C13 Chapter Thirteen

That night, as I lay on my bed, Madam Mary's words kept replaying in my mind.

Were Chidi and I really good together?

I turned on my bed and sighed.

Could there really be something between us that I hadn't noticed?

The way Chidi looked at me sometimes.

The way he always wanted to see me smiling.

The way he made sure I was comfortable.

The way I had started feeling safe whenever he was around.

I quickly shook my head.

“No, Chinyere. Stop thinking like that.”

Chidi was Ebere's best friend.

How could I even think about having feelings for him?

Besides, I wasn't ready for another relationship. Not after what Ebere and Ngozi had done to me.

I had trusted someone with my whole heart once, and look where it had brought me.

I closed my eyes and tried to push the thoughts away, but somehow, one question refused to leave my mind.

What if Madam Mary was right?

What if there really was something between Chidi and me?

I didn't have an answer.

And at that point, I didn't know whether I was afraid of discovering the answer or afraid that I already knew it.

I turned off the light and pulled the blanket over myself.

But that night, sleep didn't come as easily as it had the night before.

For the first time, I found myself thinking about Chidi in a completely different way.

The next morning, as usual, I waited for Chidi to knock on my door before he left for work.

I had even delayed coming out of my room because I wanted him to come to me like he always did.

The moment I heard the knock, I jumped out of bed and opened the door.

There he was.

His handsome face was the first thing I saw.

I smiled immediately.

Before he could even call me “Angel,” I was already smiling.

That was when I realized something had changed.

Chidi had always called me Angel, even before all these feelings started.

But now, whenever he called me that, the word sounded different.

“Angel, how are you?”

The moment I heard it, I felt goosebumps all over my body.

I couldn't help smiling.

I even felt myself blushing.

Thankfully, I don't think he noticed.

He smiled back and walked into my room, sitting on the edge of my bed as he usually did.

“Angel, how are you? How was your night? I hope you had a lovely sleep.”

“Yes. My night was perfect. In fact, it was amazing.”

He looked at my face and smiled.

“I'm happy to hear that. And that's how I want it to always be. Just always be happy. Your happiness alone melts my heart.”

I couldn't hold back my smile.

He smiled too.

For a few seconds, our eyes met.

Then he looked away.

“I need to go to the office now. Do you need anything?”

“No. I can't possibly need anything. You have already made everything available for me.”

He smiled.

“Come on. It's not like that. You might need something for yourself. Anyway, check your alert. I sent some money to you. Anything you want to buy, please feel free to get it.”

I looked at him.

“Come on, Chidi. This is too much. When will you stop surprising me? You send me money almost every day.”

“Because an angel like you deserves to enjoy herself and be happy.”

I couldn't help smiling.

Then, without thinking too much about it, I stepped forward and hugged him.

To Chidi, it might have been an ordinary hug.

But to me, it meant something more.

Something inside me was already growing.

The moment I realized what I had done, I quickly pulled away.

“Thank you so much.”

“You're welcome. Please be happy and take care of yourself.”

“Take care too. Have a nice day.”

“Bye, Angel.”

“Bye.”

He walked out of the room.

I stood by the doorway, secretly watching him as he walked down the stairs.

I didn't want him to notice me staring at him, so I stayed partly hidden behind the door.

I watched him until he walked out of the house.

That morning, it felt as though my happiness had increased.

But then I started questioning myself.

What was happening to me?

Why was I feeling this way?

Was I really okay?

I sat down on my bed.

“No, Chinyere. You can't do this.”

Even if I knew something was beginning to grow inside me, I didn't need to let Chidi know about it yet.

I didn't want him to think I was rushing him, desperate, or trying to force anything.

I needed to control myself.

He was the man.

If there was ever going to be anything between us, he should be the one to tell me how he felt.

Not me.

“Chinyere, hold yourself together.”

I remembered what happened between Ebere and me.

I didn't want to make the same mistake again.

I had trusted Ebere completely, and I had paid dearly for it.

So I decided to keep my feelings to myself.

From that day, things continued almost the same way.

