TIESCHAPTER 7It had been four weeks, and the air around Chioma felt cold, suffocating even, as if the very walls of her home were closing in on her. Nne Adaego hadn’t been able to visit because she had fallen ill. Why now, Chioma wondered. Why, when everything in her life was already crumbling? To make things worse, Nne Agnes had returned to the village to help Emenike inform the elders about his upcoming wedding. His wedding. The thought echoed through her mind like a cruel joke, taunting her.Chioma had tried, really tried, to accept her fate. She fought to swallow the bitterness that rose in her throat every time she thought about Emenike's betrayal. She forced herself to focus on her children and the business her late husband had left behind, but it felt like she was drowning, slowly sinking into the quicksand of her own pain. Emenike was rarely home, and she knew exactly where he was—who he was with. Lara. The mere thought of him in Lara’s bed tore her apart. It consumed her, no matter how hard she tried to push it aside. She told herself she didn’t care, but the truth was, she cared too much.That evening, as Chioma sat with her children, trying to keep her mind occupied, she heard the familiar sound of Emenike’s car pulling into the driveway. Her heart raced, but she pretended not to care. The children, unaware of the turmoil within her, ran to greet him, their faces lit up with excitement. How could they know the storm raging inside her? Emenike greeted them with his usual smile, as though nothing had changed. As though he wasn’t ripping her heart apart with his actions.“We need to talk,” he said, his voice calm, but there was something in his eyes—an urgency that made her stomach tighten. She told the children to keep watching TV and led him to the privacy of her bedroom, her mind racing with a sense of impending doom.Then he said it.“I want a divorce.”The words sliced through Chioma like a knife, leaving her stunned. She stood frozen, her hand still gripping the door handle, as if holding on to it would somehow keep her world from collapsing. Divorce? The thought was incomprehensible, like he had just torn her heart out and left her gasping for air.“I don’t understand,” she finally managed to say, her voice a fragile whisper. It felt like she was in a nightmare, and if she spoke too loudly, it would make it all real.“Chioma, I know this is sudden, and it sounds strange, but it’s necessary,” Emenike continued, his calmness only deepening the wound. How could he speak so casually about something that was shattering her life?“Necessary?” Chioma’s voice trembled with disbelief. “How exactly is this necessary? What will happen to me? To our children? What did I do to deserve this, Emenike? I thought we were fine! I even accepted you marrying Lara, didn’t I? I let you—” Her words came out in a frantic rush, her heart pounding as the questions spilled out, each one laced with desperation.“Chioma,” Emenike said gently, reaching out to take her hands. The gesture felt meaningless, as if it could somehow soften the blow of what he was doing. “I know, but try to understand me. I don’t want my children to be born out of wedlock. The law will only recognize you as my wife.”She wanted to scream, to rage, to make him feel even a fraction of the pain she was feeling, but he cut her off before she could respond.“Don’t worry,” he added, as if this would somehow make everything right. “I’ll transfer all of Dike’s property to you. Everything. You’ll have it all. The elders, Nne Adaego, my mother—none of them have to know. Please, Chioma.”Chioma stood there, silent, her eyes locked on his, trying to make sense of it all. She knew how much he loved Lara. That much was undeniable. But something deep inside her warned that there was more to this than he was letting on. There was something he wasn’t telling her. But at that moment, it didn’t matter. Should she care anymore?One thing was clear to Chioma: she would not agree to this divorce. Not now. Not ever. And that was final.