"After Abuja, I tried to believe the test," he said. "I told myself it was accurate and that I owed you a normal marriage. But I never entirely trusted the people who arranged it." Nkiru closed her eyes. "You told me yesterday that the result ended the question." "I wanted it to. Then, months later, Temi told me a finance position had opened at Akinwale Group." "You accepted because she recommended you." "Partly," he said. "And partly because I wanted to know whether Korede was all right. I never approached him. I saw him at a few company functions, from a distance."
She looked at him. "We celebrated that job." He nodded. "I remember." "I bought you a ridiculous blue tie because we couldn't afford the proper one. I prayed over your first day. I told everyone that after years of struggling, our family was finally moving forward." Tobi lowered his head. "I know." "And you let me believe it was only about our future. You were also placing yourself near a child you thought might be yours." He opened his mouth. She shook her head. "Don't tell me you were protecting me. You were protecting the choice to have both lives without explaining either one."
Tobi buried his face in his hands. "I was afraid of losing you," he whispered. "I can believe you were afraid," she answered. "I can even believe you loved me. But fear doesn't give you the right to choose my reality." They sat together through the cooling of dinner, grieving a marriage that still existed physically but no longer felt the same. Nkiru did not ask him to leave that night. She did ask him to move his belongings into the spare room. The distinction was small, but it gave her a boundary she could maintain without making a final decision in anger.
The next afternoon, Tunde called to say the company wanted to discuss a resolution of Tobi's employment matter. Janet attended with Nkiru and Tobi. Akinwale Group's outside counsel placed a draft settlement agreement on the conference table and explained the proposed terms: correction of Tobi's reference, compensation for lost income and reputational harm, reimbursement of certain professional expenses, and a statement that the evidence did not support a finding that he stole forty-two million naira. The offer was generous enough to clear their debts and provide a financial cushion. Nkiru knew because she had calculated the amounts in her head before the lawyer finished reading.
Then Janet reached the confidentiality provision. It prohibited the parties from discussing the circumstances of the dismissal beyond the agreed public wording and required broad releases of claims. Tobi stared at the compensation figure. His shoulders seemed to relax for the first time in months. Nkiru, however, asked, "What happens to the audit findings?" The counsel answered that the company would continue internal review. "And to the people who altered the payment?" she asked. "Those matters would be handled separately." She looked at Tunde. "So our household becomes quiet, and the company decides later which truths the public can survive."