“I swear, I’m going to gouge his eyes out and feed them to his ass,” Desire spat out.
Venom in every word.
Her face was dark with anger as she tore into Crestwood’s parking lot.
Dora stepped out of the car alongside Desire.
Luxury cars rolled past, dropping off students in designer fits.
Groups of students walked across the wide campus walkways, laughing loudly, taking pictures, and gossiping as they headed to class.
The environment was loud, rich, and chaotic in a way only an elite school could be.
Dora didn’t answer.
She couldn’t.
Yesterday, she’d shoved her phone into Desire’s hands.
The chats between Mikel and his woman, the 1.5 million Mikel requested was never for a project.
It was for his other woman.
Dora’s stomach twisted.
Every memory of him now felt dirty.
She felt played and betrayed.
Then Desire stopped walking because Mikel was coming toward them across the parking lot.
His jaw was tight, and he looked tense.
“Dora, we need to talk,” he said the moment he reached them.
“She isn’t listening to your trash,” Desire spat sharply.
Mikel shot her a hard glare but Desire never blinked.
Dora sighed and stepped past both of them and Mikel followed immediately.
“Dora… did you touch my phone yesterday?” he asked suddenly.
And something inside Dora snapped.
SLAP.
The sound echoed through the parking lot and conversation nearby died for a second.
Mikel froze, his hand pressed to his cheek staring at her as if he couldn’t believe she had actually done it.
For a second, Crestwood disappeared and all Dora could see was yesterday.
Her eyes stung.
****
The door whined as she swung it open, smiling.
Mikel was sprawled on the bed, thumbs flying over his phone.
“Dora?!”
“I wasn’t expecting you,” he said.
“But I’m here.” She shrugged, climbing onto the bed.
She stole a kiss before he could say another word.
The kiss was light but teasing.
“What’s wrong?” she asked when she noticed the expression on his face.
“Nothing,” he lied too fast.
Then exhaled.
“It’s that project.
I need 1.5 million…”
“Is that all?” She let out a low hiss, almost a laugh.
“I thought it was serious.”
“I’ll send it.”
His face lit up.
“Really?”
“You’d be lost without me,” Dora smiled.
“God, I love you, baby.” He kissed her cheek.
Almost immediately, Mikel’s stomach growled loudly.
“Damn.
I need to use the toilet, I’ll be right back.” He practically sprinted out of the room.
Suddenly, his phone lit up on the nightstand with a buzz which caught Dora’s attention.
She wasn’t sure whether to grab it or not but curiosity got the best of her and she grabbed it.
HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO COLLECT THE MONEY FROM HER?
Sender: My Woman.
***
“What was that for?” Mikel’s voice brought her out of her reverie and she snapped out of the flashback.
Back then, she had meant every word.
“You’re asking if I touched your phone?” Dora’s voice was ice.
“I should’ve burned the whole thing.”
“How could you?” she shouted, her voice shaking.
“How could you even think of cheating on me?” Mikel scoffed, rolling his eyes like she was wasting his time.
“Wasn’t it obvious?
I got tired of you.”
Dora’s eyes widened.
For a second, she looked like she’d shatter, but she forced a small, painful smile instead.
Her eyes glistened, and she swiped at them quickly before any tears could fall.
No.
She wouldn’t cry in front of him.
He didn’t deserve that from her.
“I guess I was stupidly in love with you,” she said quietly.
“It’s over between us, Mikel.” She turned and walked away.
Mikel just clicked his tongue.
Then a girl stormed up to him.
“Where’s the money?” she demanded, glaring.
“Anita,” Mikel groaned.
“I don’t have any damn money to give you.
If you hadn’t sent that sour message, she wouldn’t have found out about us.”
“Wait!
what?
She found out?
How?” Anita’s eyes narrowed.
Then she scoffed.
“Oh please.
Don’t act innocent.
This is your fault, Mikel.”
“My fault?!” he exploded.
“Yes, your fault!” she fired back.
“You’re always careless with your phone.
And honestly?
I don’t care anymore.
Get my money.
Even if you have to sell your brain , it’s useless anyway.” She spun on her heel and stalked off.
Mikel stood there, jaw clenched tight.
Dora was barely holding herself together as she headed toward the parking area where Desire was waiting.
The campus buzzed around her, but it all felt numb and distant.
Then two bikes roared into the compound, and the whole atmosphere shifted.
Students scattered as both bikes skidded to a stop in front of the main building.
The first rider swung off his bike.
He was dressed in red from head to toe , his jacket, jeans, boots, even his hair.
Everything about him screamed danger and control, and the air changed the second he moved.
Girls started screaming.
“Mother of God, he’s fine.”
“Who are they?”
“I heard they’re the new transfers!”
“The first one looks dangerous…”
The second guy got off too, but nobody was looking at him.
The guy in red didn’t smile, he did not scan the crowd.
He just walked forward like he owned the ground he stepped on.
He looks too cold, calm and untouchable.
But then his eyes snagged on someone pushing through the crowd.
Dora.
She wasn’t looking at him.
She was disheveled, frustrated, trying to get through, eyes still red from the tears she refused to shed.
And even like that , she stood out.
She had soft features, red-rimmed eyes that made her look more human than perfect.
She looked fragile, yet there was something stubborn in the set of her shoulders, as though she was holding herself together through sheer will.
It caught him off guard.
He didn’t know why he noticed her.
He just did.
The noise, the crowd, the attention , it all blurred.
His eyes tracked her without his permission.
But suddenly, someone shoved her from behind.
“Hey—!”