Love Found Me When I Wasn’t Looking (Episode 20)

Victoria’s POV

The airport was louder than my thoughts, yet everything inside me felt quiet and heavy.

Daniel stood in front of me with his small travel bag, looking calm on the outside but I knew him better now. His jaw was tight. His eyes lingered on my face like he was trying to memorize every detail.

I smiled, even though my chest hurt.

“So this is it,” I said softly.

“For now,” he replied.

I nodded, but my throat burned. I hadn’t planned to cry. I told myself I’d be strong, that I wouldn’t make it harder than it already was. But when he pulled me into his arms, all my control slipped away.

I buried my face in his chest.

“I don’t want you to go,” I whispered.

He held me tighter. “I don’t want to leave.”

The tears came then quiet, stubborn tears I couldn’t stop. He wiped them gently with his thumb, his forehead resting against mine.

“This distance doesn’t change anything,” he said firmly. “It doesn’t reduce what we have.”

I nodded again, trusting his words more than my fear.

When they finally called his flight, my heart dropped.

He kissed my forehead slowly, then my lips soft, lingering, full of promise.

“I’ll call you the moment I land,” he said.

“I’ll be waiting,” I replied.

I watched him walk away, turning back once to wave at me.

I waved back, smiling through tears… until he disappeared.

That was when I almost cried completely.

Daniel’s POV

Walking away from Victoria felt like tearing something out of my chest.

Every step toward the departure gate felt wrong. My body was moving forward, but my heart was pulling me back back to her smile, her arms, the calm I only felt around her.

I looked back one last time and saw her standing there, trying to be brave.

That image followed me onto the plane.

I sat by the window, staring out as Lagos slowly disappeared beneath the clouds. For the first time since I came back to Abuja, success felt empty again.

I wasn’t ready to leave her.

Not after finally feeling whole.

Victoria’s POV

The next week was… dull.

Painfully dull.

The house felt too quiet. The couch felt too big. Even cooking felt strange without Daniel leaning against the counter, teasing me or stealing food from the pot.

I caught myself reaching for my phone constantly checking the time, waiting for his messages, rereading old chats like they were fresh conversations.

At school, mid-term break was over, but my heart wasn’t back yet.

I’d smile at colleagues, teach my classes, mark scripts but inside, I missed him in waves.

At night, the loneliness hit harder.

I missed his voice beside me. His laughter. The way he listened like nothing else mattered.

“Distance doesn’t change anything,” I reminded myself.

But it did one thing clearly 

It showed me just how deeply I loved him.

Daniel’s POV

Back in Abuja, everything moved fast again.

Meetings. Numbers. Deadlines.

The company was still doing well, and my father was still proud but the days felt longer. Colder.

My apartment felt too quiet.

I missed the sound of Victoria’s laugh echoing through a room. I missed waking up knowing she was close. I missed touching her hand without a screen between us.

I caught myself smiling randomly during meetings, remembering the way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t watching.

Then the smile would fade.

Nights were the hardest.

I’d lie on my bed scrolling through pictures of her, replaying that week over and over in my mind like a song I couldn’t stop loving.

I called her often. Sometimes we talked for hours. Sometimes we just stayed on the line in silence, listening to each other breathe.

“Are you okay?” she asked me one night.

“I’m managing,” I replied honestly. “But I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” she said softly.

That was enough to keep me going.

Victoria’s POV

One evening, after work, I sat alone on my bed and realized something.

The boredom wasn’t emptiness.

It was longing.

And longing meant love.

Daniel wasn’t just a part of my life anymore—he had become my rhythm. My safe place. My future hope.

Distance was testing us, yes.

But it was also shaping us.

Teaching patience. Teaching commitment.

Teaching us that what we had was real.

And no matter how boring the days felt without him, one truth stayed clear in my heart

This love was worth waiting for.

contine reading Episode 21