Dark brown eyes and pink lips greeted Chidiogo the moment she opened her eyes. She blinked, trying to clear her bleary eyes.

"She's awake."

A voice announced before another pair of eyes came into sight, staring down at her. It took a while for her to make out Justin and Amelia's faces.

"Let me go inform the others," Amelia said.

Justin nodded in response but she already had her back to him and was out the door in no time. Silence shrouded the both of them the moment the door slammed shut.

Chidiogo tried to avoid his gaze, aware of his hands on hers, as she took the chance to observe her environment. Wooden decorative panelled walls surrounded her, several paintings covering them-familiar paintings at that.

Her eyes roamed around, taking in the mahogany reading desk, the adjacent wall almost covered entirely by a window with a transparent white curtain shielding it and two thick brown curtains hanging on either sides of it.

Her brain seemed to be lagging but the place looked so much like her room.

"Where am I?" she asked, reverting her gaze to Justin who had just been staring at her without uttering a word.

"In your room," he answered, his voice plain.

"How did I-"

Justin placed his pointer on her lips, preventing any more words from coming out. She sucked in a breath at the action, her heart picking up pace.

His finger left her lips in no time and soon his voice filled the air.

"You shouldn't be talking. You should try and get some rest. I'll leave now."

His hands left hers as he stood up. He started turning but she held onto his hand, preventing his movement. He turned to her, quirking a brow as he moved his eyes between her hand on his and her face.

She let go of his hands, recoiling her fingers.

"S-sorry about that. I just wanted to know . . . Can you stay a while longer?"

He stared at her without uttering any word. Just when she was sure he wouldn't speak, he sighed, plopping down on the side of her bed where he was seated before.

"I need to go find Mmachi. She looked pretty upset about everything that happened and what you said . . ." He trailed off. "I need to check if she's alright."

Chidiogo pursed her lips at his words.

"You don't believe that she's the one responsible for my state?"

"I don't."

His face was deadpan as he spoke. Chidiogo forced a nod and a smile. Her voice came out strangled when she spoke.

"Okay."

Justin ran his hand through his hair, tousling the already disarranged mass of light brown.

"Look," he started, placing his hands on the bed, "I don't know what made you believe that she's the one behind it but I'm a hundred percent sure that she has nothing to do with it. I-"

"Leave."

Her eyes were pinned to the ceiling as she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Didn't you want me to stay earlier?"

She squeezed her eyes shut on hearing his words, cursing herself for not being able to get a hold on her feelings.

"I know it's hard to believe it but even if you think you're right, just keep an open mind. Try to remember anything that could help because if it turns out that you were wrong about Mmachi, then your life is still in danger since for all you know; the attacker might just be the person you trust the most."

Chidiogo opened her eyes on hearing his words. His dark brown eyes still stared at her but his expression had softened.

"Try not to be biased. Jealousy or anything else, keep them aside and-"

"What are you trying to say?"

Chidiogo leaned up against her bed frame, wincing at the pain that spiked through her chest.

"Are you okay?"

He leaned towards her as he spoke, reaching out to help adjust the pillow behind her.

"Don't bother," Chidiogo said, raising her hand in a gesture which halted his actions. "I'm fine."

Tears had trickled down her cheeks and Justin was about to comment about it when she continued speaking.

"What did you mean by me being biased? You think I'm doing this because I'm jealous of Mmachi?"

Her tone rose in spite of the way it spiked pain through her chest. Justin avoided her gaze, finding the grey comforter fancier than her face.

"What else am I supposed to think?" His voice was calm, a stark contrast to hers. "I don't know what's going through your head but I just want you to know that my heart belongs to Mmachi and no one else."

The words sunk into Chidiogo like a sword and she felt her throat tighten. Fresh tears brimmed her eyes but she didn't let them fall. She cleared her throat, blinking away the tears.

A few of them betrayed her, falling down her cheeks in globules. She swiped them away quickly before Justin could see it.

"I know. I don't have a problem with your relationship."

"Then why did you say you wanted to sleep with me?"

His words knocked all the air out of her lungs. She forgot how to speak for a moment as she gaped at him. She didn't think he would remember it, let alone bringing it up.

After minutes of the almost silent humming of the air conditioner filling the silence which ensued, she blinked, recovering herself.

She started laughing afterwards, hoping the shrill sound which emanated from her didn't sound as fake to him as it did to her. Justin's face crinkled at her stared at her.

She didn't pay much attention to it, throwing her head back and laughing until her chest hurt. She stopped when it transitioned into fits of cough, clutching onto her chest as though it would numb the pain.

"Hey, calm down. Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Justin asked, already standing up to assist her.

