Entranced 18+

Three

Ijeoma took one last look at her reflection in the mirror before she left her bedroom. She'd looked up the place they were supposed to meet and it was a restaurant that she'd have never imagined herself getting into; it was that classy. So, she'd dressed the part. She'd gone for a simple black dress that hugged her figure like a second skin. It was long, past her knee and long sleeve. She'd packed her braids into a bun and did a little bit of makeup.

As she went around her apartment making sure everything was locked, her phone began to ring. Guessing it was the Uber driver, she left her house and then locked the main door. Ijeoma took a few seconds to mentally walk through the house, doing a final sweep before exhaling. By the time she bagged her keys in her purse, her phone started ringing.

"Hello," she answered, making her way out of the apartment complex. "Yes, I'm coming out." The Uber driver didn't say anything else so she hung up. A Toyota Corolla was parked outside the gate fitting the description she'd gotten for her ride. She made her way towards the driver's side, quickly checking her phone to see if it was the person supposed to pick her. When she was sure of her safety, she got in.

The restaurant was actually not that far but Lagos traffic took up an extra twenty minutes of her time. Still, she was early. She paid the driver then got out her phone to call him. Ijeoma already knew she wouldn't be able to enter the restaurant without a reservation.

"Miss Delilah?" A man called from the entrance of the restaurant and she made her way to him.

"Good evening," she greeted.

"Are you Miss Delilah?"

"I am." Ijeoma hoped he didn't ask for an identification card. While she answered Delilah at the club, her name wasn't actually Delilah.

The man looked up something on his phone before nodding at her. "Follow me please."

They got into the restaurant and she let herself be awed by the space for a few seconds, then she collected herself. The man led her away from all the available seats and led her down a narrow hallway. Just when she was considering if this was how she'd be kidnapped, he paused in front of a door and knocked. There was no answer, at least not one she heard, but the staff opened the door and stuck his head inside.

She heard talking in muted tones and then he was opening the door wider. "Enjoy your dinner, Miss."

Ijeoma walked in, briefly inspecting the room. It had a table in the middle and Azubuike was already seated. The menu covering half of his face. She looked around the room, noting the various paintings and cultural artifacts lining the walls; it was a tastefully outfitted space. Considering the amount of money it took to book the space, the expensive artworks made sense.

Azubuike dropped the menu and looked up at her. "Please, have a seat, Ijeoma."

She'd already sat down when she realized he'd used her real name. Her heart began to thump loudly in her chest. How did he know? Did he do a background search or what? If he knew her name, did that mean he already knew everything about her? About her sister?

"I never told you my name was Ijeoma," she said, picking up the menu he dropped. There was no need to let him know she was panicking, she had to keep her cool.

"Yes, Delilah." His voice was laced with sarcasm and the man even smiled at her. "I don't think it's nice to call you by your stage name when you know almost everything about my identity."

"I'm Ijeoma Okereke. Nice to meet you." She stretched out her hand for him to shake, waiting for any form of recognition. The man held her gaze, a small smile playing on his lips as they shook hands. No sign of recognition from him. It was either he was pretending or he really didn't know. Still, it did not mean much, for all she knew, Amara might have also given him a fake name.