BUKKY'S POV
The papers were signed.
Bukky held the folder in her hands like it weighed nothing, but the weight of the decision pressed on her chest.
Her parents were frantic.
"Bukky, darling, please," her mother pleaded, voice trembling. "You can't… this is your husband! Think of your future!"
Her father, usually calm and reserved, now slammed his hand on the table. "This is madness! What has gotten into you? You've been married barely a month!"
Bukky looked at them, eyes unwavering. "I'm not mad, Papa. I know exactly what I'm doing."
"But why?" her mother whispered, almost breaking down. "He's Akanni Bamidele, your husband! Your heart should forgive, forget… this is love!"
"I love him," Bukky said firmly, "but love doesn't mean I lose myself. I can't keep pretending anymore."
Her parents exchanged glances, helpless, defeated. Their only child, standing firm against a man who was practically untouchable, refusing their advice, refusing their tears.
Meanwhile, Demi lounged casually on the sofa, a faint smirk on his face. He didn't speak, only observed, knowing exactly what to say if needed. When Bukky glanced at him, his eyes were supportive, reassuring.
"You're doing the right thing, Bukky," he said finally, his voice low. "Don't let anyone guilt you into something you don't want. He's… complicated. You know that."
That support was intoxicating. Bukky felt a strange comfort, a dangerous sense of relief. At least someone understood. At least someone sided with her instincts.
Akanni, on the other hand, was crumbling.
He hadn't expected this.
He hadn't expected her to actually go through with it.
At the studio, he sat motionless at his desk, the phone untouched, documents scattered like fallen leaves. Orders weren't given. Meetings went unattended. Emails remained unanswered. Leke watched silently from the corner, unsure whether to speak or intervene.
"Sir," Leke finally said cautiously, "she… she really filed?"
Akanni didn't respond immediately. His hand twitched toward the papers he had left unopened on his desk. He saw them in his mind: the signed divorce documents, Bukky's signature firm and decisive.
"Yes," he whispered finally, voice barely audible even to himself. "She filed."
Leke hesitated. "Should we… try to speak to her? Maybe intervene? Talk some sense into her?"
"No," Akanni said sharply, his tone slicing through the room like glass. "Let her be. If she wants to walk… she can walk. I will not chase her."
But inside, his mind was in chaos.
Every glance from a staff member reminded him of her.
Every sound, every laugh, every whispered conversation pulled him back into memories of their wedding night, their moments together, the laughter, the kiss, the promises.
Work was no longer an anchor. The Convergence Group, the empire he had built quietly over a decade, suddenly felt hollow. Meetings were forgotten. Expansion plans abandoned. He stared at projections, numbers blurring into nothingness.
For the first time in years, Akanni felt powerless.
His breakdown was quiet at first: missed calls, unreturned messages, a trembling hand when opening files. Then came the nights of pacing in the studio, staring out at the city lights he had built his fortune from, wondering how someone he trusted, someone he loved, could leave him like this.
Leke and Mira watched helplessly. Mira tried to offer guidance. "Sir… you need to eat, to sleep… to focus. She… she made her choice. That's all we can do now."
But Akanni didn't hear her.
He didn't eat. He didn't sleep. He didn't focus.
All he could feel was the gaping hole where Bukky's love used to be.
And the knowledge that Demi, quietly, was stepping closer—watching, waiting, reinforcing Bukky's resolve—made his chest tighten further.
He had built empires. He had commanded power. He had conquered every challenge with patience and strategy.
But nothing—nothing—could prepare him for the heartbreak of losing the woman who had promised her heart to him, even while she stood next to him physically.
The empire trembled—not from external forces, but from the man inside it, who was slowly breaking under the weight of love betrayed and trust broken.