Lila Okafor did not believe in love.Not the kind that made girls stare at their phones. Not the kind that made women lose sleep. And definitely not the kind that made you shrink yourself just to be chosen.
At twenty-four, Lila had already decided something very important:"If love wants me, it will meet me where I stand.
She was not cold. She was not heartless. She was careful. Careful because she had once loved a boy who mistook her gentleness for weakness.
A boy who told her she was "too emotional," then complained when she stopped caring.So she changed.Not into something bitter. But into something solid.She worked at a small media house in Lagos. She wrote scripts. Emotional ones. The kind that made actors cry. Ironically, she could write love better than she could feel it.People often told her, "You must be so romantic."She would smile.
If only they knew.One Thursday evening, rain fell heavily over the city.Lila hated rain.Rain reminded her of promises. Promises reminded her of disappointment.She stood under the small roof outside her office building, waiting for the downpour to slow.
Everyone else had run into waiting cars or called their boyfriends.
She stood alone.And she liked it that way.Then a voice came from beside her."You know it won't stop just because you're staring at it."She didn't look at him immediately."I'm not staring at it. I'm calculating.""Calculating what?""The exact moment I can run without looking desperate."That made him laugh.A deep laugh. Calm. Not loud. Not trying too hard.She turned slightly.He was tall. Not just physically-but in presence. The kind of man who didn't fidget. Didn't try to impress. Just stood."You could share my umbrella," he said casually.She raised an eyebrow. "And owe you a thank you?""That depends,"
he replied. "Do you plan on being rude?""I don't plan on being anything."That amused him.
He extended the umbrella slightly toward her but didn't move closer.No pressure.No stepping into her space.That caught her attention."What's the condition?"
she asked."No condition.""There's always a condition.""Okay,"
he said after a pause. "If you insult me, I get to insult you back."
She stared at him properly now.Bold.Interesting."Fine,"
she said.They stepped under the umbrella together.The rain was still heavy.They walked in silence at first.
But it wasn't awkward. It felt... observant.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Why?"
"In case I need to remember the girl who negotiates before accepting help."
She smirked."Lila."
"I'm Adrian.
The name fit him.Strong. Controlled. Not trying to prove itself.They walked for two minutes.Three.
Then he said something that made her chest tighten unexpectedly.
You look like someone who doesn't like being misunderstood."
She froze slightly."And you look like someone who thinks he understands people too quickly."
He smiled faintly."Maybe."When they reached the bus stop, she stepped out from under the umbrella."Thank you," she said.
"No insults?" he teased."Not today.
The bus arrived.She stepped inside.She didn't look back.But for the first time in months...She felt something unfamiliar.Not butterflies.Not attraction.Curiosity.And curiosity, Lila knew, was far more dangerous.
🌧 End of Chapter One