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Chapter Twenty-One
Last Updated:
2025-04-06 22:54:50
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Rich Love Chapter Twenty-Two
J.J – POVI’d never been second best at anything in my life.Not in this school. Not on any stage. Not even in my own damn house. My father made sure I had the best of everything, and I worked hard to stay ahead. Always one step above. Always the star. But ever since this stupid trip to Lagos started, Carolyn has somehow been stealing the spotlight.Carolyn.Of all people, her.I sat in the corner of the auditorium on the third day of the competition, gripping my pen so tightly it snapped in half. I didn’t even flinch. Just let the broken pieces fall into my lap. The room roared with applause again, this time louder than yesterday’s, and guess who was at the center of it?That quiet, pitiful girl who had begged for mercy under my shoe just a few weeks ago. That same girl who could barely meet my eye without flinching.Now she stood on stage, holding the microphone like she owned it, voice calm, confident, and persuasive. Judges nodded. Other schools whispered about her. One even calle
Last Updated : 2025-04-07Rich Love Chapter Twenty-Three
Carolyn’s POVThe moment I opened my eyes that morning, something felt off.There was a strange silence in the air—too thick, too still, as if the world outside had taken a pause. I blinked the sleep from my eyes, rubbing my sore shoulder. The bed was still warm, my body heavy with exhaustion from the intense debates over the past three days. My head throbbed faintly, probably from nerves more than anything else.Today was the final day.The day we were supposed to prove ourselves and represent our school in front of the whole country.I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stretched. After taking my bath, dressing up, and putting on my shoes, I was ready for the day. That’s when I realized something was wrong.I couldn’t open the door.I tried again—twisting the knob harder, jiggling it, pulling and pushing—but it wouldn’t budge. I stepped back and stared at it, my heart slowly beginning to race.What the hell?Was the door... locked from the outside?Panic began to slither int
Last Updated : 2025-04-08Rich Love Chapter Twenty-Four
Carolyn’s POVI took my seat between J.J. and George.The air around us was ice.George muttered a low “Glad you made it,” without looking at me. I wasn’t sure if it was genuine or just for show. But J.J. didn’t say anything at all. He just leaned back in his chair, eyes on the panel of judges as they prepared their notes.I could feel his tension. Not the kind that came from nerves before a big competition—no, this was different. This was frustration. Spite. Bruised ego.And yet, I was too exhausted to let his silence shake me.Instead, I focused on the stage, where the final round was about to begin. Our school, Convent High, was facing two of the most competitive debate teams from Lagos and Port Harcourt. Both schools were infamous for grooming debate champions. Some of the best speakers in the country were sitting just meters away, sharpening their minds like blades.And here I was.A girl who had almost been locked away and forgotten.Our principal sat near the judges, smiling ne
Last Updated : 2025-04-09Rich Love Chapter Twenty-Four
J.J’s POVThe crowd was still cheering. The trophy gleamed on the stage like it had been waiting its whole life to land in Carolyn’s hands.Ours.But let’s not kid ourselves—it was hers. She was the one who gave the closing argument, the one who turned the judges around, the one who brought the crowd to its feet. I should have been proud. I should have stood beside her and lifted the damn thing with her. But instead I sat there, still in my chair, jaw clenched, heart thudding with something far uglier than pride.Jealousy.God, it was eating me alive.She walked off the stage with her usual cautious grace, like she still didn’t quite believe the world had given her a win. Her eyes scanned the crowd as if unsure whether she deserved the applause. And when they landed on me—when she saw me still seated, arms crossed, not smiling—I saw it.Doubt. Hurt. Confusion.I looked away.She deserved better than that look from me.But that didn’t stop me from feeling it.The entire school team gat
Last Updated : 2025-04-10Rich Love Chapter Twenty-Six
