Chapter Seven: Mirrors
1109 Words
Vanessa stopped going to clubs after Adrian disappeared.
At first, it wasn’t a decision.
It simply happened.
The thought of loud music now made her chest ache strangely. Every rooftop reminded her of him. Every late-night drive through Lagos felt haunted by memories she could not escape.
So she stayed home.
And somehow, home felt worse.
By day, she returned to being the version of herself everyone loved.
Pastor Daniel’s graceful daughter.
The quiet church girl.
The intelligent student.
The obedient young woman with soft smiles and modest dresses.
But now, every compliment felt heavy.
Every “You’re such a good girl” made guilt crawl deeper beneath her skin.
Because nobody knew the truth.
Nobody knew how broken she really was.
Sunday morning arrived with rainclouds hanging low over Lagos. Vanessa sat in the choir section beside her mother while the congregation sang worship songs softly.
Her father preached passionately from the altar.
“God cannot heal the version of you that you pretend to be,” Pastor Daniel declared.
Vanessa’s breath caught instantly.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of her Bible.
“The greatest prisons,” he continued, “are the ones people build with secrets.”
Something inside her twisted painfully.
She suddenly felt trapped beneath everyone’s expectations.
The church members smiling at her.
The choir girls admiring her.
Her mother proudly introducing her to visitors.
If they knew the truth…
Would they still look at her kindly?
Or would they see something ruined?
After service ended, several women stopped her outside the church.
“Vanessa, you looked beautiful today.”
“You’re such a blessing to your parents.”
“One day you’ll make an excellent pastor’s wife.”
Vanessa smiled politely through every compliment while something inside her quietly crumbled.
Because none of them truly knew her.
Not the real her.
Not the girl who wore tight dresses under neon lights.
Not the girl who lied effortlessly.
Not the girl who still replayed Adrian’s kisses in the middle of sleepless nights.
That evening, Vanessa locked herself inside her room and sat on the floor before the mirror.
For a long moment, she simply stared at herself.
Bare face.
Tired eyes.
Silence.
Then slowly, she reached beneath her bed and pulled out the hidden box again.
The box that held “Nessa.”
Dark lipstick.
Short dresses.
Perfume.
Her second phone.
Vanessa touched the phone carefully.
Still no messages.
Still nothing from Adrian.
The silence hurt differently now.
At first she thought she missed him.
Now she realized something worse:
Without Adrian, both versions of herself felt empty.
Church Vanessa felt fake.
Nessa felt lonely.
And somewhere in between those two identities…
the real Vanessa was disappearing completely.
Tears burned suddenly behind her eyes.
“What’s wrong with me?” she whispered to her reflection.
But mirrors never answered honestly.
Her phone buzzed downstairs suddenly.
A call from Tara.
Vanessa ignored it.
Seconds later, another call came.
Then another.
Annoyed, Vanessa finally answered.
“What?”
“Okay, first of all,” Tara snapped, “your attitude is terrible.”
Vanessa rubbed her forehead tiredly. “Sorry.”
Silence lingered briefly before Tami’s voice softened.
“You’re still thinking about him.”
Vanessa laughed weakly. “Thinking about him? Tami, I feel insane.”
“You loved him.”
The words landed heavily.
Vanessa closed her eyes immediately.
“No,” she whispered.
“Yes,” Tara replied gently. “You did.”
Vanessa hated hearing it out loud because it made everything more real.
She had spent years avoiding emotional attachment. Attraction was easy. Attention was temporary. Desire disappeared eventually.
Love was different.
Love stayed.
Even after the person left.
“Come out with me tonight,” Tara said carefully. “You need distraction.”
“No.”
“Vanessa”
“I said no.”
Silence.
Then Tara sighed softly. “You can’t keep hiding in your room forever.”
But Vanessa already knew that.
Because isolation was beginning to change her.
Some nights she stared at Adrian’s old messages until sunrise.
Some mornings she woke up feeling angry for reasons she couldn’t explain.
And sometimes the worst moments she wondered if Adrian disappeared because he finally saw the real her and decided she wasn’t worth staying for.
That thought poisoned everything.
Three days later, Vanessa stood inside a luxury clothing store with her mother.
Her mother held up a soft blue gown approvingly.
“This would look lovely on you for next Sunday.”
Vanessa nodded absentmindedly.
Nearby, two university girls whispered excitedly while scrolling through social media.
“Did you hear about that girl from Eclipse Lounge?”
“The one with the pastor father?”
“Apparently somebody leaked pictures.”
Vanessa froze instantly.
Her heartbeat slammed violently against her ribs.
“What pictures?” the other girl asked.
“They said she sneaks into clubs pretending to be somebody else.”
Vanessa’s stomach dropped.
Cold panic spread through her body so quickly she almost felt dizzy.
Her mother glanced toward her. “Vanessa?”
She forced herself to breathe normally.
“I need air.”
Without waiting for permission, Vanessa walked quickly toward the restroom at the back of the building.
The second she locked herself inside, her shaking hands grabbed her second phone.
Notifications exploded across the screen.
Tara: Call me now.
Tara: Vanessa please answer.
Tara: Someone posted pictures from the lounge.
Her vision blurred instantly.
Vanessa opened social media with trembling fingers.
And there she was.
“Nessa.”
Pictures from the underground club.
Pictures of her dancing.
Laughing.
Wearing clothes her church family would never forgive.
Comments flooded beneath the photos.
Pastor’s daughter???
Fake holy girl.
These church girls are all the same.
Vanessa’s breathing became uneven.
Her worst nightmare was no longer a possibility.
It was happening.
Right now.
Tears burned her eyes as humiliation crashed over her in violent waves.
Everything she spent years hiding was unraveling publicly.
And suddenly Adrian’s disappearance hurt differently.
Because now she understood something terrifying:
Maybe he didn’t leave because he stopped loving her.
Maybe he left because he knew this scandal was coming.
A knock sounded outside the restroom.
“Vanessa?” her mother’s voice.
Fear shot through her instantly.
She wiped her eyes quickly.
“Yes?”
“Are you alright?”
Vanessa stared at herself in the mirror again.
Only now, she barely recognized the girl staring back.
Not church Vanessa.
Not Nessa.
Just someone exhausted from pretending.
Her mother knocked again gently.
And for the first time in her life…
Vanessa didn’t know which version of herself was about to open the door.
- Writer
