CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE “CONVINCED”

© Opeyemi Akintunde

Inspired by the GREATEST STORYTELLER

Imade’s POV

I didn’t think…I moved like lightning.

Barefoot, phone in hand, heart racing faster than my feet could keep up with. I remembered his room number clearly. Funny how the mind remembers unnecessary details when it wants something badly enough.

The corridor felt longer than it had any right to be.

When I got there, the door was wide open.

Too open.

Inside, a hotel staff was already at work…fresh sheets, open windows, the scent of disinfectant replacing whatever memory had been there.

“Excuse me,” I said, my voice breathless. “The man who stayed here… where is he?”
The staff glanced up briefly.
“He checked out,” the man replied casually. “Just left.”

Just left.

My heart dropped.

“Did he go downstairs?” I asked quickly.

“Yes, madam. He has gone.”

I didn’t wait to hear anything else.

I turned and ran toward the elevator.

Pressed the button like it could move faster if I wanted it enough.

When the doors opened at the reception floor, I scanned everywhere.

Nothing.

No Daniel…No familiar posture….No calm presence.

Just strangers with suitcases and staff moving on with their day.

I rushed to the reception desk, then stopped.

Suddenly aware of myself.
My hair was disheveled. My breath uneven. My eyes searching too hard.
I looked like a woman who had been left behind.

A jilted girlfriend!

I straightened up, forced my breathing to slow, wiped my face gently.

“Excuse me,” I said carefully, “the guest who checked out from room…” I was saying and she didn’t let me complete my words

“He has left already, madam,” the receptionist said politely, already knowing.

I nodded.

“Thank you.”

I walked away slowly this time.Back to my room…
Back to silence…Back to the illusion that had felt like freedom only hours earlier.

****
I sat on the bed and stared at my phone.

Daniel K.

Just that.

K.

I didn’t even know his surname…I read his message again….And again.
And again.
I tried Calling his number, but the call still wouldn’t connect.

It Kept dropping…failing.

“Gone?” I asked myself “So this is it?”

This was how relief ended.
Abruptly…Cleanly…Without negotiation.

****
Teju’s POV

Enough!

That was the word that settled in my chest as I sat with my phone.

Enough confusion…Enough silence…Enough waiting.
God Knows I had been patient….Infact too patient.
At some point, patience becomes self-betrayal.
I wasn’t going to keep pretending this madness would fix itself.

I typed the message slowly, deliberately.

“Imade, if you don’t return by tomorrow… or at most the day after tomorrow, I will inform our parents about what is going on and end this marriage.”

I paused.

Then added:
“I won’t carry the blame for something I didn’t break.”

This way, it would be clear to our parents I didn’t break the union they have always wanted. I refuse to live the miserable life Beauty had hinted at, that Imade had planned for me.
Her Parents will know that the non-workability was on her.

Not me.

I hit send.

And placed the phone face down.

For the first time since the wedding, I felt in Control.

*****
Imade’s POV

Teju’s message came in quietly.

No drama…No warning…Just pure reality.
I read it once….twice…Infact an unhealthy number of times.

I didn’t need a prophet to tell me this was probably the storm my Pastor’s mother spoke about. I didn’t need a sign…I didn’t need another voice in my head to tell me I was about to lose on both ends.

Freedom had closed its door.

And reality was calling me back home.

I didn’t have to wait 24 hours! I needed to get back to my ‘Unhappy but tangible life’

To be continued…

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