Page 104 of The Marriage Agreement (Agreement)

I leave her to sleep alone and return to the living room. She’s back to living in fear because of my crazy ex-girlfriend.

When I wake up in the morning, Dele is still in bed. I slowly reach under the pillow and remove the knife before kissing her.

“Ayo mi, wake up.” She stirs and opens her eyes. It takes a moment, but she begins to shake and reaches under the pillow. “I’m here, Dele, you’re safe.” She looks at me, almost as if her brain needs to register that I’m safe. Once she does, she hugs me immediately. “Any pain or headache?”

“No, just tired,” she murmurs.

“Well, you rest the whole day. I will take care of everything else.”

“Please, don’t leave.” She holds my hands tight.

“Osei and Jax will be here soon. They will stay with you until I get back.”

“You will come back, right?” she asks, fear in her eyes.

“Yes, Ayodele. I will come back, I promise. I need to take care of a few things and I’ll be back to stay with you all day.” I give a gentle kiss to her lips and forehead to reassure her.

Paula soon arrives. I ask her to make breakfast for Dele. I go to change and wait for Jax and Osei to arrive. I send Bruce and Daniel a text, letting them know I’ll be on my way soon. When I return to the kitchen, Dele is eating and talking with Paula. The doorbell rings, and Paula races to open it.

Osei and Jax rush in to hug Dele, making her cry again. Osei whispers in her ear, and she starts to laugh. I mouth “thank you” to him, needing her to not focus on last night’s ordeal.

Jax is talking fast, saying lots of things that earn chuckles and smiles from Dele. I signal to Osei. He follows me to my office, leaving Jax to keep Dele engaged.

“How is she, really?” he asks the moment he shuts the office door behind him.

“I honestly don’t know. What I do know is she’ll laugh and live without worry again, and I’ll be by her side every step of the way.” He nods.

“I’ll stay with her. Where are you headed?” His face questions why I’m going out.

“To deal with Lily. She’s in custody, and I intend to make sure she stays behind bars. All the McIntyre money can’t save her from what she did.”

“Good. She went too far. She’s a fucking psycho.” His anger is clear in his words. I nod in agreement.

“Listen, Dele told me last night that she’s pregnant.” He cracks into a big smile, his mood switching quickly from anger. “Please make sure she doesn’t push herself or anything. I don’t know how this ordeal might affect her. I just want her to be cared for.”

“I got you. Go and deal with Lily. Dele is in good hands.” He pulls me into a hug. I know Dele going missing yesterday was hard on both of us. We pull from the hug, and I head out to the living room. I kiss Dele on her lips.

“I’ll be back soon, Ayo mi.” She nods. “I promise.” She nods again. “I love you very much.” She nods once more.

I leave and head out. Martin is ready with the car. I send a text to Bruce that I’m on my way. My phone rings. Dad is calling.

“Hello.”

“Is she okay?” he asks. I can detect fear in his voice.

“Yes, Dad, she’s okay.”

“Nathan called me, pleading for his daughter. I told him, I’m not in a forgiving mood right now, and I doubt my son will ever forgive. What madness possessed Lily to do this?” I know his question is rhetorical, and I can hear the anger in his voice.

“I’m certainly not forgiving Lily for what she did. She hit Dele and was planning to have—” I choke up, remembering Lily’s plan to make Dele disappear.

“What was she planning, son?” Now is not the time to choke; now is the time to attack.

“She was going to make Dele disappear for good. Even the darkest corner of my imagination cannot process it.” I choke upagain, but shake the thought off. I refuse to let my imagination go there. “Had we not arrived in time…”

“I’m glad you got there in time to save your wife.”

“Dad—”

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