MY ARROGANT KOREAN CEO

THE END OF US The Saturday morning sun was already bright over Port Harcourt when Amara Okafor stepped out of her family's modest three-bedroom apartment. She adjusted the strap of her handbag and took one last look at herself in the small mirror near the door. Simple floral blouse. Black trousers. Natural hair pulled neatly into a puff. Nothing elaborate. She wasn't dressing to impress Tunde. She was dressing for a conversation she had been avoiding for weeks. Something had changed between them. She could feel it. For almost a month, his calls had become shorter, his excuses longer, and every attempt she made to see him was met with another version of I'm busy. Amara wasn't a woman who enjoyed chasing people. But after three years together, she believed she deserved an honest explanation. As she reached for the door, her mother appeared from the hallway. "You're going out?" Amara smiled. "Just to meet someone." Grace studied her daughter. "Tunde?" Amara nodded. Her mother's expression softened, but there was something uneasy in her eyes. She had never been able to explain exactly what bothered her about Tunde. She simply hadn't trusted the peace of their relationship. "Don't stay out too long." "I won't." Grace walked over and gently adjusted the collar of Amara's blouse, the same way she had done when Amara was a little girl. Then she held her daughter's gaze. "No matter what happens today..." She paused. "Remember who you are." Amara smiled. "I always will." She kissed her mother's cheek and left. She didn't know how much she would need those words before the day was over. Forty minutes later, Amara arrived at one of Port Harcourt's popular restaurants. It wasn't luxurious. It was simply familiar. For three years, it had been one of the places she and Tunde came to eat, talk and imagine the future together. The waiter recognized her immediately. "Good afternoon, madam." "Good afternoon." "Your usual table?" She nodded. "Thank you." Amara sat down. 1:00 p.m. She checked the time again. Tunde was never late. Not before. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then twenty. She sipped her water and stared toward the entrance. At exactly 1:34 p.m., he finally walked in. And Amara immediately noticed that something was different. Designer sunglasses. Expensive shoes. A new watch. A designer belt. Even his cologne was unfamiliar. Tunde had always cared about looking good, but this was different. There was something almost deliberate about the way he carried himself. As though he wanted to be noticed. He approached the table. "You've been waiting long?" Amara looked at him. "You know the answer to that." He shrugged and sat down. "I got busy." Before she could respond, the waiter approached. "Good afternoon, sir." Tunde barely glanced at the menu. "Bring me your most expensive meal." He paused. "And a bottle of imported wine." The waiter nodded and left. Amara watched him quietly. "Since when do you order like that?" Tunde looked at her. "Since I can afford it." The answer was casual. But something about it made her uncomfortable. His phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. A smile immediately appeared on his face. A private smile. The kind Amara had once believed belonged to her. He typed a quick response and placed the phone facedown. "Who was that?" "No one." Too quick. Amara noticed. She said nothing. "Tunde." He sighed. "Amara." "You said you wanted to talk." "I did." "So I'm listening." He leaned back. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then he finally spoke. "I've been thinking." Amara's heartbeat quickened. "I think we've reached different stages in life." She remained silent. "You and I..." He paused. "We want different things." "What things?" "You value emotions." He looked at her. "I value progress." Amara blinked. "I'm not sure I understand." "You've become..." He searched for the right words. "...comfortable with struggling." Her face changed. "What?" "You heard me." "I've worked hard every day." "I know." "Then what exactly are you saying?" Tunde gestured around the restaurant. "Look around." Amara didn't move. "Look at everyone who's successful. They take risks. They build connections. They think bigger." She folded her hands on the table. "And what exactly are you saying?" He looked directly into her eyes. "I'm saying you've become a burden." Silence. For a moment, the restaurant seemed to disappear. A burden? The woman who had stood beside him when he had almost nothing? The woman who had encouraged his dreams? The woman who had sacrificed almost everything she had to save her mother? A burden? Amara swallowed. "So that's how you see me now." Tunde looked away. "I'm just being honest." "No." She shook her head. "Honesty doesn't have to be cruel." Before he could answer, a woman's voice came from behind him. "Tunde!" Amara turned. A tall woman in a fitted white dress and expensive heels approached their table. She looked young, confident and completely at ease. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around Tunde. "I've missed you." Tunde smiled. "I missed you too." Amara stared at them. Her heart didn't shatter loudly. It simply seemed to stop. She looked at the woman. Then at Tunde. Then back at the woman. Slowly, she stood. Her hands trembled. Her voice didn't. "Tunde..." He looked at her. "Who is she?" The woman glanced at Tunde. Tunde's expression changed. "Amara, I can explain." She raised one hand. "Don't." She looked at the woman. "Let her answer." The woman extended her hand. "I'm Vanessa." Amara looked at the hand. She didn't take it. Instead, she looked at Tunde. "How long?" He said nothing. "Tunde." Still nothing. "How long?" He lowered his eyes. And in that silence, Amara got her answer. Three years. Gone. Or perhaps they had been ending long before she knew it. She picked up her handbag. Tunde stood. "Amara." She looked at him one last time. "You should have told me." Then she walked away. Outside, Port Harcourt was exactly as it had been when she arrived. Cars moved through the traffic. Traders called out to customers. People laughed. Life continued. Only hers seemed to have stopped. She stood on the pavement and took a slow breath. Her mother's words came back to her. Remember who you are. Amara closed her eyes. She had no idea what came next. But she knew one thing. She would not beg a man to choose her. Not today. Not ever.