Novels by Owodunni Oyindamola

Brittney’s POVThe first thing I became aware of was the weight in my body.It felt like I was sinking through something soft and endless. My eyelids were heavy, my thoughts were scattered, but beneath it all there was a sharp pulse of panic that refused to let me stay unconscious.Then the memory returned.The gunshot, My parents on their knees begging the devil. My mother screaming and the screen going black.My eyes flew open.I gasped and bolted upright so quickly that the room spun around me. My hands flew to my throat, expecting warmth, blood and pain. There was nothing. My skin was intact, smooth beneath my shaking fingers.I was in a bed, A large one at thatThe faint scent of antiseptic and something expensive and clean filled the air.My chest tightened violently. For a moment I could not breathe. The door clicked softly behind me.I turned sharply.Lucas stood near the window, his posture relaxed, his expression unreadable. Morning light framed him from behind, outlining hi

Brittney's Pov I screamed and folded forward, my hands flying to my head as if I could hold myself together through force alone. My ears rang violently. My heart slammed so hard against my ribs it hurt. I waited for pain.Nothing came.I stayed frozen on my knees, shaking, my breath stuck somewhere between a sob and a scream. My lungs burned. My vision blurred.Slowly and painfully, I opened my eyes.The ground in front of me was torn open where the bullet had struck. Dust still floated in the air. Small stones rolled to a stop near my dress, now stained with dirt and blood that wasn’t mine.I was still alive.A broken, desperate sound tore out of my throat as relief crashed into me so hard it made me dizzy. I sucked in air greedily, my whole body trembling, my head spinning as reality struggled to catch up.I didn’t die.I didn’t...A laugh cut through my relief.I looked up.He was watching me with an expression that turned my relief into something sour and dangerous. His gun hung

Brittney's Pov By the time morning came, I was already hollow.I was just empty in a way that scared me more than fear ever had. Fear meant there was still something left to protect. This emptiness felt like surrender.The door opened without warning.Two guards stood outside, their faces were blank with weapons resting casually in their hands. They didn’t shout this time. They didn’t grab me or threaten me. They simply stepped aside, giving me space to walk out on my own.They already knew I wouldn’t run.I pushed myself off the bed slowly. Every muscle in my body aches from days of tension and sleepless nights. My cheek still throbbed faintly where I had been slapped for daring to escape. The pain had dulled, but the memory hadn’t.The maid stood a few steps behind me.She had been assigned to my room since that night. She watched me constantly, or at least that was what they claimed. She barely spoke, barely looked at me, but she brought my meals, changed the sheets, and made sure

Lucas' PovThe first scream broke before the blood hit the floor.Drip.Drip.The sound echoed through the room, crawling into my skull. I sat back in the chair, elbows resting on the armrests, cigarette burning between my fingers while the man tied to the steel frame shook violently.He was younger than the last one we broke. He is probably in his late thirties. Sweat soaked his shirt, his breathing jagged, and his eyes rolling as if he could escape by not looking at us.Rafe stood in front of him, his sleeves rolled up, and his hands already red. He worked without emotion, cutting shallow lines never enough to kill, never enough to knock the bastard out. Pain was more useful when it lingered.I exhaled the smoke slowly.“Again,” I said.Rafe didn’t hesitate. The blade slid in, and the man screamed so hard his voice cracked halfway through. He jerked against the restraints, the chains rattling, his knees buckling as piss spread down his leg.Pathetic.I leaned forward, resting my for

Brittney's Pov They dragged me out of the car before my feet could properly touch the ground.My body jolted as they pulled me forward, my arms locked painfully behind me.I tried to slow down, tried to resist, but it was useless. My strength meant nothing against theirs.A door was opened and I was shoved inside.The room was dark, the air inside was thick and heavy. Smoke hung low in the room, burning my throat before I even saw its source. My eyes watered as I struggled to focus.A man sat in the center of the room.He was ugly in a way that made my stomach twist. His face was rough and uneven, his eyes small and sharp, his mouth twisted around a cigarette. Smoke curled lazily from his lips as he stared at me like he was inspecting damaged goods.Another man stood nearby.He was just as ugly, maybe worse. Short and thick, with a grin that made my skin crawl. His eyes lit up the moment he saw me.My heart started racing.“Is this her?” the second man asked.The one smoking didn’t a

Brittney's PovMy scream ripped out of me before I could stop it.I collapsed against the coffin, my fingers gripping the edge of the coffin like it was the only thing keeping me upright. My knees buckled, and if not for the women behind me, I would have fallen straight to the floor.“He didn’t deserve this,” I cried. “He didn’t deserve to die like this. He is too young to die.”The room echoed with wails and whispered prayers, but mine was the loudest. I couldn’t stop it. The pain was too much. It felt like my chest had been split open and left bleeding.Then a hand struck my face.The sound was so sharp it almost made me deafMy head snapped to the side as gasps erupted around us. For a second, everything went silent in my ears except the ringing.I looked up slowly.My mother-in-law stood in front of me, her face twisted with rage, her eyes burning into mine like she wanted to tear me apart.“You killed my son!” she screamed.The words slammed into me harder than the slap.“What?”