The rain fell in a fine mist as Majek walked home, the city lights diffusing into halos across wet pavement. He carried Agnes's scent in the folds of his coat, the echo of her fingers laced in his still warming his palms. But even her touch couldn't distract him from the chill crawling up his spine—the voice from the call, the unsigned threats, the new player in a game he never agreed to play.
He turned the final corner toward his flat and stopped.
A black sedan idled near his building. Tinted windows. Engine humming low. He stared, pulse quickening, then made a slow arc toward the side alley, his breath fogging in the air.
The door to his apartment was slightly ajar.
He hadn't left it like that.
Majek stepped inside, the air tense and still. His eyes swept the room. Nothing broken. Nothing stolen. Nothing moved—except for one thing.
A photograph.
It had been turned face down on his bedside table.
The one of him and his mother at his graduation, her arms proudly wrapped around his shoulders. He felt the crack in his stomach before his mind fully processed the threat. It was symbolic. Intimate.
They knew who he was.
They knew where to hurt him.
In Another Corner of the City
Agnes sat cross-legged on the floor of her apartment, her open suitcase beside her like a gaping mouth unsure of what to swallow.
Clothes. Documents. Memories. None of it felt like hers anymore.
The Geneva job offer sat on her tablet screen, still unsigned.
What haunted her more than the decision was the emptiness of the choice. It wasn't just leaving—it was leaving someone.
Majek had become an ache she carried through every breath. But choosing him wasn't easy. It wasn't just love; it was war—against her father, against legacy, against the silent expectations pressed into her since childhood.
The video from Lami still looped in her head:
"You think Geneva saves you? You don't understand what power means, Agnes. You don't leave family—not when they've built your life for you."
Her finger hovered above the message.
Delete.
Or keep it—proof, in case things got worse.
She sighed, rising to her feet. She needed air.
The Midnight Meeting
They met in the small public garden near Ilupeju by midnight, the fountain trickling its tired music. Their secret place.
Majek's face was tight with unspoken weight.
"You were followed," he said, not asking—knowing.
Agnes's lips tightened. "Lami's made it clear I'm not allowed to choose myself."
"I found my apartment open tonight," Majek said quietly. "Someone came in. They didn't take anything—but they left a message."
He showed her the photo. Agnes's breath caught.
"This is about control," she said. "They're tightening it around us."
Majek looked away. "They want me to disappear. To break."
"You won't," she said, stepping closer. "You already survived the worst."
"Did I?" His voice cracked. "I watched you get shot. I watched them spin the story until I became the villain. I lived in a cell built from lies. And now... now when I finally have a chance to be something, to be with someone—I'm being hunted in my own home."
Agnes touched his cheek, her thumb brushing the edge of his jaw. "Majek... I'm scared too."
He closed his eyes. Her touch felt like truth.
"Do you want me to take the job?" she asked.
His heart raced.
She needed his answer.
But he didn't want to be the reason she stayed—or ran.
"I want you to take it for you," he said, voice low. "But I also want to build something with you. Even if we have to fight for every inch."
Agnes exhaled, leaning into his chest. "Then we fight. I just needed to hear it."
The Past Resurfaces
Three days later, a package arrived at Majek's door. No sender. No note.
Inside: a USB drive.
He stared at it for a long time before inserting it into his laptop.
A video began to play. Grainy footage. A boardroom. Familiar faces.
His stomach dropped.
It was from two years ago—the day of the hidden meeting between Mr. Smith Lewis and Mr. Akins Goriola, Lami's father. They were discussing the arranged marriage contract—and Majek's name came up.
"He's a risk," Akins had said. "Too smart. Too observant. He's already looking at Agnes like she belongs to him."
"Then make him disappear," Smith had replied. "Let the law deal with him once we provoke him. The girl can't protect him forever."
Majek paused the video.
His lungs refused to work.
They had planned it.
Every arrest. Every lie. Every headline.
It wasn't a reaction. It was a premeditated purge.
He felt sick.
But beneath the nausea, something else took root.
Rage.
The Confrontation
Agnes paced in her father's office, tension roiling beneath her professional smile. The Geneva contract was on the table. Her signature line still blank.
Mr. Lewis stood by the window, a glass of whiskey in hand.
"Have you come to your senses?" he asked.
"I've come to ask a question," Agnes said calmly. "What did you do to Majek?"
The question hung in the air like a crack of thunder.
Her father's expression didn't change. "Majek Goriola was a mistake. One you're lucky to survive."
Agnes stepped forward, fire in her eyes. "You used me. You used my love for him to ruin him."
His jaw twitched. "I did what was necessary to protect our name. You don't understand how fragile power is. You don't get to choose love over legacy."
She slammed her palm against the table. "Then I choose neither."
He blinked.
"I won't sign the contract. I won't marry Lami. And if you try to stop me—I'll bring everything to light."
Mr. Lewis narrowed his eyes. "You're making enemies."
Agnes turned and walked out. "Then I'll make better ones."
The Secret Meeting
Majek met with Adewale again, the mysterious operative who claimed to represent "those with integrity."
"I have the footage," Majek said, sliding over the USB.
Adewale's eyes gleamed. "Good. We'll use it. But you must be careful. If this goes public too fast, they'll make you disappear for real."
"What do you want from me?" Majek asked.
"To stand with us when the time comes. And to protect her. Because once this truth is out—Agnes becomes the biggest threat of all."
The Departure Plan
That night, Agnes and Majek sat on a rooftop overlooking the city.
She leaned on his shoulder, suitcase already packed for a flight scheduled in two days. She had postponed it—twice.
"I still don't know if I'm doing the right thing," she said.
He kissed her temple. "There is no right thing. There's just the thing you can live with."
"I want to live with us."
He smiled, pulling out his notebook. "Then let's write a new chapter."
She opened it—and gasped softly.
On the first blank page was a scribbled line in his handwriting:
"For the woman who made me brave."
The End of the Chapter — And the Start of a Reckoning
The next morning, headlines exploded across local news outlets:
"Leaked Footage Ties SMG Leadership to Framing Scandal"
"Whistleblower Reveals Marriage Pact Scheme"
"Agnes Lewis Resigns, Denounces Family Empire"
Chaos ignited.
Mr. Lewis was silent. Lami disappeared.
Agnes boarded the plane that night—with a new heart, and with Majek's voice in her ear from a recorded message he had left her:
"This isn't the end, Agnes. I'll come to you when the fire cools. Until then... build the life we promised."
She looked out the window, tears slipping quietly down her cheeks.
And then—
She smiled.