Novels by Araoluwa Keji

It didn’t break all at once.That would have been easier.Cleaner.Something she could point to and say, this was the moment.But Diamond had always been the kind of person who endured things quietly.So instead, it built up.In small moments.In passing words.In silences that lasted a little too long.Josh had just left.The door clicked shut behind him, and just like that, the room changed.It always did.When he was there, everything felt… full.Warm.Occupied.But the moment he left, it was like something got taken with him.Diamond stood by the door for a long time.Her hand still resting on the handle.As if part of her expected him to come back.He didn’t.Of course he didn’t.He never did.Not after.She finally let go of the handle and walked slowly back into the room.Each step felt heavier than it should.She sat on the edge of her bed.Then lay back.Then sat up again.Restless.Unsettled.Her phone buzzed.She didn’t check it.She didn’t need to.Because lately, every no

The room was dim except for the soft yellow light from the bedside lamp.Josh lay beside her, breathing slowly now, one arm thrown lazily across the pillow.Diamond stared at the ceiling.Her skin was still warm, her heartbeat gradually returning to normal.Sex with Josh had always been… good.That was the inconvenient truth she never said out loud.He kissed like he meant it.Touched her like she was the only person in the world that mattered in that moment.When he held her during those minutes, it almost felt like love.Almost.Josh shifted beside her and pulled her closer instinctively, his arm settling across her waist.Diamond rested her head lightly against his chest.His heart was still beating a little faster.He traced slow, lazy circles against her arm, already drifting toward sleep.Josh wasn’t the type to say much after.No long conversations.No deep emotional check-ins.He didn’t know much about aftercare. She had realized that early on.But sometimes he would pull her

Josh had come over late.Later than usual.Diamond had already changed into something comfortable and tied her hair back loosely when the knock came.She knew it was him without asking.Josh never knocked twice.She opened the door and stepped aside.“You’re still awake,” he said as he walked in.“I wasn’t sleeping yet.”Diamond closed the door behind him.For a moment neither of them said anything.The room was quiet except for the low hum of the fan above them.Josh leaned against the wall and studied her.“You’ve been quiet today.”Diamond shrugged lightly.“Just tired.”Josh walked closer.His hand brushed her arm slowly.“Still tired?”Diamond looked up at him.“Maybe.”Josh smiled faintly and leaned down, kissing her.Soft at first.Diamond responded slowly, her hands resting lightly against his chest.There was always something unhurried about the way they moved together.Josh liked that about her.Nothing felt forced.His hands slid around her waist, pulling her closer.Diamon

The campus road was quieter now.Most students had already returned to their hostels, leaving the walkways softer with scattered footsteps and distant conversations.Josh walked beside Diamond with his hands in his pockets.“Daniel talks too much,” he said suddenly.Diamond glanced at him.“He barely said anything.”Josh shrugged.“He was enjoying that situation too much.”Diamond smiled faintly.“You mean the part where you were interrogating me?”Josh frowned.“I wasn’t interrogating you.”Diamond didn’t respond.They kept walking.Josh glanced at her again.“You should still be careful around guys like Thelma.”Diamond raised an eyebrow.“Why?”Josh sighed.“Because not every guy has good intentions.”Diamond almost laughed at that.But she held it in.Instead she simply said, “Noted.”They walked a few more steps in silence.Then Josh’s phone buzzed in his pocket.He ignored it.Diamond didn’t look at him.But she heard it.A few seconds later the phone buzzed again.Josh pulled i

“Relax, man.”Thelma’s voice was calm, almost amused.Then he turned and walked down the path without waiting for a response.Josh watched him leave, his jaw tight.For a moment neither he nor Diamond said anything.Daniel shifted beside the railing, sensing the tension thickening in the air.Josh finally looked back at Diamond.“You seem very comfortable with him.”Diamond leaned lightly against the kiosk.“He’s my friend.”Josh frowned.“You have a lot of male friends.”Diamond tilted her head slightly.“That’s not new.”Josh glanced briefly in the direction Thelma had gone, as if half-expecting him to return.“He’s been around you a lot lately.”Diamond’s expression stayed calm.“He asked me out once.”Josh’s head snapped back toward her.“He what?”Daniel straightened slightly.Diamond said it casually, like it wasn’t a big deal.“He asked if I wanted to get food with him.”Josh’s irritation sharpened instantly.“And you didn’t think to tell me?”Diamond studied him.“I handled it

The afternoon sun was mild when Diamond stepped out of the lecture hall. Students poured out behind her, voices overlapping in the usual after-class noise.She adjusted the strap of her bag and started down the walkway.“Diamond.”She already knew who it was before she turned.Thelma was leaning casually against the low wall near the path, one hand in his pocket.He had that same relaxed confidence he usually carried, the kind that made people assume he always knew what he was doing.Diamond walked closer.“Thelma.”“You’re always in a hurry,” he said lightly.“I have somewhere to be.”Thelma studied her for a second, then pushed himself off the wall.“You always say that.”Diamond smiled faintly.“Because it’s usually true.”They began walking slowly down the path together.Thelma had been around her more often lately. Not in obvious ways. Nothing that could easily be pointed at and called inappropriate.Just small things.Waiting after lectures.Walking beside her longer than necess