Chapter 6: Choices and Challenges

The sky gradually darkened.

Ngozi led the way with a lantern, and I held Bola’s hand as we walked slowly outside.

She told me many things.

She said that Tunde, to win her and Dayo’s approval, deliberately found a woman who looked like me.

She said Morayo rarely stopped her, but also didn’t want her to learn anything.

Bola looked up at me, her eyes clear. "But Mama Morayo herself keeps learning—writing and painting, managing the household."

Morayo is not ignorant or stubborn.

She understands everything.

I understood her intentions, and unconsciously squeezed Bola’s hand tighter.

After a few steps, we ran into the last person I wanted to see.

Tunde stood under the corridor, his face half-lit by lantern light. "Morayo doesn’t hold any grudge, and has prepared the guest room for you. You can stay there tonight."

No one had lived in the guest room for a long time.

I frowned. "I won’t stay at the Tunde residence."

Tunde sneered, his tone forceful. "If you won’t stay here, where else will you go? You, Aisha, are my first wife, recorded in the Tunde family book. If you come back only to leave again, what face will our two families have?"

Bola tugged at my sleeve at the right time, looking up and saying,

"Mummy, aren’t we going to Makurdi?"

I ignored Tunde, lowered my head, and smiled. "Yes, we’re going to Makurdi."

I could feel Tunde’s stare burning into my back, but I would not turn.