Love Found Me When I Wasn’t Looking (Episode 10)

 Daniel’s POV

That day, after school, I knew something with absolute clarity:

I couldn’t wait.

Not till tomorrow.
Not till another careful conversation in corridors and stolen glances.
I needed to see her. To hear her voice without whispering. To touch her not like a secret, but like someone who belonged with her.

When I saw Victoria leave the school compound earlier, she had texted me.

I’m home.

That was all.

I didn’t reply. Not because I didn’t want to—but because if I told her I was coming, she’d have time to prepare, to guard herself, to put the walls back up.

I didn’t want walls.

I drove straight to her place.

When she opened the door, time paused.

She stood there in a simple house dress, soft and fitted, clinging gently to her waist before falling over her hips like it had memorized her shape. Her hair was loose, framing her face, and she looked… relaxed. Unprotected. Real.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Daniel?” she said, then smiled slowly, beautifully.

I watched her lips curve, then part slightly. She was about to say something when she unconsciously licked her lower lip, a small nervous gesture that hit me like fire through my veins.

That did it.

I stepped forward and kissed her.

I didn’t ask.

But she didn’t resist.

She kissed me back immediately, like she’d been holding it in all day too. Her hands clutched my shirt, pulling me closer, and every ounce of restraint I had left disappeared.

My hands found her waist those same tempting curves that had tormented me at school warm beneath my palms, solid, real. I’d imagined them all day, and now they were finally there.

I exhaled against her lips. “I couldn’t stay away.”

Victoria’s POV

When I opened the door and saw him, my heart leapt.

I wasn’t expecting him not yet and the surprise softened me before I could think. Seeing Daniel standing there, eyes dark with need, hair slightly disheveled like he’d rushed, made my knees weak.

I smiled without meaning to.

Then he kissed me.

It was sudden but not wrong.

It felt like relief.

I kissed him back instantly, my body answering before my mind could catch up. His hands on my waist sent a shiver through me, grounding me, reminding me of all the tension I’d carried since morning.

School rules. Fear. Watching eyes.

All gone.

“Daniel,” I whispered when we finally pulled back slightly, my forehead resting against his.

“I know,” he said softly. “Tell me to stop if you want.”

I didn’t.

Instead, I leaned into him again, my hands sliding up his chest, feeling his heartbeat racing just as fast as mine.

“I wanted you to come,” I admitted.

That was when my phone rang.

Reality.

I groaned softly and pulled back, checking the screen. *Mum.*

“Wait,” I said gently, stepping aside. “Let me take this.”

Daniel’s POV

I watched her answer the call, suddenly aware of where I was her home, her space, her life beyond me. She moved toward the window, voice lowering.

“Mummy… yes, I’m fine.”

I could hear only fragments.

“Abuja… yes, you mentioned him.”

She paused.

Her shoulders stiffened.

Then she said something that made my heart stop.

“No, mummy. I’m not interested in that.”

Another pause.

“I’m seeing someone.”

My breath caught.

She turned slightly, glancing at me. Our eyes met.

“Yes,” she continued, voice calm but firm. “I’m dating someone.”

I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation clearly. I was too busy standing there, stunned.

She chose me.

Victoria’s POV

Ending that call felt like crossing a line I couldn’t uncross.

When I turned back to Daniel, he was staring at me like I’d just rewritten his future.

“You didn’t have to say that,” he said quietly.

“I wanted to,” I replied. “I’m tired of pretending even with my mother.”

He stepped closer, his hands gentle now, resting at my waist like a promise instead of a demand.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

I nodded. “I am.”

He kissed my forehead this time slow, reverent.

“Then I’m not hiding anymore,” he murmured.

Neither was I.

As I leaned into him, I realized something beautiful and terrifying all at once:

This wasn’t just desire anymore.

This was choice.

And love, once chosen, was never quiet for long.

To be continued... Episode 11