Jomiloju's POV
The poison had left me weak, trembling beneath the thin blanket Steve had draped over my shoulders. The world blurred at the edges, colors fading into muted shadows. I wasn't sure how long I had lain there, caught between the painful haze of fever and fleeting moments of lucidity.
Every breath was a battle. Every beat of my heart a defiance.
Steve never left my side.
He sat on the floor, back pressed against the wall, eyes flickering between the cracked ceiling and me. The weight of his silence was heavy—thick with words he refused to say, with emotions he tried to hide.
"Jomi," he whispered, his voice rough like gravel, "you have to stay with me. Don't give them the satisfaction."
I tried to nod, but my head felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
The bracelet on my wrist burned gently, a small tether to something real, something alive.
Outside, the city was moving on, oblivious to the war raging inside this small, forgotten building.
I closed my eyes, wanting to believe in survival, in hope, in Steve.
Steve's POV
Watching her fight was like watching a flame flicker in a violent storm.
I could feel the poison's grip tightening, stealing the color from her cheeks, the strength from her limbs.
I clenched my fists, furious at whoever had dared to cross the line.
Koleosho's enemies didn't mess around. Poison was a message: "Back off, or she dies."
But I wasn't about to let that happen.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, pulling me back to the harsh reality.
The message preview made my blood run cold.
Keep the girl alive, or you'll regret it.
Anonymous. Threatening. Clear.
I stepped away from Jomi, voice low but hard as steel.
"This isn't over."
I stared out the grimy window, the streets of Lagos sprawling beneath me like a jungle of lies and danger.
The war was coming.
And I had to be ready.
Jomiloju's POV
Time lost meaning as the poison waged its war within me.
The fever dreams came in waves—memories of my childhood, laughter in the Dorotoye mansion, the distant smile of my mother.
And then shadows—dark, cruel, swallowing everything.
But through it all, there was Steve.
Not the man I'd feared.
But the man who held me when I couldn't stand.
Who whispered promises I wasn't sure he could keep.
"Why are you doing this?" I whispered one night, voice barely audible.
He looked at me, eyes haunted but steady.
"Because you're not just leverage anymore," he said. "You're mine."
Steve's POV
Those words echoed in my mind long after she spoke them.
You're mine.
I wasn't sure what it meant, exactly. Possession? Protection? Redemption?
Maybe all three.
But one thing was certain—I wasn't going to lose her.
I dialed Koleosho's number, fingers steady despite the rage burning inside.
The call connected. Silence stretched, thick and tense.
Then his voice, cold and mocking.
"You think you can defy me, Steve? You're nothing without me."
I bit back a bitter laugh.
"I'm done being your pawn."
The line went dead.
Jomiloju's POV
I saw the tension rippling through Steve's body as he ended the call.
The man who looked invincible moments ago was human—flawed, scared, fighting.
I reached for his hand, surprising even myself.
He looked down at our touching fingers, a flicker of vulnerability crossing his face.
"I'm scared," I admitted softly.
He squeezed my hand.
"Me too," he said.
It was the first time he let me see his fear.
Steve's POV
Fear was a luxury I rarely allowed myself.
But with Jomi, the walls I'd built started crumbling.
The mafia war was coming to a head, and I knew Koleosho wouldn't stop until one of us was broken.
But I had a plan.
A dangerous, desperate plan.
And I needed her strength to pull it off.
Jomiloju's POV
Days blurred as we prepared for what was to come.
Steve's cold exterior cracked with every shared secret, every stolen glance.
The safehouse became a fragile sanctuary, but danger lurked just outside the door.
I was learning to fight—not with fists, but with my mind and heart.
And Steve was my unlikely ally.
One evening, as rain pounded the windows, he shared a story.
About his sister.
About loss.
About why he wore the scars no one saw.
His voice broke, and so did something inside me.
I wanted to heal him as much as he was trying to protect me.
Steve's POV
Jomi's presence was both a balm and a torment.
She challenged the darkness in me, and I was terrified of what that meant.
I couldn't afford to fall for her.
Not when the world we lived in demanded cruelty.
But when she touched my hand, when she looked at me like I was more than a monster, I felt something I hadn't in years.
Hope.
Jomiloju's POV
The night before the plan to confront Koleosho, I lay awake, listening to Steve's steady breathing.
Fear and anticipation tangled inside me.
Was this the end? Or the beginning?
I reached for the bracelet once more.
A rose with thorns.
A promise.
Steve's POV
We were ready.
The final battle was coming.
And whatever happened, I would protect her.
Because she wasn't just my captive anymore.
She was my salvation.