Page 102 of The Marriage Agreement (Agreement)

I dial Lily’s number. It rings a few times before she answers.

“Hi, Lily,” I manage to keep my voice calm.

“Hi, Luke.”

I ask her about her day and her whereabouts, and she happily lies. I ask her about Dele, and she lies again, inviting me to lunch, claiming she’s willing to bury the hatchet. She even says Dele may have run off with some loser. I’m upset, but I stay calm until the guys inform me that they have what they need.

As I hang up, she makes another call. I overhear her speaking to a man, arranging to have Dele picked up and “dealt with.”

“Is she awake?” the man asks.

“Yes, but I can knock her out again, if that works better for you.” Lily replies.

“I don’t like you hitting her, just blindfold her. I’ll call when I’m close.”

“Fine, I don’t know what you stupid men see in her.” The guy hangs up without responding.

I’m fuming, but now isn’t the time for anger. Bruce pats my shoulder to reassure me before dispatching his team. We head into the building quickly, and the guys break down the door to Lily’s unit. Inside is an empty space, and the team restrains Lilyas I rush to my wife. She has a busted lip, swollen face and a bloody nose, with blood on her scrubs. The necklace lies on the floor next to her feet, probably the reason the signal went out.

She leaps into my arms the moment the zip ties on her arms and legs are cut. I carry her out of the building as she cries non-stop. Lily is screaming my name. I tune her out and take Dele to the ambulance that’s waiting. Whether Bruce or law enforcement called them, I don’t know, but I’m thankful. I sit quietly with Dele, squeezing my hands tight; she’s not letting go. She flinches when the paramedic tries to break our hold and check her blood pressure. I signal to the guy not to bother. He gently cleans her bloody nose and lips.

When the paramedic mentions taking her to the hospital, she shakes her head and starts crying. I know she doesn’t feel safe away from me.

“I’ll take her home.” She clings to me as we head to the car Bruce has waiting for us. Her cry is breaking my heart, but I can’t tell her to stop, knowing she’s just escaped her worst fear. On the drive and elevator ride up, she frighteningly clings to me. In our unit, I remove all her bloody clothes, shoes, and socks, down to her underwear. She doesn’t say anything, just follows my lead and continues crying. I carry her to our bathroom and set her on the counter. She doesn’t protest when I start to wash her body in the shower.

Her winces seethe my blood at the pain Lily inflicted on her. I will exert my revenge. Right now, I’ll take care of Dele.

Chapter 68

DELE

Her sad laugh rings in my ear like a siren, piercing my eardrum. The sound echoes through my body, signaling the undesirable fate I’m about to encounter.

“The guys that will make you disappear, of course,” she snickers. “Fuck, if I care where they take you, long as I don’t know, and you’re no longer my fucking problem,” she states casually with a shrug.

“Please, don’t do this. I’ll ask Luke for a divorce,” I plead, even as my heart breaks at the thought of doing that. She returns an evil laugh.

“Like I’m going to believe you, lying bitc—” A loud bang, and light breaks through. Men in armor gear rush into the room. They quickly restrain Lily, and Luke rushes in, dressed like the men, and comes to hug me as another cuts the zip ties.

“I’m so sorry, Ayo mi.” His voice cracks as he whispers in my ear. Relief rushes through my being. I break into a barrel of tears that fall uncontrollably. As soon as the ties are cut, I leap into hisarms, crying. He carries me out to the car. I hang on tight to him, my face buried in his chest.He’s here. He saved me.

“I’m so sorry, my love,” he says repeatedly. There’s a medical team waiting outside. They check on me as I hold on tight to Luke, my lifeline, my comfort, and my safety.

“Any pain?” the medic asks. I shake my head. They clean my bloody nose and busted lips and check for any bruises or breaks on me.

“We can take her to the hospital for a more thorough check-up, but she looks fine.” I shake my head and grip his hand tight with all my strength.

“No, she’s going home, and if anything changes, we’ll come to the hospital.” Luke answers.

He wraps his arm around me, and we head to the car. I can’t stop crying. Our drive is taking forever. We pull up to the basement. I’m still clinging to Luke for dear life on the elevator ride to our home. I cling tight to him. Once in our unit, he takes off my shoes and scrubs. In just my underwear, he carries me to our bathroom and places me on the bathroom countertop. I wrap my arms around myself, tears still flowing. He turns on the water, grabs my shower cap, wraps my hair up, and covers it with the cap. Then he removes his gear down to his boxers and comes to get me off the countertop. He removes my bra and underwear, then leads me into the shower. I sit on the tiled floor, and he takes his time washing and inspecting my body for injury. I wince when he tries to wash my face, and I see his scowl and anger even as he tries to hide it. Once he’s done cleaning me up, he wraps himself in a towel, gets me out, and wraps me in a towel to dry me off. After tossing the wet towel, he rubs me down with my cream. Grabbing the t-shirt I’d left on the hook this morning, he puts it on me and leads me back to our room. Tucking me in bed, he kisses my forehead.

“Are you hungry?” I shake my head. “Go to sleep; I’ll stand guard and watch over you.” I nod and close my eyes.

Chapter 69

LUKE

I sit in the wet towel and watch until I hear her steady breathing that she’s asleep. I get up and return to the bathroom to remove the clothing off the floor and to the living room to remove her scrubs. Engaging in this mundane task is my way of keeping a lid on the rage bubbling beneath the surface that’s waiting to explode.

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