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*Love No More*
*Chapter 5*: The Rain + The Car Ride*
The lobby doors hadn’t even closed behind him before the sky ripped open.
Rain. Hard. Angry. Lagos rain that doesn’t ask permission.
I didn’t have an umbrella. Of course I didn’t.
I had three backup pens and a tablet, but no umbrella.
Daniel was already at his car. Black Bentley. Driver holding the door open.
He paused when he saw me standing under the small canopy, hugging my files to my chest.
For 2 seconds, he just stared.
Then: "Get in."
"Sir, I can wait for the rain to—"
"Get. In. Abigail."
I got in.
The car was warm. Smelled like him. Wood, cedar, and something expensive I couldn’t name.
The driver put up the partition. It was just us.
Silence. Except for rain hitting the windows.
I stared at my lap. "Thank you for the ride, sir. I can get out at the next junction—"
"You live in Surulere." It wasn’t a question.
"How did you—"
"I have your HR file."
A pause. "And I pay attention."
My heart did something stupid.
The car hit traffic on Eko Bridge. We weren’t moving.
Rain slid down the windows in lines. The city looked blurry.
"You were shaking in there," he said suddenly.
I looked up. He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking out the window. Tie loosened now. Mask cracked.
"When Hale spoke to you."
"It was nothing, sir."
"Don’t lie to me."
His voice wasn’t cold. It was... tired.
"He’s done it to 3 other PAs. They quit within 6 months."
Oh.
So that’s why he stepped in.
"Did I embarrass you?" I whispered.
He finally turned to me. Rain reflected in his eyes.
"You embarrassed him."
A ghost of a smirk. "I don’t do public scenes unless someone deserves it."
The car moved again.
We were 10 minutes from my bus stop.
"Abigail."
"Yes, sir?"
"About what I said. In the meeting."
He ran a hand through his hair. Daniel Carter. Undone.
"It wasn’t about you being mine. It was about you being off-limits. To them."
Right. Off-limits. Not his.
_Her time is mine_ was just... HR policy.
"Understood, sir."
He nodded. Once. The mask clicked back on.
The car stopped at my junction. The rain hadn’t stopped.
The driver opened my door. I grabbed my bag.
"Thank you, sir."
I was halfway out when his voice stopped me.
"Abigail."
I turned.
He was holding out his suit jacket. Black. Huge on me. Still warm from his body.
"For the rain. Return it on Monday."
I took it. My fingers brushed his.
Static.
"Yes, sir."
I ran through the rain. His jacket over my head.
It smelled like him.
In the car, Daniel watched her disappear into the rain.
And for the first time in 5 years, he didn’t call his driver to follow her.
He just sat there.
_Distraction_, he told himself.
_Liar_, something else answered.
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Okay but him giving her his JACKET?? 😩
And "off-limits to THEM" not to him?? The math is not mathing Daniel.
Ready for *Chapter 6: Monday Morning + The Jacket* next? That’s where she returns it and things get tense 👀
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