Chapter: A Different Kind of First DateChapter 37: A Different Kind of First DateThe restaurant Owen chose wasn’t flashy. No valet. No velvet ropes. No dramatic lighting or overpriced signature cocktails.It was a quiet little spot tucked behind a leafy fence on a side street in Benin, where the air smelled like mint, roasted peppers, and citrus trees. The lighting was soft and golden, the kind that made people look honest. The menus were handwritten, and the tables were dressed in linen—not crisp white, but faded cotton in sun-washed colors.It felt like a place built for conversation, not performance.Sophia arrived five minutes early.Not because she was nervous.But because,for the first time in a long time,she wasn’t rushing away from anything. She was walking toward something.And she wanted to be fully present.When Owen saw her, he stood up slowly, his smile spreading without hesitation. He wasn’t dressed to impress,no suit, no slick gestures—just a dark button-down shirt and the same quiet charm that had caught h
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-06-27
Chapter: Her Kind of LoveChapter 36: Her Kind of LoveThe gentle hum of morning wrapped itself around Sophia’s apartment like a soft shawl. She stood barefoot on the balcony, a warm cup of coffee nestled in her palms, the steam curling into the air. Below, the city of Benin stirred to life—bus horns echoing in staccato bursts, vendors calling out their goods with melodic urgency, schoolchildren in oversized uniforms chasing one another across the red-dusted roads.It was a symphony of beginnings.And for once, Sophia didn’t feel like she was rushing to catch up with life.She felt like she was exactly where she was meant to be.This place—Benin—felt different. Not just because it wasn’t Lagos, and not only because it held the promise of the Mariam House, still fresh with hope and possibility.It felt different because she was different.This was a homecoming. Not to a childhood street or an old family house.But to herself.To a version of Sophia George that had taken years—tears, therapy, loss, and resilienc
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-06-26
Chapter: The First Love that LastedChapter 35: The First Love That LastedTwo full months had passed since the trial ended, since the gavel fell and the courtroom emptied, leaving Sophia standing in a life that had once seemed impossible.Two months of breathing without fear. Of moving forward without looking back.In that time, the headlines had quieted. The media frenzy had faded. But Sophia’s world had only grown louder in the best way.The center in Benin City was almost complete. Each brick laid with intention, every beam etched with purpose. It rose from the ground like a monument to all she had survived—and all the women she hoped would never have to survive the same.The land it stood on had been donated without fanfare. An anonymous gift. No ribbon-cutting ceremony. No press release. But Sophia knew. Deep down, she knew.It had Liam’s fingerprints all over it—his quiet, steady way of making amends without stepping back into her light.She didn’t call him.Didn’t ask.Some doors, even the well-meaning ones, are
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-06-26
Chapter: The Price for PeaceChapter 34: The Price of PeaceThree days had passed since the verdict echoed through the country—three long, heavy days where headlines dissected every detail and op-eds debated justice, feminism, and the fall of a matriarch.And then, without fanfare, Victoria George’s apology aired.The video was less than two minutes long. She sat alone in a pale, sterile room—no flags behind her, no warm lighting, no reporters present to ask questions. Just her, a prepared statement, and the unmistakable hollowness of a woman who had been told what to say and when to say it.“I, Victoria George, accept full responsibility for the role I played in defaming and causing emotional harm to Sophia Grant...”Her tone was flat. The words, though carefully chosen, carried no soul.Sophia didn’t watch it live. She didn’t need to.She had heard Victoria’s real voice once before—the voice that told someone to “use the child” and “break her.”She didn’t need a manufactured confession.Instead, she spent the a
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-06-25
Chapter: A Mother's Undoing Chapter 33: A Mother’s UndoingThe sky was an unforgiving shade of steel gray when Victoria George stepped from her car and into the pounding rain outside the courthouse. Thunder grumbled overhead like judgment itself, and the rain fell with purpose, drenching the air in something that felt more like reckoning than weather.Umbrellas burst open like wings among the clustered paparazzi. Cameras snapped like angry insects. The sidewalks were jammed with journalists and spectators, their lenses sharp and ruthless. Victoria kept her chin high, but there was no hiding the tension in her posture.Gone were the signature pearls and the sculpted smile.She wore a slate-gray suit, understated and unembellished. Her hair was pulled into a severe bun, and her pale face was devoid of its usual polish. She didn’t look like the queen of society anymore.She looked like a woman finally facing the consequences of her reign.Inside the courtroom, the air was taut with curiosity and anticipation.Every
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-06-25
Chapter: The Woman Behind the MaskChapter 32: The Woman Behind the MaskBy sunrise, Sophia’s video interview was already circulating across the internet like wildfire. In just an hour, it had found its way into trending charts, been reshared by celebrities, activists, and everyday women who saw themselves in her voice.But this wasn’t just another viral clip.This was a reckoning.Screens across the country lit up with her calm, poised face—the unwavering truth in her tone slicing through the noise louder than any scandal ever could.“I was silenced by someone I called ‘mother.’”“She didn’t need to scream. She used doubt—and it echoed louder than any lie.”“Victoria George didn’t just try to ruin me. She designed the plan that broke my marriage.”Those words became headlines, hashtags, and quotes on protest posters by noon.Sophia hadn’t mentioned Ava by name.She hadn’t uttered Liam’s name once, either.But Victoria?She had spoken that name with certainty. With receipts. With grace sharpened into steel.The press d
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-06-24
Masuk
