𝔼𝕂𝕀𝕃𝔸

28

Amelia’s squeal was the first thing Chidiogo registered before she pulled away from Paschal.

“OH MY GODDDDD!!!”

Amelia was practically singing at this point. With the way she was shouting, Chidiogo was certain she’d alert everyone in the house in a couple of seconds if that wasn’t already her intention.

“No way! I never even imagined that there was anything between the both of you. Like—”

She covered her mouth, still staring at the both of them. With the amount of excitement she was displaying, one would think the love of her life had just proposed to her.

“I gotta take a picture!”

Amelia had started pulling out her iPhone when Chidiogo realized that Paschal’s hands were still wrapped around her waist. His grip wasn’t tight so she took the chance to free herself from him.

Amelia’s lips turned down in a frown when she positioned her phone to take a picture but then realized that the both of them had pulled apart.

“Hey!” she said, an adorable pout gracing her face, “it’s no fair! You guys should have at least let me take a pic!”

It looked more like she was sulking at this point and Chidiogo couldn’t help letting out a giggle. No one could beat Amelia at being dramatic.

“You think it’s funny, huh? Well, get ready. Everyone’s going to hear your little love story.”

A smirk appeared on Amelia’s face upon seeing Chidiogo’s reaction to her words and she looked pretty pleased with herself.

“There’s no love story,” Chidiogo said, swimming to the nearby steel staircase.

She kept her eyes on Amelia while she tried to climb out of the pool. She missed a step in the process and would have fallen back into the pool if Paschal didn’t just happen to be there.

His arms circled around her waist in a bid to keep her steady and for a brief moment, she found herself staring into his eyes.

Amelia’s voice once again snapped her back to reality and she broke away from his grip, muttering a ‘thank you’ when she was free. She tried to avoid looking at him as she left the pool. Amelia’s voice filled the air once more.

“There’s no love story?”

With the lopsided grin on her face, Chidiogo knew she was enjoying teasing them and wouldn’t give it a rest anytime soon.

“Of course there isn’t, Lia,” Paschal said, getting out of the pool behind Chidiogo.

The use of the nickname by Paschal struck Chidiogo; she didn’t even know the two were that close. Amelia had made it clear the first time they met that only the people close to her addressed her by the name. Or had her distaste for Chidiogo just been too strong at that time?

“I’m just saying what I saw. There really seemed to be something steaming between the both of you.”

The smile still tugged on Amelia’s lips, faint dimple appearing on her left cheek, and at this point Chidiogo was just tired.

“Drop it, would you?”

Paschal’s tone was neither harsh nor commanding but Amelia chose to comply, surprising Chidiogo.

“Okay, I just came out to take a dip. I didn’t know you guys were already way ahead of me.”

Her tone was suggesting but her expression was neutral. At this point, Chidiogo knew it was a lost cause trying to get her to drop the topic.