Carolyn’s POV We were leaving Lagos in a few hours, but I had already packed. I didn’t have many things, and truth be told, I wanted to be done with this place. The hotel, the debate venue, the heavy applause I never asked for, the quiet side-eyes from students who didn’t believe I deserved the win—it all clung to my skin like smoke from a fire I didn’t set. I stood by the window in the lobby, watching the morning traffic move like a slow dance of chaos. Cars honked, vendors shouted, and buses groaned as they swerved in and out of lines. It reminded me of home—chaotic but familiar, safe in a weird way. My hand rubbed my arm absently, still feeling the bruise from where I slammed into the locked hotel room door yesterday. I could still see the cleaner’s shocked face as she opened the door, and I could see the dust floating in the light behind her. I’d smiled then, politely, hiding the mess inside me. I hadn’t said anything to the teachers. No one. Because what was the point? I knew
Last Updated : 2025-04-11Rich Love Chapter Twenty-Seven
Carolyn’s POVI don’t know how long I sat there.At some point, George passed by. He slowed when he saw me, then thought better of it and kept walking. Maybe he knew. Maybe J.J. had told him what happened. Or maybe George had seen the way J.J. looked at me lately like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to ruin me or rescue me.Not that it mattered.I needed silence.And the stairwell gave me that.There, in the echo of my breathing and the hum of the building, I allowed myself to feel it all. The shame. The confusion. The self-disgust. The subtle flicker of pain that came from knowing that despite everything—despite the cruelty, the games, the manipulation—a piece of me still wanted J.J. to see me.And not just see me—but understand me. Respect me.But maybe that was my problem. Hoping for empathy from someone who had made it his life’s mission to keep people beneath him.I stood up slowly and walked to the nearby mirror in the hallway. My reflection stared back—messy braids, faded lip balm,
Last Updated : 2025-04-13Rich Love Chapter Twenty-Eight
J.J’s POVMonday morning came too quickly.The same white walls, the same polished floors, the same students pretending to care about grades while scheming behind their designer backpacks. The school looked the same, but something had changed.Me.Or maybe not.Maybe I was just realizing that Carolyn Okoli—yes, Carolyn, the charity-case girl with the odd blue eyes—was still stuck in my head long after that final debate round ended.It made no sense.She defied me, embarrassed me, won... and then ignored me like I was irrelevant. She hadn’t even looked at me since we got off the plane from Lagos. And for someone who used to practically shake in my presence, that silence was louder than anything she could’ve said.I hated how much that bothered me.I hated that I noticed her absence in the lounge this morning.George did too. He looked at me over the rim of his smoothie, one brow raised.“She’s not coming today?” he asked casually.“Why wouldn't she?” I snapped.George gave me a look. “
Last Updated : 2025-04-13Rich Love Chapter Twenty-Nine
J.J’s POV The cafeteria held its breath for a moment.Then it happened.Oge reached Tina’s table first. Carolyn looked up from her tray, confused. She probably thought they were just walking past. They weren’t.With no warning, Oge raised her tray and smashed it onto Tina’s head—right in front of half the cafeteria.Jollof rice, fried plantain, stew—everything exploded across Tina’s braids and blouse.Gasps filled the air.Tina froze for a second, the food dripping down her face like some horror movie scene. She looked like she didn’t even know what had happened. And Carolyn? She shot up like lightning. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” she screamed, grabbing napkins, trying to help Tina wipe her eyes. Bola stepped in next. Her tray hit the table, splashing juice everywhere, narrowly missing Carolyn’s skirt. Emma clapped slowly, theatrically. “Well, well, well… looks like your friend’s lunch got an upgrade.” My heart thumped once. Carolyn’s eyes shot toward the back of the
Last Updated : 2025-04-14
Latest chapter
Rich Love Chapter Thirty-six