She waved her hand, trying to stifle a cough. When she finally recovered, she mustered the widest smile she could come up with as she stared at Justin.

"You really think I meant what I said?"

She tried to keep an amused expression but was certain she just looked constipated. Justin blinked at her words, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"You didn't mean it?"

His brows had scrunched the skin between them and his lips were tilted down. Chidiogo couldn't help admiring how cute he looked for a second.

She snapped herself out of it, remembering what she needed to do.

"Of course not," she said, giving off a chuckle which sounded anything but genuine. "I only said it because I needed to say something and Amelia already has this weird idea that there's something going on between me and Paschal so I didn't want to do anything that could fuel the idea.

"I would have called any other guy but I only know you and Paschal and I didn't think it was safe to call any of the other guys since-you know, they could get the wrong idea. So yeah, I didn't mean it at all. Trust me."

Justin's silence dragged out for a long time after her words. Finally, he nodded before standing up.

"Get better soon," he said, before leaving her to dwell on her thoughts.

She wasn't granted the luxury of being alone with her thoughts for a long time before a knock interrupted the stillness that had fallen upon the room.

"Come in," she said, loud enough for whoever was on the other side to hear it.

A whole minute passed and she was starting to think the knock was just in her head before the door creaked open to reveal Paschal.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked as he took slow steps towards her bed.

He stopped right in front of her bed stand and stared at her, awaiting a reply.

"Yeah, I'm fine now."

"Okay, I just wanted to check up on you before I left. Sorry for everything that happened and-"

"Why are you saying sorry?" she asked, interrupting him. "It wasn't your fault and plus it's fine now-I guess."

He nodded and opened his mouth to speak but closed it back. The act caused her to furrow her brows.

"You were going to say something?" she prompted, not breaking eye contact.

"Yeah, actually I just wanted to ask if you were really sure that Mmachi was the one behind your attack."

The question struck a wrong nerve in her for reasons she couldn't understand. Firstly, Justin doubted her and now Paschal was questioning her on the same issue.

"Believe what you want."

Her tone was dismissive and she looked away from him, folding her arms across her chest.

"No, I genuinely want to hear what you have to say."

"What do you want me to say!? No one wants to believe me but it's not my fault that I just had to notice her muddied shoes when she came in. Kaima might have sided with her for reasons I just can't comprehend but that doesn't change anything!"

Paschal was a bit taken aback by her tone.

"Woah, calm down. Breathe, okay?"

She huffed, still avoiding his gaze.

"I get what you're saying and I also get that you and Mmachi don't get along but her coming in with muddied shoes doesn't really prove anything.

"Kaima was literally soaked in mud. Did you accuse her of being the culprit? Or didn't it occur to you that she might have had a hand in it?"

Chidiogo pressed her lips together for a moment, considering his words. It was a bit strange that Kaima conveniently fell into a ditch.

"But she said that she was stuck in a ditch for over thirty minutes," Chidiogo said, finally looking at Paschal.

"And what proof do you have? It's just her words, isn't it?"

Chidiogo remained silent. The last thing she remembered was pushing off the attacker. If it was Chikaima, it meant that she probably fell in the ditch and Mmachi was right about finding her and trying to help her.

But something still didn't add up. Chikaima had no valid reason to want her dead. Mmachi, on the other hand, had over a million.

"I don't know what to believe anymore," she said, shaking her head.

"Don't stress yourself about it. Just get some rest. We'll figure it out later. I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I left. I'll be on my way now."

He turned to leave but Chidiogo's voice halted him.

"Thanks for everything. It really means a lot."

A small smile appeared on his face as he turned around to look at her.

"Anything for you."

Chidiogo blushed a little at his words although she waved it aside as a normal remark. He left afterwards, letting her dwell on her thoughts.

She compared the incidents that had taken place since her transfer with those of her former school. Maybe she had been wrong, Jasmine high wasn't such a nightmare compared to this.

A/N: GUESS WHO HAS A MONTH BREAK AND IS FINALLY READY TO BE A RESPONSIBLE WRITER? THIS GIRLLLLLLLL!

SO APART FROM THE FACT THAT I STILL HAVE TO READ, AT LEAST I HAVE FREE TIME ON MY HANDS NOW. IT WOULD BE TOO MUCH TO HOPE THAT I FINISH THIS BOOK IN A MONTH BUT I'LL HOLD MYSELF RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT😂.

AGAIN I HAVE NO COMMENTS FOR THIS CHAPTER, DO YOU? BTW, EXPECT AN UPDATE TOMORROW. I THINK IT'S ABOUT TIME WE GO BACK TO SCHOOL.