To the public, Amira Esho and Ben Dumebi were everything but lovers.
Amira was the CEO of Esho Innovations, a tech lifestyle brand built for luxury. Her signature red lips and steely eyes had graced the cover of Forbes Africa twice. Known for her poise, ruthlessness, and elegance, Amira's name made men sit straighter in meetings.
Ben, on the other hand, ran Dumebi Dynamics, a sleek energy-tech company swallowing up local markets across West Africa. He was ex-military, with a thick voice and a sinfully composed demeanor. Ben was as respected as he was feared.
The rivalry between Amira and Ben was legendary; it was the type that thrilled press conferences and sent stock prices dancing.
Things went on like that till one day, after one particularly brutal faceoff at the Pan-African Billionaires Summit, Amira followed Ben into the underground car park, shoved him against his G-Wagon, and kissed him like she wanted to tear the breath out of him.
Ben, though surprised, couldn’t resist her since it was his dream come true. He leaned in and took notice of a lot, including the discovery that Amira tasted like wine and war.
That night, in his private suite, they ruined each other. His fingers mapped every edge of her ambition. Her teeth dragged along his throat, and he moaned like a man unlearning control. She hated him, maybe, but she needed him. After that day, she couldn’t stop coming back even if she wanted to. Neither could he.
They called it stress relief, power play, or just a dirty little secret.
One night, Amira whispered into his ear, "We're integrating European software into our upcoming drone project. By next quarter, we'll have the military on our side."
She didn't know he was recording her; he didn’t know why he was doing it either, but it became his habit to record Amira’s every speech, so that he could replay it to his pleasure whenever he was alone. It made him feel closer to her when she was away. Ben was falling for her, deeply. She'd become more than the woman he sparred with. She was the woman he would protect at any cost.
What they didn’t know was that someone else was watching.
Tolu Adeyemi, Amira's PA, had always been Nigerian kind of sharp, too sharp.
She noticed the patterns in: Amira's mood swings, mysterious disappearances, the scent of tobacco and masculine cologne lingering when no one was around.
One evening, Tolu cloned Amira's phone under the guise of "upgrading her storage.” She also, through her love interest, Balogun, who worked closely with Ben, found some hidden messages, code names, coordinates, one video recording, and, of course, a voice note of Amira speaking softly to Ben about the military contract.
Tolu didn't leak it right away, but she was convinced that she had enough evidence to have her boss in her pocket.
So, when opportunity met preparation, she was ready. Dumebi Dynamics approached her with a job offer. Things changed thereafter. They promised her a fat paycheck and company shares if she brought "any helpful insight" about Esho Innovations.
She was tempted, and she gave in to temptation.
Within a week, the story was featured on tech blogs. The world spun.
Amira sat in her office, cold and quiet, betraying no emotion as her company's legal team stormed in. The news was everywhere. There were photos of her entering Ben's private villa, screenshots of flirtatious texts, and snippets of the recorded voice note. The board demanded an explanation, as investors panicked, journalists camped outside her gates.
She stared at her phone. Ben’s name blinked on the screen.
She answered and said nothing.
"I didn't do this," his voice cracked. "I would never harm you." “Please believe me.”
"But you recorded me," she whispered.
"I only did it so I could protect you. I... I'm in love with you."
There was silence until the line died.
When the storm finally calmed, Tolu and Balogun had been arrested. Ben helped uncover their betrayal, using evidence from his side to clear Amira's name, but the damage was still severe; her reputation was scarred, and her company was limping.
She resigned quietly, as if it never mattered.
Ben stepped back from the public eye, too, issuing a heartfelt statement and disappearing into low-profile humanitarian projects.
Months passed, and Amira began mentoring young women again, teaching them the cost of ambition without boundaries. She spoke about emotional discipline and the blurred lines between power and pleasure.
She stopped talking to Ben because it felt like the only reasonable thing to do.
A year later, at another conference in Kigali, she saw him again. He looked older, humbler, and still devastatingly fine, in a navy kaftan.
Amira walked past him without a word, but he dropped a folded paper into her palm.
Later that night, Amira opened it.
It read:
"Can we have just one more night? There’s nothing here without you."
She exhaled and stared blankly at the paper.
Everyone had wondered what Amira would do afterwards.
Consider yourself in Amira’s shoes. Would you go back to Ben? Would you see any hope in your future together?
Original Story by DORCAS MICHAEL
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