Chapter 14
247 Words
I Like Myself More
That night, she lay in bed with three thousand naira under her pillow and David’s face in her head. She felt cheap. She felt angry. She felt like a girl who kept making the same choice because poverty didn’t give her better ones.
And she hated that David might never know how close she’d come to walking away from him entirely.
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Back in the room, Daniel was waiting.
“So?” he said.
“So nothing,” David said, dropping onto the bed. “She said no.”
Daniel sat down beside him. “And?”
“And I don’t get it,” David said. “ What more does she want?”
“She wants to feel safe,” Daniel said. “You tried to touch her five minutes after she visits for the very first time. That’s not how it works, David.”
David stared at the ceiling. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know,” Daniel said. “But she doesn’t know that. You’re a stranger with a nice house and a fast hand. She’s not stupid.”
David didn’t answer.
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On her bed, Chandeline felt her phone buzz. Queen had replied:
Got it. Stay safe. If he tries anything, I’m coming with pepper spray.
Chandeline smiled for the first time that night.
She liked David. She really did. But she liked herself more.
And she wasn’t going to let attraction make her forget that.
- Writer
