Chapter 220

“Are you sure about this, Dee?” Yemi’s voice broke through the silence, steady but laced with an undertone of uncertainty. He stood at the threshold of our bedroom, his hands braced against the doorframe, his eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my heart ache.

I didn’t answer him right away. The words seemed to stick in my throat. Sure? Was I sure? I had never been more uncertain about anything in my life. The weight of the decision was heavy on my shoulders, pressing me down like an anchor. But still, I stood there, fighting the urge to let the gravity of the moment overwhelm me.

“Dee?” Yemi’s voice was softer this time, almost a whisper, as if he could sense the storm inside me. I didn’t know how to answer. How could I?

This was it. The moment that would define the rest of our lives. It felt like we were standing at the edge of a precipice, staring into the abyss. A choice loomed in front of me, one that would either cement everything we had fought for or tear it apart.

I looked at him, taking in his face—the man I had loved, the man who had hurt me, the man who had come back to me. His expression was open, vulnerable, yet there was something in his eyes that made me hesitate. Something that I couldn’t quite place.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, the words escaping before I could stop them. “I don’t know if I can make this choice. I don’t know if I can risk it all again.”

The words hung in the air between us, heavy and raw. There was no hiding from them. He knew, I knew, that this was the moment we had both been dreading—the moment when the future we had built together was no longer guaranteed, no longer a sure thing.

Yemi took a step toward me, his hands reaching for mine. I didn’t pull away, though my heart was still a mess of contradictions. His touch, warm and steady, grounded me in the moment, but it also reminded me of everything we had been through—everything we still had to face.

“I can’t change what happened,” he said, his voice low, almost a plea. “But I can tell you this: I would never choose anyone else. Not anymore. Not after everything we’ve been through. I’m here, Dee. For as long as you’ll have me.”

I swallowed hard, my eyes stinging. He had said those words so many times before, but this time, they hit differently. They were raw, unpolished, and full of the desperation of someone who had finally realized what they stood to lose.

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that everything would be okay. But there was always that nagging doubt, that lingering fear that we weren’t meant to be, that all of this—this love, this family, this life—was too fragile to last.

“I want to believe you,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I really do.”

Yemi stepped closer, his breath warm against my cheek as he cupped my face in his hands. “Then believe me,” he said. “Believe in us. In everything we’ve built. You don’t have to carry this alone anymore. We don’t have to carry it alone.”

His lips brushed against my forehead, a soft, lingering kiss that stirred something deep inside me. I closed my eyes, letting the sensation wash over me, but just as quickly, the reality of the situation crashed back in.

The road ahead was uncertain. The scars from the past still lingered, and even though we had come so far, it wasn’t enough to make the decision easy.

I pulled away, my hands slipping from his. “But what if... what if we’re just not meant to be?” The question left my mouth before I could stop it, and I immediately regretted it. But the truth was, that doubt had been eating away at me for so long, and now that I had voiced it, I couldn’t take it back.

Yemi’s face hardened, his jaw tightening as if the words had physically struck him. But his eyes—his eyes never wavered. He didn’t look at me with anger, just a quiet understanding that cut deeper than any accusation.

“I don’t believe that,” he said, his voice steady, resolute. “We’re meant to be. You and me. This... this is it. There’s no one else for me. No one else but you.”

I wanted to scream, to throw my hands up and shout out all the doubts, all the fear, all the insecurities that were swirling inside me. But I couldn’t. Because deep down, I knew that he was right. We were meant to be. But that didn’t make the decision any easier.

I turned away from him, walking toward the window. The moonlight bathed the room in a soft glow, casting shadows on the walls as I gazed out at the world beyond. Everything looked so peaceful, so calm, and for a moment, I wished I could just step into that peace, leave all the uncertainty behind.

But I couldn’t. I had made a choice once, and it had led me here—to this life, to this man, to this family. And now, I was at a crossroads again, forced to choose whether I would keep moving forward or turn back.

Yemi’s voice broke the silence again. “Dee, please... don’t shut me out. Not now. Not when we’ve come so far.”

I closed my eyes, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. I wanted to tell him that I loved him. That I wanted this, that I wanted us, more than anything. But the fear—the fear of losing it all again—gripped me too tightly.

“I don’t know if I can make the leap,” I whispered, the words barely audible.

There was a long pause, and for a moment, I thought he would say something—anything—to try and convince me. But instead, he stepped up behind me, his hand resting lightly on my shoulder.

“Then don’t leap,” he said softly. “Walk with me. Step by step, together. We’ll face everything together, one choice at a time. We don’t have to rush.”

His words were like a balm to my soul. For the first time in what felt like forever, the weight of the decision didn’t feel as suffocating. Maybe we didn’t have to have it all figured out. Maybe we could take it one moment at a time.

I turned to face him, my heart full, my mind still racing. He was right. We didn’t have to rush.

But just as I was about to reach for him, to make the choice, a sudden knock at the door froze me in my tracks. My heart stopped.

“Dee? Yemi? You need to see this.”

The voice from the other side of the door sent a chill through my spine. It was Sarah—Yemi’s sister. But there was something in her tone that sent a surge of panic through me.

“What’s wrong?” Yemi asked, his voice tight with concern as he moved toward the door.

Sarah’s response was sharp, urgent. “It’s about the letter. You need to see it now.”

I felt my breath catch in my throat. The letter. The one I had been avoiding for days.

With my heart in my throat, I watched as Yemi opened the door, the world outside suddenly feeling like a distant memory.