A Meeting of Fire and Ice
Favour didn't flinch when she stepped into the coffee shop.
Ijeoma sat near the window, a steaming cappuccino untouched before her. Her makeup was perfect. Her smile was polite. Her eyes? Cold.
"You called me," Ijeoma said.
"I did," Favour replied. "Because I want to know why."
Ijeoma tilted her head. "Why I exposed you? Why I documented your lies? Why I tried to protect Daniel from you?"
Favour didn't blink. "Yes."
"Because," Ijeoma said softly, "you didn't deserve him."
Favour narrowed her eyes.
"You were a fraud," Ijeoma continued. "And you were lazy. You married him because you liked the comfort. But he's a man of vision. He needed someone who could match that."
Favour's voice was steel. "So your answer was sabotage?"
"You lied to him. I just made sure he saw it."
"And what about the surveillance? The photos? The false academic flags?"
That caught Ijeoma off-guard.
"You think I did all that?"
Favour pulled out her phone, tapped open a photo—the same one with the reflection of the man in the hoodie.
"He wasn't sent by you, was he?"
Ijeoma looked at the image for a long time. Then shook her head.
"No. I never followed him. I didn't need to."
Favour's voice shook now. "Then who did?"
"I don't know," Ijeoma whispered. "But Favour… you're not just dealing with jealous exes anymore. There are people who want to erase you. Entirely."
Favour stood. "Let them try."