Dara had always believed in love—the kind that could change a person, the kind that could melt the hardest heart. But when she fell in love with Jidenna, even she questioned if love was enough.
Jidenna was everything she wasn't. While she was soft-spoken and kind, he was brash and cold. While she prayed every morning, he scoffed at the idea of God. People called her "Angel" because of her heart. They called Jidenna "Demon" because of his reckless ways.
"You can't change him, Dara," her friends warned.
But she wasn't trying to change him. She was only loving him, showing him kindness where others showed judgement.
Jidenna didn't understand why Dara loved him. He had never known love without conditions. He had been raised to believe that the strong ruled, that kindness was weakness. But Dara? She was different. She stayed when he pushed her away. She prayed for him when he laughed at her faith.
One evening, after another argument about God, Jidenna stormed out. That night, he had a dream. He saw himself standing in darkness, with chains around his wrists. He tried to move, but the chains pulled tighter. Then he saw Dara, clothed in light, stepping towards him.
"Jidenna," she whispered, "you don't have to live in chains."
The darkness trembled as she stretched her hand towards him.
He woke up in a sweat. Something had shifted inside him. He wasn't sure what it was, but for the first time in his life, he felt... empty. And he hated it.
The next day, he found Dara in church. She wasn't surprised to see him—she had been praying for this moment.
"I don't know how to change," he admitted.
"You don't have to do it alone," she said. "Let God help you."
Months passed. Jidenna struggled, but Dara never gave up on him. He started reading the Bible, praying, letting go of old habits. The change wasn't instant, but it was real.
When Jidenna asked Dara to marry him, people were shocked.
"But he was a demon!" they whispered.
"No," Dara smiled. "He was a man in darkness who found the Light."
On their wedding day, as Dara walked down the aisle, Jidenna looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"Angel weds Demon," someone murmured.
Jidenna smiled. "No. Angel weds the Redeemed."