My best friend’s crush fell for me

The day I received my admission email from the University of Calabar should have been the happiest day of my life. My face was glowing as I stared at the screen, rereading the message again and again just to make sure it was real. But happiness is funny. It can sit beside insecurity without warning. Most of my friends had already gotten admission before me. Watching them celebrate while I waited made me feel like a failure, even though deep down I knew I wasn’t. Still, the moment I finally got in, I felt proud. Proud enough to walk around like I had invisible shoulder pads on. And the best part? My best friend, Ekem, got admitted the same year. At that time, I thought nothing in the world could break our friendship. I was wrong. Very wrong. Because what I thought was a beautiful, almost perfect friendship would soon shatter because of a man. His name was Koffe. ⸻ We met Koffe at a birthday party. He was exactly the kind of man girls noticed immediately. Tall. Dark. Handsome. The kind of man who walked into a room and made every female suddenly aware of her hair, makeup, and posture. Ironically, I barely noticed him. But someone else did. My best friend, Ekem. The moment Koffe sat beside us, Ekem suddenly became… different. She laughed louder. She talked more. She even fought to sit closer to him. Anyone with eyes could see it. She liked him. A lot. And I was genuinely happy for her. Later that night, she finally admitted it. “I’ve had a huge crush on Koffe,” she confessed. Instead of being surprised, I smiled. To me, it made perfect sense. Two of the closest people in my life together? That sounded like a beautiful idea. So I decided to help them. That was my first mistake.