Novels by AYOMIDE AKOMOLAFE

BiancaParis was quieter in the mornings.Not because it lacked sound there were always birds, distant honking, the gentle hum of scooters but because it wasn’t New York. It didn’t roar. It breathed.I sat by the window in Dean's apartment with a mug of cofee, I barely stayed in the one front the company knees tucked to my chest, Lily and Vegas snuggled at my feet. The streets below curved like soft brushstrokes, and the sunlight spilled into our living room like it was hand delivered.Dean was still asleep, somewhere under the soft linen sheets of our low bed. I could hear the faint rustle of him turning. We’d slept in today. Well… more like we just didn’t set alarms anymore.It had been a month.A whole month since we arrived in Paris.He was still technically based in New York Andrews Tech wasn’t moving its headquarters anytime soon but he spent more and more time here. Enough that the board had started whispering about opening a branch in France. A European expansion. We laughed

BiancaIt had been a week. Seven days since that morning in Dean’s hotel room. We didn’t say much when I left that afternoon. I lingered longer than I meant to, finishing the fruit bowl he’d ordered and watching the light shift through the hotel windows like it was trying to tell me something. He didn’t try to hold me there. He didn’t ask me if I wanted to stay. He just kissed my forehead and told me to text him when I got home, and I did. Since then, everything had been… easy. Not awkward. Not overly romantic either. Just… steady. Regular check ins. A few teasing texts. One or two FaceTimes where we didn’t talk about anything important just exchanged smiles and shared random little stories about our week. But the one thing we hadn’t touched? That night. That morning. We were circling it like two people staring at the same closed door, pretending we didn’t want to open it first. So when HR called me in that morning, I wasn’t thinking about Dean. Not at all. I was thinking,

BiancaThe office light flickered for a moment before settling. It was early too early. My coffee hadn’t even kicked in yet, and my inbox was already disrespectful. Still, I picked up my phone and stared at his name, thumb hovering. Before I could overthink it, I pressed “Call.” He answered almost immediately. "West?" His voice was thick with sleep or maybe just his usual morning rasp. It still did something to me. "Hey," I said quietly, twisting the phone cord between my fingers. "Hope I didn’t wake you." "No, you didn’t. Just… surprised." He chuckled softly. "What’s up?" I hesitated. “I wanted to apologize for snapping at you about the Chad thing. I know you were trying to help.” A pause. Then, “You don’t have to apologize.” “I do. I was defensive. But you were looking out for me… and others too. So thank you. Seriously.” “I’d do it again, Bianca,” he said, voice softening. “I’ll always protect you. No matter how far away you are.” I don’t know why that made my chest ache

BiancaThe morning felt different. Not in some cosmic, the universe just shifted kind of way… just a subtle hum beneath my skin. Like I had my feet planted a little firmer on the ground. I got up early thirty minutes earlier than usual, actually and made myself some oatmeal and a smoothie not the usual cofee and bagels on the run , took my vitamins, fed Lily, all of that grown up crap. I didn’t reach for my phone first thing. Didn’t check if Dean had texted again. I just breathed. By the time I got to the office, the building felt more alive than it usually did on a Monday. Like the air was buzzing. It wasn’t until I stepped out of the elevator and walked toward my office that I started to feel it the eyes. Glances. Pauses in conversation. Whispers. Subtle, but unmistakable. I kept walking, ignoring the lump in my throat, pretending not to care until I got to my door and slipped inside like I was escaping something. I exhaled. Avery walked in a few minutes later, holding her i

Bianca I woke up to a dull ache in my head and the sun blinding me through my curtains like it had beef. I groaned, rolled over, and peeked at my phone. 11:35am.Fuck.I stretched slowly, limbs heavy, and lay there for a few more seconds, letting my body catch up with my brain. Last night’s party came back in flashes Avery’s venomous one-liner, Sheila’s scandalous confession, Chad’s ugly little face when I clapped back. I smiled into my pillow. Worth it.Eventually I dragged myself to the kitchen, hair a mess, stomach growling.Pancakes. Waffles. Why not both?I threw on some music soft, chill jazz and started whipping up my hangover cure. As I cracked the eggs, I glanced at the stove and a memory hit me like a slow, warm wave.Dean. In my kitchen. That one weekend he’d stayed over because of the rain, back when everything was still soft between us. I’d woken up to the smell of maple syrup and cinnamon. He was standing there in gray sweats, barefoot, flipping pancakes with that dumb

BiancaOhio greeted me with heat, noise, and the dull ache of knowing my vacation from reality was over.The flight back wasn’t long, but it felt heavy. I spent most of it with my cheek pressed to the window, earbuds in but nothing playing, just staring at the clouds and trying not to think about how quiet it had been when I left Dean’s apartment.He didn’t text. I didn’t either.Back in my apartment, everything looked the same half drunk wine bottle still on the kitchen counter, Lily’s toys scattered across the rug, my jacket tossed over the arm of the couch like I’d just stepped out for lunch instead of an emotional walk through New York. It should’ve felt like home. It mostly did. But something buzzed under my skin, like I’d left something important behind.Still, I had work the next morning and no time to spiral. So, I unpacked, took a long shower, and let myself shut it all down the feelings, the memories, the damn scent of his cologne that wouldn’t leave my skin even though I d