Chapter 1
“Congratulations, Deborah Adedeji. You have been accepted to study Business Administration at New York University…”
The words blurred almost immediately.
Not because I could not read them…but because my eyes had filled with tears before my brain could even process what they meant.
For one whole week, I had avoided opening that email. One week of fear. One week of imagining rejection all over again. One week of telling myself I was not ready to be disappointed.
Yet here I was…
Accepted.
A tear slipped down my cheek, slow and warm, like my body was trying to confirm that this moment was real.
“So… did you get in?”
Stella’s voice cut through my thoughts. She was standing across the room, frozen, her eyes locked on me like my answer would determine her entire future.
“I…” My voice cracked. I swallowed, trying again. “I did.”
Silence.
“You did?” she asked, stepping closer, her voice smaller now, as though she was afraid to believe it.
I nodded.
That was all it took.
“Oooohhhh!!!”
Her scream nearly shook the walls as she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around me so tightly I could barely breathe. I laughed through my tears, clutching onto her just as hard.
We were crying. Laughing. Shaking.
Everything at once.
And in that moment… every single thing I had been through suddenly felt worth it.
Because I remembered.
I remembered the girl I used to be two years ago.
Back in Nigeria.
Hopeless.
Tired.
Stuck.
After secondary school, I had applied to my dream university… twice. Rejected twice. Each rejection felt like a personal attack, like the world was telling me I was not enough.
Meanwhile, everyone else kept moving forward.
My friends were already in their second year at university. They had new lives, new stories, new achievements.
I had… nothing.
Just silence.
Just waiting.
Just failure staring me in the face every single day.
I refused to settle, yet nothing I did seemed to work. The harder I tried to climb, the further I fell, like I was stuck in a loop I could not escape.
Until one morning… everything changed.
I woke up with a thought that would not leave me alone.
What if my story was not meant to stay here?What if there was something bigger waiting for me… somewhere else?
That thought terrified me.
But it also gave me hope.
So I took a risk.
I lowered my expectations, swallowed my pride, and applied to a community college in New York. I applied for every scholarship I could find, pouring my heart into each application like my life depended on it.
Because it did.
And somehow… I got in.
The day I left Nigeria, I did not just leave my country.
I left behind failure.I left behind doubt.I left behind the version of myself that believed she was not enough.
Two years later…
I was sitting in my dorm room, holding an NYU acceptance letter in my trembling hands.
With God… truly, all things are possible.
“Oh my gosh… Stella…” I pulled back just enough to look at her, my vision still blurred with tears. “We are actually going to our dream school.”
Her smile softened, something deeper than excitement settling into her expression.
“Yes, Deb,” she said quietly. “We made it.”
We.
That word meant everything.
Because Stella had been there through it all.
From the very first day we met during orientation, she had walked into my life like chaos wrapped in confidence, dragging me out of my shell whether I liked it or not.
And somehow… she stayed.
My phone rang, pulling me out of the moment.
Jennie.
I barely had time to wipe my face before her call filled the screen. The moment I answered, her face appeared… along with Josh’s, both of them practically bursting with anticipation.
“So?” Josh asked immediately.
“She got in!” Stella screamed before I could even speak.
Their reaction was instant.
Pure joy.
“Oooohhh!!!”
“I knew it,” Josh said, pointing at the screen like he had predicted the future.
“Obviously,” Jennie added dramatically. “You cannot surprise me with success, Deb.”
I laughed, shaking my head.
“Finally,” Jennie continued, her voice rising with excitement, “we can all stay together!”
The smile on my face faltered.
Just slightly.
But Stella noticed.
Our eyes met for a brief second, and in that silent exchange, everything passed between us.
We had to tell her.
And it was not going to be easy.
“Jennie…” I started slowly, my fingers tightening around my phone.
She tilted her head, already suspicious.
“Yes?”
“I… we…” I glanced at Stella again. She gave me a small nod.
I exhaled.
“We cannot stay with you.”
Silence.
“What?” she asked, blinking.
“Jennie, we cannot afford it,” Stella added gently.
“That is not even a problem,” Jennie replied immediately. “We will just stay in one of my dad’s apartments.”
“We cannot afford that either,” I said, my voice softer now.
“You will not be paying rent,” she said, like it was the most obvious solution in the world.
I shook my head.
“No.”
That one word carried everything.
Our pride.Our boundaries.Our identity.
“We are your friends,” I continued quietly. “Not your responsibility.”
Something flickered in her eyes.
Frustration.Hurt.
“Fine,” she said suddenly, folding her arms. “How much do you pay now? Two thousand? Then you can pay two thousand.”
I hesitated. “We were actually thinking of something cheaper—”
“I do not care, Deb,” she cut in, her voice firm. “Even if you pay one dollar, we are staying together.”
There it was.
Jennie.
Stubborn. Emotional. Impossible.
I looked at Stella.
She smirked.
I smiled.
“Fine,” she said dramatically. “Anything for the princess.”
Jennie’s entire face lit up like a child who just got exactly what she wanted.
“Really?”
We both nodded.
Josh groaned. “You are such a baby.”
She scoffed, rolling her eyes.
“You know what I am actually excited about?” Stella suddenly jumped in. “Tonight’s party.”
My excitement instantly dropped.
“The club?” I asked flatly.
“Yes, Deb. The club,” Jennie said, narrowing her eyes at me. “And you are not escaping this time.”
