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‘Seriously, how bad was your fight? She hasn’t answered any messages in the group chat since last night,’ says Shanti as she approaches the bedroom, holding a bowl of yoghurt and fruit.

I swallow. ‘It was bad. Really bad.’

‘What was it about?’ Chioma has shown up, rubbing lotion on her arms, somehow missing her many bangles. ‘Also it’s really not like her to not be out already—’

‘A lot of things, but mainly about how I kept what had happened – well, what’sbeenhappening – between Malakai and I quiet.’

Chioma nods. ‘Ah. Yeah, I was wondering why you didn’t tell us about that, but wanted to respect your process.’

I stop banging on Aminah’s door. ‘What, seriously? Youknew?’

Chioma looks at me like I am a baby bird with a broken wing. ‘Sweet, Kiki. I knew the second Malakai stepped into London. Let’s be serious. Now, have you tried opening the door?’

‘I think she locked it from the inside—’

Chioma pushes past me and takes what looks like a razor blade out of the bra she’s wearing underneath a crop top that says ‘Eat Me, I’m Vegan’ and fiddles with the lock till the door clicks open.

Shanti smiles, impressed, and holds up a hand that Chioma immediately high-fives. I open the door. Her bed is empty. I check the bathroom and there’s nothing there but a whole Sephora worth of skincare products. I don’t know if it’s better or worse that her phone isn’t here either.

‘So she locked it from the outside,’ I say, my heart rate increasingly rapidly. ‘OK, OK.’

‘I’m sure it’s fine,’ Shanti says, although I see her tamp down the alarm on her face for my benefit. ‘She’s so dickmatised by that fiancé of hers she probably went in for an afternoon quickie. Give him a call.’

‘Right,’ Chioma says, coming back from where she was on the balcony. ‘She probably snuck out to the other villa. I remembered that Laide is out shopping at the mall, saying she’d meet us at the vineyard. I opened our Aminah’s Angels group chat to check if Aminah went with her, to get some space maybe, but Laide has sent a picture of a scarf to the group chat and has asked Aminah if she should buy it for her since she noticed the “huge Kofi marking on your neck when you were coming in this morning”. So I’m guessing that she hasn’t.’

I nod. ‘Right.’ I attempt to calm my breathing. ‘You’re right. She’s probably over there.’

Kofi picks up on the first ring, and when I ask, ‘Hey, Aminah’s with you, right?’ he pauses.

‘Kiki, I was just about to ask you that. All my texts are going undelivered...’

The panic in his voice has also settled into my stomach and I’m beginning to feel sick. So she’s got her phone but it’soff?Aminah’s phone is never off. I try to keep it together for Kofi’s sake, ‘Uh, well, her door was locked from the outside, but I’m sure that there’s a reasonable explana—’

‘I’m coming over.’

There’s an extensive team search of both villas by both the guys and the women before I start to hyperventilate. Kofi paces our living room, talking about the police, sweating, and Malakai attempts to calm him down, puts his hands on his shoulders.

‘Bro, let’s think first. What was your latest conversation about?’

Kofi shakes his head. ‘I... I don’t know.’ He stops, and the look on his face makes me feel queasy–he’s terrified, abject fear in his eyes, and it makes me want to cry. ‘She–she said she loves me, but asked if I was marrying her because I felt like Ihadto, but it was early in the morning and I thought she was just playing and—’ Kofi turns to me. ‘Kiki, what do you think it is?’

My eyes begin to water. ‘This is all my fault. It’s our fight. I really shouldn’t have said what I said.’ I’m crying now, shaking, and Malakai leaves Kofi to put his arm round me.

‘Kiki. I got you—’

I squeeze his hand briefly in appreciation but shake my head, approaching Kofi. ‘I am so sorry, Kof—’

Understandable annoyance shadows Kofi’s face and I see him battle it, swallow it when he registers what I presume is the acutely distraught look on my face. ‘You and Aminah fight like sisters. She loves you, and the argument can’t have been the thing to make her disappear like this. It has to be something else. Honestly, she’s been acting a little. . . carefreelately. Yesterday I asked her which shirt to wear out tomorrow and she said it was “up to me”.’

Shanti gasps from where she’s sat on the burnt-orange sofa behind us, which really does nothing to alleviate the gravity of this situation, but I get it: this is cause for serious concern.

‘Keeks, I’m scared she’s having doubts—’ Kofi breaks off and rubs his chin. ‘That’s not even it. I’m scared she’s having doubts and that she’s not telling me. I... I don’t know what I’d do if...’

Kofi is breaking and I realise that I can’t break too. Aminah is fine– she will be totally fine.

‘There is noif,Kofi. She’s fine. We will all figure it out together. What were our last–’ I pause, amend– ‘What were our latest conversations with Aminah?’

‘Well,’ Chioma says, from where she’s sitting on the kitchen counter, ‘yesterday when we were by the pool she said something super weird about how she wishes she could do what I did–you know, the Bali thing. And remember I was dating that couple out there? You think she wants to open up her relationship, Kof, and doesn’t know how to tell you?’