His Phoenix

■Messy■

The show was a big success, as expected. For obvious reasons, I declined Kelsie's offer to join them for the after party and decided to go home immediately. I was currently in an Uber. I looked down at the white envelope I was clutching in my fists. Twelve thousand. Twelve. Freaking. Thousand. Cedis.

Who the hell paid this much for a makeup job? Apparently, rich people did. Opening  the envelope, I pulled out the cheque again. Yep. The amount hadn't changed. It was still twelve thousand.

I felt giddy as the car parked in front of my apartment. Paying the Uber driver, I stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut. The car zoomed away almost immediately.

Clutching the envelope tightly, I made my way to the front door. I felt a sense of uneasiness as I pushed the door open. It quickly disappeared when my babies rushed to the door to greet me. Ophelia wasn't in the living room or the kitchen so I assumed she was in her room. Chuckling, I gave the babies their dinner and went to my room to rest.

The exhaustion hit me the moment my back hit the bed. I wondered how Kelsie had enough energy for the after party. I had been backstage the whole time and I was completely whipped. Sighing, I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply. The white envelope was tossed callously over my bed.

I smiled as I thought of everything that had happened today, minus the awkward moment with Kelsie and the unpleasant moments with the publicist. In just one day, I had earned six times my salary. I grinned. I couldn't wait for my next job.

My eyelids became heavier with every passing second. I grabbed the envelope and put it in my drawer. I would cash it tomorrow. Bigger things were about to happen for me, i could just feel it. Laying back, I relaxed and stared at the plane white ceiling. Smiling widely, I let sleep claim me.

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. The caller id displayed Nora's name. Yawning, I answered the call and pressed the phone to my ear. "Hello." I said groggily.

"You broke up with my brother?!" Nora screamed, causing me to jerk away from the phone. I was still half asleep and not at all in the mood for loud drama.

"And you didn't tell me?! Why? What did he do?" Nora exclaimed.

"My roommate."

"What?"

"Look, I'm really sorry but this isn't a good time. Ask your brother what happened." I pulled the phone away to hang up.

"He won't tell me..." Nora whined. "I thought we were friends, Kim."

I sighed. I was not in the mood to have this conversation. Although I dosed off every few seconds, I managed to mumble the whole story.

"Shit, I'm sorry." She paused. "I'm going to kill that boy."

I chuckled dryly. "Let's talk later?"

Nora reluctantly agreed and I hanged up and immediately drifted to sleep. I was awoken again by a loud banging on the front door. Growling furiously, I checked the time on my phone, which was still in my hand. The banging continued, disrupting the peace and quiet in my room and chasing my sleep away. I thrashed around on my bed angrily when it still continued. Kissing my teeth in frustration, I dragged myself up and marched to the door. Whoever this was, it better be good, I grumbled under my breath.

My scowl deepened when I wrenched the door open. Kwame was standing there, sheepishly staring at me with a bouquet of roses in one hand and a large, flat, velvet case in the other. I stared daggers at him. He had no idea how close I was to sucker-punching him.

"What?" I bit out. The sleepiness was completely gone now and it was all his fault.

"I...uh, I came to congratulate you." He lifted his load a tad higher. "Nora told me about the job you landed with Kelsie."

I stared at him blankly. "Thanks." We stood there in awkward silence after that. Me glaring daggers at him, and him looking everywhere else but my face. "Actually, I was wondering if we could talk for a bit. I don't want to worry you, I swear. I just want us to work things out."

I could see his mouth moving up and down but it took a while for me to process everything he was saying. "No." I replied curtly.

"Thank you for..." I motioned to the roses and the gift. "...this. But no thank you. There's nothing to figure out. So, if you'll excuse me..." I tried to slam the door but he wedged his foot between the door and the door frame, making it impossible to shut him out.

"What're you doing?" I raised an eyebrow. In response, he rammed his shoulder against the door, forcing it open. I stepped back with a loud gasp, my heart racing in my chest. I looked around helplessly as he stepped into my apartment, that wild, frenzied gleam burning in his eyes.

"Get out." I commanded shakily, pointing a trembling finger to the open door behind us. Ignoring me, he took a few more steps forward. I mirrored him and took a few steps back. Stooping down, he gently set the roses and the box on my couch and straightened himself. Tugging at the tight suit clinging to his body, he fixed his collar and pinned me in place with a cold glare that made the hairs on the nape of my neck stand. A chill ran down my spine as he came closer.

"I said get out." My voice was steadier this time. He shook his head. "I've been patient." He said calmly. "Very patient. But this nonsense ends now. I love you. You love me. That's all that matters."

"Get. Out." I growled, my rising anger fueling my courage. I took a bold step forward and pushed him backwards. He only moved back a fraction. My attempt to physically remove him seemed to anger him. Glaring down at me, he gripped my wrists in a bruising hold. I winced as I tried to free myself. He was too strong. I felt tears burn my eyes when he yanked me forward and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me against his chest tightly.

"Stop," I hated how it sounded like I was begging him but I was really scared now. Ophelia was nowhere to be seen, Harley and Tom were in my room and I didn't have anything to defend myself with. I was completely vulnerable.

Kwame pressed me tighter against him and wrapped his other hand around my throat firmly. It wasn't enough to cut off my air supply but it was enough to pinch my skin with his nails. Shuddering, I clawed at the hand around my throat. Was this how it ended for me?

"I missed you." He murmured lovingly.

"Stop." My voice cracked as the tears threatened to fall. Ignoring me, he started to lean in, holding my head in place with the hand that was around my neck.

I had a knee-jerk reaction to that. Literally. My knee jerked upwards in an attempt to render him sterile. Before it could meet its mark, however, he shifted his leg, blocking my attack and securing his possibility of procreation.

He chuckled down at me as he shook his head and pressed me tighter against him. I could feel every muscle, every dip, every buldge. Before he could lean in again,  he suddenly let go of me and tumbled to the ground. Grabbing the opportunity i jumped back, swiped the tears from my eyes and blinked up at the tall, dark figure standing in my doorway.

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Xo, theera💝