The Long Way Down
366 Words
The elevator ride down from the penthouse felt like it took a lifetime. Every floor the number dropped, Teni felt a little more of her "Soft Life" dream stripping away. By the time she hit the lobby, she wasn't the "Assistant to the CEO" anymore. She was just a girl with a broken heart and a secret she couldn't share.
She didn't have the energy to wait for a bus. She began to walk, her fancy heels clicking loudly on the lonely pavement of Victoria Island.
Her phone buzzed in her bag. Alexander.
Then it buzzed again. Alexander.
She looked at the screen. Her thumb hovered over the "Answer" button. She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to ask how he could let that woman talk to her like she was dirt. But then she remembered the way he looked when Vanessa mentioned the "December Wedding." He didn't look angry; he looked trapped.
If a billionaire can be trapped by his family, what chance do I have? she thought bitterly.
She blocked his number.
Two hours later, she arrived at the junction in Sango. The power was out, and the only light came from the small kerosene lamps of the roadside sellers. The smell of dust and gutter water replaced the scent of lilies and lobster.
Teni walked into her compound, ignored the greeting from her neighbors, and locked her door. She slumped against the wood, sliding down until she was sitting on the cold floor.
"Mummy?" Tobi’s sleepy voice came from the mattress. He rubbed his eyes, looking at her sparkly dress. "You look like a queen. Why are you crying?"
Teni pulled him into her lap, burying her face in his small shoulder. "Because queens don't belong in the mud, Tobi. And I forgot that for a moment."
"I'll protect you," Tobi whispered, his small arms wrapping around her neck.
In that dark room, Teni made a vow. She wouldn't tell Alexander about the baby. She wouldn't be the "other woman" or the "secret mama" waiting for scraps of his time while he married a socialite.
She was going to take her savings, take her son, and disappear before the sun came up.
- Writer
