Episode 4:Home
1956 Words
The penthouse doors opened with a quiet _beep_ from Damien’s fingerprint.
Maya had forgotten how big it was. Floor-to-ceiling windows, marble floors, a view of Lagos that made you feel like you owned the city. Five years ago, she’d spent one night here and thought it was a dream.
Now it felt like a trap.
“Go on in, Kamsi,” Damien said, his voice softer than Maya had ever heard it. He crouched down to Kamsi’s level, keeping his hand on the boy’s shoulder like he was afraid Kamsi would disappear if he let go.
Kamsi stepped inside hesitantly, eyes wide as he took in the massive living room. “Whoa. It’s like a castle.”
Damien smiled. It was small, almost broken, but it was there. “You can call it home, if you want.”
Maya froze by the door. Home.
She wasn’t sure if he meant for Kamsi, or for both of them.
“Kamsi, do you want to see my study?” Damien asked. “I have a telescope by the window. You can see the stars from here at night.”
“Really?” Kamsi’s face lit up. “Can I look now?”
“In a minute,” Damien said. He finally looked up at Maya, and the warmth in his eyes vanished. “We need to talk first.”
Maya nodded, her throat tight. She set her bag down and followed him into the living room, keeping Kamsi between them.
Damien gestured to the couch. “Sit.”
She didn’t. “I’m fine standing.”
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t push it. “Okay. Standing it is.”
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Kamsi wandered over to the glass wall, pressing his hands against it as he stared down at the city lights.
“You look tired,” Damien said finally.
Maya almost laughed. “You think?”
“I mean it.” His eyes studied her face, like he was trying to memorize every line. “You’ve been carrying this alone for five years.”
“Because you told me to,” Maya said quietly.
Damien flinched. “I don’t remember writing that note, Maya. I swear to you, I don’t.”
“Maybe you were drunk,” she said. “Maybe you regretted it in the morning.”
“I don’t regret it,” he said immediately. His voice was rough, desperate. “I don’t regret you. I don’t regret Kamsi.”
Maya looked away, blinking hard. She couldn’t let herself believe him. Not yet.
“Where did you go?” Damien asked. “After that night. Where did you disappear to?”
“I went home,” Maya said. “To my mum’s place in Ibadan. I found out I was pregnant two weeks later.”
Damien’s eyes widened. “Two weeks?”
“I didn’t know right away,” Maya said. “I thought I was just sick. Stressed. Then I missed my period. Then I took a test. Then I was terrified.”
“And you didn’t call me,” Damien said. It wasn’t an accusation. It was a fact.
“Your note said not to,” Maya replied. “And I believed you meant it.”
Damien ran a hand through his hair, pacing a few steps. “I would have married you, Maya. I would have—”
“Don’t,” Maya cut him off. “Don’t say that now. It’s been five years.”
“Five years I missed,” Damien said quietly. “Five years of his first steps. His first words. His first day of school.”
Maya’s chest ached. “He’s smart,” she said, her voice softer now. “He loves drawing. And cars. And ice cream. He’s afraid of thunder, but he won’t admit it.”
Damien stopped pacing. “Tell me everything.”
So Maya did.
She told him about the sleepless nights when Kamsi had colic. About teaching him to ride a bike in her mum’s backyard. About the day he started school and cried because he didn’t want her to leave. About every birthday party, every scraped knee, every ‘I love you, Mommy’ whispered at bedtime.
Damien listened to every word. He didn’t interrupt. He didn’t look away.
When she finished, the room was silent except for Kamsi’s quiet humming as he drew something on the glass with his finger.
“You did good,” Damien said finally. His voice was thick. “He’s amazing, Maya. Because of you.”
Maya swallowed hard. “He’s amazing because of him too. He has your stubbornness. And your eyes.”
Damien smiled, and this time it reached his eyes. “Yeah. He does.”
Kamsi turned around then, holding up his drawing. “Look, Mommy! I drew us! And Mr. Damien!”
Maya walked over and took the paper. It was the same family of three stick figures, but this time, the tall one was holding the small one’s hand.
Damien’s name was written in wobbly letters at the bottom.
“Daddy,” Kamsi said proudly.
Maya’s heart clenched. She looked up at Damien.
He was staring at the drawing like it was the most important thing he’d ever seen.
“Kamsi,” Damien said, kneeling down in front of him again. “I’m really happy to meet you, son.”
Kamsi grinned. “Me too, Daddy Damien!”
Damien’s breath hitched. “Daddy Damien, huh?”
Kamsi nodded seriously. “Yeah. Mommy says I can call you that if I want.”
Maya hadn’t said that. But she didn’t correct him.
Damien looked up at her, his eyes questioning.
Maya gave the smallest nod.
Damien’s expression changed. Something settled in his face, like a decision had been made.
