Desmond lay flat on his mattress and stared at the ceiling for a long moment before picking up his phone.
Eventually, he called Kike and asked if she could come over to his place because they urgently needed to talk.
She agreed immediately.
Honestly, she was eager to hear whatever decision he had reached and also update him on the latest developments at home.
After forwarding his address to her, Desmond switched on the fan and drifted briefly into sleep.
Barely an hour later, his phone buzzed.
Kike must have arrived.
He stood up reluctantly and walked outside to check.
“Good afternoon,” he greeted as she stepped out of her car.
“Good afternoon, Des. Happy Sunday.”
“Oh, same to you. Come inside.”
He led her into the house before disappearing briefly into the kitchen.
A few moments later, he returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
Kike smiled faintly as he poured for both of them.
“So,” she asked, “how has your Sunday been?”
Desmond shrugged.
“Sunday hasn’t ended yet, Kike.”
They both laughed lightly.
“But hopefully it ends well,” he added quietly.
“It will. Don’t worry.”
Then he smirked slightly.
“So… is the baby kicking already?”
She rolled her eyes.
“I haven’t even felt anything yet. The pregnancy is still too early for all that.”
He hummed absentmindedly before speaking again.
“When last did you hear from Uche?”
Immediately, her expression changed.
That was obviously a topic she hated discussing.
Anytime Desmond mentioned Uche, it sounded to her like he was subtly asking her to return to the actual father of the baby.
“I’m not asking for any strange reason,” Desmond added quickly after noticing her silence. “I just need to know. Has he contacted you recently?”
“Not really.”
Her tone became noticeably colder.
“Hasn’t he been calling at all?”
“I already told you this guy doesn’t care,” she replied sharply. “Someone like him cannot father a child responsibly, Desmond.”
“But if your dad finds out the truth, he’ll probably force him to take responsibility.”
Kike laughed bitterly.
“My father won’t be the one living inside the marriage with me.”
Desmond went quiet.
“He won’t be there when Uche gets drunk and starts forcing himself on me,” she continued. “He won’t be there when the man becomes violent or starts threatening my child.”
She inhaled slowly.
“Yes, my father can force him into marriage, but he cannot force him to become a good husband.”
Desmond scratched his head tiredly.
“I understand your point.”
Then he paused.
“What about his sister? Doesn’t she still check on you?”
“She keeps begging me not to leave him. But I already made up my mind. I’ve endured enough from Uche.”
Desmond sighed again before finally speaking.
“I told my parents.”
Kike straightened immediately.
“Like… I told them I got you pregnant.”
The excitement on her face became impossible to hide.
“Really?” she asked quickly. “You’re actually doing this for me?”
“Trust me, this isn’t easy.” He rubbed his forehead slowly. “I’m scared.”
“Forget fear,” she replied confidently.
“And once I fully commit to this…” He hesitated briefly. “It might become difficult to walk away later.”
Kike studied him carefully.
“Desmond… would you still want to walk away after everything?”
He looked at her silently.
He genuinely didn’t know the answer.
Monday morning arrived with tension wrapped tightly around Feire’s chest.
Her resignation letter was already inside her bag.
Still, she remained scared to submit it.
She had just finished standing in for another presenter who begged her to help because her child was sick when her phone buzzed.
It was Fola.
“Good morning, sir.”
“Feire,” he laughed softly, “please stop calling me sir. You make me sound old.”
She smiled awkwardly.
“Sorry. I’m just used to it.”
“So…” he continued, “how far with our agreement? When are you coming for your trial session?”
Feire froze for a moment.
Honestly, she wished she could quickly call Desmond first. She needed somebody to push her.
“Are you still there?” Fola asked.
“Yes. I think I’ll come later today.”
“So does that mean we’re airing you officially on Wednesday?”
She shut her eyes tightly.
Then finally—
“Yes.”
“Perfect. I’ll be expecting you.”
After ending the call, she covered her face with both hands.
She still couldn’t believe she was actually leaving Roxy FM.
For years she prayed for a bigger opportunity.
Now that it had finally arrived, fear suddenly crept in.
Leaving familiar territory was harder than she imagined.
Still…
She was excited too.
She couldn’t wait to tell Desmond and Mosun properly.
Meanwhile, Desmond and Kike had already agreed to visit his parents together that Monday evening.
Everything was moving too fast.
And somehow, each passing hour made it harder for him to tell Feire the truth.
At this point, even he hated himself.
He felt cheap.
Wicked.
Dishonest.
One part of him insisted none of this was truly his fault.
Another part reminded him that he still chose to continue the lie.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized he was already slipping away from Feire slowly without her knowledge.
And yet…
He still didn’t want to lose her.
At the same time, he knew he couldn’t continue playing both sides forever.
From the way things were unfolding, Kike clearly had no intention of letting him disappear from her life anymore.
Before they left, he spent almost thirty minutes coaching her.
He explained how deeply spiritual his parents were and warned her to answer every question carefully.
“If they ask about the marriage,” he instructed, “tell them you prayed about it and God confirmed I’m the right man for you.”
Kike almost laughed at how serious he sounded.
“The pregnancy should sound like a mistake,” he continued. “Not like a lifestyle.”
“At least package the lie spiritually,” he added dryly.
Kike dressed modestly that evening — not excessively churchy, but conservative enough to make a good impression.
And honestly?
The plan worked perfectly.
His parents liked her almost immediately.
To them, she looked like a decent Christian girl who simply made one mistake with their son.
Not an unbeliever.
Not a bad influence.
Just a woman who needed grace.
By the time Feire returned home that evening, exhaustion had settled into her bones.
She dropped her handbag on the sofa and headed straight for the kitchen to drink water.
Still, beneath the tiredness was excitement.
She had officially resigned from Roxy FM.
And surprisingly, she already loved Steel FM.
The warmth of the environment alone convinced her she made the right decision.
Even her former boss spent several minutes trying to convince her to stay.
Still, she left.
As she gulped down water, her phone started ringing from inside her bag.
She hurried into the living room to pick it up.
Her face tightened immediately when she saw the caller.
Her mother.
After exchanging greetings briefly, her mother explained that she wanted to see her soon.
Feire already knew where the conversation would eventually lead.
Marriage talks.
Relationship advice.
Questions about settling down.
“When exactly?” Feire asked tiredly.
“Maybe tomorrow after work.”
She wanted to refuse.
But honestly, it had been a while since she visited home.
“Okay,” she finally agreed.
After ending the call, she immediately dialed Desmond’s number to tell him about everything.
He didn’t pick.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
By the third attempt, she simply convinced herself he was busy and would return the call later.
Meanwhile, Desmond sat opposite Kike at a restaurant, barely touching his food.
They had just left his parents’ house.
He had ignored Feire’s calls deliberately because he genuinely didn’t know what explanation to give her anymore.
At that point, he seriously considered involving his friends.
Maybe Bayo or Subby would know what to do.
Or maybe they would laugh him to death.
He swallowed slowly and picked up his fork again.
“So…” he asked carefully, “what next?”
“The date,” Kike replied immediately.
“What date?”
She looked at him like he was slow.
“Our wedding date.”
Desmond nearly dropped the fork again.
“Oh…” He scratched his ear awkwardly. “That’s what you meant.”
Then he forced a smile.
“So what date are you thinking?”
“October 21st.”
His eyes widened immediately.
“Really?”
Kike frowned slightly.
“Is it too close?”
“No,” he replied quickly.
But that wasn’t the real reason for his reaction.
October 21st was Feire’s birthday.