Chapter 3
1146 Words
“Stairs up.” Elias stared at Vera, his heart racing.
The room was silent except for his breathing.
He didn’t know what to say next.
The words left my mouth before I could think.
Elias exhaled. Like he’d been holding his breath.
He took my hand. No asking this time.
We ran up.
“Elias!” Vera’s voice echoed behind us. Angry now.
He didn’t slow down. He pulled me faster.
We burst onto the roof. Cold air hit my face.
He shut the door behind us. Locked it.
“Why?” I asked. Panting. “Why bring me up here?”
“Because down there, she wins,” he said.
The Lagos skyline was behind him. Dark.
“Vera can’t touch you here,” he said. “Not right now.”
I stepped closer. “And you can?”
He stopped.
“Is that what you want?” His voice dropped.
I didn’t answer.
He lifted his hand. Brushed my hair back.
“You chose me,” he said. “In front of her.”
My heart was loud. “I know.”
“Then stop pretending this is about protection.”
“What is it about then?”
His thumb grazed my cheek.
“About me not being able to let you go.”
The door rattled.
“Elias! Open this door!” Vera screamed.
He didn’t move. His eyes stayed on mine.
“Answer me first,” he said. “Do you want me to let go?”
I looked at the door. Then at him.
“No,” I whispered.
He smiled. Small. Real.
The door rattled again. Harder.
The door shook.
“Elias, I swear to God!” Vera yelled.
He didn’t look away from me.
“You said no,” he said. “Say it again.”
“No,” I said.
He closed the space between us.
His hand went to my waist. The other to my face.
“Then don’t run,” he said.
And he kissed me.
It wasn’t soft. It was everything he’d been holding back.
Desperate. Angry. Claiming.
I gasped into it. My hands grabbed his shirt.
The door kicked.
“Open it!”
We broke apart. Breathing hard.
Elias pressed his forehead to mine. “Again.”
“What?”
“Again,” he said. Louder. For her to hear.
He kissed me again. Right in front of the door.
Vera went silent.
Then... footsteps. Running away.
Elias pulled back first. His eyes were dark.
“She heard,” he said.
My lips were shaking. “Good.”
He stared at me. “You have no idea what you just started.”
“Then tell me.”
The roof was quiet. Only wind.
He touched my lips with his thumb.
“War,” he said.
TO BE CONTINUED...My chest was burning. I tried to push him away, but my hands didn’t listen.
Vera’s voice was still echoing in the hallway, but I couldn’t hear her anymore.
All I could hear was Elias. His breath. His name on my lips.
“No,” I whispered. But it came out wrong. It sounded like “Stay.”
He heard it too. His grip tightened. “Say it again,” he demanded.
I didn’t. I couldn’t. Because if I did, there was no going back.
We got to his car.
Lagos traffic. Horns. Heat. Sweat.
Elias let go of my hand at the door.
“Are you sure?” I asked. My voice was small.
“About what?” He didn’t look at me.
“Me. Over the company. Over everything.”
He looked at me then.
“Yes,” he said.
“Why?” I asked. “I’m nobody. Vera is your fiancé. She’s money. Power.”
“Because you’re real,” he said. “Vera is business. She’s strategy. You’re… you. Messy. Scared. Honest.”
My chest hurt.
“I could ruin you,” I said.
“You already did,” he said. He smiled. Small. Tired. “And I don’t care.”
He started the car. The engine was loud.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Anywhere but that boardroom,” he said.
My phone buzzed in my bag.
Vera.
A text.
“You think you won? This is just the start. I’ll take him back.”
I showed Elias. My hands were shaking.
“Let her try,” he said.
He reached over. Held my hand again. His palm was warm.
“Vera wants control,” he said. “I want peace.”
“And I’m peace?”
“You’re chaos,” he said. “But my chaos.”
And we drove off into Lagos traffic.
The city was loud.
But for once, my mind was quiet.
TO BE CONTINUED...
My heart was hammering so loud I thought he’d hear it.
Elias stood in front of me, close enough that I could feel his anger.
But it wasn’t just anger. It was something else. Something scared.
“Choose,” he said, his voice low. “Him, or me.”
Vera was watching from the stairs. Everyone was waiting.
I looked at him. Really looked. And for the first time, I wasn’t afraid.
“I choose…”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Choose,” Elias repeated, and my whole world tilted.
Vera’s eyes were on me. The whole office was quiet. You could hear the AC humming against the silence.
I stepped forward. My voice didn’t shake. It was steady. Stronger than I felt.
“I choose you, Elias.”
His jaw clenched. For a second he looked relieved. For a second, he looked scared.
Like he didn’t expect me to actually say it out loud.
“Then come with me. Now.”
He grabbed my hand. His palm was warm. It was real. Not a dream I’d wake up from.
Vera gasped behind us. Someone dropped a pen. It rolled across the floor.
I didn’t look back. Not at my desk. Not at the file box with my name on it. Not at my old life.
For the first time since I was fired, I walked out with my head high.
The elevator doors closed. Just me and him. Trapped in small space with his scent.
“What happens now?” I whispered. My heart was in my throat.
He looked at me. Really looked. Like he was seeing me for the first time.
The elevator dinged. Floor B2. Parking.
The doors slid open to an empty, cold garage. Elias didn’t let go of my hand.
He pulled me out fast, like we were being chased. Maybe we were.
“Elias, wait,” I said, stopping. My heels clicked on concrete.
“Where are we going? You can’t just—”
He turned to me. The garage lights made shadows on his face.
“I can,” he said quietly.
- Writer
