'If she isn't who I say she is? Why is she crying?" Yetunde yelled.

Olumide flew to Romola's defence. "Because your lies hurt."

Yetunde turned her back to the couple, her fingers tracing wavy lines on the book shelf. "She probably told you the same story. That she is the only child of an overprotective mother and an engineer father?"

Romola tried to suck in her tears as the lies she told her friend began to fall apart. "Yetunde?"

"I always thought her story was a little too much but I decided to give her the benefit of doubt. It was when I tried to find her mother that I realized that she lied about everything. The Romola I know, the one you know, is not the real Romola."

"Stop. Stop it." Romola clutched the sides of her aching head. She drew in sharp shaky breaths and sucked salty tears.

"If that was the only lie she told, I wouldn't have had a problem but, Olumide," Yetunde picked a large hardcover book off the shelf and dusted it. "Your babe is a confam deceiver.

"She told her mother that all the expensive clothes, jewellery and even the phone she uses was given by me as gifts because I'm Santa Claus. Her mother can barely afford to pay her school fees. You should see her house. How do you think your girlfriend sponsors herself? She claims that she comes home every weekend but her mother says otherwise. That she rarely sees her daughter. She has to beg her to come home."

Romola shrieked and flew at Yetunde.

Yetunde pushed Romola back and Romola tripped over her heels and landed on the floor. Yetunde pushed her short blonde hair out of her face and glared at Romola, her chest heaving, her icy demeanour fading. "Do you see that? Only some local chic would do that. If she really doesn't remember anything, why would she attack me like that?"

Yetunde's voice rose and her words tumbled faster. "I think this was all a plan for her to catch a gullible man to sponsor her. She knew you liked her and she's taking advantage of you."

"That's not true." Romola said. "I wouldn't do that."

Olumide crouched beside her. "I don't believe her."

"I expected that." Yetunde said.

Romola turned away from Olumide, the metallic taste of blood mixing with spittle in her mouth. She spat it out, watching Yetunde's face crunch up in disgust. She wished she could spit on Yetunde's dress instead.

"You've done a good job of deceiving everyone except me." Yetunde found Olumide's eyes. "I have proof. You can swipe left or right. It doesn't really matter. No one in her house can say for sure what she does every weekend. She claims she's in school but she has never spent a weekend in school."

Yetunde gave Olumide her phone.

He hesitated, facing Romola. "Is this true?"

He picked the phone, bending his head over it. Romola had a feeling that the pictures playing in her head were the same ones on the phone. The phone clattered to the floor. And his hand gripped her chin, forcing her to stare into his eyes. The same lips that had worked wonders on his skin were the same ones that shook the walls of her heart.

His voice was louder, intense. "Answer me. Is this true?"

"I don't... I never meant to-" She fought the sobs that tried to choke her voice.

"You never meant what?"

She buried her face in her palm. "I didn't mean to hurt anybody."

Olumide chortled without mirth. "It's funny though. I sent you to watch Yetunde but she finds you out instead."

"You... you asked me to spy?" Romola repeated the words as the memory of their first date burnt deeply in her mind.

"So you remember. And here I was thinking there was some hope for you." He dropped his hand.

She inched closer to him, gripping his shoulder. He was the centre of the little world she'd discovered when she opened her eyes in the hospital and he was about to abandon it. The person who held her world in place would leave. Her galaxy would crumble.

"It's not like that."

He shrugged her hand off. "If you had told me these lies when you lost your memory. I would've understood but you said these in your sane mind. To me. Well done Romola. Beautiful acting. You really couldn't remember anything right because you have found a rich guy to sink your claws into. And to think that I wanted to..."

"I don't really remember anything... everything. It started coming to me like two days ago. I can explain."

"Don't." He rose. "We should both get awards. One for you, the best actress and me, the biggest fool."

"Let me explain." Romola drew her legs under her butt as she knelt, holding unto his legs with ugly tears running down her face. "Please."

"It's very convenient for you right? To suddenly remember after you're caught. There is nothing you can say that will redeem you. I can't even stand the look of you right now."

He shook her off his legs, picked Yetunde's phone off the floor and cast her a long look of disappointment before returning Yetunde's phone.

"Leave my house."