Drowning In His Lies

Chapter 4: The Hotel Room

8:00pm. Transcorp Hilton. Room 412.

I stand in front of the mirror in the bathroom. Black dress. Short. Tight. Same style as the red dress I wore that night one year ago. But this one is designer. My hair is sleek. My makeup is perfect. My perfume is expensive.

I am not Mimi anymore. I am M. C. Jones.

Knock knock.

I open the door.

Jaden is there with two glasses of wine and that same smile. "You came. I thought CEOs don't do hotel meetings."

"We do," I say, letting him in. "When the deal is 200 million."

He closes the door. He locks it. Click.

My heart beats fast, but not from fear. From anger.

"You look... stunning," he says, giving me a glass. His eyes move down my body. "Honestly, Ms. Jones, from the moment I saw you today, I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Same words. He told me the same thing at the pool club. Word for word.

I take the wine but I don't drink. I drop it on the table.

"Mr. Cole," I say, walking closer to him. "Do you remember a girl called Mimi? Dark skin. Small girl from Port Harcourt. You met her at a pool club last year. You promised her a modelling job in Lagos. You promised her love."

His smile fades small small. "Mimi? I... I meet a lot of people..."

"She wore a red dress," I continue, my voice shaking now. "You took her to a hotel just like this. You told her to wait for you. And then you sent two of your friends inside instead. And you recorded it. And you posted it."

His face changes completely. White. Like he has seen a ghost.

"How do you... how do you know that?" he whispers.

I step closer. So close I can smell his fear.

"Because," I say, tears finally coming out but my eyes still burning, "I AM MIMI."

Silence.

The wine glass in his hand falls. Shatters. Red wine everywhere, like blood.

"Mimi? No... no, that's impossible. You... you disappeared. We... we looked for you. I..."

"You looked for me?" I laugh, but the laugh is painful. "You ruined me, Jaden! My family disowned me! My school expelled me! I tried to kill myself!"

He tries to touch me. "Mimi, please, let me explain. It was a mistake. It was my friends. I was drunk. I..."

I slap him. Hard. So hard my hand burns.

"Don't touch me!" I scream. "You don't get to explain!"

He holds his cheek. He is shocked. The great Jaden Cole has never been slapped by a woman.

Then I do something he doesn't expect.

I bring out my phone. I press play.

His voice fills the room. A voice recording from that night one year ago.

*"...that small girl Mimi? She thinks I love her. Omo, I go use her and dump her. Record everything for me..."*

His eyes widen. "Where did you get that?!"

"I have everything, Jaden," I say quietly. "Every video. Every chat. Every lie. And tomorrow, if you don't sign that 200 million contract with MY company and give me 50% of Cole Energy, I will post everything on i********:. I will tag your father. Your investors. Your new fiancee."

I walk to the door. I unlock it.

"Goodnight, Mr. Cole. See you in the boardroom tomorrow. Don't be late."

I walk out, leaving him standing there in the middle of shattered glass and his broken lies.

One year ago, he left me drowning.

Tonight, I finally let him feel what drowning tastes like.