บท 51: 10 years Plus

His mind raced with suspicions as he made his way to his car, eager to get back to the hospital and check on Olaedo. But the sight that greeted him froze him in place.

All four of his tires were flat.

"What in the world is going on?!" he roared, his voice echoing through the empty parking lot.

Frustration boiled in his veins as he crouched to inspect the damage, but there was no sign of any punctures or sharp objects around. It was as if the air had been deliberately let out.

He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed his mechanic, but the response he received only added to his frustration.

"Sir, it's too late for us to send someone over now. We'll have to handle this first thing in the morning."

Olisa clenched his jaw, his hand gripping the phone tightly. With no other choice, he trudged back into the hospital and decided to spend the night in his office. The events of the evening weighed heavily on him, and his instincts screamed that something was amiss.

Before he settled in for the night, he checked his phone, hoping for some sign from Olaedo. Sure enough, there was a message from her.

"I'm fine. I decided to rest, so I couldn't make it to dinner. Sorry about that," her text read.

He sighed, the tension in his chest easing slightly. "Good. Get some rest," he replied, his fingers lingering on the screen before he set his phone down.

As he leaned back in his chair, exhaustion crept up on him, but his thoughts refused to settle. The night's events, the false alarm, the shaky excuses, and now his tires, it all felt like more than just coincidence.

"What in the world is going on around me?" he murmured to himself before sleep finally claimed him, leaving his mind plagued with unanswered questions.

The next day.

For the first time in his life, Olisa found himself rushing back to the hospital on public transport.

Coming from a well to do family, he had never needed to take such measures before. The experience was both humbling and frustrating, but he pushed aside his discomfort.

This wasn't about him. It was about Nnenna and fulfilling his promise to Olaedo. He needed to finish Nnenna's paperwork for her transfer to Prestige Hospital.

Although he could have delegated the task to someone else, he felt personally responsible. Nnenna was his adopted little sister's best friend, and practically family.

Reaching the hospital, Olisa knocked gently on the door before pushing it open. "Hey, Olaedo!" he called out, his voice bright but a little loud given the early hour.

"Reduce your voice! She's asleep," came a chilling response from the man seated in the room.

Olisa froze for a second before recovering. "Oh, sorry," he replied softly, his eyes adjusting to the scene before him as he stepped further inside.

The first thing he noticed was the neatly arranged blankets on the couch, suggesting someone had slept there overnight. His gaze then moved to the bed, where Olaedo was curled up beside Nnenna, her face peaceful as she slept.

Chibuzor's cold stare pinned him in place, but Olisa brushed it off with a calm smile.

"You guys slept here? And since when do you sleep on couches?" Olisa asked softly, a trace of bewilderment in his voice as he glanced at the makeshift bedding on the couch.

Chibuzor resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 'Since I wrote clause 13 in that freaking contract!' he thought dryly. But outwardly, he kept his expression neutral and replied, "I wanted to stay with her. She was really upset, you know."

Olisa nodded, his expression softening. "Yeah, I know. They've been best friends for more than a decade. She feels like what happened to Nnenna yesterday is all her fault."

'More than a decade?' Chibuzor's brow furrowed slightly as he tucked that piece of information away in his mind. He knew they were best friends, but he didn't know their friendship had lasted this long.

Actually, now that he thought about it, he realized he barely knew much about Olaedo at all.

He glanced at her sleeping form and felt a pang of guilt. For someone who had signed a marriage contract with her, he had put surprisingly little effort into truly understanding her. 'Maybe it's time I start paying attention.'

Chibuzor's gaze shifted to Olisa, who, in just a few weeks, seemed to have formed a deeper bond with Olaedo than he had managed in all these months. The thought gnawed at him, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

He sighed inwardly, acknowledging the irony. 'The contract I wrote doesn't leave room for such luxuries as bonding or genuine communication,' he thought, frustration flickering briefly across his face. 'And since I'm the one who drafted it, it wouldn't make sense for me to break it now.'

The revelation of Olaedo and Nnenna's decade long friendship gnawed at him. He found himself wondering about the depth of their bond and how much of Olaedo's life he was unaware of. It felt strange to be married to someone and yet still feel like a stranger.

He wasn't sure what exactly he wanted, but one thing was certain, he didn't want this distance between them anymore.

He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled deeply. 'I don't think I'm in love with her,' he admitted silently to himself, though the thought brought a weird pang in his chest.

What he did know, however, was that he craved something more. Maybe friendship. Maybe understanding. 'I just want us to be... better.'

The thought startled him, and he frowned slightly. How could he achieve this when the contract kept them bound in a performance rather than a genuine relationship?

Last night had been an exception, a rare moment of closeness. Yet even that had required him to come up with excuses for why he would not leave after dinner.