Pretend I'm Your's

Chapter 10 The Fallout

The internet did not sleep.

By 3 AM, #ColeScandal was number 1 on Twitter.

#GoldDiggerZara. #BillionaireFool. #FakeLoveRealMoney.

My phone died twice from notifications.

Headlines:

“WEDDING PLANNER ADMITS TO FAKE ENGAGEMENT” _

“TUNDE COLE LOSES LAND DEAL OVER WOMAN”

“EXPOSED: THE 50M CONTRACT”

I stared at the ceiling in Tunde’s guest room.

We hadn’t gone to my apartment. It wasn’t safe. Bloggers were camped outside.

A knock.

Tunde came in with two cups of tea. No sugar.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“No,” I said honestly. “My DMs are in a war zone. My vendor group chat kicked me out.”

He sat on the floor next to the bed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t,” I said. “You chose me. Don’t apologize for that.”

He almost smiled. “Stubborn.”

“Your fault.”

We drank tea in silence. The city was loud even at 3 AM.

Morning

By 9 AM, things were worse.

Nneka called: “Oga, board meeting. 11 AM. They want your resignation.”

Tunde hung up. Rubbed his face.

“They’re going to try to push me out,” he said. “Said I ‘endangered company reputation.’”

“What will you do?”

“What I did yesterday.” He looked at me. “Choose you.”

My chest hurts. “Tunde, you don’t have to—”

“I do,” he cut in. “Because if I don’t, then David wins. And the contract was right. It was all fake.”

The Board Meeting

I wasn’t supposed to go. I went anyway.

12 men in suits. Cold room. Cold stares.

“Mr. Cole,” the chairman said. “This is highly unprofessional. You lied to investors.”

“I did,” Tunde said. Standing. No notes. “And I’m not sorry.”

Gasps.

“The land deal is gone,” the chairman continued. “Our stocks dropped 8%. You have 24 hours to fix this or we will vote you out.”

Tunde nodded. Then he did something crazy.

He pulled me forward. “This is Zara Adeyemi. My fiancée. Real.”

“Sir, with all due respect,” an older man said, “she’s the reason—”

“She’s the reason I remember why I started this company,” Tunde said, voice sharp. “Not for land. Not for money. To build things that last. Things that are real.”

He looked at me. “I’m not resigning. But if you want to vote me out, do it. Because I’m done performing.”

The room was silent.

Evening

We left. No decision yet.

We went to Cole Grand. Empty. The launch was cancelled.

Zara, 28, was standing in the venue she was supposed to save. Now it felt like a tomb.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “This is all my fault.”

Tunde turned me to face him. “Look at me. This is not your fault. David is the villain. Not you. Not us.”

“But we lied—”

“We started with a lie,” he said. “We’re ending with the truth.”

His phone buzzed. Unknown number.

He answered on speaker.

David’s voice: _“Having fun losing everything? Last chance, Zara. Come back to me and I’ll drop the lawsuit. I’ll even give you clients.” _

I went cold.

Tunde’s jaw ticked. “She’s not yours to offer, David.”

_“Then enjoy being broke together,” _ David laughed. _Click._

The line went dead.

I sank to the floor. “He’s going to sue us. For fraud.”

Tunde sat next to me. Back against the wall. Our shoulders touched.

“Let him,” Tunde said quietly. “We have each other. We have the truth. We’ll figure out the rest.”

For the first time in days, I believed him.

He reached over and laced his fingers with mine.

“No contract,” he said. “Just this.”

Outside, Lagos was loud. Inside, it was just us.

Broke. Scandalized. And finally free.

Night

My phone lit up. One new email.

Subject: _CLIENT INQUIRY - WEDDING AT COLE GRAND_

Body: _Saw you on the news. If you’re brave enough to choose love over money, you’re brave enough to plan my wedding. Budget: 30M. Are you available?_

I stared at it. Then at Tunde.

“Someone believes in us,” I whispered.

Tunde read it. He smiled. The first real one in days.

“Guess we’re not done yet.”

He pulled me to his side.

“The world can burn,” he murmured into my hair. “As long as you’re here.”