“Kamsi, do you want to stay here tonight?” Damien asked. “I have a guest room with a big bed. And I can order pizza. And we can watch cartoons.”
Kamsi’s eyes lit up. “Pizza? And cartoons?”
“Yeah,” Damien said. “And tomorrow, we can go to the park. Just the three of us.”
Maya opened her mouth to protest, but Kamsi was already bouncing on his feet.
“Yes! Yes, Mommy, can we stay?”
Maya looked at Damien. He wasn’t asking for custody. Not yet. He was asking for one night. One night to be a father.
She couldn’t say no to that. Not when Kamsi looked so happy.
“Just for tonight,” Maya said quietly.
Damien nodded, relief flooding his face. “Just for tonight.”
He stood up and clapped his hands. “Okay, Kamsi. Let’s go find you some pajamas. I think I have a spare set somewhere.”
Kamsi grabbed Damien’s hand and tugged him toward the hallway. “Come on, Daddy Damien!”
Damien glanced back at Maya as Kamsi pulled him away. “Thank you,” he mouthed.
Maya watched them go, her chest tight.
For the first time in five years, she wasn’t alone in this.
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An hour later, Kamsi was asleep in the guest room, wearing an oversized t-shirt that said ‘Mini Boss’ and clutching a stuffed lion Damien had found in a drawer.
Damien closed the door quietly and turned to Maya.
She was sitting on the couch in the living room, staring out at the city.
“You didn’t have to do this,” Damien said quietly, sitting beside her but not too close. “You could have said no.”
“I know,” Maya said. “But Kamsi wanted to stay. And… I wanted you to meet him properly.”
Damien nodded. “Thank you. For trusting me with that.”
Maya glanced at him. “Don’t make me regret it.”
“I won’t,” Damien said firmly. “I swear on my life, Maya. I won’t hurt him. I won’t hurt you.”
Maya didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure she believed him yet.
Damien sighed and leaned back against the couch. “What happens now?”
“That’s up to you,” Maya said. “You can’t just decide to be a father overnight, Damien. Kamsi isn’t a toy you can pick up when it’s convenient.”
“I know,” Damien said. “And I don’t want it to be convenient. I want it to be real. All of it.”
Maya frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means I want to be in his life,” Damien said. “Every day. Not just weekends. Not just holidays. I want to take him to school. Help him with homework. Be there when he falls off his bike.”
“And what about me?” Maya asked.
Damien looked at her, and his eyes were serious. “What about us, Maya?”
Maya’s breath caught. “There is no us, Damien. You made sure of that five years ago.”
“Maybe I was wrong,” Damien said quietly. “Maybe I was scared. My father died a month before I met you. I thought if I let myself care about someone, they’d leave me too.”
Maya stared at him. She’d never heard him talk about his father before.
“I’m not your father,” Maya said softly.
“I know,” Damien said. “But I’m afraid of losing you again. And Kamsi. I can’t lose him, Maya. I won’t.”
Maya looked away, her heart racing. “You don’t get to decide that alone.”
“I know,” Damien said. “That’s why I’m asking you. Stay here. With Kamsi. For now. Just until we figure this out.”
Maya turned to look at him. “Stay here? In your penthouse?”
“Yes,” Damien said. “I have three spare bedrooms. You and Kamsi can have the whole west wing if you want. No pressure. No expectations. Just… stay.”
Maya shook her head. “I can’t just move in with you, Damien.”
“Why not?” Damien asked. “Because of what happened before? Because you’re scared I’ll hurt you again?”
“Because I don’t trust you yet,” Maya said honestly.
Damien nodded, accepting it. “Fair. Then let me earn it. Give me a chance, Maya. For Kamsi.”
Maya was quiet for a long time. Outside, the city lights blinked like stars.
Finally, she said, “One week.”
Damien blinked. “What?”
“One week,” Maya repeated. “You and Kamsi can spend time together. I’ll stay in the guest room. After a week, we talk about what happens next.”
Damien smiled slowly. “One week.”
“One week,” Maya confirmed. “And Damien?”
“Yeah?”
“No surprises. No lawyers. No trying to take Kamsi from me.”
Damien raised his hand like he was swearing an oath. “No surprises. I promise.”
Maya nodded, standing up. “Good. I’m tired. I’m going to check on Kamsi.”
Damien stood too. “I’ll walk you.”
They walked down the hallway together, the silence between them less hostile than before.
At Kamsi’s door, Maya paused and looked at Damien. “Thank you. For tonight.”
Damien nodded. “Thank you for bringing him to me.”
Maya opened the door and slipped inside, closing it softly behind her.
Damien stood in the hallway for a long moment, staring at the closed door.
For the first time in five years, he felt like he was home.
But he knew better than to get comfortable.
Because Maya was still watching.
And one wrong move, and he’d lose them both again.
- Writer
