Chapter One: The Wrong Door
The air was heavy with heat, thick with the scent of peppered jollof rice and perfume, as Nora slid through the crowd gathered in his family’s sitting room. Her hand was still tangled with Daniel’s—her boyfriend of two years—when she heard the deep voice behind her.
“Excuse me.”
Just one voice. One low, calm, unreadable voice. But it brushed against her skin like a match dragged across flesh.
She turned, barely. And there he was. Tall. Dark. Beautiful in a way that wasn’t safe. Not charming like Daniel—no. This one looked like trouble that didn’t care if you knew it was trouble. Their eyes locked for less than a second, but it was long enough to make her stomach twist.
“This is Nora,” Daniel was saying, too proud, too unaware. “My babe.” The man nodded slowly. “I know.” “You’ve met?” Daniel asked, puzzled. “No.” He smiled faintly. “But I’ve heard about her.” And just like that, he walked past them. Like it was nothing. Like she hadn’t just felt her breath catch in her throat. Daniel didn’t notice. Of course he didn’t. He kept talking, laughing, introducing her to more cousins, more friends. But Nora’s ears buzzed, and her mind was stuck—looping one question.
Who the hell was that? Later, she found out. He was Kelechi. Daniel’s cousin. Raised like brothers. Just back from Port Harcourt. The family’s “rough diamond,” as one auntie put it. The one they didn’t talk about much, unless it was whispered. Nora should’ve left it there. But she didn’t. Because fate—or maybe curiosity—had other plans. An hour later, she opened a door looking for the bathroom.
And found him instead—alone, leaning by the window, smoking something faint and bitter. The moment she stepped in, he didn’t move.
Wrong door. Wrong place. Wrong man. But she didn’t leave. Not right away.
“You’re not lost,” he said, his eyes on her but not really. “How do you know?” “Because you looked like you were hoping you’d find me.”
Silence stretched. The music outside dimmed.
She should’ve turned around. She should’ve walked out. But she just stood there, staring at a man who was not her boyfriend—and wondering why her heart was suddenly beating like a secret.
