Red Heels
Monnie
"Seven years, seven years loving the same man no be beans," Sade says to me as she tightens my corset for the dinner party I organized for mine and Dele's seventh anniversary.
"At all, couple with the fact say e no dey easy, mm, all the fights, the arguments, the back and forth, still he never cheated," I say.
"Mmm"
"Whaaa, he really is loyal, never chea..." I trail off as Sade tightens the corset so hard it cuts off my breath.
"Sade, abeg, no kill me, I need space to eat cake and jollof rice tonight," I gasp. She knots the ribbon and takes a step back to take a look at me.
"You're looking SNATCHED, omoh, too sexy, too sexy, omoh too dùn," she says, bursting into Jstblonde's hit jam of the year. I start dancing till my phone interrupts the fun. It's Tade calling to tell us the cake has arrived at the venue.
"Right on time," I say.
"Jewelry time," Sade squeals.
"Of course, your favorite hour," I reply.
Sade is a popular jeweler in Lagos, the name Sade Gold literally rings a bell in the ears of every socialite in the city, and she designed my jewelry for the night as a collaborative effort.
I'm a travel influencer who also owns one of the hottest travel blogs in Nigeria. At 25, I launched my own travel agency. Now I'm 26, affluent, with a successful Engineer fiancé. I'm literally living the dream of every Nigerian girl right now. I'm in and out of the country every month, and it took Sade convincing me to have my anniversary dinner in Lagos. She says it won't be considerate of me to make Dele fly out with me again this year, but in all honesty, Dele isn't even complaining. Still, I let her convince me because she's my best friend, and she probably wanted to be part of our anniversary this year. She says I should make it big and that it might even propel Dele to pick a wedding date after three years of proposing to me.
The first piece was a crystal set, with tiny crystals lining its crusts and bigger square crystals in the middle, a crystal earring and layers of bangles.
"I LOVE IT," I exclaimed as I took in how it brightened my face, reflecting the light directly to my lashes, making my face more doll-like.
"Of course you will, after all, it is I, SADE GOLD, who made it," she says.
"My friend, the JEWELER, SADI SADI, SADE GOLD fun ara e," I tease. A big smile contorts her face into an even more beautiful version of herself as she whips out her phone to take a photo of me.
"Give me a smile, my friend," she says. I smile, and she memorializes the moment.
We arrive at the venue in my white 2025 GLC Benz, Baby G. Sade says the car is my second boyfriend, but I just really love how sleek it is, both on the outside and on the inside.
Vaniti shines bright for me tonight. Several luxury cars line the parking lot. I recognize the cars of a few of my influencer friends , Bobby, Tife, Tade, my third best friend and a celebrity pastry chef. The others are either new additions to my other friends' garages, Dele's friends, or just a few of the other socialites we sent invites to. I smile hard as Sade escorts me into the club, which has been transformed into something even more luxurious tonight for my anniversary with Dele. In my opinion, this is all unnecessary, but Sade says it's for the best. We're even live-streaming the entire thing. In fact, the live stream started a while ago.
"There she is, the woman of the hour," Tade says as she catches up to me at the entrance of the hall.
"If not for you, Tade, this wouldn't have happened, you deserve that title as much as I do," I say.
"Don't flatter me, Monnie, just enjoy your moment. Who knows, you might leave here with a surprise bigger than you imagined," she says with a wink.
"You two dream too much," I aim at both Sade and Tade.
"Nah, you dream too little," Tade fires back.
I pick up my phone to call Dele.
"Hi baby, where are you?"
"Stuck in traffic, but I'm just two minutes away," he says.
"Alright boo, be here soon, the party has literally started. You're the one we're waiting for," I say.
"I'll be there before you know it," he replies.
I walk into the party and greet as many people as I can recognize, walking up to tables to say hello to the honorable guests who came out to celebrate with me. My heart is full. Being a public figure means having this many people show up for you, and tonight, they really did.
Dele walks into the party a moment later, and I swear every girl in the room smiles even brighter. The men straighten up to match his aura. Dele is the star in every room he walks into. He stirs jealousy from the men and lust from the women, who perk up their boobs and reapply perfume just to catch his attention. But he has only ever had eyes for me, and tonight is no exception as he makes his way toward me like a magnet.
"My love," he says, hugging me from behind.
"Ife mi," I respond.
"Seven years strong, and I can only pray we grow stronger," he says.
"Me too, Ife mi, me too," I say as I turn to face him and we share a kiss.
I can't believe I've loved the same man since my university days until now, and there's no stopping anytime soon. In my heart, there's the greatest love for this man standing right in front of me, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
The MC begins the event, first honoring the big names in the room with us. Rounds of drinks are served to tables by bartenders and bottle girls dressed in gold for the special night. When the MC is done, the stage lights go off. Heels clank against the hard floor, hinting that someone is walking up the stage.
