“Maybe you are.”
She should have been offended. Instead, she found herself smiling.
“Why are you like this?” she asked.
His smile faded. For a moment he looked away. Then he said quietly, “Because I know the kind of life I am living.”
That was the first real thing he had ever said to her.
Imani’s expression softened. “What does that mean?”
“It means you should leave me alone.”
“Why?”
He looked at her fully now, and this time there was no distance in his face, only honesty.
“Because I do not have time for games,” he said. “I go to school. I work when I can. And I go home to my grandfather. He raised me. He has been unwell for some time, so no, I do not have the energy for this.”
Imani was quiet.
Chidi continued before she could speak. “You are used to a different life. People like you can joke with feelings and move on. People like me cannot afford that.”
His words hit harder than she expected. For a second, she almost felt hurt. Not because he was rude, but because he clearly believed she could never be serious.
“I’m not joking.”
He shook his head. “That is what they all say at the beginning.”
“They?”
“The people who think this is funny.”
Imani’s chest tightened. So he had heard the whispers too.
“You think I care what people say?” she asked.
“You may not,” he replied. “But I do.”
She saw it then. What she had been calling coldness was not coldness at all. It was pride. It was caution. It was the fear of becoming a story in other people’s mouths.
Chidi tightened his grip on the bottle in his hand. “I do not want anyone saying I am following you because of your money,” he said. “I do not want anyone saying I want to escape poverty through you. I do not need that kind of shame.”
Imani looked at him for a long moment. Then she took one small step closer.
“Chidi,” she said, her voice calm now, “you really think too much.”
His brows drew together.
She smiled, not in mockery but in confidence. “I know you are cautious. I understand. Your life has been hard. I see that. People will talk, but that is okay. We will be fine, Chidi. But I am not going anywhere.”
He stared at her.
She lifted her chin, bold and certain. “One day you will stop running from me.”
Then she turned and walked away, leaving Chidi Bello standing there with her words still hanging in the air.
And for the first time since she met him, Chidi did not move immediately. He only stood there watching her go.
He remained there for a few seconds after Imani walked away. Then he shook his head, tightened his hold on his bag, and continued down the road. But her words stayed with him long after that day.
One day you will stop running from me.
He told himself she was just stubborn. But the truth was that Imani Adeyemi had already started entering places in his heart he had kept closed for a long time.
That was what made the next few weeks harder.
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