“Are you out of your goddamn mind, Raven?!” “There’s no need for you to be yelling at me like that. I know I did the right thing.” “What, so you want to be lonely for the rest of your life? Why? Tell me everything. Tell me why you didn’t kiss him then and tell me why you kissed him yesterday and said no to him afterwards.” Ray spoke. I stared at her through the screen and sighed. “You already know why. I don’t have to explain everything to you again.” “Get over the past. You need a new man in your life. Do you have any idea how hard Mama prays for you that you get a good husband soon? She’s concerned and she’s starting to believe that you might be-” “Why would she think that? I’m sure she wants me to get married soon because her relatives have raised eyebrows. But I don’t care. Mama will do anything to look good in front of her relatives. Look Ray, I have priorities now. Me, myself and I are my priorities.” “What? You’re a feminist now? No. I don’t get it, tell me why. Aren’t you

I carefully observed and took in every detail of Ace’s house as I drove inside. Correction: it’s a villa. Because of what happened last time, I didn’t think to take note of my surroundings. Ace’s villa had tall walls surrounding it with two gates that led into the compound of the villa. An outer gate which had ‘Black Villa’ engraved on it and an inner gate. I told the security at both checkpoints who I was and they let me in. The villa had a lot of trees in its compound. Staring at the building itself, I noticed that it looked simple and yet it had a unique design. Moreover, it looked like a home for a family. But I’m not sure if Ace has a family. I’ll look that up later. Immediately I stepped out of my car, a housekeeper walked up to me. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be up at 6am in the morning. But then again, she is a housekeeper so I shouldn’t be too surprised. The young lady bowed and I quickly grabbed her by the shoulders to stop her. “Please don’t bow to me. I’m just an ordinary

“Stop fighting it.” “What’s there to fight?” “Just give in. He probably likes you genuinely.” “He probably just wants to get in my pants and make me his office slut.” “I know what this is all about. You’re afraid you’ll get hurt again but if you don’t face your fears how will you move on? I thought The Great Raven fears nothing and fears nobody.” “Of course I fear nothing and nobody. I’m fierce, bold, brave and confident. Stop making me believe in things that aren’t true.” “Stop lying to yourself.” “Are you talking to yourself again?” Lana startled me as she walked into my bathroom. I jumped away from the mirror when she spoke. “I’m not talking to myself.” I cleared my throat and changed the topic. “What are you doing here? How’d you get in?” I asked her and walked to my bedroom to change my sweater and put on a hoodie and joggers. I was freezing. “I rang the door a few times. Then I found that the door wasn’t locked so we walked in. It’s dangerous to leave your door unlocked

“Oh Raven.” Lana cooed. “I’m sorry about your ankle.” “It’s not your fault. It’s his fault.” I said glaring at Ace. “You should be grateful that I’m even doing this. Gosh, you’re so dramatic.” He retorted, while slowly massaging my ankle. “It’s alright. Ace is definitely at fault here from how the story was narrated.” Ace rolled his eyes. “I’m taking Raven home and then I’ll order something for her. You will have to find someone to boss around.” Lana said to Ace. “How are you going to leave the building? You can’t walk.” Ace stated. “Yes I can.” “Don’t be stubborn.” “I’m not stubborn. I can walk.” I stood up and took a step and bit back the urge to cry. I was in pain but I didn’t want Ace to see that. I turned to them and flashed both of them a fake toothy grin. “I’ll carry you downstairs.” He offered. “No!” I quickly said. “You can call anyone to help me downstairs. Not you. If you can’t do that then don’t bother, I’ll walk.” “She’s stubborn. Just leave her.” Lana said to Ac

I spent the weekend thinking about how I’m going to survive this dinner without dying of anxiety. I was an emotional wreck, feeling excited, feeling extremely nervous, feeling all sorts of emotions. I thought about what to wear, my hair, makeup, my nails…..I look down at my nails and they are perfect. So I just had to worry about the rest. I wanted to call Lana but I didn’t have the courage to tell her about the dinner yet. I called Ray and she screamed for about thirty minutes. She wasn’t helping so I ended the call and grabbed an ice cream tub from the fridge to distract myself for a while. After I was done, I went back to freaking out. I have never been on a date since I was sixteen years old. “Okay, Raven, calm down. Nothing will be done if you freak out. You should’ve gone shopping yesterday.” I rolled my eyes and continued talking to myself. “Let’s start with your hair.” I raked my hands through my curls. “Simple hairstyles for my 3B hair.” I picked up my laptop and looked up