired by CI Tech.
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