LIFE OF ADEMIDE

SHE WALKED AWAY

The apartment was quiet.

Chidinma stood by the door, suitcase in hand, one last look at the man she had once called husband.

“I’m not leaving because I stopped loving you,” she said softly. “I’m leaving because I finally started loving myself enough to walk away from someone who wants to shrink me.”

Ademide didn’t say a word. His jaw was clenched. Pride still sitting heavy in his throat.

She turned the knob and walked out.

The internet blew up the next week. Chidinma was back—brighter, bolder, and more fearless than ever. She addressed nothing directly, but her glow said it all. New brand deals. A TED Talk invite. A YouTube documentary on African women in business. She didn't just continue her career—she elevated it.

And Ademide?

He watched from a distance.

The house felt emptier than it should. But he pushed it down. Pride didn’t allow room for reflection—yet.

Months passed. Family pressure rose. The whispers of “you chased a good woman away” echoed behind his back.

To prove he wasn’t the problem, Ademide married again.

This time, a quiet, soft-spoken girl from a humble background. She wasn’t educated past secondary school, didn’t ask questions, didn’t post online. Just what Ademide thought he wanted—“peace.”

But peace without passion is silence.

And silence without partnership is loneliness.

She didn’t cook unless he asked. Didn’t work, didn’t grow, didn’t support any of his business dreams. Every expense fell on him. Every decision rested on him. At first, it stroked his ego. Then it started to strangle him.

“Why don’t you do something?” he asked one night.

She looked at him blankly. “Do what? You said I shouldn’t stress. I should just be your wife.”

And just like that, the illusion cracked.

He remembered Chidinma waking up at 4 a.m. to shoot content. He remembered her staying up late on Zoom meetings, still finding time to cook his favorite meals and pray with him. He remembered her showing up to his pitch meetings and giving him marketing tips that helped him win clients.

She wasn’t trying to outshine him—she was trying to build with him.

But he couldn’t see it then.

One night, alone in his home office, Ademide opened i********:. There she was. Chidinma. Smiling, radiant, speaking at a women's business conference in Rwanda.

She looked... free.

He closed the app and sighed.

This was regret, tasted like. Bitter. Dry. And permanent.

He didn’t just lose a good woman—he lost a partner, a purpose, and a future that could’ve changed him for the better.

He thought dominance would make him a man.

But now he knew: it was growth, humility, and partnership that made a real man.

And Ademide had missed his chance.

To be continued.........