Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Sister, guilt and love?

Tammy stared at the glass of water on the table. The ice had melted. She hadn't touched it since she sat down.

She didn't know why she'd said yes to this meeting. Maybe guilt. Maybe a need to hear it from him. Or maybe—stupidly—hope.

Kunle walked in twenty minutes late, in a crisp beige shirt and his usual expensive watch. He spotted her and gave that easy smile that once made her heart flip.

It didn't anymore.

"Tammy," he said, sliding into the seat across from her like they were old lovers catching up.

She didn't smile. "You're late."

"Traffic."

She raised a brow. "Traffic in Ikoyi at 2 PM?"

His smile faltered. "You look good."

She ignored that. "What do you want, Kunle?"

He inhaled slowly. "I thought… we should talk. Clear the air."

Tammy leaned back, folding her arms. "About what? How I 'accidentally' got married a week before you were going to propose?"

"You never even called me. You just… vanished."

"I woke up in a stranger's bed, Kunle," she said flatly. "Do you know what that felt like? How scared I was?"

His eyes softened. "I do. I was scared for you."

"You didn't call."

"You disappeared. You embarrassed me. What was I supposed to do—go to the media and fight Jeremy Adebayo for you?"

Tammy blinked. "You think I chose this?"

He sighed. "I don't know what to think. All I know is… we had plans. I was already designing the ring."

That made her chest tighten.

"I wanted us to work," he added. "Now look at you. Married to him. Sleeping in his house. Wearing his name."

Tammy clenched her jaw. "You think I planned any of this?"

"I think you didn't fight it hard enough."

She scoffed. "You're unbelievable."

"I still love you," he whispered.

Her eyes widened. "You have no right to say that."

"It's the truth."

"No, Kunle. The truth is, we were planning an engagement. Then my life exploded, and you disappeared. You didn't stand by me. You didn't even try."

He reached for her hand.

She pulled back.

"I'm married now," she said quietly. "Whether I like it or not."

Kunle sat back, defeated. "So that's it?"

She stood. "That's it."

As she walked out, she didn't look back. But her chest ached in a way she couldn't explain.

---

Jeremy leaned against the marble island in Wale's penthouse, sipping something strong and cold. The boys were already deep into whiskey-fueled banter when he arrived.

"You're late," Tobi called, flipping his phone upside down. "Again."

"You're married," Wale added. "You're lucky we even let you in."

Zion smirked. "You're lucky we haven't staged an intervention."

Jeremy exhaled and dropped onto the leather couch. "You three are relentless."

"You're stressed," Wale observed.

Jeremy nodded. "More than usual."

Tobi poured him a drink. "So talk."

Zion leaned forward, his tone more serious. "The hotel case? Still moving. My guy from DSS confirmed Tony paid off two of the bartenders. But there's no hard proof yet."

Jeremy's jaw tensed. "He thinks I haven't figured it out."

"He's getting bolder," Wale added. "Said some slick things during the board meeting. Tried to press for control of the product expansion division."

Tobi raised a brow. "That's your lane."

"I shut him down," Jeremy said. "But it's only a matter of time before he tries something else."

Zion tapped his glass. "We need to be ten steps ahead. I'm still tracking his assistant's activity. They wiped some records the night of the incident."

"And Tammy?" Wale asked carefully.

Jeremy stared into his glass. "She's… different."

"Different good or different problematic?" Tobi asked.

"Both."

Zion smirked. "She's been holding her own, though. I saw clips from the gala. Handled your mom, handled the whispers. She didn't flinch."

"She's smart," Jeremy said quietly. "Smarter than I thought. And she's not afraid of anyone."

Wale exchanged a look with Tobi. "You're starting to like her."

Jeremy didn't respond.

"Bro," Tobi said, "liking her doesn't mean losing control. It just means… maybe she's not the trap you thought she was."

Jeremy exhaled. "It doesn't matter. This ends in a year."

Zion's voice was cool. "A lot can happen in a year."

---

Back in the Coker mansion, Tayo Coker swirled a glass of wine as she scrolled through Instagram posts of Tammy in designer gowns. Her lips curled into a smile.

"Look at you, big sister," she murmured. "Living the fairytale I tried to burn."

Her room was a portrait of calm—expensive candles, soft piano music, white satin sheets. But her mind was anything but peaceful.

Tayo picked up her phone and called a number she hadn't used in weeks.

A male voice answered. "Yes?"

"You said things wouldn't go this far," she said coldly.

"She wasn't supposed to end up with Jeremy," Tony Balogun said on the other end. "You told me she'd be in room 510."

"I did. She must've wandered."

Tony sighed. "It's not my fault."

"I didn't do all this to make her a billionaire's wife."

"And I didn't drug your sister to get your revenge. You asked for help. I delivered."

Tayo's eyes flashed. "Well, now we fix it."

Tony chuckled darkly. "Or we wait. If she's anything like you say, she'll destroy herself eventually."

Tayo ended the call without a word.

She tossed the phone onto the bed and turned back to her mirror.

She'd spent years living in Tammy's shadow. Pretty, perfect Tammy. Obedient daughter, golden student, loyal friend.

And now?

Now she was everywhere. On blogs. In fashion magazines. On Jeremy Adebayo's arm.

Tayo smiled, slow and bitter.

This wasn't over.

---

Tammy sat cross-legged on the sofa, coding with her laptop on her thighs. Rita was stretched out across from her, munching popcorn and watching Tammy's screen.

"You know," Rita said, "this is very hot. CEO by day, hacker by night."

"I'm not hacking."

"You're building a software empire with encrypted layers and smart contracts in secret."

"I'm protecting myself."

"Same difference."

Anjii's voice crackled through the speakerphone. "We signed the fintech client. They loved the interface."

Tammy's eyes lit up. "Seriously?"

"They want an NDA and a custom dashboard by Friday."

Rita grinned. "You're a beast."

Tammy smiled faintly. "No. I'm just surviving."

But somewhere deep down, she knew—

She was doing more than surviving.

She was plotting her rise.

And when the time came?

She wouldn't just be Jeremy's wife.

She'd be the one no one saw coming.