Adira's POV
When Sam walked into my apartment that evening, it wasn't like seeing someone I hadn't known in years. It was like finally exhaling after holding my breath too long.
We'd never stopped being friends. Even after my parents shipped Ashley and me off to boarding school in England. Even after Sam moved with her mum and brother a year later. Even through med school, endless shifts, my business launches, and the mess that came with both our lives we'd always found time to text, call, check in.
But life had a way of stealing hours, then days, then months. And seeing her in person again was a reminder of everything we'd survived.
"Addy." Her voice was soft, her doctor's scrubs wrinkled from a long shift.
That was all it took. I folded into her arms, the tears I'd been holding back breaking free.
We sat in my living room, tea mugs warming our hands. She still refused coffee, always had.
Her eyes softened. "You look exhausted."
I laughed weakly. "I feel it."
She gave me that same look she used to give when Ashley pulled her tricks in high school. The look that said I'm not letting you carry this alone.
"You know," she said after a pause, "when Mum decided to move us back here, I thought my life was over. Leaving Abuja, leaving Dad, starting over in England. But it was the only way. Mum needed to go back into surgery at a UK hospital, and she wanted Joey and me settled here too. She gave me everything I needed to become a doctor. A neurologist, Addy. Can you believe it?"
My chest swelled. "I can. I always could."
Her smile faltered a little. "But even through all that, through rotations, exams, the chaos... I always had you. Even if I couldn't be there physically, you were my anchor."
I squeezed her hand. "Same here. I don't know how I'd have survived without knowing you were still out there."
Everything had shifted since those Abuja days.
My father, Femi Williams, was no longer just a Nigerian giant. He was the richest man in Africa, among the top twenty richest men in the world, his empire spanning oil, finance, media, tech.
Ashley wore his last name like a glittering crown. I wore it like chains.
And then there was Jayden.
The boy who once promised to find me had made good on it in ways I hadn't expected. Forbes 30 Under 30. The youngest billionaire in Europe. A force in the industry, yet still underestimated because he never revealed his full net worth.
He'd mastered mystery. And somehow, even with everything he'd built, he was still the boy whose eyes had once looked at me like I was the only one in the world.
Sam's POV
I watched Adira try to mask the cracks. Strong, successful, but carrying weight no one should carry alone.
And in the back of my mind, I thought about Kendrick.
The boy who once terrorized our school hallways, now a man rebuilt by fire. His rebellion had been his shield, his parents' ugly divorce tearing him apart.
Now he was one of London's sharpest investment bankers. Respected. Ruthless in numbers, but softer in the eyes.
I'd seen him a few times in passing, at hospital fundraisers, business mixers. And though I'd never admit it out loud, my heart still skipped whenever he was near.
Adira's POV
Sam squeezed my hand. "Addy, you've built an empire. I've chased medicine. Even Kendrick grew up. We're not those kids in Abuja anymore."
I blinked. "Kendrick?"
She smiled knowingly. "Yes. He's here in London too. You'll see for yourself soon."
My chest tightened. The past was catching up with me in pieces.
And somehow, I knew it wasn't done yet.