Chapter 4 ENEMIES IN SILK WRAPS

There was something ironic about how life pretends to move on.

Lectures resumed like nothing happened. Classmates smiled like they didn't know. The air smelled like chalk, heat, and oblivion. But I wasn't okay. I wore my pain like perfume-undetectable, yet impossible to ignore.

People stared longer than usual.

Some whispered as I walked by.

And there was Stella-unbothered, freshly braided, and pretending I didn't exist.

She had moved her things out of our room without telling me. I came back from a late lecture and found the other bed empty. Her clothes, shoes, makeup-gone. Only a perfume trail remained in the air, sweet and sharp like betrayal.

She didn't even have the decency to say goodbye. But she made sure to leave behind one thing on the dresser: a handwritten note.

"No hard feelings. I just followed my heart. You should try it sometime. "

I stared at it, unsure if I wanted to laugh or cry. I tore it into tiny pieces and flushed them down the toilet. It should've ended there.

But the universe had other plans.

That weekend was a departmental event-Business & Beyond: Branding Yourself for the Future. Everyone who was anyone would be there. I considered skipping it, but my mentor, Mr. Steve, had recommended me for a panel discussion. I was supposed to speak briefly about confidence and building influence as a female undergraduate.

I almost declined, but something inside me said, "Show up. "

So I did.

In a white two-piece suit. Minimal makeup. Bold red lipstick. The hall buzzed when I walked in.

Even Stella stared.

Jason was there too. He kept looking, like he expected me to break down or throw a drink at him.

But I didn't. I smiled. Sat down.

Waited for my turn to speak.

When they called my name, I walked up, heels clicking on tiled floors, heart steady but my stomach in knots.

I took the mic.

"Hello everyone, " I began, "my name is Adesewa, and today, I want to talk about something that most people don't teach in business school-the power of boundaries. "

The room stilled.

"Sometimes, we think being valuable means saying 'yes' to everything. Yes to friends. Yes to pressure. Yes to trends. But I've learned that the most powerful 'yes' is the one protected by a confident 'no. '"

I paused.

"There's a kind of influence that doesn't come from doing what everyone else does. It comes from standing your ground when everything around you shakes. "

Silence.

Then, applause. I stepped down from that stage with my chin high, not because I felt victorious, but because I knew I hadn't let my pain silence me.

But the peace didn't last long. As I reached the refreshments table, I overheard someone say, "She's acting so strong. If only they knew what happened between her and her roommate. "

Laughter followed.

I turned and saw the source: Regina, a classmate with sharp cheekbones and sharper words. She raised a brow at me, daring me to react.

I didn't.

Instead, I picked up a cup of orange juice and walked outside to get air.

That was when I saw Jason-waiting, hands in his pocket.

"Sewa. "

I stopped walking.

"Five minutes, " he begged. "Just five. "

"I have nothing to say to you. "

"I get that. But I need you to hear me out. "

I hesitated. Then sighed. "Talk. "

"I messed up, " he began. "I didn't plan to hurt you. Stella-she was just... there. You kept pushing me away, and I got tired. I wanted to feel wanted. "

I blinked. "So you thought sleeping with my best friend would fix that?"

He looked away. "I was weak. "

"No, you were reckless. "

He reached out to touch my hand, but I stepped back.

"Don't. "

"I still care about you. "

"No, Jason, " I said, voice trembling. "You cared about yourself. You wanted the reward of a relationship without the sacrifice of respect. "

He opened his mouth to respond, but I turned and walked away.

That night, I cried again-but not because of him. It was because I was exhausted.

Of pretending.

Of being strong.

Of acting like betrayal didn't cut deep.

The next morning, I received a message from an unknown number.

"Stay away from what doesn't concern you. Keep your mouth shut about Jason and Stella. "

I froze.

A threat?

I stared at the screen. Was this random? Or deliberate?

My phone buzzed again-another message.

"What you carry is fragile. Lose it, and you lose everything. "

My hands trembled.

Who was this?

What did they mean?

I deleted the messages, locked my phone, and curled into my blanket, heart pounding. For the first time, I felt watched.

Vulnerable.

Like my life was shifting and I couldn't see where it was headed. That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about the message-especially the last part.

"What you carry is fragile. "

What exactly did I carry? And why did it feel like the walls were closing in?