Episode 2: What If Everybody Is Right?
The next few days became uncomfortable in a way I couldn’t explain.
Nothing had changed between Daniel and me physically, but mentally, everything suddenly felt heavier.
Every sweet thing he did now came with questions attached to it.
When he sent me money for food, I wondered if he was trying to make me dependent on him.
When he called late at night asking if I had eaten, I started asking myself if this was how women slowly became emotionally trapped.
Even when he said “I miss you,” my brain immediately remembered Chioma’s voice:
“Men can act perfect until they get what they want.”
It irritated me because I hated how fear could poison beautiful things.
Still, I couldn’t ignore the doubts completely.
One evening after class, I sat alone under a tree near the faculty building trying to read, but my mind kept wandering back to the same issue.
Move in or not?
My phone buzzed.
Daniel.
I stared at the screen for almost ten seconds before answering.
“Hello baby,” he said warmly.
“Hi.”
“You sound tired.”
“I am.”
“Still on campus?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m around GRA for a meeting. Want me to pick you up after?”
Normally, I would’ve said yes immediately.
But now every interaction felt like part of a bigger decision.
“No, it’s fine,” I replied.
There was a brief silence.
Then he asked carefully, “Did I do something wrong?”
That question made guilt stab my chest immediately.
“No! Why would you ask that?”
“You’ve been distant.”
I looked away as students passed nearby laughing loudly.
“It’s just school stress.”
Daniel stayed quiet for a moment like he knew I wasn’t telling the full truth.
Finally he sighed softly.
“Okay. But don’t shut me out.”
His voice sounded genuinely hurt.
That made everything worse.
Because the truth was… Daniel hadn’t actually done anything wrong.
That night, I couldn’t sleep properly.
So around 1 a.m., I left the hostel room and sat outside the corridor where the night breeze was cooler.
That was where I met Esther.
Final-year nursing student.
One of the calmest people in our hostel.
She was returning from night study when she saw me sitting alone.
“You look troubled,” she said, sitting beside me.
I laughed weakly. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.”
I hesitated for a while before finally telling her everything.
From meeting Daniel…
To the relationship…
To the apartment issue…
To my friends practically declaring national emergency over it.
Esther listened quietly without interrupting once.
When I finished, she asked only one question.
“What do you think about him?”
I blinked.
“That’s the problem. I don’t know anymore.”
“No,” she said calmly. “You know. You’re just scared.”
I looked down at my hands.
The corridor light flickered above us.
“He’s good to me,” I admitted softly. “Very good.”
“But?”
“But what if everybody is right?”
Esther leaned back against the wall.
“You know something funny? Nigerian women are trained to prepare for heartbreak before happiness.”
I looked at her.
“We hear so many terrible stories that eventually fear starts sounding like wisdom.”
That sentence hit me harder than expected.
“But people are also realistic,” I argued quietly. “Some men genuinely stop taking marriage seriously after moving in together.”
“Yes,” Esther agreed. “And some men marry women they never even lived with and still cheat after two months.”
I frowned.
She continued gently:
“There’s no formula for avoiding pain completely.”
The breeze moved softly through the corridor.
For the first time in days, I felt my chest loosen slightly.
“So you think I should move in?” I asked.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I’m saying your decision should be based on who he is… not random horror stories.”
I stayed quiet.
Then she added something that stayed with me long after she left.
“Ask yourself this: if marriage was removed from the conversation completely, would this still feel like a healthy relationship?”
I didn’t answer immediately.
Because deep down…
The answer was yes.
The following Saturday, Daniel invited me over again.
I almost cancelled twice before finally going.
The moment he opened the door, I noticed something different immediately.
He looked nervous.
Not visibly shaking nervous.
Just unusually careful.
“You’re here,” he said with a small smile.
I entered slowly.
The apartment smelled like pepper soup.
“You cooked?”
“Don’t laugh at me first before tasting it.”
That made me smile despite myself.
As we ate, he kept glancing at me like he was trying to read my mood.
Finally he dropped his spoon.
“Talk to me.”
I looked up.
“You’ve been avoiding me all week.”
I sighed quietly.
“My friends think moving in with you is a bad idea.”
He nodded slowly like he already suspected that.
“And what do you think?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
Daniel leaned back in his chair.
“You think I’m trying to use you?”
“No.”
“You think I don’t love you seriously?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you’re afraid.”
I looked down immediately because he was right.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he surprised me completely.
“I understand.”
I looked up sharply.
“What?”
“I understand why you’re scared.”
That wasn’t the response I expected.
Most men would’ve become defensive immediately.
But Daniel continued calmly.
“You’re a woman. Society judges women differently. If anything goes wrong, people will blame you more.”
I stared at him silently.
“I know living together means something deeper for women,” he continued. “And I know some men misuse it.”
The sincerity in his voice made my chest tighten painfully.
Then he said quietly:
“But I’m not asking because I want convenience.”
“Then why?”
He held my gaze.
“Because when I think about my future, you’re already inside it.”
My heart started beating too fast again.
Dangerously fast.
“I’ve dated enough to know when something is real,” he said softly. “And with you… it feels peaceful.”
I looked away immediately because my eyes suddenly burned.
No man had ever spoken to me like that before.
Not with pressure.
Not with manipulation.
Just honesty.
Then he added one sentence that completely confused my emotions again.
“If it makes you feel safer, we can involve your family.”
I turned sharply.
“What do you mean?”
“I can come officially. Meet your parents properly.”
I blinked repeatedly.
Was he serious?
He nodded.
“I’m not afraid of commitment.”
For a moment, I genuinely forgot how to breathe.
Because suddenly…
This no longer sounded like a man trying to “play house.”
This sounded frighteningly close to something real.
But life has a way of complicating things exactly when your heart starts relaxing.
Because later that night…
As I was about leaving his apartment…
A woman walked toward us from the parking lot.
Beautiful.
Light-skinned.
Confident.
And the way she looked at Daniel immediately made my stomach twist.
“Daniel?”
He froze instantly.
Not dramatically.
But enough for me to notice.
The woman smiled slowly.
“Well… this is unexpected.”
Then she turned to me.
“And who’s this?”
The atmosphere changed immediately.
And before Daniel could answer…
I saw something I had never seen before on his face.
Panic.
