Broken Silence
Favour stood frozen by the kitchen door, her heart thudding like the drum of a distant masquerade parade. Daniel was still staring at the bowl in his hand frozen ogbono soup with the eatery's signature onion slivers he knew.
And she knew he knew.
He set the bowl down gently, too gently. Then he looked at her.
"You've been lying to me."
Favour swallowed. "Daniel, I… I can explain."
He didn't shout, that scared her more than anything.
"For how long?"
She looked away.
He stepped closer, "how long have you been pretending to cook? Is anything about us even real, Favour?"
The room tightened around her.
"I didn't want to disappoint you," she whispered. "I just… I wanted to be what you needed,i was scared if I told you I couldn't cook, you'd leave."
He studied her."So instead, you chose to lie to me daily, over food."
Tears welled in her eyes. "It's just cooking babe…"
"No," he cut in. "It's trust."
And with that, he walked out of the kitchen, He didn't slam the door, he didn't sleep in their room that night.
And Favour lay awake, haunted by the sound of quiet disappointment.