“I know, right?” I ask bitterly.
Sewa waves her hands in a circular motion. “Wait, so you mean to tell me you’ve been messing with the shadow man?” she deadpans.
“Can you be serious?” Anjie attempts to chide her, but she cackles. I burst out laughing as well. The laughter soothes my aching heart.
“She’s laughing,” Sewa whispers, obviously pleased with herself. I give her another hug. You can only laugh at the ridiculousness of this entire situation.
“He was very charismatic,” I croak, recalling the line fromThe Princess and the Frog. Sewa made us watch it one night in college when we’d been reminiscing about Disney movies and Anjie and I confessed we’d never seen it.
Anjie gets our ice cream from the freezer, and I nuzzle into Sewa’s embrace.
“I feel like a fool,” I confess when Anjie comes back.
“Why?” Anjie lowers herself back onto the rug.
“I fell for another liar.”
“Babes.” Sewa shakes me gently, and it clears Niyi from my mind.
“Hmm?”
“You’re not a fool. Especially not for getting to know someone for almost two months before sleeping with him.” Sewa strokes the edges of my hairline.
I can’t help but blame myself. Two months of interacting with this guy, and I didn’t see it. I even mentioned his downright godly looks, and I didn’t see it.
I tell them as much, and Anjie hisses a long, winding hiss that transports me back to Lagos.
“Anjola,” Sewa warns.
“I need to say this,” Anjie says with an edge, and I grunt my approval, preparing myself because I know whatever is about to come out of her mouth won’t be pretty.
“You aren’t a fool. You didn’t see it because you didn’t know. How were you supposed to know? No one would’ve guessed regular-ass people have the spirits of celestial bodies.”
“But—”
“Let me finish,” Anjie says. “He told you the truth the moment it looked like things would become serious, right?”
I nod begrudgingly. “I don’t get how you’re so chill about this.”
Anjie exhales, “Because you were happy, Moyo—aside from this, youwere happy. I don’t care if you end up with the fucking Loch Ness monster, if it makes you happy. Unlike previous times, you haven’t been performing joy and ticking boxes. You’ve been living! And for that, I would say this burgeoning relationship may be good for you.”
“Greatfor you!” Sewa adds. “Plus, he said he’s finding a way to end the whole thing.”
“Also, when I found him here last night, he seemed way more polite and respectful than Cole ever was,” Anjie mentions, and I wince because Sewa’s eyes bulge. I have so much to update her on.
My head tilts back to rest on my bed frame. I’m not ready to listen to them, so I stare at the ceiling and tune them out. I understand where she’s coming from. Realistically, there’s no way I could’ve known if he hadn’t told me, minus the comatose state. And if he hadn’t, I would’ve kept falling for him. Part of me feels like I should’ve known, the same way I should’ve known about Cole. I’m tired of being blindsided and not being in control when it’s my life.
“I want some control over my life.” I sigh.
“And you have that. You left and you called us. That’s what you can control,” Anjie says.
“I need more than that. The men I choose constantly disappoint me, and I’m tired of it.”
“Niyi isn’t like the others,” Sewa says.
“Not one bit. You didn’t find out the truth. He told you. He trusted you with a secret that could change his life and the entire app,” Anjie says. “For the first time, you aren’t the only vulnerable one.”
“And that’s what a relationship is, sharing vulnerabilities. Even the scary parts,” Sewa says.
