THE EBSU BILLIONAIRE'S DEBT

Amara Nwosu stared at the pink slip in her hand and felt her world collapse. "Final Notice," the bursar had written in bold red letters. "Pay N250,000 before Friday or forfeit your admission." Today was Wednesday. Amara was a 400-level Chemical Engineering student in Ebonyi State University, EBSU. She was the first person in her village to ever enter university. Her mother sold akara at Presco Junction to pay her fees, but business had been bad since her father died. She walked out of the admin block, tears blinding her, carrying a small bucket of leftover palm oil her mother asked her to deliver to her aunt in town. She wasn't looking where she was going. At that same moment, a white Mercedes Benz GLE, 2025 model, worth over N150 million, was parked perfectly in front of the Engineering faculty. No student could afford to park there. Only one man could. Jidenna Okoro. Twenty-eight years old. Cold billionaire heir of Okoro Oil & Gas. EBSU's biggest donor. Every girl in EBSU wanted him, but he wanted no one. He was famous for two things: his wickedly handsome face, and his heart of stone. Jidenna stepped out of his car to take a call, wearing a spotless white designer shirt. Amara, crying and distracted, tripped on a stone. The entire bucket of thick, red, oily palm oil flew from her hands. Time slowed. SPLASH. The oil poured directly, completely, perfectly over Jidenna's white shirt, his white Benz, his designer shoes. Silence fell. The whole faculty went quiet. Students brought out phones. Jidenna looked down at his ruined N500,000 shirt. Then he looked at Amara. "Are you mad?" his voice was low, dangerous, ice-cold. Amara shook violently. "I... I'm sorry! I'm sorry, sir! I didn't see—" "Do you know how much this shirt costs? More than your school fees for four years!" Tears rushed down Amara's face. "Please, I will wash it! Please!" Jidenna was about to call his security when his phone rang. His mother. "Jidenna, where are you? The board members are waiting. Your grandfather said if you don't come to this gala with a girlfriend, he will remove you as heir." Jidenna's jaw tightened. His ex, Chioma, had just dumped him publicly. His mother wanted a respectable Igbo girl to present. He looked at the shaking girl in front of him, in her faded green gown and old backpack filled with books. An idea, crazy and brilliant, formed in his mind. He ended the call and stared at Amara. "What's your name?" "Amara... Amara Nwosu." "You owe me for this shirt. And for the car wash." "I don't have money—" she whispered. "Good. Because I don't want money. I want you." Amara stepped back in fear. Jidenna brought out a handkerchief, wiped oil off his watch, a gold Rolex, and said words that would change her life forever: "I will pay your N250,000 school fees. In full. Today." Amara's eyes widened. "What?" "In return, you will be my fake girlfriend for 3 months. You will follow me to events, smile, hold my hand, and make my family believe I am in a serious relationship. After 3 months, we break up and never see each other again." Amara thought he was mad. "Fake girlfriend?" "Rule number one," Jidenna leaned closer, his expensive perfume mixing with the smell of palm oil, "Don't fall in love with me. Because I will never fall in love with you." It was an insult. It was an offer she could not refuse. If she said no, she would lose her admission on Friday. Four years of suffering would be wasted. If she said yes, she would be tied to the coldest billionaire in Ebonyi State. Amara wiped her tears, looked at the ruined white Benz, and looked at her final notice. "Okay," she whispered. "I will do it." Jidenna smiled for the first time, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Good girl. Now, let's go pay your debt. My driver will take you to get cleaned up. You smell like palm oil." And just like that, Amara Nwosu, the broke EBSU student, became the fake girlfriend of Jidenna Okoro, the EBSU billionaire. She didn't know that his mother would try to destroy her. She didn't know his ex would return. She didn't know that she would break rule number one and fall hopelessly in love with him. But her story had just begun.