EPISODE 19: THE KISS THAT BROKE EVERYTHING
646 Words
My world began to tilt just as Emeka was leaving for Abuja. At the airport, he had bid me farewell with a kiss that remained on my cheek long after he had vanished through the gates. He had stated, "Just three days." "Avoid missing me too much." I had grinned, but there was a weird pang in my chest when he went. Perhaps it was his hesitation when I enquired as to whether Ifunanya would be present at the same business meeting. Perhaps I was overanalysing everything, or perhaps it was the glint of remorse in his eyes.
I didn't intend to see Chike during Emeka's absence. However, he contacted that night to say he was in the area and wanted to deliver some design ideas for a new project he was allegedly consulting on. I said yes against my better judgement. He showed up with his typical easy charm and a bottle of wine. We'll keep things informal, I told myself. secure. However, the tension between us grew like fog as the evening went on. He leaned in and spoke in a low, syrupy voice as we were halfway through the bottle. "Why do you keep holding back, Amaka?"
I laughed nervously, standing up to clear our glasses. “Because I have a man, Chike.”
“You have a man who left you behind. Again,” he said, rising to meet me. “And you have a heart that’s still unsure of where it belongs. Or am I wrong?”
Before I could respond, he stepped closer—too close—and cupped my face in his hands. “Tell me you haven’t thought about it. About us.”
The words evaporated on my tongue as I opened my mouth to speak. He kissed me. And I didn't stop him for a single, fleeting moment. I didn't return his kiss. Not at all. However, I didn't retreat either. I was too shocked. Too irate. Too perplexed. Then... "Amaka?" Like a razor, the sound of Emeka's words cut through the space. With my heart racing, I turned slowly. His brows were raised in shock as he stood there with his suitcase still in hand. As the weight of what he had come into settled between us, his eyes darted from Chike to me and back again.
"I returned early," he remarked in a tight, quiet voice. "I wanted to take you by surprise." Nobody made a move. Nobody breathed. My voice was shaking when I finally said, "Emeka, it's not what it looks like." "Oh?" he asked with a sour laugh. "Because it appears exactly as it does from this angle." At that time, Chike dared to speak. "Perhaps she wouldn't be wondering what's real if you didn't keep running away."
Emeka snarled and moved forward, saying, "Shut up." "You believe you can simply go in and destroy everything we've accomplished? Do you believe I don't see right through you? Then perhaps you need to have been here," Chike retorted. "Perhaps she needed someone who stayed." "Enough!" The air crackled with confusion and anger as I yelled. "You two—stop." However, the harm was already done. After dropping his luggage, Emeka gave me a look that I had never seen in him before: a genuine look of hurt. The kind that simply breaks without yelling or swearing. He turned and left the room without saying another word. I simply stood there. Feeling ashamed. Perplexed. Angry—with me, with Chike, with everything.
Then my phone buzzed. A message. From Ifunanya.
“I told you men like him don’t stay loyal. But I’m not the enemy, Amaka. You’ve always had more to lose than me.”
My knees nearly buckled.
They were working together.
Ifunanya and Chike.
The kiss. The tension. The setup.
It was all a trap.
And I had walked straight into it.
- Writer
