It all changed the morning after the punishment.
I stumbled onto campus like a bruised shadow of myself.
My skin still prickled with the memory of cold slaps and biting words, the sting of humiliation fresh and raw.
My arms bore the marks—red welts blooming like dark flowers across my skin, a map of pain no one wanted to see.
I didn't try to hide it anymore.
Not after that night.
I barely saw the faces around me, barely heard the usual noise of the morning rush.
But then—
There he was.
Rob.
Leaning against the cracked wall of the Physics lab, jaw clenched tight, fists balled like he was ready to fight the whole world.
His eyes flicked up the moment I appeared.
"What did they do to you?" His voice was low, a growl barely human, laced with anger and something else—helplessness, maybe.
I didn't have to answer.
He saw it in my eyes.
The silent confession of everything I'd endured.
Before I could stop him, before I could pull him back—
He stormed across the hallway.
His target was clear.
No, not just anyone—
Timi.
Rob's best friend.
His right hand.
His brother since JSS1.
⸻
Timi was laughing.
Laughing at me.
That laugh, sharp and cruel, cut deeper than any slap.
"The naked girl," he sneered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
He pointed at the welts on my arms like they were trophies I'd begged for.
"Did you fight a lion, or just try to survive your own shame?"
The hallway froze for a second, then exploded into whispers and shocked gasps.
But Rob didn't hesitate.
⸻
He slapped him.
Hard.
The sound echoed like thunder in the silence.
In front of everyone.
Teachers, students, the unforgiving eyes of God.
Timi staggered back, stunned.
Rob's chest heaved.
His whole circle, the boys who once nodded at him in the hallways, now stared like he was a stranger.
"You're moving mad for that girl?" one spat.
"You slapped me over her?" Timi growled, rubbing his cheek, furious.
"She's not even yours. She's the school's…" another whispered cruelly.
Rob didn't blink.
"I love her," he said one day—loudly, without shame.
Like my name was a battle cry.
Like I was worth every fight, every war.
⸻
Somehow, that was the moment everything changed.
We became legends.
The couple no one expected.
Girls hated me with a venom that tasted like acid in the air.
Their envy was a blade sharper than any gossip or rumor.
They hated that he chose me.
Loudly.
Repeatedly.
Without apology.
⸻
But the juniors?
The ones just starting out, wide-eyed and hopeful?
They worshipped us.
Notes appeared in my locker like secret treasures:
"You guys are like a movie!"
"You're the couple we all want to be!"
They stared as we walked hand in hand.
Whispered behind textbooks.
Snapped secret pictures during break, hiding phones beneath desks.
We were their fairy tale in real time.
The prince and the troublemaker who defied everything and chose each other anyway.
⸻
Our love grew like weeds.
Wild.
Fast.
Unkillable.
⸻
In the library, we passed notes written in messy handwriting, little hearts doodled on margins.
In the chapel, we sat two seats apart but stared as if our souls touched.
He brought me snacks during siesta—mystery sweets I never could find in the canteen.
I ironed his shirts before prefect duties, careful with each crease.
He said my laughter was his favorite ringtone.
I told him his hoodie felt safer than home.
⸻
We weren't just surviving anymore.
We were thriving.
Even if it made the world burn.
⸻
But deep down, I knew.
This couldn't last.
Not when envy hung thick in the air like smoke.
Not when Mary still lurked in shadows, her silence sharp as knives.
Because love like ours?
It either changed everything.
Or it destroyed everything.
⸻
I could feel the ground shifting beneath us.
Still—
If the world wanted a war, they'd get one.
Because I'd already chosen him.
And Rob?
He'd already bled for me.
⸻
Midterm break came too fast.
One minute, we were walking the length of the field like we owned the sky.
The next, bags were packed, buses honked, and the campus emptied like lungs after a scream.
I didn't want to go home.
Because he felt like home.
Laced with judgment.
Not when Rob was the only place I'd started to feel like me again.
⸻
We stood by the gate for too long.
Holding each other like time might listen if we hugged hard enough.
"You'll call me?" I asked, voice shaky.
He smiled—lazy, warm, the kind of smile that promised safety.
"Only every five minutes."
I laughed, but it cracked at the edges.
Because I knew that wasn't true.
Home had its own rules.
Home came with eyes and ears and suspicious aunts.
Still, I nodded.
Still, he kissed my forehead like a promise.
⸻
The first two days of midterm were bearable.
I kept my head down.
Did the chores.
Dodged my uncle's shadow like a curse in the hallway.
