Novels by Dave Omo

REED I didn’t realize how long I’d been staring at the empty hallway until Travis cleared his throat beside me. “She left through the east exit,” he said. “Do you want me to follow?” I hesitated. Something about that woman had lingered with me… the way she held herself like she expected the world to hit her again at any moment. She looked like someone who needed help. Someone who needed saving. But I had a board meeting in twenty minutes. “Find out who she is,” I finally said. “Yes, Boss.” I left the hospital, half-expecting Travis to call me with a name. Instead, an hour later, he reported that she’d slipped into thin air. No sign of her in any ward, lobby, side door… nothing. It wasn’t the first mystery haunting my thoughts. By the time my meeting ended, the weight of everything else I’d been avoiding came crashing back. The woman I’d raped weeks ago. The memory made my stomach tighten every time it crawled up. I hadn’t meant to touch her. I’d been drunk, drugged, reall

I felt completely out of place beside Kira. She looked like she’d stepped straight out of a magazine shoot, full glam, hair smooth and shiny, the new dress Vincent had gifted her fitting her like it had been sewn onto her body. Meanwhile, I looked like someone they’d dragged in from the parking lot. My hair frizzed the moment I stepped inside, and the simple dress I’d worn suddenly felt childish. People didn’t even bother lowering their voices. “Are we sure they’re related? She looks worse than the help.” “That’s the girl from the cheating scandal, right?” My face burned. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but shame didn’t care. Shame always found me first. Kira went up on the small platform they’d set for her, holding her bouquet like she was receiving an award. Then she paused, lifting a piece of fabric soft pink that looked like part of another dress. Her mouth wobbled. She didn’t cry yet, but she knew just how far to push it. “This was supposed to be my second outfit,” she said

“Adrian?”My voice cracked, weak and trembling, the name tearing from my throat like glass. My eyes stung as the scene before me burned into my brain.Adrian was there inside Kira. My cousin’s back was arched, her nails digging into his shoulders, her laughter mingling with his guttural moans. They didn’t even stop when I opened the door.Adrian looked at me. He looked and yet he didn’t stop. His thrusts grew rougher, Kira’s moans and whimpers blend with the sound of his own primal groans, filling the room.She kept shaking as she came. Adrian followed, groaning in orgasm, his body jerking in ways he’d never with me.I couldn’t breathe. My hand clutched the doorframe, nails cutting into the wood. My legs trembled, refusing to move. When it was over, Kira rolled lazily off his body, a satisfied grin curling her lips. “Oh, don’t look so shocked, cuz.”Adrian pulled on his trousers, but instead of guilt, there was only irritation in his eyes. “What are you doing here, Emily?” His voice

With no way to cover the bills myself, I had no choice but to call my boss, Mark. He fronted the money for my surgery and made sure I had a private room during recovery. The doctor urged me to rest until the bones healed, but silence was my only company.I spoke to no one until the day I was discharged. That was when Adrian finally walked in. His eyes widened slightly when he saw me. The weight loss, the gauntness I hardly recognized myself either. He stood by the bed, hands in his pockets, his expression sharp. “So this is your trick? To make me pity you?”I clenched my jaw. “Why would I waste my energy on that? Whether I live or die doesn’t matter to you.”His jaw twitched. For a moment, his eyes darkened, his fist tightening like he wanted to strike me. Instead, his voice cut like glass. “You’re right. You’re nothing but filth. Tell me, how does a married woman end up in a hotel bed with another man?”I looked away, staring at the sterile white wall. His words carved me open, more

The message came with the name of a downtown hotel and a room number. My heart hammered in my chest as I flagged down a taxi.By the time I got there, sweat covered my palms. I hurried down the hallway, searching for Room 318. I shoved the door open, praying I’d find Lina safe. She had sounded terrified on the phone.She was the only light left in my life. The thought of her in danger was unbearable.I flung the door open. “Lina?” My voice cracked.The room was dim, the curtains pulled tight. A sweet, chemical smell hung in the air. Before I could step back, the door slammed shut and locked behind me.My pulse raced. “Hello?”I barely took two steps before a cloth pressed over my nose and mouth. I tried to push it away, but the dizziness was instant, the world spinning like I was being pulled underwater.The last thing I heard was a man’s voice and the sound of my clothes tearing.When I woke, the room was silent. My head pounded. My body ached. I was sprawled on the bed, my clothes

I wasn’t shocked when Adrian kicked me awake the next morning. “Get up and get inside before the neighbors see the trash all littered out here,” he snapped.He didn’t even wait for me to answer. He straightened his cufflinks and left for the office like nothing happened.I lay there for a while, shivering. My body ached everywhere, sharp stabs in my side with every breath. It felt like someone had scooped out my insides and filled me with ice.When I finally managed to crawl inside, I grabbed my phone with trembling hands. I called Lina. My voice cracked. “Please… can you come? I feel like I’m going to die.”She came as fast as she could and pulled me into her car. I remember the sound of her panicked voice, but my eyes kept closing. By the time we got to the hospital, I had already fainted.When I woke up, Lina was sitting by my bed, clutching my hand like she was afraid I’d slip away again. Her eyes filled with tears the second I stirred. “Thank God,” she breathed. “I thought you we