Love Unscripted

✨ Chapter One:The Messy Truth

My life is super weird. And maybe... just maybe, I’m a jerk.

I mean, how does a normal 15-year-old girl hate her own mom so much that she doesn’t even take advice from her? Sounds crazy, right? But that’s my life. And no, I don’t blame myself for acting this way — because honestly, she keeps giving me countless reasons to feel this way.

She asks me sometimes, “Keller, do you hate me?”

And the scary part is... I don’t even know the answer.

You see, my mom’s love story sounds like something straight out of a fantasy. She had me when she was just 17. At that time, she was already married to my dad. Not because they were madly in love and ready to start a family — no, it was because when her pregnancy news got out, everyone pressured her into marrying him. Then, a few years after I was born, my dad died.

It broke her.

Losing the person she loved so much was too much for her to bear. It was like a part of her died with him. She stopped eating, stopped drinking. Most of the time, she’d talk to herself, laugh, then cry all in the same moment — and it creeped me out. It was gross. Scary, even.

And then there was me. A five-year-old child being screamed at like an adult. I hated that part the most.

Eventually, she moved on. Somehow.

But enough about her... back to me.

I’m Keller Keston. I’m Nigerian by blood, but right now, I live in Texas. My mom and I moved here two weeks ago because my stepdad — Nick Keston — said so. And from the look of things, I’m supposed to start school tomorrow. Yep, tomorrow. I'm nervous. Meeting new people? New faces? Totally weird.

Truth is, I miss Nigeria. I miss my friends. And I miss my boyfriend — well, ex-boyfriend now. He got really upset when he found out I was leaving the country... especially because I didn’t tell him until the day I left. Yeah, I totally screwed that one up. He ended things before I even got on the plane.

But like my mom always says:

> “Leave the messy past behind and focus on the future.”

I totally believe in that. Sort of.

I know starting school late is already a bad look, but luckily, my stepdad got everything handled. Speaking of Nick — he’s a billionaire. No joke. It’s like he runs this whole town. Sometimes I honestly wonder why he even came to Nigeria in the first place. Or what he saw in my mom.

He owns three companies, but I’ll give you one for free: “Welcome to an Ice Cream Parlour.”

Yeah, the name sounds lame. But it’s super popular.

So here’s the truth — the real reason I resented my mom so much was because she married Nick without ever asking how I felt about it. I was twelve. That’s old enough to have an opinion, right? But I’m slowly beginning to believe she did it for my own good. Nick is nice. He’s rich. And most of all, he treats me like I’m his own daughter.

Some days, I love my mom.

Some days, I hate her.

And I know that’s not normal.

It’s 8:30 PM right now. We just finished family dinner downstairs, and I’m back in my room trying to pick out the perfect outfit to make me stand out tomorrow. Earlier today, Nick took me out and basically bought me everything — clothes, bags, makeup, a new phone — the whole package. I don’t even know what to wear first.

---

The next thing I know, I’m standing in front of a classroom.

“So class, let’s welcome a new student. Her name is Keller Keston, and she’s from Nigeria,” Miss Georgia says.

“Eww, she’s from Nigeria? I’m so disgusted,” a girl named Vera sneers.

The whole class bursts into laughter.

“The funny thing is, she has the same last name as Nick Keston. Her family is clearly trying to attract his attention,” she adds with a smirk.

The class chuckles.

“Miss Wanna-Be,” a boy named Max says, scrunching his face in a mock insult. More laughter explodes around me.

I want to disappear. My cheeks are burning. My chest is tight.

And then — I wake up.

Just a dream.