He slammed the car door so hard that the glass trembled . His face twisted with rage as his voice roared inside the vehicle.
"You dare lie to me? How dare you lie to me?" David's words came in furious cycles, like a chant meant to pierce me. He grabbed my phone and crushed it under his heel right there in the driver's seat, his body stiff with aggression.
"I gave you everything—my love, my resources, my time, my heart! What did I ever do wrong?"
His voice echoed in my ears, but my mind was already drifting back... back to the first time we met.
I was nineteen then, still in the confusion of my youth, attending my grandmother's burial in the village. That was the day David appeared. He was behind the wheel of a shiny red Hilux, as polished and striking as he was himself. Dark-skinned, handsome, and confident, he slowed down his car until he was level with the motorcycle I rode on. With a charming smile ,he rolled down the window and spoke to me gently. We exchanged numbers that day, and the rest unfolded quickly.
Within weeks we were dating, though it wasn't simple. We didn't live in the same city.
David was an architect, always busy with project supervisions in Awka and its surrounding towns. Every two weeks, he'd visit, and those days were magical. He spoiled me endlessly, whisked me away to hotels, and showered me with attention.
But deep inside, I wasn't sure. I was only nineteen. He was in his early thirties,gradually getting ready to settle down, while I was just beginning to taste life. Beautiful, young, restless-I wanted to explore.
Still, I stayed. Did I love him? Maybe yes... maybe not. Love was different back then, or maybe life itself was.
David was dangerously possessive , he hated my phone ringing, no matter who it was , classmates , friends , cousins. He wanted my world to revolve around him alone. Difficult as it was, he never failed to love me fiercely, to provide, to make sure I lived well.
My girlfriends often warned me. "Resave your male friends' numbers under girls' names," they'd say with laughter, though I knew it wasn't a joke. That was the only way to keep his suspicion at bay and also that was the beginning of something more furious , even scary and gradually David became my sweetest nightmare . So the day David slammed the door screaming on top of his voice was the day I met Mike .
I had been speaking secretly with Mike for a few weeks, usually after lectures. Our connection began by chance—he had mistakenly dialed my number one fateful day, and from that misdial, a friendship blossomed. He said he loved my voice; I loved his vibe. We started talking more often, though I told him from the start that I had a boyfriend—an overly possessive one. We agreed I would only call him when I had the chance.
The week David traveled to Lagos, I wasted no time. I dialed Mike almost immediately.
"Hi Mike, let's meet up as soon as you can."
"Really?" he sounded excited. "But… what about David?"
I explained that David was out of town for a while, and we fixed a meeting for the weekend since Mike lived in Port Harcourt.
The truth was, David never gave me breathing space. It was almost as if I was married to him already. He dropped me at school, picked me up, and even when he was far away, he had a copy of my class timetable. It was nearly impossible to mingle with friends—male or female. Sometimes he would call me in the middle of lectures just to know when I'd be done. Everyone in my department knew him. Some even assumed he was my husband. Only my close friends knew the truth: I was choking.
That Saturday, Mike and I agreed to meet. A few minutes before I was about to step out, David called.
"Hi, my baby," he chanted softly in that angelic voice he used whenever he missed me. That was his pet name for me.
"Hi honey," I replied sweetly.
"What's up?" he asked casually.
I quickly lied that I was going to see my cousin who had just arrived from a nearby city.
"Oh," he said after a pause. "Once you're home, let me know." His voice was dismissive, and I thought the call had ended there.
What I didn't know was that David was in town that very day—parked somewhere near my hostel, watching.
I hopped into an Uber and headed to the restaurant where Mike was waiting. When I arrived, I spotted him, ordered food, and settled into our conversation. But then, in the middle of it, David called again.
"Give your cousin the phone," he insisted. "I want to say hello."
Panic surged through me. I excused myself from the table, scanning the room desperately until I spotted a young lady about my age, sitting alone and waiting for someone.
"Please," I whispered urgently. "My boyfriend thinks I'm lying. Can you pretend to be my cousin? I'll explain later."
Thankfully, she agreed. I called David back, blaming the poor network for the delay, and handed the phone over. He spoke to her briefly and seemed satisfied.
Relieved, I returned to Mike, ready to explain the chaos. But then—
"Let's go," a deep voice said quietly beside me.
I froze. Shock, disbelief, fear, and confusion collided inside me.
Mike stretched out his hand politely. "Hello."
David ignored him completely. His eyes were on me. "Let's go," he repeated, this time with an eerie calm.
"I'm not going anywhere," I said, though my voice shook. "This is a friend who came from far away. I can't just leave him here." My words carried anger, but my body trembled.
David's patience snapped. He grabbed my arm, yanking me to my feet.
"Easy, man," Mike said gently, trying to intervene.
But David ignored him, muttering something under his breath that sounded like "You fool," before dragging me away. He shoved me into his car with force, his grip unrelenting.
I stayed silent. A crowd had already gathered, eyes wide in disbelief, watching the scene unfold. I didn't want to create more drama.
That was when I realized the full truth. David had followed me from my hostel to the restaurant. The place had two floors—I had been upstairs with Mike, while he lurked below, waiting. He had returned unexpectedly that morning because of an emergency at one of his project sites.
And everything went sour the moment he decided to surprise me.