The return of the ex : a cold revenge

The air in the room was suffocating, thick with the scent of a perfume Nida knew all too well. It was Chanel No. 5—the only thing Pat ever wore. In the dream, Nida was walking into the apartment she and Andy had shared in East Legon. She held a box of cupcakes, a surprise for their three-year anniversary. But the silence in the hallway was wrong. It was broken only by a soft, rhythmic sound coming from the bedroom. Nida pushed the door open.There he was. Andy. The man who promised to take her to Australia, his hands tangled in Pat’s hair. Her best friend. Her sister. The cupcakes hit the floor with a dull thud. Andy looked up, his face devoid of guilt, only cold indifference. “You were always too busy with the dead, Nida,” he sneered. “Pat is actually alive.” Nida tried to scream, but her throat was filled with formalin. Nida’s eyes snapped open. She wasn't in East Legon; she was in her small apartment in Accra, the hum of her bedside fan the only sound in the room. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. "Just a dream," she whispered, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead. "It’s been a year. He’s in Australia. He’s gone." At twenty-five, Dr. Nida Maanu didn't have time for nightmares. As a forensic pathologist at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, she dealt with the ultimate reality every day. She was the second of three children, a girl from Ofinso who had fought her way through medical school after losing her father at the tender age of ten. She had learned early that people leave, but the truth remains in the bones. she got dressed and left for work least that is the only place she ever felt safe. That is weird to say a colleagues said anytime she uttered it. An hour later, she was in the morgue, the sterile, cold atmosphere acting as a balm to her frayed nerves. ' Good morning sunshine' chris said as he approached her ' we both know i am no sunshine what do you want ? she groaned " chill i just came to give the reports sent by the lab" "alright please hand it over and leave " she replied. Needa was finishing an autopsy on a "John Doe" the eye witness to a murder case who died all of a sudden . when her mind drifted. She could still see the way Andy had left no explanation, no apology, just a text message from the airport tarmac before he fled to Melbourne. "He didn't even have the courage to say goodbye to my face," she muttered, her scalpel glinting under the harsh LED lights. "Nida, stop looking at your watch! We are here to enjoy," her mother’s voice broke through her thoughts. It was Saturday afternoon, and the Accra Mall was buzzing with the weekend crowd. Nida’s mother had traveled from the Ashanti region to visit her "big doctor" daughter. She looked radiant in her kente-print slit and kaba, her eyes searching the shop windows of the mall. "I’m sorry, Mama. It’s been a long week at Korle Bu," Nida said, forced herself to smile. They walked past the Silverbird Cinema, the smell of buttered popcorn mixing with the expensive scents wafting from the beauty shops. Nida felt a strange prickle on the back of her neck the same feeling she got when a case didn't add up. "Nida? Is that you?" The voice hit her like a physical blow. It was deeper than she remembered, smoothed out by an accent that didn't belong in the dusty heat of Accra. Nida froze. She turned slowly, her mother’s hand tightening on her arm. Standing ten feet away, near the entrance to the food court, was Andy. He looked exactly like he did in her nightmare, yet different. He was wearing a crisp linen shirt and tailored trousers, his skin glowing with the health of someone who spent their days in the Australian sun and their nights in luxury. The "Banker" was back. "Andy," her mother hissed, her voice dripping with the disdain of a woman whose daughter’s heart had been stepped on. "Nida," Andy stepped forward, his eyes roaming over her face with a hunger that made her skin crawl. "I... I didn't think I’d see you so soon. I just got back two days ago." Nida didn't speak. She looked at him the man who had cheated with her best friend and fled the country and felt a sudden, violent wave of nausea. It wasn't just the sight of him. Her stomach cramped, a sharp reminder that she hadn't been herself lately. Andy took another step, his face softening into that look of fake remorse Nida used to fall for. "I came back for you, Nida. I realized I made a huge mistake." Nida felt the weight of her secret the life currently growing inside her from a reckless, one-night rebound three weeks ago. She looked at Andy’s designer watch, then back at his pleading eyes. A cold, clinical plan began to form in her mind. A revenge so perfect, it would require every bit of her medical expertise. "A mistake?" Nida said, her voice as steady as her hand during an autopsy. She leaned in, a small, deceptive smile touching her lips. "Well, Andy... you’re just in time. Because I have some news that concerns you."