Title: HER FORTUNE, HIS SECRET

HER FORTUNE, HIS SECRET *By Justina Rose* *Chapter One: The midnight knock * People thought Tina was lonely because she always walked alone. They were wrong. She wasn't lonely. She was at peace. And in a world as loud and fake as Lagos, peace was more expensive than gold. After lectures, while other girls in her department rushed to the latest party, gossiped about who was dating who, and posted fake rich lives on i********:, Tina went straight home. Her small self-contain in Yaba was not much. One room, a tiny kitchen at the corner, a bathroom where the tap leaked. But it was hers. Her sanctuary. She could spend entire weekends there. No makeup. Hair packed in a messy bun. Watching old movies on her small laptop, scrolling through her phone, listening to Asa and Burna Boy on repeat, or simply staring at the ceiling doing absolutely nothing. And she loved it. She had friends, of course. Real ones. Not the i********: kind. Some of them had known her since secondary school in Enugu. They didn't speak every day. Sometimes weeks, even months, would pass without a proper conversation. No one was offended. Because they had an understanding. If Tina called and said, "I need you," they came. No questions asked. And if any of them called her with those same three words, Tina would leave whatever she was doing and show up. That, to her, was friendship. No pressure. No constant checking in. No unnecessary drama. No competition. Just genuine care. So when Amara entered her life during her third year at the University of Lagos, Tina didn't realize she was meeting her soul sister. It happened on an ordinary Monday morning. The kind of Monday that already felt tired. It was 7:42 AM. The sun was already hot. Students were rushing everywhere. Okada bikes honking. Tina was walking fast toward her lecture hall, her old bag hanging from one shoulder, her phone in her hand. She was replying to her mother, typing quickly: "Mum, I will send money when they pay me..." "You." The voice came from right beside her. Bold and clear. Tina looked around. There was no one else nearby on that path. She pointed at herself, confused. "Me?" "Yes, you," the girl said, smiling. She was pretty. Very pretty in a loud, confident way. Expensive-looking weave, perfect lashes, designer perfume that Tina could smell from a step away. "You always walk alone. Every morning. I've noticed." Tina raised an eyebrow, slightly irritated. "And? Is it a crime to walk alone?" "And nothing. I'm just observing," the girl said, falling into step beside her like they had been walking together forever. "You intrigue me." Tina stared at her for two seconds before continuing to walk, faster this time. "I'm not interesting." "That's what interesting people always say. My name is Amara. Amara Okoro." "Tina," Tina muttered, not looking at her. "I know." That made Tina stop cold in the middle of the path. Students brushed past them. "You know my name?" She turned to look at her properly for the first time. "How?" Amara smiled warmly. "We've had classes together for two years, Tina. Business Administration 301? You always sit at the back and you never ask questions, but you always get an A. I noticed you because you're different. You're real." Tina was taken aback. No one ever said that to her. "Oh," was all she could say, her cheeks a little hot. Tina started walking again, but slower this time. Amara followed. Same pace. "So we're friends now." Tina actually laughed despite herself. It was so ridiculous, so bold. "Who said?" "I did," Amara said with absolute confidence, flipping her hair. "I decided this morning. You need a friend like me. And I need a friend like you. Deal?" "Watch me say no," Tina said, but she was smiling. For the first time that morning, Tina genuinely laughed out loud. A real laugh that made her shoulders shake. It had been a long time since someone had made her laugh like that on a Monday morning. She didn't know it then, but that tiny conversation was the beginning of a sisterhood. A friendship that would become her safe place in a world that was about to get very complicated. *Years passed.* University ended. The stress of final year project ended. The joy of graduation ended. The one year of NYSC in Ibadan ended. Life began. Real life. Tina was twenty-five now. Working as a front desk officer in a small logistics company in Ikeja. The salary was 70k. Her rent was 300k per year. Transport ate half her salary. The rest went to her mother and younger brothers. She was building her life slowly. Painfully slowly. Nothing spectacular. Nothing glamorous. Just work, family, bills, dreams, and the quiet, stubborn hope that one day, things would become much bigger than they currently were. That she wouldn't have to check her account balance before buying meat in the market. She still kept her peace. She still loved her small self-contain. After work, she would come home, lock her door, remove her tight shoes, and breathe. Then, on a rainy Thursday evening, the phone rang. It was Amara. They hadn't spoken in six months because Amara had traveled. "Tina... I need you." Three words. Their code. From university. Tina's heart dropped. She sat up on her bed immediately. "What happened? Are you okay? Where are you?" Her voice on the other side was shaking. Crying. "Can I... can I come? Just for a little while? My landlord... my boyfriend... I have nowhere..." Tina didn't even let her finish. "Come now. You know my place. Don't even pack much, just come." "It's temporary," Amara promised, crying. "Just two weeks, three weeks max. I promise. I will even help with rent." "Don't worry about rent," Tina said softly. "Just come home." Amara's voice broke with relief. "Thank you. You're my sister for life, Tina. I swear." Tina smiled, already standing up to clear space in her small room, her heart warm. "You are my sister too. Come." She meant it with all her heart. She opened the door that night at 9 PM and let Amara in. Amara was drenched from the rain, her box in her hand, looking so small and vulnerable. Tina hugged her tight. "You're safe now," Tina whispered. Amara hugged her back tightly. "Thank you for opening your door for me." She had no idea that that open door was about to change both of their lives forever. Because just a week later, another person would knock on that same door. A man. Not just any man. A man in an expensive black suit that probably cost more than her one year salary. Cold eyes. A presence that filled her entire tiny living room. But for now, Tina was simply happy to have her sister back. She locked the door against the rain, and went to the kitchen to make two cups of noodles, like old times in school. She had no idea she had just opened the door to the beginning of her new life.