Owned by fate claimed by him.

feeling.

to syrup and doesn't want to hold you up anymore. My head ached with thoughts I didn't invite. My heart felt like a

once, I'd

n find peace in

ng between decisions I regret and the ones I never had the courage to make. B

ebt. Suffocating under the weight of bills I couldn't pay, d

ded f

Emotional freedom

t

romised relief but d

ispered lies with

ng up. And some days, I wasn't e

was his divine mission to remind me I was behind on rent. I stopped answering the door altogether. I l

Water. Internet I hadn't touched in weeks because I couldn't afford dat

arkness in my mind whi

d

because even that required a kind of courag

illow beside me. For a second, I thought, maybe this is it. Ma

o suc

Trina

l believed I was okay because I wore my pain like

ond ring,

er damn phone!" Her voice exploded

d weakl

r my boss turned me into his personal slave. I need

-out?" I asked, half

lling. You've been locked in that apartment so lo

ed. "T

on something hot.

uld argue,

ever asks for permission to save m

s. Painted my face. Complimented features I didn't even like. We laughed in front of

back at me-red lips, smoky eyes, pain hid

free. I e

er waved us in like we were royalty. Perks of be

like a blanket I didn't know I needed. Trina disappeared to the d

cheap drink and watching people lose themselves under strobe lig

kind of space I'd only seen on Instagram-where Lagos big boys po

not with jealou

want th

d their

with money. With s

it ha

eyes

ace carved by angels and probably sin. There was a stillness about him th

eath

he looki

st a glanc

blinked, looked aw

l th

l st

he sm

kind. Not the f

edators give prey ju

thing about it

trigu

bur

d. I didn't know his name. I didn't know

n't knoc

the damn

finally met the man who would

verything I could