Amira sat in her car for ten minutes before driving home.
She had faced business giants. She had spoken at conferences in London and New York. She had managed millions in investments and hired the brightest minds.
But nothing had prepared her for this moment — seeing David Bennett again.
The man who once made her laugh like a child and cry like a widow.
The man who held her close at midnight… and left before sunrise.
Her fingers shook as she gripped the steering wheel. Her heart was not supposed to react this way. Not after everything. Not after five years.
Back at Home
She walked into her apartment — a beautiful place in Lekki Phase 1, with white walls, modern furniture, and soft jazz playing from her speaker.
But it suddenly felt cold.
She kicked off her heels and dropped her handbag on the couch. Then she stood still in the middle of the room… lost in thought.
Her phone vibrated.
A message.
David: "I hope you're okay. I just wanted to say… I didn't expect today to be this hard. I'm sorry again."
Amira stared at the screen.
How dare he?
How dare he text her like that, like he hadn't left her drowning in tears years ago?
She typed a reply. Then deleted it.
She dropped the phone and walked to the balcony.
Flashback — Four Years Ago
Rain poured outside. Amira sat by the window with swollen eyes, her face pale, and her body weak. She hadn't eaten in two days.
Her best friend, Zainab, was on the phone.
"I swear, Amira, if I find that David, I'll break his legs," she shouted.
Amira said nothing.
Zainab continued, "You gave him everything. You loved him more than you loved yourself."
"I still do," Amira whispered.
There was silence on the line.
"Then you have to survive this," Zainab said gently. "You have to show him — and the world — that he didn't break you."
And Amira did.
She rose like a phoenix.
She built a company from scratch. She traveled. She healed.
Or so she thought.
Back to Present — The Unexpected Call
Her phone rang.
Zainab.
Amira picked up immediately.
"Please tell me you're home and not crying in your car like a Nollywood actress," Zainab joked.
Amira smiled weakly. "I'm home."
"You saw him, didn't you?"
"Today, in the boardroom. He's the CEO of DB Tech."
"What?? That means you'll be seeing him often?"
Amira sighed. "It's a joint project, Zainab. I can't avoid him."
There was a pause.
"You okay?" Zainab asked softly.
"No," Amira admitted. "I thought I was over him. But I saw his face and... everything came back."
Zainab was silent for a moment. Then she said, "Be strong. This isn't about him. It's about you. You're in control now."
David's Apartment — That Same Night
David sat on his bed, staring at the photo in his hand.
It was a picture of him and Amira on her 25th birthday — smiling, covered in cake, happy.
He hadn't looked at it in years.
He had tried to move on — tried dating other people, tried burying himself in work.
But no one made him feel the way she did.
No one understood him like she did.
And now… seeing her again, so powerful, so beautiful, so cold — it shook him.
He deserved her silence. He knew that.
But he couldn't walk away this time.
He had left once. He wouldn't leave again — not without trying.
The Next Morning
Amira walked into her office building, wearing a wine-colored gown that hugged her body like confidence. Her assistant followed her with files.
"Ma, Mr. Bennett sent over the documents for today's meeting."
Amira took them without a word.
Inside her office, she closed the door, leaned against it, and exhaled.
Then she sat at her desk and opened the file.
There was a note attached.
"I still remember the pancakes. And your laugh. I wish I had been man enough to stay." — D.
She stared at the handwriting. Her vision blurred with tears.
But she wiped them quickly.
She wasn't going to fall apart.
Not again.