Jomiloju's POV
I stared at the photo until my fingers went numb.
My father.
Senator Dorotoye.
Tied to a rusted chair, mouth gagged, one eye swollen shut. The man who once stood behind bulletproof glass now looked like a man who'd run out of places to hide.
There was no message beyond the blood.
No name on the envelope.
But I knew.
Abeni.
This was her final move.
If she couldn't kill us with bullets, she'd use history.
The kind that still burned in my veins.
The kind that reminded me who I was before Steve.
Steve's POV
Jomi didn't speak for almost an hour.
She just stood on the balcony with the photo clutched in her hand, wind blowing her scarf like a banner at half-mast.
I knew that stillness.
I'd worn it like armor once.
When you don't know whether to save someone or let them drown.
And I also knew what it meant when a daughter stared at the face of the man who ruined her and still ached for him.
"Say it," I finally said.
She turned slowly.
"If I don't go… he dies."
"And if you do?"
She met my eyes.
"Then I find out if there's any love left to bury."
Jomiloju's POV
My relationship with my father was never simple.
He was power in a suit. He was silence in a room full of screaming women. He was money, secrets, and polished apologies.
But he was also the man who used to tie my shoelaces.
Who taught me chess.
Who bought me my first plane ticket when he said Lagos was too dangerous for someone "so soft."
Now… he was a pawn.
And I was the only one who could save him.
Steve didn't want me to go alone.
But I had to.
This wasn't his war.
It was mine.
Steve's POV
She kissed me goodbye like she didn't know if there would be a return trip.
I didn't stop her.
Didn't beg her to stay.
Instead, I loaded every weapon in the car and followed from five miles behind.
Because loving Jomiloju Dorotoye meant letting her fight her demons.
But it also meant being the shadow that would kill anyone who tried to drag her back into hell.
Jomiloju's POV
The warehouse was old.
Rust bleeding down the sides. The scent of gasoline and regret thick in the air.
Inside, two men stood guard.
They didn't recognize me—until I spoke.
"Tell Abeni the girl she tried to bury… bloomed."
They reached for their guns.
I pulled mine faster.
Two shots.
Two bodies.
The door opened for me.
Abeni's POV
She came dressed in white again.
No armor. No guards.
Just rage and grace and something dangerous in her eyes.
"I knew you'd come," I said.
She walked past me, ignoring the blood, the broken walls, the men.
Her eyes locked on her father.
And for a moment, I saw the little girl still hiding in her.
But only for a second.
Then she turned to me.
"What do you want?"
I smiled.
"I want you to choose."
Jomiloju's POV
"Choose what?" I asked, jaw tight.
Abeni leaned against a crate, toying with a dagger.
"I kill him. Or you do."
The silence after that felt nuclear.
"You're insane."
"No," she said. "I'm logical. He sold you out. He used you like a chess piece. If you want to be queen, then act like one. Finish the legacy he ruined."
I looked at my father.
He groaned, blood dripping from his lip.
"Kill him… and you're free of the chain."
"And if I don't?"
"Then you're still his daughter. Still weak."
I raised my gun.
Pointed it at her first.
Then slowly turned… and pointed it at my father.
Steve's POV
From the rooftop, I saw her through the skylight.
Saw the moment she pointed the gun.
I didn't breathe.
Didn't blink.
Not because I was afraid she'd shoot.
But because I knew she could.
And that choice would change everything.
Jomiloju's POV
My hand didn't tremble.
I looked into my father's swollen face.
He blinked up at me.
Not pleading.
Not apologizing.
Just… staring.
"You let them use me," I whispered.
He closed his eyes.
I heard a whisper leave his lips: "I thought I was protecting you."
"I was never safe, Dad. Just hidden."
I cocked the gun.
Abeni stepped forward, smiling.
"Do it."
I turned… and fired.
But not at my father.
The bullet hit the wall beside Abeni's face.
She froze.
I walked up to her.
Pointed the gun at her heart.
"You don't get to define my strength."
Then I turned back to my father.
"I'm not killing him for you. But he'll never be a father to me again."
And just like that…
I walked away.
Steve's POV
She came out alone.
Eyes red.
But standing.
Breathing.
Alive in a way I'd never seen her before.
I opened the car door.
She got in.
No words.
Just the quiet hum of the engine as I drove us away from the war we didn't start—but ended on our terms.
And for the first time in a long time…
I saw peace on her face.
Jomiloju's POV
Later that night, Steve ran me a bath.
He sat beside me on the floor as the water turned cold.
We didn't talk about Abeni.
Or my father.
Or the blood.
We just existed.
Together.
Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a tiny box.
My heart stilled.
"No speeches," he said. "No promises I can't keep."
He opened it.
A ring.
Simple.
Black gold.
No diamonds.
Just truth.
"Will you marry me, Jomiloju Dorotoye?" he asked.
I smiled.
"Only if you marry me, Steve Adewale."
And when he slipped the ring on my finger…
I felt it.
Not chains.
Not fire.
Not fear.
But home.