All Chapters of THE LAST DANCE: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

The studio smelled of lemon polish and old perfume. Zara Okafor counted the beats in her head while Mrs Adeleke stepped on her foot for the third time."Sorry dear," the older woman laughed, not sorry at all. "My late husband always said I had two left feet.""Your husband was wrong," Zara said, adjusting the woman's posture with practiced gentleness. Her fingers found the curve of Mrs Adeleke's spine, pressing lightly until the older woman straightened with a soft gasp. "You have lovely feet. They just need to remember how to listen."It was a lie she told often. She had become very good at lies. Good enough that sometimes she forgot where the truth ended and the performance began. The truth was that Mrs Adeleke had feet like bricks and the rhythm of a dying metronome. But Zara had learned that wealthy widows did not pay for honesty. They paid for grace. They paid for the illusion that they could still be beautiful, still be desired, still be something other than the grief that clung

The call connected on the first ring."Zara." Dante's voice was calm, as if he had been expecting her call. As if he had known she would make this choice before she had even made it herself."How do you know my number?" she asked. Her voice was steady, but her hand was trembling around the phone. "I didn't give it to you.""I told you. I know everything about you." There was a pause. A soft sound, almost like a laugh. "You have a beautiful voice. It's a shame you don't use it more often.""I'm not calling for compliments.""Then why are you calling?"She took a breath. Her heart was pounding, but she forced herself to speak. "I'll do it. I'll teach your sister. One month. One dance. But I have conditions.""Name them.""First—my students. The widows. I need to keep teaching them in the mornings. I can't abandon them. They need me.""Done. My driver will pick you up every afternoon. You'll teach Amara from 2 PM to 6 PM. You'll have dinner with my family. You'll be back at your apartmen