Page 51 of Sweet Vengeance

Joy hugged her tightly, laughing. “I know. It’s been a minute, abi?”

“There she is,” Malcom, Iyore’s fiancé, said, standing up as well. He was even taller than Iyore; they always joked that he could’ve been a basketballer if Nigeria took training their athletes more seriously. His skin was a dark umber, his head completely shaved bald, and a full beard surrounded his lips, jaw, and throat. “Wetin happen na, Joy? It’s like you disappeared off the face of the earth.”

Joy pretended to grimace, waving her hand flippantly, hugging him before sliding into the booth opposite them. She reached for one of the complimentary sachets of plantain chips laid out in a small woven basket in the middle of the table.

“Oh, you know,” she said, ripping the packet open. “I just had some things I had to do.” Iyore’s expression was carefully neutral; she probably thought Joy had needed time off to get her mental health in order after … everything, and she wasn’t exactly wrong. Malcom remained blissfully unaware, munching on his own opened sachet of chips. “How about you two? Have you set a wedding date yet?” She leered.

It was Malcom’s turn to be flippant, though, strangely, Iyore was blushing hotly, evident in the smile she was trying to suppress, her eyes downturned, lips pursed.

“We’re taking our time,” Malcom said, grinning lazily. “I can’t wait to call this one my wife”—he jerked his thumb in Iyore’s direction—“but I do like the ring of “fiancée”. Figure I’d milk that out for as long as possible.” He turned to waggle his eyebrows at the fiancée in question.

“Malcom,” Iyore admonished with a giggle, pushing his shoulder playfully.

Malcom grinned, leaning over to smack a quick kiss onto her cheek. “You know I’m joking, yeah? I honestly can’t wait to marry you.”

Iyore blushed harder, meeting his eyes. “I know. Me too.”

Joy felt so fucking warm—so full already, even though they hadn’t yet eaten. She’d been afraid at first,when she’d first come back home and Iyore had invited her to meet Malcom;she’d thought she’d feel like a third wheel. But she never had. Malcom really was perfect forherbest friend; there was no onebetter Joywould have chosen for her.

She noticed the waiter approaching their table with the menus and beamed.

“Are we ready to order?”

An hour or twolater, after a ton of laughter, the repetition of stories they’d shared over a million times but just never seemed to get tired of, Joy felt full in both her belly and her heart. The ever-persistent hole in her chest could almost be ignored. Almost.

She, Iyore, and Malcom exited the restaurant, then the mall itself.

“Do you want to go dancing?” Iyore said suddenly, her voice high with energy. “I don’t know; it’s been a while! I feel like dancing.”

Malcom laughed, leaning over to kiss her. “You don’t mind if I rain check, babe? I’ve got an early start tomorrow, and I’m honestly exhausted.”

“Of course not,” Iyore said, kissing him again. “You don’t mind, do you, Joy?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Iyore smacked her in the arm, making them all laugh.

“You ladies take the car; I’ll order aBolt. Have fun, eh? But nottoomuch fun.” He winked, handing Iyore his keys.

Iyore giggled. They kissed again, then he left the parking lot in the direction of the street to order hisBolt. Iyore took Joy’s hand, leading her where Malcom had parked his car.

She started it, then turned to smirk slyly at Joy. “So,” she began, the engine rumbling between them.

Joy’s heart began to beat strangely. “So …” she said, raising a questioning eyebrow.

Iyore giggled. “Did you manage to meet someone since I last saw you? You’re glowing!”

“What? No.” Joy squirmed where she sat. “Of course not. I didn’t meet anyone. Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, but to her horror, she began to blush.

“You’re blushing!” Iyore practically screamed, making Joy wince.

“I’m not blushing,” she said, blushing harder. Of course she was glowing; killing the man who’d raped you and fucking the sexy demon who helped you to get away with it would probably do that to a person.

The thought of Malachi brought a painful twinge to Joy’s chest. Her hands clenched in her lap. Over the past few weeks as she’drebuilt the life her victim had unwittingly destroyed, she’d felt lighter and happier as she’d put the pieces back together. She’d resumed her graphic design business; she’d gotten a betterflat; she’d even visited Aunty Paloma to let her know the deed was done, valiantly ignoring her aunt’s curious eyes when she said nothing more than that.

She’d managed to sign on a huge client last week, which had led her to making the decision to quit her day job; she didn’t really need it, had only held onto it thanks to the lingering belief of her late father’sthat being an entrepreneur wasn’t a “real” job.

Rather than try to get new friends, she’d decided to give Iyore’s and Malcom’s friends another try. She hadn’t been able to avoid Malcom when she’d come back to Nigeria—he was a package deal with Iyore, obviously—butafter her parents’ deathsandshe’d dug into her work to avoid her grief, Joy had cancelled and flaked on so many plans with their friends that Iyore had eventually been the only one left standing. She hadn’t thought she could try with the others again.

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