Chapter 2 Lingering Shadows

The PTA meeting dragged on longer than usual. Parents debated over fees and exam policies, the principal made his usual speeches, and I took notes at the back with mechanical precision. My pen moved across the page, but my mind wasn't fully there.

It kept drifting back to him.

Every so often, my eyes betrayed me, sliding toward where Iyke Obiora sat near the front. He didn't fidget like most of the parents. He listened, calm and still, his large frame filling the chair, one leg crossed elegantly over the other. But his stillness was deceptive-it wasn't the passivity of boredom, it was the quiet dominance of a man who didn't need to prove he had the floor.

At one point, his head tilted slightly, and his gaze met mine across the hall. Just for a second. But it was enough to make my heart stumble against my ribs before I quickly looked down at my notes.

When the meeting finally ended, the parents spilled into the corridor, voices raised with gossip and complaints. I stayed behind to collect documents and tidy up. That was when I sensed it-someone lingering.

I turned, and there he was.

"Miss...?" His voice was closer now, lower, almost smooth enough to pass for casual.

"Amara," I supplied quickly, my pulse betraying me. "Amara Okoye."

"Amara," he repeated, as though tasting the syllables. His lips curved faintly, and I had the absurd thought that my name sounded different when he said it-richer, heavier. "Do you often work this late?"

"Part of the job," I said, stacking the last of the files. My tone was polite, neutral, the kind I used with every parent. But inside, I was acutely aware of how close he was standing. Not too close to raise suspicion, but close enough that I could smell his cologne-warm, musky, with a sharp edge of spice.

He watched me for a moment, silent, his eyes scanning my face in a way that felt almost too intimate. Then he leaned slightly against the desk. "Strange, really. My daughter has been here for two years, and yet tonight is the first time I'm noticing the school secretary."

I forced a laugh, light and professional. "I try not to get in the way. Most people don't notice me at all."

His smile deepened, though his eyes stayed steady on mine. "Oh, I notice you now."

Something fluttered in my stomach, a dangerous mix of flattery and alarm. I reminded myself-he was married. A man like him didn't just notice women like me for no reason. And yet, the heat in his gaze said otherwise.

The sound of approaching footsteps broke the spell. Another teacher entered to collect her bag, offering us both a polite nod. Iyke straightened instantly, the smooth mask of businessman-slash-father sliding back into place.

"I'll see you around, Miss Okoye," he said lightly, almost as though the last few moments hadn't passed at all.

But when he walked out, his hand brushed the edge of mine on the desk, fleeting, deliberate.

My pulse thundered.

And as I watched him leave, the dangerous truth whispered through me: this wasn't the end. It was the beginning.