Just for you

Chapter eleven

Jonathan’s pov

The engine roared as I slammed my foot onto the gas, the headlights cutting through the dark London streets like twin blades. My grip on the steering wheel was so tight my knuckles turned white.

It wasn’t only the call .

Joanna’s screams echoed in my ears, mixing with the sickening realization that my best friend—the man I trusted like a brother—had lied straight to my face.

Ten minutes later, I screeched onto Favour’s driveway, the tires grinding against the loose gravel before I slammed the car into park right in front of his door. I didn't even cut the engine completely before throwing my door open and stepping into the crisp night air.

Inside the house, the living room blinds were half-drawn, throwing warm light across the front lawn. Favour had been standing near the window, a glass in his hand, but the second my headlights hit the glass, his eyes snapped toward the driveway.

Before I could even reach the front porch, the front door burst open.

Favour stepped out onto the threshold, his posture rigid, his face pale under the entryway light. He didn't wait for me to take another step.

"Nathan, go home!" Favour shouted, his voice tight, defensive, and laced with a frantic edge that instantly confirmed my worst fears. "Didn't you hear me on the phone?! I told you I don't want to talk about this! It’s over, man! Leave it alone!"

"A mistake?!" I echoed, taking another heavy step up the porch, my boots thudding hard against the wood. "I thought you were going to settle things between you two! You swore to me you were just going to clear the air! Now my sister is running into the street crying her eyes out, screaming that it wasn't just a phone call!"

Favour flinched, leaning back toward the doorframe as if trying to shrink away from my voice. His knuckles were white around the glass in his hand, his shoulders trembling slightly under his sweater.

"Nathan, please..." Favour choked out, his voice dropping into a desperate, fractured whisper. "It was a mistake, man. Everything... everything that happened was a complete mistake. I was out of line, okay? I screwed up, but it's done now. Just let it go."

I stared up at him, my fists clenched at my sides, ready to grab his collar and rip the full truth out of him. But as the amber light from the porch caught his face, the anger in my chest suddenly wavered.

Favour wasn't just panicked—he was breaking. Underneath the defensive posture, a quiet, devastating sadness washed over his features. His jaw trembled, and his eyes glistened under the dim light, holding back tears. He was drowning in his own regret.

"Favour..." I murmured, my tone shifting from pure rage to a heavy, sickening disbelief. "What did you do?"

Favour lowered his head, his hands coming up to cover his face as a ragged, violent sob tore from his throat. The proud, guarded facade he had worn for weeks crumbled completely.

"It was right after I found out about Maya," Favour choked out, his voice cracking into pieces. "When... when she was caught up with her ex. I couldn't breathe, Nathan. I felt like my whole life was a joke. I flew to Nigeria just to clear my head... but I was so broken, so lost, that I ended up calling Joanna."

I felt the blood drain from my face, my breath catching in my throat as he took a shuddering breath.

"We met up," Favour whispered, tears streaming freely down his face now. "And... I had s*x with Joanna, Nathan. I had s*x with your sister."

The world went deathly quiet. Every memory of my sister crying, every lie Favour had told me, every ounce of trust I had placed in my best friend shattered instantly.

Before my brain could even process the rage, my body moved. I lunged forward, pulled back my right fist, and drove it straight into Favour’s jaw.

The crack of knuckles against bone echoed through the night. Favour staggered backward, his head snapping to the side as he crashed hard against the wooden doorframe, blood blooming across his lip.

"You bastard!" I roared, stepping over him with my fist coiled to strike again.

"Nathan, stop!" a voice shrieked.

The front door slammed wide open, and Maya stood on the threshold, her hands pressed against her mouth, her eyes wide with total horror.

I lowered my fist, my chest heaving as my eyes shifted from Favour on the ground to Maya standing in the doorway. She wasn't crying. She wasn't surprised. A cold, sickening realization settled over me. She knew. Maya knew about Nigeria all along. Their entire marriage was a quiet war zone of mutual betrayal, and my sister had been dragged right into the center of it.

"You disgust me," I said, my voice dropping into a cold, lethal quiet. "My sister was just a casualty in your twisted games. A fool caught up in a lover's spat."

I took a step back, staring down at Favour as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

"We're done, Favour," I said, my voice tight. "Don't ever call me. Don't ever come near my family again. We are completely done being best friends."

I turned my back on both of them and drove straight back home, my head pounding with a heavy, suffocating rage.

Joanna’s pov

The cold wind bit at my face as I walked back toward the house, my feet dragging heavily against the pavement. My chest still burned from screaming at Nathan. I had run away like a coward, but there was nowhere else to go.

I pushed the front door open, stepping quietly into the silent hallway. I just wanted to get back upstairs and crawl under my duvet. I had barely reached the bottom of the staircase when a heavy bang rattled against the front door.

The door swung open violently, and Nathan stepped inside, looking like a man haunted by a ghost. His chest was heaving, and his right hand was flushed red and trembling at his side. I ran down the remaining steps to ask where he had been.

"Nathan?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "Where... where did you go?"

Nathan crossed the hallway in two heavy strides, stopping right in front of me, staring down into my face with an agonizing clarity.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded, his voice dropping into a low, shattered whisper. "Why didn't you tell me you two had s*x, Joanna?"

I stepped back against the banister, my hands shaking as fresh tears spilled over my cheeks.

"It wasn't just some mistake, Nathan!" I cried, my voice breaking into a desperate sob. "It was out of love! Everything that happened... the sex... it was because we love each other! He still loves me!"

Nathan stood completely still, watching me with a look of profound, unbearable pity.

"Joanna..." Nathan whispered, his voice cracking. "I heard it directly from Favour's mouth. I just came from his house. Favour didn't sleep with you because he loves you. He flew to Nigeria because Maya cheated on him with her ex. He was broken, he was angry, and he was getting back at his wife. He used you."

A sharp, bitter laugh tore out of my throat before I could stop it. I shook my head violently, backing away from him.

"No," I gasped, my voice rising in wild denial. "No! You're lying! You're just saying that because you hate him! Favour loves me, Nathan! He loves me!"

I shoved past him, scrambling up the stairs so fast my knees hit the steps. I reached my room, slammed the door shut, and turned the lock with a frantic click.

My breathing came in short, ragged gasps as I fumbled through my bag, my trembling fingers wrapping around my phone. I tapped Favour’s contact and jammed the phone against my ear, praying, begging, needing to hear his voice to refute Nathan's words.

The number you’ve just dialed is currently unreachable at the moment. Please try again later. Thank you …

A guttural, choked scream of pure frustration tore from my throat. I slammed the phone face-down onto the duvet, burying my face in my hands as heavy sobs racked my whole body.

A soft, hesitant knock sounded at the door before the lock clicked, and the door opened slowly. Melody stepped inside, taking in the sight of me shattered on the bed. She didn't offer any cheap words. She simply walked quietly across the floor, sat down beside me, and pulled me directly into a tight, unyielding hug.

I buried my face into her shoulder, clutching her sweater as I wept uncontrollably, wrapped in her embrace while my whole world burned down around me.