Forbidden Love-Chapter five
1117 Words
Written by Kome Tracy
The sea was a restless creature that night—breathing, growling, whispering secrets to the wind. I stood at the edge of the old pier, my fingers curled around the cold, rusted railing as waves slapped against the wooden pillars below. The air smelled of salt, damp wood, and something heavier… something like a warning.
I had come here seeking a moment of stillness, but memories followed me like shadows that refused to let go.
Memories of Arinze.
His voice.
His laughter.
His promises whispered in the quiet hours.
The way his eyes softened when he looked at me, as if I was the only unbroken thing left in his world.
But now, everything was broken.
Our families had given an ultimatum—one that tore through my chest every time I tried to breathe. Their feud had always hovered like a storm cloud over us, but now lightning had struck. What had started as an old resentment had erupted into open threats. Lines had been drawn. Sides chosen. Peace shattered.
And I was at the center of it.
My choice would determine the fate of two households…and possibly the future of the man I loved.
I pressed my palms against my face, fighting the swell of fear rising within me. I didn’t know how much time I had before someone came searching—either to drag me home or drag Arinze into danger.
Then—
“Kome.”
The voice cut through the darkness, soft but unmistakably urgent.
I froze.
Footsteps approached—slow, careful—then he emerged from the shadows like a dream daring to become real. The moonlight brushed his skin, outlining the hard lines of his jaw, the tension in his shoulders, the vulnerability in his eyes he tried so hard to hide.
Arinze.
Seeing him felt like oxygen hitting starving lungs.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I whispered, though every part of me wanted to run into his arms.
He stopped just a breath away. “And leave you alone with all this?” His voice was rough, tired, desperate. “I couldn’t.”
His presence alone was enough to unravel me. I had been trying to be strong—trying to be rational—but the moment I saw him, my heart betrayed every plan I had made.
He reached out but didn’t touch me yet—he always waited for permission, even when everything in him burned to hold me. “Talk to me, Kome. Please.”
“My family met with yours today,” I said quietly.
He inhaled sharply. “I know.”
“They want us to end things.” The words stung more than I expected. “Not tomorrow. Not next week. Now.”
His jaw tightened. “Of course they do.”
“And yours… they’re saying the same.” My voice cracked. “They think we’re a threat. That we’re careless. That we’re tearing at old wounds.”
His eyes softened. “Kome.”
“They want us to choose.” I swallowed hard. “Them or each other.”
For a moment, he said nothing. The silence stretched, taut and painful, filled only by the roar of the waves and the pounding of my heart.
Finally, he stepped even closer. “Then tell me. What do you want? Not them. You.”
My breath trembled. “I want you.”
The confession felt like stepping off a cliff.
Arinze cupped my face at last, his thumbs brushing away tears I hadn’t even felt fall. “Then come with me. Tonight. Let’s just go. Anywhere. Away from all this.”
“Arinze—”
“I’m serious.” His voice shook. “I can’t watch them tear you apart. I can’t stand by while they use us like bargaining chips. We can build a life somewhere else. We can be free.”
For a moment I saw it—the life we could have. Waking up beside him without fear, without judgment. Walking streets where no one knew our names. Laughing without looking over our shoulders. Loving without hiding.
It was beautiful.
Dangerously beautiful.
But beauty alone couldn’t stop bullets or vendettas or generations of bitterness.
“If we run,” I whispered, “the war between our families won’t end. It will get worse.”
He froze.
“I don’t want blood spilled because of me,” I said. “Because of us.”
Arinze’s expression cracked, raw pain flooding his features. “So this is goodbye?”
Hearing him say it felt like something inside me splintered.
“No,” I said softly. “This is me refusing to give up on us.”
He frowned. “Kome, what are you saying?”
“I’m not running away,” I said firmly. “But I’m not walking away from you either. We face them. Both families. We make them understand. We fight—not with anger, not with rebellion—but with truth. With presence. With courage.”
A long silence followed.
Then slowly—so slowly—his shoulders eased. His breath steadied. Hope flickered in his eyes like a candle finally finding air.
“You really believe they can change?” he whispered.
I hesitated.
“No,” I admitted honestly. “Not easily. Not quickly. But love that hides never wins. Love that runs never lasts. If we want a future, we have to stand in the middle of the storm and refuse to move.”
Arinze let out a shaky laugh. “You always have been braver than me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is,” he said, stepping close enough that our foreheads almost touched. “You’re choosing the hardest path. The dangerous one.”
“I’m choosing our path,” I corrected softly.
He reached for my hand. This time, I didn’t hesitate. My fingers slid between his, fitting in a way that felt predestined.
“Then whatever comes next,” he murmured, “we face it together?”
“Together,” I vowed.
Above us, the clouds parted just enough for the moon to spill its light over the pier. The ocean calmed slightly, the waves softening as if offering its own blessing.
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring.
I didn’t know who would stand with us or against us.
I didn’t know whether love would be enough to rewrite a story carved in hatred.
But I knew this:
We were no longer running.
We were no longer hiding.
We were no longer afraid to claim what was ours.
This was our stand.
Our beginning.
Our forbidden love—fought for, chosen, and fiercely held
- Writer