Whenever I saw Chidi, I felt happy.

And he seemed happy around me too.

He was always trying to make me laugh, always making sure I was comfortable, and always reminding me to smile.

Then one afternoon, I came downstairs and found him sitting in the sitting room.

Something was different.

He looked worried.

“Hey, Chidi. What is the problem? You don't look happy.”

He immediately forced a smile.

“I'm fine.”

I looked at him.

“Come on. I know you. I've been living here for some time now. There is nothing you can hide from me. Tell me the truth. What is really going on?”

He sighed.

“Angel, it's nothing. It's just my company.”

“What about your company?”

He looked at me for a moment.

“There is a project we're working on. We have been trying to secure the contract, but things aren't going the way we expected.”

I sat beside him.

“What kind of contract?”

He smiled slightly.

“Angel, what do you even know about business?”

I laughed.

“Have you forgotten that my father is one of the biggest names in business in the country?”

He laughed.

“And one more thing,” I added. “Have you forgotten that I'm a final-year Business Administration student? So you're looking down on me now?”

He raised his hands jokingly.

“Ah! The daughter of one of the biggest businessmen in the country and a final-year Business Administration student. I respect you, ma.”

I laughed.

“That's better. Now tell me what the problem is.”

He smiled before becoming serious again.

“The contract is worth about five hundred million naira. If we win it, it will be a major deal for the company.”

“Wow.”

“Yes. But we've been having problems with our proposal. We've submitted it several times, but the people handling the contract keep rejecting it.”

“Do you know why?”

“No. That's the problem. We've tried to figure out what we're doing wrong, but we can't seem to find it.”

I thought for a moment.

“Have you tried looking at the proposal from the client's perspective?”

He looked at me.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, instead of focusing mainly on what your company can offer, have you tried to understand exactly what the client wants? What problem are they trying to solve? What are their priorities? Then structure your proposal around how your company can solve that specific problem.”

Chidi stared at me.

“What?”

He suddenly sat upright.

“I've never thought about it that way.”

I smiled.

“I think that's what you need to do.”

He stared at me for a few seconds before smiling widely.

“Chai, Chinyere! Thank you so much. You don't know what you've just done for me. I never looked at it from that angle.”

He immediately picked up his phone and called someone.

“Hello, James. I think I've figured out where the problem is coming from. Tomorrow, when we get to the office, we're going to rewrite the proposal. We shouldn't present only what we can offer. We need to present it from the client's perspective—what they actually need, the problem they want solved, and how our company is going to solve it.”

He listened for a moment.

“Yes. Exactly. We'll work on it tomorrow.”

He ended the call and turned to me.

“Thank you.”

Before I could say anything, he pulled me into a hug.

I smiled.

“Come on. I'm just happy I could help. I pray you guys win the contract.”

“That would make me very happy.”

He smiled at me.

“And I won't forget that you helped me see this differently.”

The next morning, Chidi left early for the office.

Just before he left, he came to my room as usual.

He was about to walk out when I called him back.

“Chidi.”

He turned.

“Yes?”

“Come. Let me pray for you.”

He looked surprised.

“You want to pray for me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Isn't today your company's presentation?”

“Yes.”

“Then come. Let me pray for you.”

He laughed.

“You're going to pray for me?”

I smiled.

“You call me your Angel, right? Come. Let your Angel bless you.”

He smiled and nodded.

I placed my hand gently on his shoulder and prayed for him.

I asked God to guide him, give him wisdom, and let everything he had worked so hard for succeed.

When I finished, Chidi said, “Amen.”

Then he hugged me.

“Thank you so much, Chinyere. I don't know why, but I feel like this prayer means something. I feel like it's going to do wonders.”

He smiled and walked out.

I stood there watching him leave.

That morning, I kept praying.

I prayed that God would give Chidi victory.

He had invested so much into that contract—his time, his energy, his sleepless nights, and the effort of his entire team.

I wanted him to succeed.

But I didn't know why his success suddenly mattered so much to me.

And as I watched his car disappear through the gate, one thought kept running through my mind.

What if this was more than friendship?