People always said dreams were too big until they started coming through.
I believed that.
My name is Scarlet Adebisi, a 200-level Business Administration student at the University of Lagos, and if there was one thing everyone around me knew about me, it was that I did not dream small.
While some girls in my hostel spent late nights talking about love, makeup, and campus gossip, I spent mine scribbling business ideas into my worn brown notebook.
Scarlet Empire.
That was the name I had written across the first page in bold ink.
One day it would be a company.
A powerful one.
The kind people talked about on TV.
The kind that changed lives.
The kind that made headlines.
I wanted to become one of the most successful businesswomen in Nigeria.
No.
In Africa.
In the world.
And I had promised myself one thing—
I would be a billionaire before thirty.
Not because I cared about luxury.
Not because I wanted fame.
But because I was tired of watching money decide people's lives.
I grew up seeing my mother calculate every naira before going to the market.
I saw my father work himself to exhaustion just to keep food on the table.
I hated the helplessness that came with lack.
So I decided very early that my story would be different.
I would build something bigger than myself.
And nobody was going to stop me.
At least, that was what I thought.
Until Dave.
Dave Williams.
The boy who walked into my life like a blessing and stayed long enough to become my worst nightmare.
I met Dave on a Thursday afternoon outside the Faculty of Management Sciences.
Lagos was hot as usual.
The kind of heat that glued your clothes to your skin.
I had been rushing to submit an assignment when I collided with someone hard enough for my books to scatter across the floor.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry."
A deep voice.
Warm.
Calm.
I looked up.
And for a second, I forgot how to breathe.
He was tall.
Really tall.
Dark skin that glowed under the sun.
Sharp jawline.
And eyes that somehow looked both intelligent and dangerously attractive.
He crouched immediately and helped gather my books.
"I should probably stop almost killing people with my terrible timing," he said with a small smile.
I couldn't help laughing.
"It was my fault too."
He handed me my notebook and his eyes paused on the cover.
"Scarlet Empire?"
I felt my cheeks warm.
"It's just… my future company."
His smile widened.
"So you're a dreamer."
"No," I said, taking the notebook from him.
"I'm a planner."
Something in his expression changed.
Like he admired that answer.
"I like that."
That was how it started.
Simple.
Unexpected.
Dangerous in the most beautiful way.
Dave was a 400-level medical student at the university teaching hospital.
Brilliant.
Focused.
The kind of guy lecturers spoke about with pride.
But medicine wasn't the only thing he was good at.
He was also deeply into tech.
Coding.
Software development.
App design.
Sometimes, after his hospital rounds, he would sit with his laptop in the school café, fingers flying across the keyboard like magic.
He once told me he was building a health-tech startup that would connect patients to doctors faster.
I remember staring at him that day and thinking we were the same in one way—
we were both obsessed with the future.
He wanted to save lives and build technology.
I wanted to build an empire.
Maybe that was why we fit so easily.
He understood ambition.
He respected mine.
Unlike most people who laughed whenever I mentioned becoming a billionaire before thirty.
Dave never laughed.
Instead, he would look at me and say,
"You"ll do it Scarlet,and when you do, I will be the first investor in your company."
I used to laugh whenever he said that.
Now I wish I had known how lies can sound so much like love.
Our relationship became the kind everyone on campus talked about.
The "perfect couple."
Dave waited for me after lectures.
Walked me back to my hostel.
Bought me snacks when I was too stressed to eat.
Stayed awake with me during exam periods.
Sometimes he would come over with coffee and sit beside me while I worked on my business proposals.
"You think too much," he teased one evening.
I rolled my eyes.
"That's why I'll be rich."
He laughed.
"And I'll be the billionaire's husband."
The way he said it made my heart skip.
Because back then, I loved him.
Completely.
Foolishly.
With the kind of love that blinds you.
I trusted him with every part of me.
My fears.
My dreams.
My body.
My heart.
My future.
Dave was the one person I thought would never hurt me.
The one person I believed was safe.
But sometimes the people who promise to protect you are the same ones who destroy you.
And I was about to learn the hard way.
It happened on a Friday.
The kind of Friday that should have ended with laughter, late-night gist, and maybe a bowl of fried chicken and Ice cream in the hostel.
Instead, it became the night that split my life into before and after.
Before that night, I was Scarlet Adebisi.
Dreamer.
Future billionaire.
The girl with plans bigger than the Lagos skyline.
After that night…
I wasn't sure who I was anymore.
The evening started normally.
Too normally.
I had just finished a long day of lectures and group presentations when Dave texted me.
