Kosiso was wide awake. Ayo was behind her, sleeping soundly. For the first time since knowing him, Kosiso felt uneasy.
Being with Ayo had always been a gamble; he would either be with her or not. Yet, she had loved him and remained willing to continue trying her luck, hoping that by some miracle, the man of her dreams would truly be hers.
But something had changed. It started with the day Saheedat had suggested that Ayo’s wife might find out about their affair and be interested in taking Kene in. What if Ayo liked the idea and decided to take Kene away?
Kosiso could not imagine life without Kene. As much as she hated to hear it, Saheedat was right; it would be harder for her to get custody of Kene with her current income and financial situation.
Apart from that, the relationship between her and Ayo had soured beyond redemption. She could be with a man who was committed to another woman, but not with a man who threatened her.
She felt caged, and there was no way she could look at him the same again. She just hoped he didn’t know it, because as soon as he set up the trust, Kosiso would leave him and regain her freedom.
All she needed to do now was make peace with Saheedat. Saheedat blinked at the account balance on her screen. It should be ₦2.1 million here, she thought. She did the math again but arrived at the same conclusion. There was no way they were ₦300,000 short unless someone had taken it. She started to ponder on her recent expenses and then realised who must have taken it.
“I had to,” Ibrahim confessed, after she confronted him. “You had to?” “Yes.” Then he launched into a story about how his mother had come to him for money for her niece. “I did it for you. Look, I told my mother the money was from you. At least, she will appreciate you.”
Saheedat wanted to cry. “Don’t you get it? That’s not what she wants. She doesn’t want a rich daughter-in-law; she wants a childbearing one. And now you have delayed my dream because you can’t say no to your mum.”“Saheedat, I didn’t know… I didn’t mean…” She left him in the living room, anxious to unburden her sadness in the guest room.
After crying for a while, she returned to the living room and said, “You’re going to give me that money from the money you wanted to use to buy the land.” “Haba!” Ibrahim was shocked that she would say this. This was an opportunity for them to finally own some land and start building their own property. A friend was going to pay him back the exact amount Layo had told him would buy two plots of land. Saheedat was punishing him for being considerate toward his mother. “Do you want to buy land or have children?” He faced the TV. “I’ll pay you at the end of the month.” “Good. And please don’t ever lend anyone our money without telling me first.” There was a knock on the door. Saheedat opened it. It was Kosiso.
“Can I help you?”
“Saheedat, I came to apologise. I didn’t mean to say what I said…”
“Nobody means to hurt me, yet they do. Right, Ibrahim?” she turned to look at him. Kosiso toyed with her fingers, feeling she had picked the wrong time.
“I’m really sorry, Saheedat. You were right, and I lashed out at you for no reason. It won’t happen again.”
“No need to apologise. I will have my own children insha Allah.” Saheedat burst into tears and left her standing at the door. Kosiso was stunned. She had never seen her friend that upset. Ibrahim came to the door and cleared his throat.
“It’s been a hard day for her,” he said awkwardly, avoiding her eyes. He had never spoken to her before. Kosiso didn’t know if she should be more surprised by this or by her friend’s outburst. “Please speak to her for me. Good night.”