A Mile From Gehannas Gateway

CHAPTER ONE

Vera Tor is what anyone can call a complete Port Harcourt Babe. She wasn’t your typical billionaire’s daughter. While others in her circle moved with entourages and bodyguards, she craved solitude. She often wandered the city alone, finding a strange comfort in blending with the crowd. She was a regular at exclusive nightclubs in Port Harcourt,  Abuja , New York, and around the world. She was also a regular in the tabloids for attending late-night events and extravagant celebrations. 

Known for her lavish lifestyle and glamorous appearances, she was often spotted at Bela club in Port Harcourt each time she was in Nigeria. Bela Club is located in the Tambia Area of Port Harcourt. Vera so much loved the place. The  air of the club  smells of  cigarettes  and expensive drinks. A disco light rotates above the dance floor, showing various colours of light across the walls. It is a place where people get  connected by lights, music, and the promise of the night ahead. The dance floor was always  alive with people moving under the strobe lights.  

Port Harcourt is the capital of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is a busy city. So many high and mighty in Nigeria reside in the city. Vera walked into Bella Club, weaving through the crowd, her presence commanding no attention.At the bar, she ordered her usual, a Campari and  sipped her drink while she took a moment to observe the scene, the laughter, the dancing, the unspoken rules of the night.She wasn’t here just for the music or the drinks. She was here  hoping  a man would  ask her out. She really wants a feel of a real man, not a two minute man like Charlie.It was multiple times of her stepping into Bela  nightclub alone. She got engulfed by  the flashing lights, the pounding bass, and the mingling scents of perfume and spilled whiskey. She wore a deep white dress that hugged her figure.The music seeped through the walls.

Her eyes looked through the hall, landing briefly on a tall man leaning against the far wall. He offered her a smile, she smiled back. Tonight wasn’t about playing it safe. It was about going home with  a man at all costs. She was here for pleasure. 

By the end of the night, she was sure she’d be by the side of a real man  who would  escort her into the cool night air and beyond.

A rugged man in a black jacket was at a corner sipping whiskey, watching her. He watched as she sipped her Campari, her eyes occasionally drifting towards the dance floor. Timing was everything. He waited.Yet, as the night wore on, no one had approached Vera. She danced with  some girls , laughed at the bar. She remembered  the guy she’d smiled at, the one she thought might approach her but didn’t.

She lingered at the bar longer than necessary, and danced with an extra flair, all in the hope of catching someone’s attention.

No one approached  Vera and it was already 2am. She had walked into the club hours earlier, full of hope and excitement.Now reality sets in. No man is going to come  for her tonight. She straightened, brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and walked out of the club. The rugged man in a black jacket that was at a corner sipping whiskey and  watching her, stood up and silently left the club. She wrapped a cloth tighter around herself as she walked along the cracked pavement of downtown Lulu Bright Street, her stiletto heels clicking rhythmically. She left the high-profile Bela club, tired. The streets were  empty, lit only by a few streetlights. She walked briskly,  her phone in her hand. 

She could have called her driver, but the thought of the quiet ride back to her family’s palatial mansion without a man by her side  felt suffocating. Reluctantly, she decided to walk through the city’s streets, hoping to get home in a short time. Ahead, the rugged man in a black jacket stepped out of the shadows. Vera's heart quickened, but she kept her composure. He studied her, watching her gentle undulations as she walked.

She studied him too. He followed her at a distance, his steps deliberately quiet.His pace matched hers, staying just far enough to avoid suspicion. But every so often, she glanced over her shoulder. He had been watching her all night.