Novels by EMMANUEL OKOLO

Dominic“She closed the account.”I paused with my fountain pen hovering over a multi-million-dollar acquisition contract. I looked up at my private security director, Marcus, who was standing across from my desk.“What do you mean, closed it?” I asked. My voice was clipped, quiet.“She didn't transfer the funds, Mr. Voss,” Marcus said, placing a single sheet of paper on the dark wood. “She officially rejected the half-million-dollar settlement and closed the line entirely. The capital was returned to your primary treasury twenty minutes ago.”I set the pen down. The gold nib clicked sharply against the pen holder.Five hundred thousand dollars. It wasn't just money. It was her safety net. It was the buffer I had set up so I wouldn't have to lie awake wondering if she was sleeping on the street. And she had thrown it back in my face without a single word.“Find out where she is,” I said.“Sir?”“You heard me, Marcus. Track her. I want an address by tonight.”Marcus hesitated, his jaw

AriaThe third interview ended the same way the others had.“We’ll be in touch,” the hiring manager said. He did not look up from his desk. He slipped my single-page resume into a stack of rejected applications.“Thank you for your time,” I said.I smiled, nodded, and walked out of the small, stuffy office with the same quiet expression I had practiced for years. Outside, the afternoon sun hit my eyes, sharp and hot. I stood on the dusty sidewalk for a moment, adjusting the strap of my heavy bag, before starting the long walk back to the rented room I now called home.It was a single room above a quiet, noisy laundry shop in the old industrial district. Thin walls. A narrow twin bed. A wooden table by the window with one short leg. Nothing like the luxury penthouse on the upper east side, and that was the point. I had chosen it because it asked for very little and gave exactly what it promised: four walls, a hard roof, and a heavy iron door that locked from the inside.I climbed the

Dominic Three weeks after the divorce papers were signed, the apartment already smelled like someone else lived here. Lila’s perfume was everywhere, hiding the soft scent of rain and soap that used to belong to Aria. Lila moved through the rooms easily, putting fresh flowers in vases, playing soft music, and asking about my day in that gentle voice that always made people want to protect her.I let her do it.At night, she slept beside me, resting her hand on my chest. I lay awake in the dark, staring at the high glass windows, telling myself this was how things were supposed to be. She deserved a good life. I owed her everything.Some nights, I almost believed I was happy.Work was a good way to stop thinking. My meetings ran late, and big business deals took all my time. When I came home, Lila had dinner ready. She had a soft smile and none of the sharp arguments or heavy silences that had filled the last months of my marriage. She never asked for too much. Best of all, she never l

AriaThe divorce papers lay on the desk between us, white pages painfully bright beneath the chandelier. My gaze stayed fixed on my name at the bottom of the first page, but my mind had already drifted back to last night. Dominic's arms around me, the warmth of him, the way he'd looked at me like four years of distance had never existed."Sign them."His voice cut through the haze, dragging me back. I lifted my eyes and found him sitting across from me, perfectly composed in a dark suit, as though he hadn't spent the previous night holding me like he was afraid to let go. Something twisted painfully in my chest.Then I noticed her.Lila sat beside him on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, in a cream dress that looked far too comfortable in my home. Her fingers rested against his arm, casual, familiar, like she'd already moved into the space I was about to leave.So this was how quickly I could be replaced.Dominic held the folder out, the same way he used to hand me documents h

Aria"I'm giving you the papers tomorrow."Dominic said it like the decision had been made long before he opened his mouth. We stood on opposite sides of the penthouse kitchen island, the city glowing cold and gold beyond the windows behind him. He had a glass of water in his hand. He hadn't taken a sip of it since he walked in."Tomorrow?" I repeated, and hated how small the word sounded."Lila's back. The doctors say her recovery's complete." He said it like it was the most important thing in the world. "I'm not leaving her alone again."He didn't even care about my feelings. Lila was back. Then what about me? Our years together, reduced to nothing because his ex was back."And you agreed," I said."I did." No apology. No hesitation. Just that same calm voice I'd lived inside for four years, the one that never once cracked, not even on our wedding night when he'd shaken my hand at the altar like we'd closed a business deal.I looked down at the marble, at my own reflection staring b