CHAPTER TWELVE “CONVINCED”

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde
As inspired by the DEEP ONE

Teju’s POV

She really left.
The door had closed.
The silence that followed was louder than any argument we had ever had.

I lay on the bed… then turned.

Then turned again.
I stared at the ceiling.

At the wall.
At the door.

Any moment now… she would come back.
She would realise she was angry.

She would realise she overreacted.

She would knock.

She would call my name.

I checked my phone.

Nothing.

I locked it… unlocked it.
Refreshed my messages.
Checked WhatsApp. Checked missed calls.
Nothing.

I rolled to her side of the bed …Her pillow still smelled like her.

I told myself not to call.
A man has pride.
A man has composure.

But what is composure when your wife just left you on your honeymoon?
My fingers hovered over her name on my phone, but I quickly dropped the phone so I won’t be tempted but…
I Picked it up again.

‘But, If I call her now, I will look weak, and If I don’t, I may lose her completely.”

Minutes passed.Then hours.
Each minute stretched like punishment. I imagined her coming back, suitcase rolling behind her, eyes softening.

But…

The room remained still.
By evening, hope started to hurt.
And the realisation settled in my chest like a stone:
She didn’t leave impulsively.
She left intentionally.

Imade’s POV

I sat at the airport.
Waiting.
Watching people walk in pairs.

Families.

Couples.

Laughing honeymooners.

Any moment now, Teju would walk in. He would look around and Spot me.
Walk up with that calm face of his.

“Let’s go together,” he would say.

I checked my phone.

Nothing.

I looked at the entrance again.

Nothing.

I told myself he was probably parking.

Probably delayed.

Probably thinking like a man.

An hour passed.

Then another.

I sighed.
Maybe he was waiting for me to return.I considered it.

For a brief moment.

But I had dreamed of this trip for years.
This destination lived rent-free in my imagination.
I wasn’t about to give it up.

Maybe the trip would help me recenter.

Help me breathe.

Help me think clearly.
I stood up, adjusted my bag, and walked toward the lounge.

And then…
I collided into someone….Hard.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” I said quickly, stepping back.

“No, I should apologise,” the man replied.

I looked up….Average height.
Broad shoulders … not intimidating….Warm eyes.

My kind of man.

My spec.

Our eyes met for a second too long.

And something unfamiliar stirred in my chest.

The kind of thing that feels like possibility.

“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded slowly.

“Yes… I am.”

And just like that, in the middle of an airport,
on the first day of my honeymoon…with my husband miles away…

Life presented me with an option.

To be continued…

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Written by Opeyemi Akintunde
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