Chapter 5 - The Van in the Driveway-5
Funmi snatched her bag, turned on her designer heels, and stormed out of the apartment, her lawyer and the bailiff scrambling after her like defeated soldiers.
The front door remained wide open.
Inside, the thirty party guests stood in shocked silence, looking back and forth between the weeping man on the floor and me standing calmly in the center of the room.
I turned to our guests, offering them a gentle, gracious smile. "Thank you all so much for coming to our housewarming party. The small chops and drinks are fully paid for, so please, feel free to take some on your way out. But the party is officially over."
Slowly, awkwardly, the guests began to shuffle out, whispering furiously among themselves, offering me sympathetic nods and patting my shoulder as they passed. Within ten minutes, the room was empty—save for me, Ada, and Femi, who was still sitting on the floor, looking up at me with hollow, tear-filled eyes.
"Bolu..." Femi croaked, his voice pathetic and small. "Bolu, please... I didn't know. I swear to God I didn't know she was using me to hide her family's money laundering. I was just trying to get us a permanent home. I did it for us!"
I walked over to the hallway console table, picked up my heavy mechanical tool bag that I had packed earlier that morning, and slung it over my shoulder.
"You didn't do it for us, Femi," I said, looking down at him. "You did it for your own fragile ego. You wanted to play the big, successful husband who managed high-society women, while keeping me in a box where you could control me. You told me to be mature. You told me if I couldn't handle your ex, I was free to leave."
I reached into my pocket, pulled out my ring, and set it gently on the table next to the expensive wine Funmi had brought.
"So," I said, "I'm leaving."
"Bolu, wait!" Femi scrambled to his feet, grabbing at my sleeve. "You frozen the accounts! If you leave, how am I going to pay the rent? How am I going to cover the bank liabilities? I'll go to prison!"
I gently pulled my sleeve out of his grasp. "You should have thought about that before you gave my mother's inheritance to your ex. My van is parked downstairs. All my tools, my clothes, and my life are already inside it."
Ada opened the door wide, standing by my side like an impenetrable shield.
May you like
"Have a good night, Femi," I said softly. "My divorce attorney will contact you on Monday."
I walked out of the apartment, down the stairs, and into the cool evening air of Yaba, stepping into my work van without looking back even once.
