“I just need to talk to her. It’s important.”
“I don’t know where she is. Sorry.”
That unsettled him more.
But days turned into weeks, and still there was no answer.
Slowly, Chidi began to believe the story that hurt him most. Maybe she had simply wanted to get away from him. Maybe the rumors had been right all along. Maybe once life became uncomfortable, she remembered that he was just a poor boy who had nothing to offer her.
He did not know that Imani cried after leaving him. He did not know she still loved him. He did not know her whole life had fallen apart.
He only knew one thing.
She had broken him.
For a long time, that was the only truth Chidi carried.
Then life moved on, whether he wanted it to or not.
Five years passed.
By the time those years were over, Imani Adeyemi no longer looked anything like the girl people used to whisper about on campus. Life had worn the shine out of her. The confidence was quieter now. The ease was gone. Her days were built around survival.
In the morning, she worked in a small office where nobody cared who she used to be. At night, she changed clothes and worked as a waitress in a nightclub, smiling at strangers when all she wanted was sleep.
Her life was quiet, boring, and heavy.
The debts her family had run from had not disappeared. Some had been settled slowly. Some still hung over them. Her father was not the man he used to be. Her mother had become more fragile.
And Imani, who had once solved problems with one phone call, now counted every transport fare in her bag before leaving home.
She had learned how quickly life could humble a person.
Chidi’s life had gone in the opposite direction.
His pain had not destroyed him. It had sharpened him. He poured himself into work, into ideas, into building something nobody could take from him. What started as talent and discipline grew into something much bigger.
In five years, Chidi Bello had become one of the most respected names in business. His company, CI Tech, rose fast and kept rising until it became a global force. He was now a billionaire—powerful, respected, untouchable.
But no matter how high he rose, one thing stayed buried inside him like a scar that never healed.
Imani.
The girl who had once helped pay for his grandfather’s treatment. The girl who had once made him believe in love. The girl who had later thrown him away without explanation.
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.
Leave a Comment