Rob texted me jokes.
Voice notes.
Pictures of his cat curled in his lap.
I sent him my best smiles.
Filtered.
Bright.
Fake but necessary.
⸻
But on the third night… everything shifted.
Something in the air felt off.
My chest was too tight.
My skin restless.
I needed him.
His voice.
His fire.
The reckless thrill that reminded me I was still alive.
⸻
So I texted him.
"Can you talk?"
His reply came like lightning.
"Video or audio? Say the word."
I didn't think.
I just called.
⸻
When he answered, his smile undone me.
He was in his room.
Shirtless.
That lazy grin playing on his lips.
"You miss me that bad?" he teased.
I tried to joke back, but my voice caught.
"I hate it here," I whispered.
He got serious.
"You're not alone," he said. "You've got me."
⸻
And just like before, the words between us grew heavy.
Honey-drenched.
Laced with heat.
It started small.
A "what are you wearing?"
A "let me see."
⸻
And then… it spiraled.
Back into that dark, glittering space where danger felt like love.
Back into those pictures.
That call.
That breathless electricity.
His voice dipped low.
Desperate.
Worshipful.
My heart beat against my ribs like it wanted out.
His hand moved.
So did mine.
⸻
In those blurry, reckless minutes, I forgot about the world.
Forgot the rules.
Forgot my aunt sleeping in the next room.
Forgot that love shouldn't feel like hiding.
⸻
But I wasn't thinking.
Not clearly.
I just wanted him.
Wanted the way he made me feel—
Wanted.
⸻
And that's when it happened.
The call.
Mum.
Her name lit up my screen like judgment in neon.
I panicked.
Ignored it.
⸻
The guilt barely had time to breathe before the door creaked open.
There—again—stood my aunt.
Her eyes sharp.
Her mouth a gun ready to go off.
The rest?
You know.
The scream.
The phone snatched.
The words exposed.
The whip
But what you don't know?
What I've never told anyone?
Is what I felt after.
Not the pain.
Not the shame.
But the silence.
That crushing silence after she left the room.
When I lay on the cold floor.
Tears drying like scars I couldn't explain.
That was when I knew.
This wasn't just about love.
This was about survival.
⸻
Because if Rob was my escape—
Then that night?
That was the door I kicked open to get free.
Even if it almost cost me everything.
It all changed the morning after the punishment.
I stumbled onto campus like a bruised shadow of myself.
My skin still prickled with the memory of cold slaps and biting words, the sting of humiliation fresh and raw.
My arms bore the marks—red welts blooming like dark flowers across my skin, a map of pain no one wanted to see.
I didn't try to hide it anymore.
Not after that night.
I barely saw the faces around me, barely heard the usual noise of the morning rush.
But then—
There he was.
Rob.
Leaning against the cracked wall of the Physics lab, jaw clenched tight, fists balled like he was ready to fight the whole world.
His eyes flicked up the moment I appeared.
"What did they do to you?" His voice was low, a growl barely human, laced with anger and something else
helplessness, maybe.
I didn't have to answer.
He saw it in my eyes.
The silent confession of everything I'd endured.
Before I could stop him, before I could pull him back
He stormed across the hallway.
His target was clear.
No, not just anyone—
Timi.
Rob's best friend.
His right hand.
His brother since Grade 7.
Timi was laughing.
Laughing at me.
That laugh, sharp and cruel, cut deeper than any slap.
"The naked girl," he sneered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
He pointed at the welts on my arms like they were trophies I'd begged for.
"Did you fight a lion, or just try to survive your own shame?"
The hallway froze for a second, then exploded into whispers and shocked gasps.
But Rob didn't hesitate.
He slapped him.
Hard.
The sound echoed like thunder in the silence.
In front of everyone.
Teachers, students, the unforgiving eyes of God.
Timi staggered back, stunned.
Rob's chest heaved.
His whole circle, the boys who once nodded at him in the hallways, now stared like he was a stranger.
"You're moving mad for that girl?" one spat.
"You slapped me over her?" Timi growled, rubbing his cheek, furious.
"She's not even yours. She's the school's…" another whispered cruelly.
Rob didn't blink.
"I love her," he said one day—loudly, without shame.
Like my name was a battle cry.
Like I was worth every fight, every war.
Somehow, that was the moment everything changed.
We became legends.
The couple no one expected.
Girls hated me with a venom that tasted like acid in the air.
Their envy was a blade sharper than any gossip or rumor.
They hated that he chose me.
