LAGOS LOVE, VILLAGE LIES.

THE MAN WITH THE CALM EYES.

After that night, I couldn’t get the name out of my head.

Lola.

I tried to convince myself it was nothing. Maybe a sister. A cousin. Lagos people get many names connected to them. Still, every time Daniel smiled at me in the office, my chest tightened.

He acted normal — too normal.

He joked with me, helped me with work, and even bought me lunch like nothing had happened. But I noticed the small things now: the way he stepped aside to answer calls, how his smile faded whenever his phone buzzed.

One afternoon, while we were alone in the office, I finally asked.

“Daniel… who is Lola?”

He froze.

Just for a second.

Then he laughed lightly. “Why you ask?”

“I saw her name,” I said. “That night.”

The room went quiet.

Daniel walked closer, his eyes serious. “Amara,” he said slowly, “some things are not as simple as they look.”

My heart raced.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Before he could answer, the office door opened.

A woman walked in — tall, confident, beautiful.

She looked straight at me.

Then she asked,

“Are you Amara?”