Fake Girlfriend
1097 Words
I didn’t sleep much that night. How could I?
The man’s voice kept replaying in my head over and over again.
You were never poor, Olamide.
Each time I closed my eyes, my heart would race. I didn’t know whether to believe it or laugh it off as a cruel joke.
But deep down… I wished it was true.
By morning, I barely had the strength to get out of bed.
My phone was the first thing I reached for. I logged into the school portal with shaking fingers.
The page loaded. Then froze.
I had to has it refreshed again.
And there it was.
Outstanding Balance: $0.00
I stared at the screen.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
I refreshed again.
Still zero.
My breath caught in my throat.
“It’s gone…” I whispered, my hand covering my mouth slowly.
Just like that.
My heart slammed against my chest so hard it hurt. I jumped up from the bed, pacing the small room like a madman.
It wasn’t a prank.
It couldn’t be.
A laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it. My hands were shaking.
I thought of only one person.
Vanessa.
She needed to know. I have to tell her.
Maybe she would regret what she said yesterday. Maybe this would change things. Maybe she could still love me.
I grabbed my bag and rushed out of the apartment, barely saying goodbye to my mother.
All I could think about was finding her.
The campus was buzzing like usual.
Luxury cars lined the parking lot. Expensive perfumes filled the air. Students laughed loudly, careless and proud.
I scanned the area as I walked fast, my heart light for the first time in a long while.
Then I saw her. She was standing near the faculty building.
But she wasn’t alone.
She was with Damien Royce.
Everyone knew Damien.
Son of a Rich arrogant man in the city.
His father owned hotels, oil shares, and half the businesses people worshipped on TV. He was the kind of guy lecturers greeted with respect.
No one dares crosses his part.
I slowed my steps. Something felt wrong about the way they laughed and talked.
I had never seen them together when we dated.
I opened my mouth to call her name—
And then she kissed him.
Not by mistake but deliberately.
She grabbed his collar and locked lips with him like she had been waiting all her life to do it.
My feet stopped moving.
The world stopped spinning.
My heart shattered quietly in my chest.
Students around them cheered and laughed.
“Damn!”
“About time!”
“So she finally dumped the broke guy!”
" That was so hot!"
I couldn’t hear anything else. My eyes felt blurry like I had seen it all wrong.
Damien’s hand rested on her waist like he owned her.
Like I never existed.
My phone slipped from my fingers and hit the ground. Some of the students turned to see me standing like a zombie.
Some of them laughed while others brought out their phones to capture the moment.
Vanessa pulled back from the kiss and laughed.
Then she saw me.
Our eyes met.
For a second, just one second, something flashed in her eyes.
Like she was not bothered.
She leaned closer to Damien and whispered something into his ear.
He smirked and turned to me.
“Well, well,” he said loudly. “And what do you want you dumb s**t!"
Laughter erupted.
I felt my chest tighten.
“Vanessa…” I said hoarsely. “I was looking for you.”
She crossed her arms and tilted her head.
“For what?” she asked coldly.
“I—” I swallowed. “I wanted to tell you something. My fees… I paid them. They’re cleared.”
The laughter grew louder.
Damien laughed the hardest.
“You hear this guy?” he said. “He thinks anyone cares if he owes the damn school or not."
Vanessa scoffed. “Why are you still talking to me, Olamide? Didn’t we end things yesterday?”
“I just thought—”
She cut me off.
“Thought what? That money would suddenly fall from the sky?” she said, rolling her eyes. “Please. You’re embarrassing yourself again.”
My heart sank.
“I didn’t lie,” I said quietly. “You can check.”
Damien stepped forward.
“You think clearing fees makes you something?” he sneered. “People like you should know your place.”
I tried to step back, but two guys appeared behind me.
Damien’s friends. Or should I call them his goons?
Big. Broad. Smiling like this was entertainment.
Someone shoved me.
I stumbled but didn’t fall.
“Look at him shaking,” one of them laughed.
“Still wearing that cheap bag,” another added, pulling at my strap.
“Stop,” I said. “Please.”
That only made them laugh harder.
Damien grabbed my collar and shoved me hard. I fell to the ground eating the dust beneath his feet.
My glasses flew off my face.
“Get up,” he said. “Or is the ground your level?”
A kick landed on my side.
Then another.
Pain exploded through my body.
People gathered around, forming a circle.
Most of them couldn't stop filming. No one stopped them.
Vanessa stood there, watching.
I curled into myself as another kick hit my ribs.
“Say sorry,” Damien said. “Say you’re trash.”
I coughed, tasting blood.
“I… didn’t do anything,” I whispered.
But my words angered him.
The next kick knocked the breath out of me.
“Say it!”
“I’m trash,” I said weakly.
The crowd laughed.
Satisfied, Damien stepped back. “Good,” he said. “Learn.”
They walked away like nothing happened.
The crowd slowly dispersed, disappointed it was over.
I lay there for a long moment, staring at the sky.
My body hurt.
But my heart hurt more.
Someone helped me up eventually. I didn’t even see who.
I picked up my broken glasses and walked away.
Head down.
Humiliated.
By the time I got home, my shirt was torn and my ribs ached with every breath.
My mother saw the look on my face but before she could reach out I was running up the stairs into my room.
I locked the door right behind me, my head shoved between my legs.
That was when my phone rang again.
My hands shook as I answered.
- Writer
