Watching From a Distance
752 Words
After that night outside Kenneth’s apartment, something changed between them.
Not reconciliation.
Not closure.
Something more dangerous.
Hope.
Bertha began living carefully around that hope.
She stopped calling repeatedly.
Stopped sending emotional paragraphs.
Stopped forcing conversations.
For the first time since the breakup, she chose patience instead of panic.
But emotionally?
She was still attached to Kenneth in ways she couldn’t control.
Every morning, she checked his social media quietly.
Every new photo made her pause longer than it should.
When he posted business updates, she smiled proudly.
When women commented beneath his pictures, jealousy burned through her chest instantly.
And when he looked happy…
she strangely felt both relieved and hurt at the same time.
Because part of her wanted him healed.
But another part feared healing might mean forgetting her.
Meanwhile, Kenneth’s life was improving rapidly.
The business that nearly collapsed months ago was finally stabilizing.
New contracts arrived.
Partnerships expanded.
Money started flowing consistently again.
For the first time in a long while, Kenneth could breathe without pressure choking him daily.
His friends noticed the difference immediately.
“You’re finally coming back to life,” his closest friend Tunde told him one afternoon.
Kenneth laughed faintly.
“Trying to.”
But even success couldn’t completely silence certain emotions.
Especially at night.
Because despite all the progress…
Bertha still lived inside his mind.
Sometimes through memories.
Sometimes through anger.
Sometimes through longing he refused to admit aloud.
One evening, Kenneth attended a high-end networking event at a luxury hotel in Lagos.
The atmosphere was elegant ,live music, expensive perfume, flashing cameras, businessmen laughing over champagne.
Kenneth looked sharp in a black tailored suit, carrying himself with a calm confidence Bertha had never seen this fully before.
People respected him now.
Success had started changing how the world looked at him.
And unknowingly…
Bertha was there too.
She had attended with a friend connected to the fashion industry.
The moment she entered the hall and saw Kenneth across the room…
her heartbeat completely lost rhythm.
He looked different.
More mature.
More composed.
More distant.
And somehow even more attractive than before.
Bertha couldn’t stop staring.
Kenneth eventually noticed her too.
Their eyes met across the crowded room.
And suddenly, everything around them faded into background noise.
No music.
No conversations.
No crowd.
Just history standing face to face again.
Bertha looked away first.
Not because she wanted to.
But because the intensity in Kenneth’s eyes still affected her too deeply.
A few minutes later, Kenneth approached calmly.
“You look good,” he said politely.
Bertha forced a soft smile.
“So do you.”
The tension between them felt immediate.
Familiar.
Dangerous.
For a moment, neither of them knew how to behave anymore.
Former lovers forced into polite distance.
People who once knew every inch of each other now speaking like strangers.
It felt unnatural.
Painfully unnatural.
“How have you been?” Kenneth finally asked.
Bertha nodded lightly.
“I’m okay.”
He studied her face carefully.
She looked okay.
But her eyes didn’t.
And Kenneth still knew how to read her better than anybody else.
“You still overthink when you’re nervous,” he said quietly.
Bertha blinked in surprise.
“You noticed?”
Kenneth almost smiled.
“I notice everything about you.”
That sentence changed the air immediately.
The emotional wall between them cracked slightly.
And both of them felt it.
Before either could speak again, a woman suddenly approached Kenneth confidently.
Beautiful. Elegant. Clearly interested.
“Kenneth, they’re waiting for you upstairs.”
Bertha’s stomach tightened instantly.
Kenneth nodded politely at the woman before turning back to Bertha.
“I should go.”
Bertha forced another smile.
“Of course.”
But internally…
jealousy had already begun tearing through her chest.
Because for the first time since their breakup…
she realized other women were now seeing the version of Kenneth she once had all to herself.
And the thought nearly destroyed her.
As Kenneth walked away, Bertha watched him carefully from across the room.
Still loving him.
Still wanting him.
Still emotionally tied to him.
And suddenly she understood something terrifying:
She had not moved on at all.
Not even close.
Meanwhile, Kenneth entered the elevator upstairs and exhaled slowly.
Because seeing Bertha again had affected him far more than he wanted to admit.
Her voice.
Her eyes.
Her presence.
Still dangerous to his peace.
And that scared him.
Because no matter how much progress he made…
some part of him still belonged to her.
- Writer
