Then her father cleared his throat. Chika, we came to talk. Chika looked at him calmly. Say what you came to say. He shifted in his seat. Things are not as they were before. She almost laughed at that. Kemi spoke next with less patience. We need help. There it was. No apology. No regret. No real repentance. Just need.
Chika looked from one face to the other and felt something surprising inside herself. Not pain. Distance. She folded her hands in her lap. I thought we already settled this. I told both of you to act as if you never had me. Mr. Obiora frowned. Don’t speak like that. Blood is blood. Chika’s eyes stayed on him. Blood did not matter when you stood in front of me and openly chose Kemi again.
Kemi hissed in irritation. Are you still holding on to that? Chika turned to her slowly. Still? Kemi leaned forward. Whatever happened before, we are here now. You are rich. Your husband is rich. Help us and stop acting proud. That line almost stunned Chika. After everything, Kemi still had the boldness to speak like that.
Chika shook her head. No. Both of them looked at her. No? Mr. Obiora repeated. No, Chika said again. You did not come here because you love me. You came because you need money. That is different. Kemi’s face darkened. So, you will really watch us suffer? Chika’s voice remained calm. You watched me suffer many times.
That landed. For a second, the room went quiet. Then Kemi stood up abruptly. This should have been my life. Chika looked at her. Kemi pointed around the house with anger. This marriage should have been mine. I should have married Obinna, not you. I am the one who deserves to be the wife of the richest man. The madness of it was so bare now that even Chika felt still for a moment.
Then her father spoke, and made it worse. To be honest, he said heavily, that was what I wanted in the end. I wanted Kemi to have the better match. That cut deeper than Chika had expected. Even now. Even after all the damage. He still said it openly. But this time, the pain did not break her. She had grown past the place where their words could decide her worth.
Just then, Obinna stepped into the room. He had heard enough. He walked to Chika and stood beside her, calm and steady. He looked first at Mr. Obiora, then at Kemi. I chose Chika, he said. His voice was not loud, but it filled the room. I chose her then, and I choose her now. Nobody is taking her place. Kemi laughed bitterly.
That is because you don’t know everything. Obinna did not even blink. I know enough. He moved slightly closer to Chika. As long as I live, nobody will keep hurting my wife. For Chika, that moment was one of the deepest victories of her life. The people who had once treated her as less were now standing in her home asking from the life they had mocked.
And the man beside her was not ashamed of her for one second. Kemi saw it, and hated it. So, she reached for the one weapon she believed would still wound Chika. She cannot even give you a child, Kemi said sharply. No matter how rich you are, no matter how much you defend her, she can never give you an heir. Everything you have will have nobody to inherit it. I am still the better match.
The words landed in the room and stayed there. Chika went still. Even after all this time, that wound was still deep. But before she could shrink into that pain, Obinna spoke. You are wrong. Kemi looked at him. Mr. Obiora looked confused. Obinna turned slightly to Chika, then back to them. There’s something all of you never knew, he said.
The room quieted. Years ago, before any of this, I met Chika. Chika frowned slightly. Met me? Obinna nodded, his eyes resting on her face. You were younger then, still a teenager. I was going through one of the worst times in my life. My father was ill. The business was heavy on my head.
