Chapter 5: Clause Seven

The office went quiet the moment Chidi walked in.

Tolu froze. She hadn’t seen him in three years, not since he vanished with her name on a loan he never repaid. And now he was standing in Adebayo’s office like he belonged there, in a tailored suit that cost more than her mother’s hospital bills.

“Tolu? Tolu Adeyemi?” Chidi’s lips curled into that same crooked smile that used to make her knees weak. “I didn’t expect to see you working for Adebayo.”

Adebayo stepped between them, his jaw tight. “Mr. Okoro is our biggest investor. He’s here for the quarterly review.” His eyes didn’t leave Chidi’s. “And to meet my wife.”

My wife. The words made Tolu’s stomach twist. This was all supposed to be pretend. On paper. Not in front of the one person who knew how much she’d lost before.

Chidi’s eyes raked over her, slow and assessing. “Contract marriage? Six months?” He let out a low laugh. “You always were good at finding a way out when things got hard.”

Tolu’s hands clenched into fists. “Don’t talk about me like you know me.”

“I do know you.” He took a step closer. “I know you’ll run the second it gets uncomfortable. Just like you ran from me.”

Adebayo’s voice cut through the room, sharp and cold. “She’s not running anywhere. Not while she’s under my protection.”

Chidi tilted his head. “Protection? Or possession?”

The tension was suffocating. Tolu could feel Adebayo’s presence behind her, solid and unmoving, but Chidi’s words were digging under her skin. He wasn’t wrong. She had run. Because he took a loan in her name, disappeared, and left her with debt collectors at her door.

Before Adebayo could respond, his phone buzzed on the desk. He glanced at the screen, and his expression changed instantly — from anger to something colder. Calculated.

“Leave,” he told Chidi without looking away from Tolu. “We’ll continue this later.”

Chidi held Tolu’s gaze for one beat longer. “See you around, Tolu. I doubt this contract will last six months.”

The door clicked shut behind him, and the silence that followed was worse than his words.

Adebayo walked around the desk and pulled Tolu into his private office, shutting the door behind them. He leaned against it, blocking her exit.

“What did you sign?” he asked, holding up the contract.

Tolu frowned. “The agreement. What else?”

He flipped to page 12 and pointed at a paragraph she’d skimmed over yesterday when she was too desperate to care.

Clause 7: The Spouse shall reside in the Principal’s private residence for the duration of the contract.

Tolu’s heart dropped. “I… I missed that.”

“You didn’t read it,” Adebayo said quietly. “You were too focused on saving your mother.” He stepped closer until she could smell his cologne — sandalwood and something dangerous. “Now you’re legally bound to live with me.”

“For how long?” Tolu whispered.

“Six months. Starting tonight.” His finger brushed a strand of hair from her face, lingering against her cheek. “Clause seven also covers appearances. As husband and wife, we must maintain them.”

He paused. The air between them felt heavy, charged.

“Tonight, you sleep in my bed.”

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[END OF CHAPTER 5]

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