The storm came without warning, the kind that turned the Lagos skyline into a smear of silver and glass. I watched from the balcony of my apartment, the night before my wedding, as lightning stitched the sky apart. Somewhere beneath the noise, the city pulsed like a restless heart, horns, laughter, a stray shout carried by the wind.
Tomorrow, I was supposed to belong to Darian Holt.
Tonight, I felt like I didn't even belong to myself.
My dress hung in the corner of the room, a soft ocean of white satin and lace, perfect,untouched and mocking me. I should have been asleep by now, counting down hours to forever. Instead, I stood barefoot in my night robe, clutching a glass of red wine that had gone warm.
It was the silence between the thunder that got to me....too deep, too aware. Something about tonight felt wrong.
Darian had called an hour ago, voice steady as always. "Long day, sweetheart. Finalizing some security arrangements. Don't wait up."
Security arrangements. That was his favorite phrase lately.
I'd teased him about being paranoid, and he'd smiled that slow, crooked smile that could melt steel. "You can't blame a man for wanting to keep you safe."
Safe.
I should have believed him.... I wanted to, but the feeling wouldn't leave. The gnawing at the edge of my chest, the whisper that something was about to snap.
When the power flickered and went out, I didn't think much of it. Lagos storms and outages were lovers, always dancing. But then my phone buzzed once, twice, then died too. The apartment plunged into darkness except for the faint blue glow from Darian's study down the hall. His backup generator always powered that room first.
And for some reason, that bothered me
I tried to shake it off, but curiosity is a disease I've never learned to cure. My father used to say that before he died. "Your mind is your greatest weapon, Ada, but it'll turn on you if you let it."
It was that same restless mind that made me step into the hallway, the marble cold under my feet, my heartbeat louder than the thunder. I told myself I was only going to grab the USB stick, the one with our wedding playlist. Darian had left it in his office earlier.
But that was a lie, and I knew it.
The study door was slightly ajar, humming faintly with the sound of the generator outside. I pushed it open, half expecting him to be inside....empty...His jacket hung over the chair, rain still clinging to its shoulders.
I breathed in.... his scent everywhere. Expensive cologne. A hint of gun oil.
My eyes fell on the laptop on his desk. It was still on, screen saver shifting softly like a heartbeat.
Something told me to leave it.
Something stronger told me to look.
I moved closer, hands trembling a little. The mouse jerked awake under my touch, and the screen blinked alive.
A folder sat open, bold against the dark desktop background.
"PROJECT CRIMSON – CLASSIFIED."
For a moment, I froze. Darian worked in security.... private contracts, sometimes military grade. I wasn't supposed to see anything he handled. Still… curiosity is louder than fear when love is involved.
I clicked.
Inside were several subfolders, Intel Reports, Asset Files, Elimination Logs. My stomach tightened. The words didn't sound like corporate jargon. They sounded like war.
And then I saw it.
A file sitting at the bottom.
"TARGET – A.C."
My initials? I blinked, my throat going dry. The air felt heavier, my skin prickled.
I clicked it open.
The document loaded slowly, like it was dragging itself through quicksand. When it did, it hit me all at once..... surveillance photos of me. Walking out of my office. At the gym. In traffic.
Notes scribbled along the margins:
"In contact with family asset."
"Possible inheritance key."
"Maintain engagement until confirmed."
I backed away, but my legs wouldn't move fast enough. My lungs refused to fill.
A voice suddenly filled the room... the soft chime of an auto-play message.
Darian's voice....
"Confirming target status: Adanna Cole. Proceed as planned.....She must not know who I am until after the extraction."
The glass of wine slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.
For a moment, the sound didn't even register. All I heard was the pounding in my ears, the thunder outside, and that voice....the man I loved, the man I was supposed to marry....cold, professional, detached.
"She must not know who I am....."
The laptop screen blurred through my tears. My hand flew to my mouth as if I could hold in the sound threatening to escape. I wanted to scream, but my voice had left me.
I stood there shaking, staring at the screen like maybe if I blinked enough, it would change.
It didn't....
It just sat there, glowing in the dark, whispering everything I didn't want to know.
Darian.... My Darian....
The man who made me believe again.
The man who held me when I cried, who told me he'd protect me from every evil in this city.
