She survived him. Rebuilt herself from nothing, buried the truth so deep she almost believed her own silence. Then a quiet man chose her - carefully, consistently, without condition - and Warda let herself believe that was what healing looked like. It was almost enough. She had one secret she never spoke aloud. One name she never said. One chapter of her life she had closed so completely she stopped feeling the weight of the door. She should have known. The past does not forget just because you do. When it finds her - and it finds her - Warda must choose between the silence that kept her standing and the truth that might finally set her free. Even if telling it means losing the only love she ever allowed herself to keep. Some things the heart survives. Some things it was never meant to carry alone.

--- Chained Desires She never believed in love - not the kind that stayed, not the kind that healed. To her, life was a game of hearts, and she always knew how to win. But then he came - quiet, confident, and impossibly sure of himself. The kind of man who didn't chase, yet somehow made her want to be caught. He wasn't looking for love either, but something about her drew him in - her fire, her laughter, her truths. She made him feel alive again, even as she drove him insane. What started as a daring attraction soon became something neither of them could control - a love so fierce it blurred the line between devotion and surrender. Now, bound by emotions they never meant to feel, they must decide if love can truly set them free... or if some desires are meant to keep us chained forever Ranking - #2nd place Nigerian fiction