I sighed.
“The Place.”
Of course.
One of Jennie’s family’s ridiculously exclusive clubs where the rich, famous, and powerful gathered like it was their personal playground.
“I will go,” I said reluctantly. “Only because I have something worth celebrating.”
That was all they needed.
They erupted again.
Meanwhile, Stella was already dancing around the room like she had personally won the admission.
And me?
I had a strange feeling…
That tonight was going to change something.
SEBASTIAN’S POV
“Dude, come on. One last Friday before LA.”
James’ voice dragged through my office like a persistent headache while I remained focused on the documents spread across my desk.
“You know your sister, Seb. She will not let me out of her sight once we get there. I just need this one night to breathe… to let loose,” he continued, his tone somewhere between pleading and dramatic.
I did not look up.
James had always been like this. Loud. Persistent. Annoyingly impossible to ignore.
He was my best friend… and in a few weeks, he would officially become my brother-in-law.
He had been chasing my sister since middle school. Back then, it was almost embarrassing to watch. He followed her around like she was the only girl that existed, completely unbothered by rejection or distance.
She only gave him a chance when she got into college and he was in his final year. From that moment, everything moved fast. The moment she graduated, he proposed.
And of course… she said yes.
This marriage?
It was perfect.
At least on paper.
My parents were more than pleased. Their daughter marrying the son of the Mayor of New York? That was not just a wedding, it was a strategic alliance.
The mayor, on the other hand, was just as thrilled. His son marrying into one of the wealthiest families in New York only strengthened his influence.
Everyone was winning.
Including me.
For once, my mother had stopped reminding me that I was “next.”
“Look, James,” I finally said, flipping a page without sparing him a glance, “some of us actually have multimillion-dollar businesses to run.”
“Please, Seb,” he groaned, dragging a chair and dropping into it like his life depended on my answer. “You cannot leave me hanging like this.”
Before I could respond, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and immediately perked up.
“It is Eric.”
Of course it was.
“Hey, man,” James said as he answered.
“Are you guys ready for tonight?” Eric’s voice came through clearly.
“I am,” James replied quickly, “but Seb is being difficult.”
I could feel his eyes on me now.
“Seb,” Eric called through the phone, “when last did you actually go out?”
“Last week,” I replied dryly.
“Exactly. That is not enough,” he shot back. “We have been working nonstop, managing companies, dealing with people… do not you think it is time to cool off a little? Or better yet… get some fun tonight?”
“I have a girlfriend for that,” I said flatly.
There was a brief pause.
Then both of them laughed.
“You mean a sex partner?” Eric teased.
I leaned back slightly in my chair.
“Same thing.”
More laughter.
Eric had always been like that. Carefree. Reckless. Unattached.
And there was a reason for it.
His mother left when he was younger. Walked out of his father’s life without hesitation, choosing another man over her own family. Since then, his father had moved from one woman to another, as if relationships were nothing more than temporary arrangements.
Eric learned from that.
He never stayed. Never trusted. Never cared long enough to be hurt.
As for me…
I was not that different.
I just handled things with more structure.
I did not believe in emotional attachments. Not because I was broken, but because I had simply never felt anything strong enough to make me want one.
So I kept things simple.
Controlled.
Clear.
I had one partner at a time. No cheating. No drama. No confusion.
People called it dating.
I called it an arrangement.
Naya understood that better than anyone.
She was my sister Tracy’s best friend. The daughter of my parents’ business partners. We had known each other for over fifteen years.
For the longest time, she was just… there.
That little girl who followed Tracy around. The one who used to play dress-up and laugh too loudly at things that were not even funny.
I never saw her any other way.
Until one night.
I had just ended things with my previous girlfriend. Like the others before her, she wanted more than I was willing to give. More attention. More emotion. More… meaning.
I left before it could get complicated.
When I got home that night, tired and uninterested in everything, I walked into my penthouse…
And found Naya in my bed.
Completely naked.
She did not hesitate. Did not stutter. Did not pretend.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
And more importantly… she knew exactly what I wanted.
There were three things I always considered before getting involved with a woman.
First, her touch.
My body had a way of rejecting people. Not everyone… but most. I could not stand unnecessary contact, and I refused to force myself to tolerate it.
Second, attraction.
I liked my women a certain way. Slim, with curves in the right places. Enough to catch my attention, not enough to complicate it.
Third…
Understanding.
The ability to accept my terms without trying to change them later.
Naya checked every box.
Her touch did not repel me.She was exactly my type.And she already understood the rules… before I even said them.
So I did not overthink it.
I let it happen.
That was three years ago.
And since then, she had been exactly what I needed.
No pressure. No expectations.
Just… consistency.
“Seb.”
James’ voice pulled me back to the present.
“Please,” he said again, looking at me like I was his last hope.
I stared at him for a moment.
Then exhaled.
“Fine,” I said.
His face lit up instantly.
“I will come. But only if you leave me alone and let me finish my work.”
“Deal!” he said immediately.
Eric laughed through the phone. “See you tonight.”
The call ended.
“I cannot wait to party!” James shouted as he rushed out of my office like an overexcited teenager.
The door slammed behind him.
Silence returned.
I picked up my pen again, my eyes returning to the documents in front of me…
But my focus was gone.
Something about tonight felt different.
Unpredictable.
And I did not like unpredictability.