The same man who called me his peace.
And now… I was a target.
The generator outside rumbled. I wiped my face and tried to think. My heart was pounding so fast it hurt. I wanted to run, to pack a bag and disappear, but part of me refused to move. I needed to know why.
I scrolled down. More lines appeared....
"She has access to her father's encrypted drive."
"Objective: retrieve before confirmation of alliance."
"Keep emotional contact intact."
Emotional contact?
That's what he called it.
Our love?
A mission term?
My knees gave out, and I sank to the floor, the glass crunching under me. I wanted to throw up. My wedding dress flashed through my mind.... the laughter, the promises, the dreams we'd built in the air. ...Lies..... All of it.
A loud knock crashed through the silence.
I jumped up, heart racing.
"Adanna?"
His voice....Deep, calm..... Right outside the door.
I spun, eyes wide, scanning for what to do. I slammed the laptop lid shut and kicked the pieces of broken glass under the desk just as the door creaked open.
Darian stepped in, rain on his jacket, the smell of the storm clinging to him. He looked tired, his shirt half unbuttoned, his tie loose. His eyes... those dark, unreadable eyes found me.
"Hey." His voice softened. "What are you doing in here?"
I forced a smile. "Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd check the playlist."
He raised a brow, stepping closer. "The playlist?"
"Yeah," I said quickly, praying he couldn't hear my heart. "I wanted to make sure the song for our first dance was on it."
He chuckled, low and warm. "You're nervous."
I swallowed. "A bit."
He walked closer, closing the space between us. My body tensed as he brushed a hand along my arm. His touch used to calm me. Now it burned.
"Everything's going to be fine," he said softly. "Tomorrow, you'll walk down that aisle, and it'll just be you and me.....No noise..... No world.... Just us."
His words should've comforted me. Instead, they felt like a warning.
He leaned down and kissed my forehead, slow and tender. "Go to bed, Ada."
I nodded. "Okay."
But he didn't move. His eyes searched my face like he was trying to read my mind. "You sure you're okay?"
I smiled again....a lie I'd perfected since childhood. "Just tired."
He finally nodded, kissed me once more, and walked out.
I waited until his footsteps faded before I let out the breath I'd been holding.
Then I opened the laptop again.
The file was gone....
The folder too...
I blinked hard, refreshing the screen over and over. Nothing. The desktop was clean, empty like it had never been touched.
My chest tightened. He knew.
Somehow, he knew I'd seen it.
The rain kept falling all night. I sat on the edge of the bed, shaking, staring at the ring on my finger. I thought of every moment we'd shared... the laughter, the road trips, the way he looked at me like I was his whole world.
Was any of it real?
My phone buzzed back to life around 3 a.m.....message from Darian.
Darian: "Love you, Ada....Sleep....Big day tomorrow."
I stared at the screen until the words blurred. My heart broke and rebuilt itself at the same time. Because even now, after everything, part of me still wanted to believe him.
Maybe there was another reason. Maybe someone forced him. Maybe he was lying to protect me.
But what if he wasn't?
What if I'd fallen in love with my father's killer?
Morning came slow, grey, heavy. The storm had left puddles across the compound, the air thick and cold. The city woke up like nothing had happened, cars honking, people shouting, life moving on.
I moved like a ghost, letting the makeup artist and my bridesmaids chatter around me. They laughed, played music, told me how lucky I was.
I smiled when they looked my way. I laughed at the right jokes.
Inside, I was ice.
Every sound felt too sharp ....every knock on the door, every vibration of my phone. My mind replayed his voice from that recording over and over. She must not know who I am.
When they left me alone for a few minutes, I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself in the dress. The girl who smiled back looked perfect but her eyes were hollow.
I touched the veil, then the ring again. My hand was steady now.
If Darian thought he was the only one who could play pretend, he was wrong.
Tomorrow, everyone would see a bride.
He would see his victory.
But I… I would be watching him, listening, waiting.
For answers....
For truth....
For the right moment.....
Because no matter what happens, I will find out what he did to my father.
And when I do… I'll make him tell me everything.
I looked at my reflection one last time and whispered, "Tomorrow, I marry the man who might destroy me."
And somewhere deep inside, a voice whispered back.....
Or the man I might destroy first.