Chapter One

Elorm called. She couldn't come for me because Kofi had tried to kill himself again.

I never felt sorry for Kofi. He hurt Elorm, he nearly took her life three times. Elorm was too forgiving, and Kofi was only doing all that he was doing for attention.

I pulled my suitcase behind me as I trudged to the glass doors that would lead me into the country that caused me so much pain.

I couldn't really decide which was worse; the United States or Ghana. In the United States, my mother was a sex worker who didn't pay me any mind. She was a woman who wanted the good life, and she barely even noticed that I existed.

In Ghana, where I'd come to find my father, I was raped.

So I couldn't tell which country was worse, the country that broke me into little pieces or the country that scattered those little pieces into the wind.

I'd arrived in the rainy season, and it looked like it was going pour heavily, so even though I didn't have much money to spend, I called an Uber.

Elorm's house was in a very wealthy part of the country. I rode the elevator to her apartment, but even when the doors parted, I couldn't believe that she owned the thing.

My girl had made it. She'd gone from a poor village girl being forced into prostitution to one of the wealthiest influencers in the country. She was amazing, just that even with all that, she couldn't be happy because of that pimp making her life a living hell.

I pulled my suitcase with me into the living room, the bright lights blinding me for a second. The room was mainly black; black leather sofas, a black electric fireplace in front of the sofas, a large plasma TV on top of it, a large clock, a standing air conditioner, a large black rug, and the neon lights that'd been turned off at the time.

A small white toy poodle raced up to my feet and began barking adorably. I smiled. He really thought he was intimidating.

I sighed, feeling out of place in the middle of all the luxury. I didn't have to wait very long. Etornam, Elorm's friend, came racing down the stairs, wearing shorts and a tank top. She was pretty, and it made me wonder whether all the girls from Elorm's village were just that good looking.

"We are so sorry for all this bull. Kofi's here after... you know. Nathan thought it'd help that he's close to Elorm. I was supposed to come and pick you up but Elorm has been doing so badly that I couldn't leave her, I'm sorry," Etornam said, wrapping me in a comforting hug.

"It's okay. Where's she? Mind if I see her?" I asked.

"She's with Kofi right now. He's awake and they're talking."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I wished that Kofi would just leave her alone. He'd put her through so much already. "Then I'll be in my room. Take me there please."

She nodded, but before we could begin our climb, the elevator dinged and Edinam, Elorm's cousin strode out. She was in a beautiful dress, but her face was completely messed up. Mascara was streaming down her cheeks along with tears, and her afro was in disarray.

I stopped, frowning.

"He found out. He found out. I... I hurt him and now he hates me," she wailed hysterically, dropping onto her knees.

Even though I was in the US, Elorm kept me up to date with everything that was happening. Edinam was dating Nathan, but she was cheating on him with the son of the man who destroyed me.

It seemed that Nathan had found out.

"He hates me. He said he never wants to see me again," she cried, her fingers weaving through her hair.

Etornam just stood there, her face impassive. "If you think I'm going to sympathise with you, you're dead wrong. You're despicable. You played with them both. To this day, Justus thinks he's dating you. Listen, you had better tell him the truth before he hates you too. Barbs, let's go," she grabbed my hand and took me up the stairs, shaking with anger.

I turned to look at Eddie before she was out of sight. She was on the floor, sitting on her legs and her head and upper body were on her thighs. She was crying so violently that it struck a chord in my heart.

"Don't you think you were a little harsh?" I asked Etornam quietly.

Etornam stopped and turned around. She faced me squarely, then crossed her arms over her chest. "No. I may not like Justus for what he could have done to Elorm, but he's changed and he doesn't deserve what she did to him. Nathan... Nathan is the best man there is. He gave her his all, he loved her with all his heart, but she couldn't respect that. She couldn't respect them. She toyed with both of them, lied to them, she broke their hearts. I warned her so many times but she refused to listen to me. I'm glad Nathan found out. I'm glad because he doesn't deserve what she did to him. If you want to comfort her, be my guest, but I won't. Your room is the third door on the right."

She turned around and stormed off.

I watched her leave. I had hoped I could come here and find peace, but it turned out I was wrong. Trouble followed me everywhere I went, and this was only the beginning.

* * *

if this book turns out how i want it to, then it's going to be really twisted so prepare yourselves.

vote or whatever, see if i care. 🌟