Ohwofasa_Emonena

Mira Adebayo has her life carefully mapped out—career-focused, emotionally guarded, and living thousands of miles from home. But when a routine airport pickup for a client turns into a chaotic twist of fate, she mistakenly picks up Noah, a charming stranger from her home country. Unbeknownst to both, one wrong encounter leads to the unraveling of everything Mira has worked for.

After a ruined project and an unexpected firing, Mira returns home heartbroken—only to cross paths with Noah again, this time on her own soil. With resentment bubbling and attraction refusing to fade, their accidental meeting evolves into a slow-burning war of emotions.

But when tragedy strikes and Mira is forced to confront her past, Noah becomes the only one who sees beyond her defenses. As secrets unravel and feelings deepen, they must choose between the walls they’ve built and the hearts they never planned to lose.

Enemies by chance. Lovers by fate. But can love bloom from a mistake that changed everything?

Unplanned Hearts

The Monday morning rush was brutal. Mira stood stiffly in the elevator at Gray & Locke, trying not to let the rising panic show. Her ID badge still felt too new against her chest, and the weight of returning to a world she thought she'd left behind sat heavy on her shoulders.

The elevator doors slid open—and there he was.

Standing in the lobby, suit crisp, hands tucked in his pockets like he had every right to be here.

Mira froze. The seconds stretched. He looked up.

"Noah," she said first, voice barely audible over the sound of her pulse in her ears.

He took a slow step toward her. "You work here?"

"Just started," she said carefully. "You?"

"My family owns a large portion of the company," he replied. "I come and go."

Of course he did. She should've guessed.

"Why didn't you tell me you were applying here?" he asked.

"I didn't know you were involved," she replied, eyes sharp. "Would it have changed anything?"

She gave him a look that said, Don't lie to me.

"I need this job," Mira continued. "Don't make it more complicated than it already is."

"I wasn't planning to." But his tone was unreadable.

Inside her new department, Mira kept her head down, focused on work. The project she was assigned to was big—an ad campaign for a luxury perfume line. But her supervisor? A total nightmare.

Blonde, power-suited, and icy. And clearly, someone who knew exactly who Mira was.

"Oh, the airport girl," Claire said when Mira introduced herself.

Claire smiled thinly. "Noah mentioned you once. Said you had a fiery mouth."

Mira clenched her jaw. "I'm here to work, not gossip."

"Of course," Claire purred. "Just don't forget—relationships and reputations don't last in this business. Results do."

That evening, Mira stood in the bathroom, gripping the edge of the sink. Her phone buzzed.

Noah: "Dinner. My treat. We need to talk."

Noah: "Because pretending we don't feel something is getting harder."

Dinner was at a quiet rooftop restaurant. The city shimmered below, lights blinking like stars scattered across pavement.

"You look… tired," Noah said as she sat across from him.

"That's called working under Claire," Mira replied, forcing a smile.

"Claire's a lot," he agreed. "But she respects people who don't back down."

Noah leaned in. "Good. Because I don't want you running again."

"I didn't run," she said softly. "I was pushed."

He looked at her, then reached across the table, his fingers brushing hers.

"You deserve better than what happened. But if this—if we're going to figure it out—we need to stop acting like we're still enemies."

"I don't hate you anymore," she whispered.

And in that moment, under the stars, she allowed herself to wonder: Maybe this time, the ending could be different.

The Ties That Choke