“Yes,” he replied. “Through my father, through his reports, through everything he saw.”
Her heart pounded.
“This is too much.”
“I needed someone real,” Alfred continued. “Not someone chasing wealth, not someone performing goodness. Someone genuine.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then Baba Akutu spoke again.
“I did not bring you here to remain my wife,” he said clearly.
Soma’s breath caught.
What?
“You were never meant for me,” he continued. “You were meant for him—if you choose to love him. If not, you are also free to go your way.”
The words hit her like a wave.
“How many marriages will I now undergo?” Soma asked.
Baba Akutu looked at her and said, “We were never properly married. I observed that your stepmother did it out of hatred. It was never how marriage should be. You have a kind heart. Please marry my son.”
Back in Zima Town, news began to spread.
At first, it was just whispers.
“Have you heard? That old man, the one Soma married?”
“They say he left with her in a luxury car.”
Felicia dismissed it immediately.
“People like to exaggerate,” she said sharply.
But then more details came—clearer, stronger, harder to ignore.
“He owns estates. He has connections. He is not who we thought.”
Felicia’s hands began to shake.
“No, that’s not possible.”
Caro’s face was filled with tension and confusion.