"Happy 7th anniversary," a sultry female voice says.
"Dele and Monnie, I wish you seven more, and even more," she says in a poetic rhythm as the light begins to rise slowly, revealing red heels. She sings softly.
"Flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy," she sustains for ten seconds as the light reveals a young girl with rosy red lips, smooth caramel skin, and an exquisite black gown. Her eyes are fixed on Dele. My Dele.
"Me to the moon, and let me..." she continues, looking no older than twenty four, eyes locked on Dele like she's singing to him, not me, not the guests, just him.
I try to smile, to pretend I don't want to ask someone to drag her off the stage. Instead, I watch as she serenades my man, and I watch him smile at her like they've known each other a long time, like they've loved each other before.
But I shake it off. My Dele is loyal. My Dele is true. He loves me.
The song ends before I know it. I didn't even get to enjoy it. For the first time, doubt is planted in my heart, but I push it away.
Later, she walks up to our table to greet us. I force the biggest smile I can. Dele does too, keeping his gentleman face on like they've just met for the first time. Then she walks away.
A few minutes later, Dele tells me he needs to use the restroom. The MC announces a group of dancers. I excuse myself too.
As I approach the restroom, I hear faint sounds, nothing at first, but then I recognize the red heels under the stall. She looks pressed against the door. Black brogues flank her feet on both sides.
She moans softly, rhythmically, like a song.
I move closer.
Then I hear him.
Dele.
I stop breathing.
They don't hear me knock at first.
"This stall is occupied, please," she says.
I knock again, harder this time.
"Are you deaf? I said this stall is occupied," she shouts.
So I wait.
I sit there in the restroom, hearing my fiancé thrust into this younger girl, hearing the things he says to her, things he's never said to me. For ten whole minutes, I sit there crying silent tears as he tells her she's the sweetest, the hottest, the most flexible, the most fun. A stallion.
When they're done, they open the stall, and Dele is the first to see me. He froze, pants barely zipped, mouth stammering apologies he hadn't even formed yet.
The girl in red heels just smirked. Calm, collected, victorious. She didn't bother pretending to be ashamed.
"Dele, you couldn't even let the night end before you threw it all away," I said, voice low, chest hollow. "Seven years, and this is what you give me?"
"Monnie, please..." he reached for me, but I stepped back.
I walked out without another word.
Sade saw my face first. She knew something was wrong. Tade was next, her brows furrowed in confusion. I couldn't say it. Not here. Not like this.
"I'm not feeling well," I muttered. "I'm going home."
Sade offered to drive, but I waved her off. I needed silence. I needed space. I needed to breathe.
The party ended early. People whispered. I ignored the stares. Dele never came out again. I left him behind, in that stall, where he belonged.
At home, I cried. First in the shower. Then on the floor. Then into the night.
But nothing, absolutely nothing, prepared me for what happened the next morning.
I woke up to 56 missed calls. 200 new messages. 400 Instagram mentions. My entire screen was vibrating. I sat up slowly, still wearing my makeup from last night, still smelling like a broken dream.
Then I saw it.
The video.
Someone had posted it.
The audio was clear. The moans. The dirty talk. The thumping. Dele's voice calling her "baby." Her whispering, "Don't pull out."
It was all there.
The comments were already brutal.
"Seven years, and this is how he repaid her?"
"She was right outside the stall, OMG."
"At their 7th anniversary is diabolical, 7 years, Omoh!"
"This was a SETUP. Red heels girl did this on purpose."
"Check the angles, someone recorded this with intention."
"Monnie needs to deactivate and relocate. This is BAD."
I threw my phone. My hands shook. My whole body trembled like it no longer knew how to be mine. The video wasn't just a leak. It was an attack. A targeted one. And it had gone viral.
By the time Sade arrived, I was curled up under my duvet, whispering prayers that the world would stop watching me.
"Get up," she said, standing by the doorway. "You can't be here right now."
"Where should I go?" I asked, my voice barely audible. "Everywhere I go, they'll know. Everyone's seen it."
"I don't care. Pack your bags. We're leaving Lagos."
"I can't. I don't even have the strength to face anyone."
"You won't have to. I know a place. Quiet. Hidden. Safe."
I turned toward her slowly, and the tears fell again. This time, heavier. Thicker. From a deeper place.
"Please just get me out of here," I whispered.
Sade nodded and reached for my suitcase.
As I stood to help her, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
Still beautiful, still me... but something in my eyes had shifted.
Something had cracked.
And I didn't know how long it would take to feel whole again.