Loudly.
Repeatedly.
Without apology.
But the juniors?
The ones just starting out, wide-eyed and hopeful?
They worshipped us.
Notes appeared in my locker like secret treasures:
"You guys are like a movie!"
"You're the couple we all want to be!"
They stared as we walked hand in hand.
Whispered behind textbooks.
Snapped secret pictures during break, hiding phones beneath desks.
We were their fairy tale in real time.
The prince and the troublemaker who defied everything and chose each other anyway.
Our love grew like weeds.
Wild.
Fast.
Unkillable.
In the library, we passed notes written in messy handwriting, little hearts doodled on margins.
In the chapel, we sat two seats apart but stared as if our souls touched.
He brought me snacks during siesta—mystery sweets I never could find in the canteen.
I ironed his shirts before prefect duties, careful with each crease.
He said my laughter was his favorite ringtone.
I told him his hoodie felt safer than home.
We weren't just surviving anymore.
We were thriving.
Even if it made the world burn.
But deep down, I knew.
This couldn't last.
Not when envy hung thick in the air like smoke.
Not when Mary still lurked in shadows, her silence sharp as knives.
Because love like ours?
It either changed everything.
Or it destroyed everything.
I could feel the ground shifting beneath us.
Still—
If the world wanted a war, they'd get one.
Because I'd already chosen him.
And Rob?
He'd already bled for me.
Midterm break came too fast.
One minute, we were walking the length of the field like we owned the sky.
The next, bags were packed, buses honked, and the campus emptied like lungs after a scream.
I didn't want to go home.
Because he felt like home.
Laced with judgment.
Not when Rob was the only place I'd started to feel like me again.
We stood by the gate for too long.
Holding each other like time might listen if we hugged hard enough.
"You'll call me?" I asked, voice shaky.
He smiled—lazy, warm, the kind of smile that promised safety.
"Only every five minutes."
I laughed, but it cracked at the edges.
Because I knew that wasn't true.
Home had its own rules.
Home came with eyes and ears and suspicious aunts.
Still, I nodded.
Still, he kissed my forehead like a promise.
The first two days of midterm were bearable.
I kept my head down.
Did the chores.
Dodged my uncle's shadow like a curse in the hallway.
Rob texted me jokes.
Voice notes.
Pictures of his cat curled in his lap.
I sent him my best smiles.
Filtered.
Bright.
Fake but necessary.
But on the third night… everything shifted.
Something in the air felt off.
My chest was too tight.
My skin restless.
I needed him.
His voice.
His fire.
The reckless thrill that reminded me I was still alive.
So I texted him.
"Can you talk?"
His reply came like lightning.
"Video or audio? Say the word."
I didn't think.
I just called.
⸻
When he answered, his smile undone me.
He was in his room.
Shirtless.
That lazy grin playing on his lips.
"You miss me that bad?" he teased.
I tried to joke back, but my voice caught.
"I hate it here," I whispered.
He got serious.
"You're not alone," he said. "You've got me."
⸻
And just like before, the words between us grew heavy.
Honey-drenched.
Laced with heat.
It started small.
A "what are you wearing?"
A "let me see."
⸻
And then… it spiraled.
Back into that dark, glittering space where danger felt like love.
Back into those pictures.
That call.
That breathless electricity.
His voice dipped low.
Desperate.
Worshipful.
My heart beat against my ribs like it wanted out.
His hand moved.
So did mine.
In those blurry, reckless minutes, I forgot about the world.
Forgot the rules.
Forgot my aunt sleeping in the next room.
Forgot that love shouldn't feel like hiding.
But I wasn't thinking.
Not clearly.
I just wanted him.
Wanted the way he made me feel—
Wanted.
⸻
And that's when it happened.
The call.
Mum.
Her name lit up my screen like judgment in neon.
I panicked.
Ignored it.
The guilt barely had time to breathe before the door creaked open.
There—again—stood my aunt.
Her eyes sharp.
Her mouth a gun ready to go off.
The rest?
You know.
The scream.
The phone snatched.
The words exposed.
The whip.
⸻
But what you don't know?
What I've never told anyone?
Is what I felt after.
Not the pain.
Not the shame.
But the silence.
That crushing silence after she left the room.
When I lay on the cold floor.
Tears drying like scars I couldn't explain.
That was when I knew.
This wasn't just about love.
This was about survival.
⸻
Because if Rob was my escape—
Then that night?
That was the door I kicked open to get free.
Even if it almost cost me everything.