Carolyn's POV I didn’t look back.Even though my palm still burned from the impact.Even though my chest was pounding so hard I thought I might collapse.I kept walking.Because if I stopped, I knew I’d break.Not because I regretted it.No—never that.But because slapping J.J felt like releasing years of quiet pain that I never even realized I’d carried.The weight of people talking at me instead of to me.The sting of being looked at like a burden wrapped in a scholarship badge.The ache of every time someone like J.J made me feel like my worth depended on their approval.That slap was for every time he made me feel like nothing.It was for Tina.It was for me.By the time I stepped off the school grounds, I was trembling. Not with fear—but with adrenaline. It felt like I had cracked open something I didn’t know existed inside me.A voice.Power.The ability to push back.But the moment I entered the bus heading home, all that fire dulled into fatigue.My shoulders slumped.My knee
Rich Love Chapter Thirty-Five
J.J's POVThe class corridor hadn’t felt so still in a long time.The usual buzzing voices, sneaker-squeaks on tile, slamming lockers—all of it faded into silence the moment Carolyn’s hand hit my face.A sharp, stinging silence.And yet—All I could hear was my own heart pounding.She slapped me.Again.The second time now.And God help me, something inside me liked it.Not because I enjoyed the pain. Not because I was some masochist. But because for the first time in what felt like years—someone saw me.Really saw me.I blinked slowly, barely registering the heat on my cheek.Carolyn was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling like she’d just sprinted a mile. Her hand still hung at her side, fingers trembling slightly.But her eyes—those furious, wounded, sky-blue eyes—burned into mine like acid.“You’re disgusting,” she spat.Her voice wasn’t loud. But it didn’t need to be.It sliced through my chest like a scalpel.“You think this is power? You think being feared makes you
Rich Love Chapter Thirty – Four
Carolyn’s POVTina didn’t even look at me in the hallway.She passed by like I was air—no nod, no smile, not even a flicker of hesitation. And that hurt more than anything J.J had ever done to me directly.Because Tina?She was my safe space.My softness.The only person who didn’t treat me like a scholarship case or a project or a punching bag.Now she was gone.And for what?I didn’t need anyone to tell me J.J was behind it. I didn’t need to ask.It had his fingerprints all over it.The kind of control that left no blood but broke bones all the same.I sat in the back of class that morning, eyes fixed on my textbook but seeing nothing. Even when the teacher asked a question, my voice barely left my throat.“Carolyn?” she prompted again.“I—I’m sorry, ma,” I whispered.She sighed and moved on.That was how the whole morning went.Like I was disappearing.And I was letting it happen.Until I decided I wouldn’t.Not anymore.I waited for the final bell.Waited until I saw him in the co
Rich Love Chapter Thirty-Three
J.J’s POVI pulled into my usual spot, engine humming softly beneath my fingers. For a second, I stared out the tinted windshield, watching the school building loom in front of me like some perfect, silent statue. The same school where I reigned. The same halls that whispered when I passed. The same place where no one dared to defy me—at least, not for long.But today, someone was waiting.Tina.She stood by the edge of the curb, arms crossed, shifting nervously. Her uniform was neat, her braids tied with a red ribbon, but there was something about her posture—rigid and too still—that told me she wasn’t just here to say hello.I debated driving right past her.She wasn’t worth my time.She was Carolyn’s friend. That already made her a problem.But as I pulled into the spot and cut the engine, I saw her step forward.And I didn’t like that.Not one bit.I grabbed my bag, slammed the car door, and began walking, ignoring the way her eyes followed me. She stepped in my path.“J.J, please
Rich Love Chapter Thirty Two
J.J’s POVI thought ignoring her would help.I thought maybe if I gave her space, she’d come back. Crawl back. Whisper another apology like before. Offer her silence as some kind of surrender.But she didn’t.She walked past me in the hallway this morning like I didn’t exist.No glance. No hesitation.Just… walked.And I hated it.I hated the way it burned.It was the same fire that came after a challenge, except this time, it wasn’t about pride or power—it was about control I had lost. And the fact that Carolyn, of all people, had taken it from me?Unforgivable.I sat in the lounge for most of the day, jaw clenched, heart pounding with that sick, tight rhythm that came whenever something slipped through my fingers.I couldn’t think straight.After school, I messaged George."Let’s go out. Tonight. I need to blow off steam."He replied almost immediately.You thinking the usual spot?Yes. Bring Julius. I don’t want to think. Just drink.We met up around 6PM. Julius had to sneak out o
