120

120
Chapter 120

Dawn was breaking when Tessa stood at the bus stop, the cool air brushing her face. The empty street was painted in pale gray by the rising sun. Her phone buzzed, vibrating sharply in my hand.

“Tessa,” Desmond’s voice crackled through, frantic and shaky. “Julian came to the villa again. He’s been asking about you. He looks like a madman. I told him you weren’t there… he’s losing it.”

She ended the call without a word. Anger burned through her, sharp and bitter. She had told Desmond not to tell Julian anything, not to give him clues.

He didn’t know where she was going.. and she intended to keep it that way.

She hates him now. Hated men and their selfishness, their fragile egos. Desmond had pretended to care, but all he wanted was her body.

And Julian.. Julian loved her so fiercely it became suffocating. She was tired of relationships, tired of giving and bleeding until there was nothing left.

Enough. I needed to disappear. Far from Julian’s relentless arguments, far from Desmond’s fake tenderness. Far from love itself.

As she paced restlessly, something on the wall caught my eye. She froze.

It was her face.

A portrait.. charcoal, raw, heartbreakingly beautiful. Her hair, her smile, her sadness, all there. And beneath it, in bold, jagged strokes:

“I am sorry, Tessa. You mean the world to me. Please come back.”

Her heart cracked. She stumbled toward the wall, fingertips brushing the rough paint as tears blurred my vision. It was Julian.

She broke. The sobs came from somewhere deep, tearing through her chest.

Julian.

He had been her everything.. the man who loved her fiercely, supported her family, paid her sisters’ school fees, treated them as his own. Three years of love, three years of dreams, now fractured like glass.

But no. She couldn’t go back. She wouldn’t.

She wiped my tears, straightened her shoulders, and climbed into the waiting car. “Drive,” she whispered.

The car sped forward, but her phone buzzed again.

She ignored it.

It buzzed a second time..longer, louder. Her chest tightened. Against her better judgment, she glanced at the screen.

Julian: “I will kill myself l if I don’t see you now. I mean it, Tessa.”

Her blood turned to ice.

“Stop!” She shouted at the driver.

Almost instantly, another message appeared:

Julian: “This is the address. Mainland bridge. Please meet me. I’ve gone through hell looking for you. I can’t do this anymore.”

Her hands shook violently.

“Madam, are you okay?” the driver asked, glancing at me in the mirror.

“No… yes…” her voice cracked.

“You still want to go?”

“Yes!” she shouted. “Do you know the mainland bridge?”

“It’s three kilometers from here.”

“Then go. Please. Faster!”

The car lurched forward. Her fingers dug into her bag as she prayed silently. God, please don’t let me be too late.

When we arrived, she didn’t even wait for the car to stop. She flung the door open and ran.

And there he was.

Julian stood at the edge of the bridge, his figure tense, one step away from disaster.

“Julian!” She screamed. Her voice tore out of her throat.

He turned, face pale, streaked with tears.

She didn’t think straight. She just ran. Her bag fell from her shoulder, shoes scraping the asphalt. She grabbed him, pulling him down from the bridge edge, wrapping her arms around him so tightly it hurt.

“Please don’t do this,” she sobbed, shaking so hard she could barely stay upright.

Julian sank to his knees, dragging her down with him. His face pressed against her chest, his tears hot on her skin.

“No,” he choked. “I ruined everything. I pushed you away.”

She cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. His eyes were red, hollow.

“I love you, Tessa,” he said, voice breaking. “I’m losing my mind without you. I can’t eat, can’t sleep. Seeing you with someone else.. It kills me. I know I’m jealous, I know I’m too much, but I can’t stop. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine.”

His words sliced through me, raw and desperate.

“Shhh,” she whispered, wiping his tears. “I understand. I love you too. I never stopped.”

The truth burned its way out of her.

“What I had with Desmond was a mistake. I thought I could numb the pain, but it only made me see how much I still love you. You’re the only one I want, Julian. Only you.”

His grip tightened, desperate. “Then let’s start over. No more breaks. No more running away. I can’t survive it again.”

She nodded, tears streaming. “I don’t mind your jealousy or your flaws. I love you as you are. I just want us back.”

Julian kissed her forehead, breathing raggedly.

“I’ll change,” she said suddenly, looking into his eyes. “I am done with Nollywood, I will go into gospel movies. I want us to build a future together.. a Godly home, a new beginning.”

He stared at her as if he was afraid to believe it.

“Are you serious?”

“Dead serious,” she said, cupping his face.

And in that moment, something shifted. It was real.

Julian pulled me into his arms, holding her like he’d never let go. We walked away from that bridge hand in hand, leaving the darkness behind.

She didn’t know what tomorrow would hold, but one thing was certain.. this was not the end of our story.

It was the start of something bigger, something more beautiful.

Because love like ours deserved another chance.