Hey, dear reader đ
I know many stories these days lean into steamy scenes, but this one is different. Itâs about raw emotion, self-discovery, messy choices, and heartbreaks. About what love looks like when itâs far from perfect. When you hold on to your choices even when everything feels out of reach. When itâs confusing, complicated, and painfully real. You wonât find lust here. What you will find is a slow unraveling of hearts, quiet battles between pride and longing, and a love story that chooses vulnerability over shock. If youâve ever loved someone who didnât deserve it⌠If youâve ever stayed silent just to keep your heart safe⌠If you enjoy emotional tension, layered characters, and scenes that tug instead of teaseâ Then this story was written with you in mind. Give it a few chapters. Let it grow on you. You might just find pieces of yourself in these pages. With love, Joy SamsonAva and I remained stunned, frozen in the moment.Her hands rose, trembling as she tried to shield her eyes from the harsh beam of my flashlight. My grip tightened around it, my breath uneven. Thoughts whirled in my head like a thousand echoes refusing to settle. My voice broke through the silence before I could restrain it.âSo⌠itâs you?âThe words left my lips heavier than I expected, carrying both accusation and disbelief.Ava began stuttering, âI⌠I donât know what youâre⌠youâre talking about. Itâs not⌠not what you think. Th-Thereâs⌠thereâs been a mix-up⌠somewhere.âHer voice tripping over itself as the words rushed out. Denials tumbled from her mouth in fragments, unfinished and hollow, like smoke fading before it found form. I stood transfixed, listening, but none of it made sense.She was still fumbling with her words when the others finally caught up to me. Their hurried steps fell silent the instant they saw her.Avaâin the very place where Raya was meant to be.For a mo
All eyes immediately locked on mine, then, as if pulled by the same invisible string, they moved to the entrance.The silence was heavy, swollen with fear, every breath too loud against the weight pressing on us.The faint footsteps I had heardâthose slow, deliberate tapsâsuddenly ceased.My stomach twisted.A shiver rolled through my spine, cold and unforgiving.We stayed frozen, our eyes fixed on the empty opening between the containers⌠waiting, praying it wouldnât be what I dreaded most.The air smelled strange, metallic, sharp, as though the night itself had been cut open.My chest rose and fell in uneven bursts, every second stretching into something unbearable.I swallowed hard and forced myself to turn.Dozens of gazes met mine, filled with questions they couldnât bring themselves to ask.Noah parted his lips, ready to speak, but before he could, I lifted a trembling hand, silencing him.He obeyed, though confusion burned in his eyes.I didnât need words.I knew what I heard.
Noahâs whole body shook as if his rage had taken root in his veins. His voice cracked from shouting, but he didnât stop.âYou fooled us, Damian!â he bellowed, jabbing a finger at him. âAll three of us! If anything happens to Raya, I swearââ his chest heavedââIâll make sure you pay with your life. I donât care who the hell your parents are!âDamian stood frozen, shoulders tight, lips pressed into a line. He didnât fight back. He didnât defend himself. He just took the words, each insult slamming against him like a storm he had no umbrella for.Noahâs voice grew harsher.âItâs your fault weâre even here! Wasting time with Feyi, who clearly knows nothing about Rayaâs disappearance. You dragged us hereâled us blind into this mess. And now you stand there, pretending you donât know whatâs happening?!âThe room felt heavy. Even I could see the flicker of doubt crossing Damianâs eyes, like Noahâs venom was worming its way into him, making him question himself.My stomach twisted. His silence
We stood frozen, our eyes locked on Feyi.The air between us grew thick, as though silence itself had teeth.Raven trembled beside me, her patience slipping like sand through clenched fists.The rage in her eyes was no longer hidden; it had spread across her whole body, every muscle straining as if her bones could no longer hold it in.Her fists quivered, not from fear, but from a hunger to be unleashed.She wanted bloodâshe wanted the release of tearing into the one who had pushed us this far.But FeyiâFeyi did not flinch.She carried herself with a cold calm, the type that stung worse than cruelty.Her lips curled, just slightly, as though the sight of our suffering had become her personal theatre.The more we tensed, the more she seemed to drink it in.That smileâmocking, unbotheredâmade my stomach turn.It was unbearable, standing there knowing Raven was seconds from exploding, and Feyi only waited for it.The quiet was dangerous.I felt it coil around us, daring us to act first.
âEverything Iâve built⌠every small victory⌠even if it comes with shame. Iâve clawed out of nothing!âHer hands shook at her sides, fists clenching and unclenching, nails digging into her palms. Fire, exhaustion, and hurt intertwined within herâa storm barely contained. For a brief second, all the anger and defiance melted into something painfully human.I wanted to speak, to bridge the chasm between us, but words failed. Feyiâs eyes held mine, daring me to understandâdaring me to see her not as an adversary, but as a soul fighting to survive in a world that never gave her a chance.The room seemed to pause with her, the night hanging on her confession. For the first time, I felt the weight of what she carriedânot just anger or defianceâbut a lifetime of struggle that no amount of reasoning could erase.Yet, even as empathy tugged at me, my thoughts returned to Raya. This raw honesty, this vulnerabilityâit revealed everything about Feyi, but it didnât explain the darkness she had cho
Just when I thought I had started to break through the wall Feyi had built around herself, she spat her words with venom, slicing through the fragile air between us.âI donât owe you, or anyone, any explanation,â she snapped. Her tone carried a sharp defiance that cut deeper than any blade. Her eyes blazed. Her lips curled, as if the taste of my presence alone disgusted her.âNot on how Iâve chosen to live my life. Not on whomever Iâve decided to become. After all⌠the world doesnât favor good people!âThe silence that followed pressed in on meâheavy, suffocating. Even the night seemed to pause, broken only by the faint hum of the wind rattling the metal walls. My pulse hammered in my ears. For a moment, I felt the weight of her words threaten to crush the hope I had tried to hold onto.Then the anger roseâhot, undeniableâsearing through every vein until it burned away hesitation.âYou know what, Feyi,â I burst out, my voice breaking the stillness, raw and trembling with fury. âYouâre