The fountain looked different at midnight.
By day, it was marble and elegance a centerpiece in the mansion's inner courtyard, but under the moonlight, it looked like a secret, the water shimmered like liquid silver, soft ripples catching pieces of the stars above. I wrapped my scarf tighter as i stepped into the open air, the wind carried a chill that kissed my arms and whispered of consequences.
He was already there.
Chinedu.
Leaning against the base of the fountain, hands in his pockets, eyes distant as if unsure whether to wait or walk away.
When he saw me, he straightened, said nothing.
Neither did I.
Words were dangerous now.
"I did not think you had come," he finally said.
"I almost didn't."
He took a slow breath. "You have been avoiding me."
"Maybe I'm protecting myself."
"From me?"
"From everything."
I stepped closer, but not close enough to touch, the distance between us was filled with too much already stolen kisses, silences, shame.
He looked down at his shoes. "I do not want to be my father."
That made me blink.
"I don't want to want you like a man wants a secret," he continued. "I don't want you to feel disposable."
"I don't."
He looked up sharply. "But you should."
I stepped even closer, heart pounding. "Then stop making me feel like more."
That silence again.
Thick, tense, true.
"I should go," I whispered.
"Stay."
"Why?"
He hesitated.
Then said the one thing i was not prepared to hear.
"Because i need you."
My heart twisted.
Not love.
Not desire.
Need.
Something deeper. Something messier.
And maybe more dangerous.
I sat beside him on the edge of the fountain. Our shoulders brushed, and for a long moment, we just sat in the quiet.
No kissing.
No pretending.
Just existing.
"I don't know how to fix this," he said softly.
"Maybe it's not something to fix."
He turned to me. "What do you want, Tomiwa?"
I wanted to lie. To say something easy.
Instead, i told the truth.
"I want to feel safe."
His jaw tensed. "Have i made you feel unsafe?"
"No." I looked away. "But she does."
Onyeka.
Her name hung in the air like smoke.
When i got back to my room, i found something that did not belong to me.
A single hibiscus flower, red, fresh. Placed neatly on my pillow.
I did not put it there.
And neither had Chinedu.
Onyeka's perfume lingered in the air faint but undeniable.
My hands trembled as i picked up the flower.
This was not a gift.
It was a warning.
A promise wrapped in petals.
The next morning, i walked the halls with my head down, eyes forward, mouth shut.
I cleaned the glass vases, dusted the staircase rails, polished silverware i could not afford to touch on my own.
But when i reached the guest wing, i froze.
Onyeka was in the hallway.
Standing by one of the antique mirrors, applying lipstick.
Scarlet.
Slow, deliberate, like she was performing.
I tried to walk past her.
She did not let me.
"Good morning," she said sweetly.
I nodded. "Morning, ma."
She turned to face me, smile never touching her eyes.
"I saw you by the fountain last night."
My heart skipped, my hands stiffened against the tray i was holding.
She stepped closer, her perfume wafting between us like poison, "you must think you are very special."
"I don't," i lied.
She chuckled, "you should be careful, Tomiwa."
I met her gaze. "Is that a threat?"
Her smile widened, "It is the truth, this house doesn't keep secrets for long."
I did not answer.
There was nothing i could say.
Because she was right.
Back in my room, i placed the hibiscus on my table and just stared at it. The petals had started to wilt just slightly but the message still pulsed in every red fold.
She knew.
And she was not going to play fair.
That night, I did not sleep, i kept thinking of what Chinedu said, about his father, about his mother.
Was I making the same mistake she made?
Would history swallow me whole too?
Or was I rewriting something that should have ended differently?