Dave ❤️
Come by my place tonight. I miss you.
A small smile touched my lips.
He had been busy with his clinical postings all week, and between my coursework and his medical rotations, we had barely seen each other.
So I went.
I wish I hadn't.
His off-campus apartment was quiet when I arrived.
Soft music played from somewhere in the background.
The faint scent of his cologne filled the room.
For a moment, everything felt familiar.
Comfortable.
Safe.
Dave opened the door almost immediately.
"There's my favorite girl."
He pulled me into a hug, and I let myself melt into it.
That was the thing about trust.
It makes danger look like home.
"I missed you," I said.
He smiled, brushing a loose strand of hair away from my face.
"I missed you more."
We talked for a while.
About school.
About his tech project.
About a business pitch competition I wanted to enter.
Like always, he listened with that intense focus that made me feel like I was the only person in the world.
"You're going to win it," he said.
I laughed softly.
"You always say that."
"Because it's true."
His eyes lingered on mine a little too long.
Something about the atmosphere suddenly felt… different.
He moved closer.
His hand slipped around my waist.
At first, it was normal.
Then his grip tightened.
"Dave," I said quietly, forcing a smile, "you're squeezing me."
Instead of letting go, he leaned in and kissed me.
At first, I kissed him back.
Because he was my boyfriend.
Because this was Dave.
But something in the kiss felt off.
Too forceful.
Too demanding.
I gently pulled away.
"Dave, not tonight. I'm tired."
For a second, he just stared at me.
Then he gave a short laugh.
"Come on, Scarlet."
"I said I'm tired."
I tried to step back, but he caught my wrist.
My heart skipped.
Not the good kind.
The dangerous kind.
The kind that warns you.
"Dave…"
His jaw tightened.
"You've been avoiding me all week."
"I've been busy."
"So have I."
His voice had changed.
Harder.
Sharper.
I swallowed.
"Please let go."
But he didn't.
Instead, he moved closer again.
"Dave, stop."
This time my voice was firmer.
I meant it.
I needed him to hear it.
To understand it.
To be the Dave I thought I knew.
But the boy standing in front of me suddenly felt like a stranger wearing his face.
His eyes darkened with something I had never seen before.
Frustration.
Possession.
Something ugly.
"Why are you acting like this?" he snapped.
My chest tightened.
"I said no."
The room went silent.
Heavy.
The kind of silence that makes your skin crawl.
And then everything changed.
I don't want to remember every second of what followed.
I don't think I ever will.
What stayed with me wasn't the details.
It was the feeling.
The disbelief.
The terror.
The betrayal.
The crushing realization that the person I loved was no longer listening to me.
That my voice no longer mattered to him.
I remember saying his name.
Again.
And again.
I remember crying.
I remember feeling powerless.
And I remember the exact moment my heart broke.
Because somewhere in the middle of the fear, I realized this wasn't an accident.
This wasn't misunderstanding.
This was violence.
This was betrayal.
This was the end of everything I thought we were.
When it was over, the room felt colder than before.
The music was still playing.
And somehow that made it worse.
Dave stepped back like he had only just woken up.
His breathing was uneven.
His face pale.
His eyes widened as if the reality of what he had done had finally hit him.
"Scarlet…"
My entire body trembled.
I pulled myself away from him immediately.
"Don't touch me".
I didn't say it out loud.
I didn't need to.
He saw it in my eyes.
"Oh my God…"
His voice cracked.
"Scarlet, I—I didn't mean…"
I stared at him.
Didn't mean?
My tears spilled faster.
He reached for me and I flinched.
The look on his face shattered.
"No," he whispered, stepping back. "No, no, no… Scarlet, I'm sorry."
Sorry.
That word.
That useless word.
"I'm sorry."
He kept saying it like it could undo what had just happened.
Like it could stitch my trust back together.
Like it could make me forget.
But some things don't disappear.
Some wounds don't close with apologies.
I grabbed my bag with shaking hands.
"Scarlet, please listen to me—"
"Don't."
My voice came out broken.
Barely above a whisper.
But it stopped him.
I looked at him through tears.
"You don't get to say anything right now."
And then I walked out.
The Lagos night air hit my face the moment I stepped outside.
Cars moved.
People laughed somewhere down the road.
Life continued.
As if my world had not just ended.
I wrapped my arms around myself and kept walking.
One step.
Then another.
By the time I reached the hostel, I was no longer crying.
I was numb.
Completely numb.
But deep inside, one truth echoed louder than everything else.
Dave Williams had destroyed the safest part of my world.
And nothing would ever be the same again.