Dear Eva,
I was overjoyed when Kingsley was finally arrested. Stan and I threw a little celebration at his house—our own quiet victory. Even Sheila, our lawyer, joined in for a while before leaving us alone. I rested my head on Stan's lap as he gently stroked my hair.
"So, what's next?" I asked, though I already feared the answer. Stan had mentioned going to Lagos, and I knew I wouldn't be working at the hotel anymore. I would have to find something else. And beyond the phone calls, I would miss him—deeply.
"You know what's next, Eva. I'm going to find more meaning to my life," he replied.
"You won't even come back sometimes, just to see me?" I asked, trying to hide the sadness in my voice. "Won't you miss me?"
He shook his head. "No. Not until I've made it big in Lagos."
"How sure are you that Lagos will favor you?" I asked. "Why don't you stay here and hustle?"
"I have to believe it will. That's the first step to success. I don't want to stay here."
We fell into silence. My mind spun with questions. Will our relationship survive? Will he come back in time for me? Should I wait… or move on?
Then Stan broke the silence. "Eva, there's something I haven't told you."
I turned to him. "What is it?"
"I used to be a robber—like Kingsley said. I worked for him. When I told him I wanted to leave because he wasn't paying us well, he threatened me, but I wasn't the only one. Most of the others left after threatening him too. But I didn't want vi0lence. So, I asked him for a job, and he gave me one."
"You were working for him before now?" I asked. He nodded.
"I've done terrible things for him. My hands… are stained with bl00d. That's why I gathered the others to find one his current men that implicated him. I didn't do it for you, Eva. I did it to make him pay for using us all those years."
His words pierced me. I had believed he fought for me—because he loved me. But he did it for revenge.
"At least we made him pay," I said, trying to swallow the sting that he didn't do it for me.
"I'm leaving for Lagos tomorrow," he said suddenly.
I gasped. "And you're just telling me this now?!" Tears welled in my eyes. "Can't you stay a little longer?"
"No, Eva."
"Should I wait for you?" I asked, desperate.
"No. Don't wait for me."
I sat in silence, struggling to keep the tears from falling. "What do you want me to do?" I whispered.
"Live your life. Be open to genuine love. Don't wait for me. I might meet someone else. I might even get married. Honestly, Eva, I don't want to be in a relationship with you."
"Why?" I asked.
"You seem like bad luck…"
I gasped. His words hit like a slap.
"Ever since you came into my life, everything has gone downhill. I can't be with someone like you—a beautiful woman who might attract all kinds of men that will be ready to fight over her. I don't want that kind of chaos in my life."
"Why, Stan? Why?" I sobbed. "I won't allow any other man let alone allowing them to fight over me!" I cried.
"Don't cry, Eva. I'm just being honest. You're too desperate for love… and I don't want that."
"Yet you let me into your home! You said you would date me! You made me believe you cared! We confessed our love to each other that night, remember?"
"That was to make you trust me—so I could use you to bring down Kingsley. I'm no better than he is. But I don't want to hurt you more than I already have. That's why I'm telling you now: forget about me. When I leave for Lagos, I'll erase every reminder of you from my life."
He turned and walked to his bedroom.
His words hurt more than Kingsley's threats and vi0lence ever did. That night, I didn't sleep. I cried until morning.
When he began packing the next morning, I tried one last time to talk to him. But he warned me to stay away. Maybe this was who he truly was all along. Maybe I just refused to see it.
He even slept with me—how could he do that, if he felt nothing? I thought it was love. But then, right before me, he snapped his SIM card in half to make sure I had no way to contact him.
"Move on, Eva. You're too beautiful for me," he said coldly as he dragged me out of his apartment and locked the door.
That morning, I walked home in a daze, crying. Strangers watched—some pitying, some laughing, saying I had been "served breakfast." But this breakfast burned hotter than fire. I knelt in the road and cried, feeling like I was dy1ng.
At home, I cried day and night. I would be washing dishes, then suddenly burst into tears. My mother understood. My father didn't. He called it childish and told me to move on.
And move on, I did—eventually. True to his words, Stan disappeared completely. For two whole years, it was like he had never existed.
Then I found a job at a shopping mall, working as a sales agent. That was where I saw him again. But he didn't come alone—he had a girlfriend with him.
He introduced us like we were strangers. We exchanged pleasantries and moved on. That moment confirmed what I had suspected all along: Stan was never meant for me.
Dear Eva has been heartbroken, yes. But she has also healed.
Maybe I would meet someone new—or maybe not. But I vowed never to be used again. I am beautiful, and I deserve to be chased—not the other way around.
And then, just six months into my job at the mall, I met the man who became my husband, Henry.
It was hard to forget Stan, but that pain taught me lessons I'll never unlearn. Many people thought I should have ended up with him—but now I know better.
The man I married is the kindest, sweetest soul I've ever known. If love had a face, it would be his.
"Dear Eva," Henry said one morning, surprising me with those words.
"I know everything about you and Stan," he continued. My heart skipped a beat—I had never told him. I didn't want to reopen those wounds.
"But don't worry," he added. "Stan is my employee. He works for me."
I had no idea until two months after our wedding. I know about his clothing business in Lagos where Stan works while he directly manages his hotel where we live—maybe I was born for hotels.
I may have loved Stan once, but I love my husband now—so much more. And this time, it's real.
I made mistakes. I sought love where there was no love—but now I've learnt that I'm a woman, meant to be chased,meant to keep her dignity and not be desperate for love.
The End.
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