Love Found Me When I Wasn’t Looking (Episode 22)

Victoria’s POV

That night, sleep refused to come.

I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, my mother’s words replaying over and over in my head like a stubborn echo. Love does not feed a family.  I turned from one side to the other, hugging my pillow tightly, wishing it were Daniel’s chest instead.

I loved him.

That part was certain.

But loving him suddenly felt like standing in the middle of two storms my mother on one side, his father on the other both pulling hard, both convinced they knew what was best.

How do we protect this? I asked myself.

I thought about running away from conversations, from pressure, from expectations. But I knew avoidance wouldn’t last. My mother was determined. She wouldn’t rest until I gave her an answer she liked.

I picked up my phone and opened Daniel’s last message.
I’m not giving up on us.

That sentence was my anchor.

Still, fear crept in quietly.

What if he got tired?
What if his father forced his hand?
What if love wasn’t strong enough against promises made long before I existed?

I sat up and whispered into the quiet room, “I just want peace.”

I didn’t need luxury. I didn’t need a man who dazzled the world. I needed someone who chose me every day someone who saw me, respected me, and stood with me.

Daniel did that.

But how long can two people hold a line when families keep crossing it?

I knew one thing: if we were going to survive this, we needed a plan not just feelings.

Love needed strategy now.

Daniel’s POV

My father’s words followed me into every room.

A promise is a promise.

Time does not cancel it.

I sat in my apartment that night, lights off, city glowing outside the window. For the first time since returning to Abuja, I felt trapped not by lack of money, not by work, but by expectations older than my own choices.

I loved Victoria.

That truth had not changed.

But loving her now came with resistance—from people who believed blood debts and old favors mattered more than present happiness.

I rubbed my face slowly, exhaling.

I couldn’t fight my father recklessly. That would only harden him. And I couldn’t drag Victoria into a battle she didn’t deserve.

I need to be smart, I told myself.

If I confronted him directly, he’d see it as rebellion. If I stayed silent, he’d think I’d agreed.

So what was the middle ground?

Time.

Proof.

Power.

I needed to position myself so that when I finally said no it would be final unarguable. I needed financial independence strong enough that he couldn’t threaten me with loss. I needed leverage that wasn’t emotional, but practical.

And most importantly, I needed to protect Victoria from being exposed too early.

He didn’t know her.
He didn’t know her profession.
And for now, that was safety.

I leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

Love isn’t just about holding hands,I realized.
Sometimes it’s about holding your ground quietly until the storm passes.

Victoria’s POV

The next day, I tried to act normal.

I went to work, smiled at colleagues, marked scripts but my mind kept drifting back to one question:

What if our families never agree?

I found myself imagining impossible futures secret meetings, stolen weekends, living between two worlds. My heart ached at the thought of loving in hiding forever.

That evening, I sat down with a notebook and wrote one sentence at the top of the page:

What do I need to feel secure?

The answer came quickly.

Commitment.
Clarity.
A timeline.

I didn’t need everything now but I needed direction.

I called Daniel.

“Are you thinking?” I asked softly when he answered.

“Yes,” he replied. “Too much.”

I smiled sadly. “Me too.”

There was a pause.

“We can’t just hope this disappears,” I said. “We need to decide how to face it.”

“I agree,” he said. “We move carefully. We don’t provoke. We build.”

“And we don’t let them divide us,” I added.

“Never,” he said firmly.

My chest eased slightly.

Daniel’s POV

After the call, I felt clearer.

We weren’t panicking.
We weren’t running.

We were planning.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy. My father was a man of his word, and Victoria’s mother was driven by fear of poverty. Neither would change overnight.

But love didn’t ask for permission.

It asked for patience.
For courage.
For endurance.

I picked up my phone and typed a message to Victoria:

No matter how loud they get, we stay calm. We stay us. I’m working toward a future where no one can tell us no.

When she replied with a simple I trust you something inside me settled.

Victoria’s POV

I read his message three times.

Then I smiled.

Pressure hadn’t destroyed us.

It had forced us to think, to grow, to choose each other deliberately.

And as I lay down that night, one truth wrapped itself around my heart like a promise:

Love doesn’t always fight loudly.

Sometimes, it survives by breathing quietly
waiting for the right moment
to stand tall.

continue reading Episode 23