Three days.
That's how long it had been since everything fell apart.
Three days since Daniel walked away.
Three days since Tunde ended things like I was nothing.
Three days…
And I was already losing myself.
I stared at my phone again.
No messages.
No calls.
Nothing.
Not from Daniel.
Not from Tunde.
It was like they both decided to disappear from my life at the same time.
Like I never mattered.
Like everything we had… meant nothing.
My chest tightened painfully.
"No…" I whispered to myself, shaking my head. "That's not true."
It couldn't be.
Because if it was…
Then what was I holding onto?
I opened Daniel's chat for the hundredth time.
Still the same last message:
We need to talk.
The irony made my chest ache.
We talked.
And somehow… that made everything worse.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.
I had typed and deleted the same message so many times, I had lost count.
I miss you.
Delete.
Can we talk?
Delete.
I'm sorry.
Delete.
Nothing felt right.
Nothing felt enough.
Because how do you fix something you broke completely?
That night, I couldn't take it anymore.
I grabbed my bag, my heart racing as one thought filled my head.
I need to see him.
Not text.
Not call.
See him.
Because maybe… just maybe… if I looked into his eyes again, I could fix this.
Or at least understand it.
His house wasn't far.
I had been there too many times before.
Too many memories.
Too many moments that suddenly meant more than they were supposed to.
By the time I got there, my hands were already shaking.
What was I even going to say?
Hey, I broke your heart and my relationship… can we go back to normal?
Pathetic.
I stood in front of his gate, staring at it like it might answer me.
Then slowly…
I knocked.
Once.
Twice.
Nothing.
My heart started beating faster.
"Daniel?" I called softly.
Still nothing.
Panic started creeping in.
I reached for my phone and called him.
It rang.
And rang.
And rang.
Then—
Voicemail.
My chest tightened.
"No… no, no, no…"
I tried again.
Same thing.
That's when I noticed it.
The house was too quiet.
Too still.
Like no one had been there for a while.
A strange feeling settled in my stomach.
Something wasn't right.
"Looking for someone?"
The voice behind me made me jump.
I turned quickly to see an older woman standing a few steps away, watching me.
"Um… yes," I said, my voice unsteady. "Daniel. Does he— is he home?"
She gave me a small, almost pitying look.
"You don't know?"
My heart dropped instantly.
"Know what?"
"He left."
Everything inside me went cold.
"What do you mean… left?"
She shifted slightly. "Packed up yesterday. Said something about needing a break. I think he traveled."
The world tilted.
"No…" I whispered.
That wasn't possible.
He wouldn't just leave.
Not without telling me.
Not without saying goodbye.
Right?
"When is he coming back?" I asked quickly, desperation creeping into my voice.
She shook her head slowly.
"I don't think he mentioned that."
I didn't remember how I got home.
Everything after that felt like a blur.
My mind kept replaying the same words over and over again.
He left.
He left.
He left.
And suddenly…
It felt like I couldn't breathe.
The next morning didn't feel like a new day.
It felt like a continuation of a nightmare.
I picked up my phone again, my chest tight with something I couldn't control anymore.
Desperation.
Obsession.
I opened his social media.
Nothing new.
No posts.
No updates.
It was like he vanished completely.
Like he erased himself.
"Why would you do this…" I whispered, my eyes burning with tears. "Why would you leave me like this?"
Leave me.
The words hit differently now.
Because that's what it felt like.
Not distance.
Not space.
Abandonment.
Then my phone buzzed suddenly.
My heart jumped.
I grabbed it quickly, hope rushing through me.
But the moment I saw the name…
My expression changed.
Tunde.
I hesitated.
Then answered.
"Hello?"
"I think you should see this."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
My chest tightened. "See what?"
"Check my status."
The call ended.
Confusion mixed with dread as I quickly opened it.
And the moment I saw it…
My heart shattered all over again.
It was a picture.
Tunde.
And another girl.
Close.
Smiling.
Happy.
Like nothing ever happened.
Like I never existed.
My hands started shaking.
"That was fast…" I whispered, tears falling freely now.
But the worst part?
The caption.
"Peace feels better than confusion."
Something inside me broke completely.
I dropped my phone slowly, my breathing uneven.
Everything was gone.
Daniel.
Tunde.
Both of them.
And I was left alone…
With feelings I couldn't escape.
But as the tears kept falling…
Something else started to grow inside me.
Something darker.
Stronger.
More dangerous.
Because this pain?
It wasn't just hurting anymore.
It was turning into something else.
Something that whispered quietly in the back of my mind—
Find him.
My fingers tightened slightly.
My eyes slowly lifted.
And for the first time since everything happened…
There was something different in them.
Not just sadness.
Not just regret.
But determination.
Obsession.
"You don't just disappear like that, Daniel…" I whispered softly.
My voice steady now.
Almost calm.
"I'll find you."