Time moved like a gentle tide—first slow, then sudden.
Before they knew it, Liana's final results were out.
She had passed her senior examination with flying colors. Her name glowed in the top rankings. Her parents cried tears of joy. Linda and Lisa screamed so loudly, the entire compound knew their sister had made it.
But for Liana, the most shocking part wasn't the results.
It was the email that followed.
Dear Miss Liana M. James,
Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Harvard University for undergraduate studies...
She didn't scream.
She didn't faint.
She just sat quietly, holding the email, her eyes wide, tears threatening to fall.
Her dream—something she whispered at night, something she never even expected—was real.
Meanwhile...
When Zayne heard the news, his smile was wide, proud—but a crack formed deep inside him.
Harvard.
Across the world.
He knew this day would come. She told him. She warned him. But still… the truth tasted bittersweet.
So he did the only thing that made sense in the moment.
"Guess what?" he texted her.
"I got accepted into MIT."
Liana was thrilled.
She screamed through voice notes.
Told her parents.
They congratulated him warmly.
She never suspected a thing.
Zayne did get into MIT.
He went to MIT university for his masters, taking online classes under a smaller private university, and doing business on the side—building up a quiet empire for himself. But he lied… to keep her inspired. To keep her focused. To not hold her back.
He knew if she found out he stayed, she might hesitate.
And he didn't want her to.
He made a promise to wait for her. And part of waiting… was letting her fly.
The Years That Passed
Year One was hard.
The time difference.
The distance.
The missed calls.
But they still talked.
Not every day, but enough to matter.
Zayne would send her memes, random songs, voice notes teasing her accent.
Liana would send pictures of Harvard's campus, her new hairstyle, or how she burnt her noodles at midnight.
Year Two was easier.
They adjusted.
Found rhythm.
Liana grew stronger. More confident.
Zayne became more silent, more composed—but he still messaged her first, always.
Year Three, something changed.
Liana started noticing… she missed him differently.
His voice made her heart skip.
His texts made her smile longer.
She would reread their chats at night and laugh quietly under her blanket.
And just when she was beginning to make sense of her feelings—
Daniel entered the picture.
Enter Daniel Adewale
Daniel was everything.
Tall.
Elegant.
Son of a Nigerian oil magnate.
His accent—smooth and Western.
His looks—straight out of a fashion magazine.
And the worst part?
He was in two of Liana's classes.
He first noticed her during a campus event—her braids, her glasses, the way she spoke softly when answering a question.
He didn't waste time.
He invited her to coffee.
She refused.
Then he invited her again—to a student seminar. She hesitated but went.
And slowly, he found a way in.
Daniel was persistent, polite, and patient. But he was clear about one thing:
"I like you, Liana.
You're different. You don't walk like the rest of them. You walk like someone who knows where she's going."
She didn't know what to say to that.
Because part of her heart still whispered Zayne.
But Daniel was here. He was real. He was charming.
And Zayne?
Zayne was thousands of miles away.
Zayne stared at her latest Instagram story—Liana and Daniel standing side by side at a campus event, smiling with others in the background.
He zoomed in.
Saw the glow in her face.
His jaw tightened.
But he didn't ask.
He didn't text.
He just whispered to himself, painfully,
"I'll wait.
Even if it hurts…
I'll wait."