Chapter 20: One of Us
The morning sun streamed in through the thick velvet curtains of the Adebayo estate, but warmth was the last thing Jeremy felt. He was stone cold inside—cloaked in a silence so sharp it could split skin. He sat across from Wale, the tension between them slicing through the low hum of the ceiling fan above. Zion leaned on the bar counter, nursing a cup of black coffee as if it could undo the chaos of the past few weeks.
Jeremy's jaw tightened. "If I walk in tomorrow and she's lied one more time," he said, voice low and deadly, "I'll end it. I don't care what the public thinks. Let them talk. Let my mother cry. I'm done. I can't keep feeling like this."
Wale lifted a brow. "You don't mean that."
"I do." Jeremy didn't blink. "Every time I think I'm catching up with her, she's already ten steps ahead, weaving another half-truth, another omission. She wants trust but doesn't know how to hold it. I'm not playing games, Wale. And it's better this way."
At least this way he could get over her without it hurting as much as it would have if he found out much later.
Zion set his mug down with a heavy sigh. "To be fair, none of us are clean here. We all doubted her. She's been surrounded by people who wanted to break her. I mean look at her mom and dad. Her own bloody sister too!"
"Exactly," Wale added quietly. "She's been gaslit from every angle—her sister, that bastard Tony, even Kunle. And yet she's still here, Jeremy. Although I'm with you, we shouldn't make decisions so fast."
Jeremy rubbed his temples, exhaling slowly. "I know. I know. But when does it end? How do I know she's not just another one of them?"
Zion hesitated. "You know."
Jeremy didn't respond.
---
Anjii had only meant to drop off some files—Rita's new server configurations, actually. It was a simple errand that didn't require much thought. Zion wasn't even picking her calls, and she knew he was always home on Fridays. So she'd come to his apartment with a plan to drop the flash drive on his desk and bounce before things got awkward.
Except… he was in the shower.
And Jeremy and Wale were in the living room.
The moment she heard voices, she froze in her tracks behind the hallway wall. The low timber of Jeremy's anger sent chills down her spine.
"She played it too well. We were all too blind to see."
Anjii's heart dropped.
She pressed her back to the wall, swallowing hard. Who? Tammy?
"Her sister was the easy one to blame. But Tammy? She never even acted like a victim. Always calm. Always calculating. The kind of calm that hides things."
Zion's voice. His words cracked something in Anjii.
"She hacked into Tony's system herself, Jeremy," Zion added. "Even before we gave her access, she was already moving behind the scenes. If she's innocent, why hide it?"
Wale scoffed. "Because she knows you. Because she knows all of us. We're quick to judge. She probably thought we'd twist the truth even if she told us."
Jeremy didn't budge. "Tomorrow, it ends. One more lie, and I walk."
Anjii covered her mouth with her palm. Her chest was tight. She didn't know whether she wanted to cry or scream. She backed away silently, the folder still in her hand, her heart thudding like it was trying to break free of her ribs.
She had to warn Tammy.
---
Meanwhile, far across the city, in the deep plush comfort of the Adebayo mansion, whispers were beginning to bloom like weeds.
"I saw her," the nanny told Madam Adeola Adebayo in hushed tones. "Twice now. Same room. Morning after morning. She's not sneaking out either."
Madam Adeola raised a brow. "And Jeremy?"
"He's not saying anything. But she's still there. They're… sharing a room now."
She sipped her tea quietly, face unreadable. "They're not married. More leagally."
"No, ma. But people will assume they are soon."
Madam Adeola tapped her cane lightly against the floor. "And what do people outside this house assume now?"
"That the Adebayo heir is finally settling. That the scandal was a hoax. That he's protecting her."
"And what do you assume?"
The nanny hesitated. "That they're closer than they claim, ma."
She hummed softly, like the answer pleased her more than it should.
---
Tammy lay curled on Jeremy's side of the bed, her laptop open beside her and code blinking like static. Her fingers hovered over the keys, but her mind was far away. She kept replaying the moment she'd seen her old email account reactivated.
Whoever was doing this had access—real access—to her old identity.
She'd tried breaking in through a brute force method. No luck. Only one attempt left before it locked her out for good.
"Why would anyone open my old email?" she muttered to herself, eyes flicking to the corner of the screen. "And how the hell did they bypass my firewall?"
She reached for her notebook, scribbling new code combinations, running simulations. She tried again.
Access denied.
A red screen flashed. Locked.
Tammy cursed under her breath, slamming the laptop shut.
Who was doing this?
Not Tayo. Not Tony.
No—someone else.
Someone who knew her systems. Her style. Her blind spots.
She pulled her knees to her chest, suddenly cold despite the AC.
There was a third player in this game.
And they were getting bolder. Way more bolder.
But she's only ever been besties with Anjii and Rita. Her family? Nah not a lot of them know how to hack talk less of breaching and breaking into her PC.
Whoever was doing this knew her. Or at least had most of all her old stuff. She needed proof before anymore "evidence" appears.
She shut the laptop and laid on the bed staring at the ceiling and imagining Jeremiah's face. So he really didn't trust her did he?
They've been together for about a month now. At least she deserved a little bit of trust from him.