Rich Love Chapter Thirty-one
Carolyn’s POVThe day dragged on like heavy chains tied to my ankles.Even though I was physically present, my mind was far away—stuck in that cafeteria, reliving the sound of food slapping Tina’s face, the gasps, the laughter, the eyes watching like it was entertainment.Tina didn’t deserve that.The rest of the day blurred past me in a fog of silent fury.I sat in class, eyes forward, but my mind wasn’t on the whiteboard or Mr. Ayoola’s notes. My thoughts kept drifting to Tina—my best friend, the one person who made this entire nightmare bearable.She wasn’t just absent.She was hurt.At home.Sick.The rumor in class was that her mother had called the school to report that Tina was experiencing “high fever and emotional fatigue.” I didn’t need anyone to explain further. I knew what that meant.Tina hadn’t just been embarrassed.She’d been shaken.By J.J.By Emma and her minions.Because of me.I pressed my palm hard against my thigh, trying to ground myself. I hated how powerless I
Rich Love Chapter Thirty
Carolyn’s POVI didn’t sleep.Not really.All I could see when I closed my eyes was Tina’s face—her stunned silence, the way the food clung to her braids, the way her mouth opened in confusion and pain as everyone laughed.And J.J.Standing there.Watching.Doing nothing to stop it.Because he had ordered it.Because I had refused to serve him.I kept tossing in bed, twisting the bedsheet in my hands like it was the only thing keeping me grounded. I was furious. Not just at J.J—but at myself. For trusting him. For liking being around him. For confusing cruelty with something else. Something softer.Something I hoped was real.But what he did to Tina?That was a line.And he crossed it.The next morning, I didn’t wait for him to come to me. I wasn’t going to be the girl who stayed silent anymore.I stood at his usual parking spot, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the gate as the morning sun climbed over the buildings. I didn’t care if people stared. Let them. Let them whisper about the scho
Rich Love Chapter Twenty-Nine
J.J’s POV The cafeteria held its breath for a moment.Then it happened.Oge reached Tina’s table first. Carolyn looked up from her tray, confused. She probably thought they were just walking past. They weren’t.With no warning, Oge raised her tray and smashed it onto Tina’s head—right in front of half the cafeteria.Jollof rice, fried plantain, stew—everything exploded across Tina’s braids and blouse.Gasps filled the air.Tina froze for a second, the food dripping down her face like some horror movie scene. She looked like she didn’t even know what had happened. And Carolyn? She shot up like lightning. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” she screamed, grabbing napkins, trying to help Tina wipe her eyes. Bola stepped in next. Her tray hit the table, splashing juice everywhere, narrowly missing Carolyn’s skirt. Emma clapped slowly, theatrically. “Well, well, well… looks like your friend’s lunch got an upgrade.” My heart thumped once. Carolyn’s eyes shot toward the back of the
Rich Love Chapter Twenty-Eight
J.J’s POVMonday morning came too quickly.The same white walls, the same polished floors, the same students pretending to care about grades while scheming behind their designer backpacks. The school looked the same, but something had changed.Me.Or maybe not.Maybe I was just realizing that Carolyn Okoli—yes, Carolyn, the charity-case girl with the odd blue eyes—was still stuck in my head long after that final debate round ended.It made no sense.She defied me, embarrassed me, won... and then ignored me like I was irrelevant. She hadn’t even looked at me since we got off the plane from Lagos. And for someone who used to practically shake in my presence, that silence was louder than anything she could’ve said.I hated how much that bothered me.I hated that I noticed her absence in the lounge this morning.George did too. He looked at me over the rim of his smoothie, one brow raised.“She’s not coming today?” he asked casually.“Why wouldn't she?” I snapped.George gave me a look. “
