Void
1416 Words
“The baby is his.”
The words hung in the penthouse like a gunshot.
Professor Cole didn’t move. He just stared at the photo in his hand. Me. Leaving with Kunle. 11:43 PM.
Then he dropped it.
The paper hit the marble. Slow. Like he was moving underwater.
“Get out,” he said.
His voice wasn’t loud. It was worse. It was empty.
“Professor—”
“Don’t call me that.” He finally looked at me. Grey eyes. Dead. “The contract is void. You lied.”
“I didn’t lie! I thought—”
“You thought wrong. You dragged my name through the mud for a baby that isn’t mine. You made me marry you.”
I stood up. My legs were shaking. “You blackmailed me too! You threatened my aunt—”
“And I saved her shop. I saved your scholarship. I gave you a home. For a child that isn’t mine.”
He walked to the safe in his wall. Punched in a code. Pulled out the marriage certificate.
Ripped it in half.
“Get out of my house, Lila.”
The sound of paper tearing was louder than my heartbeat.
“I have nowhere to go,” I whispered.
“That’s not my problem anymore.” He opened the front door. “You have ten minutes before I call building security.”
Ten minutes.
I ran to the bedroom. Threw clothes into my bag. Textbooks. Passport. The ring he gave me. I left it on the counter.
It hit the marble with a _ping_.
He didn’t flinch.
At the door, I stopped. “For what it’s worth… I’m sorry. I really thought it was you.”
“Your apology is worth nothing, Miss Adeyemi.”
Miss Adeyemi. Not Lila. We were back to that.
I walked out. The door shut behind me. No slam. Just a quiet click.
Like I never existed.
I made it to the lobby before I broke. Sat on the curb outside Cole Towers and cried into my knees. It was 9 PM. Lagos was loud. Cars honking. People laughing.
My phone was dead. My aunt’s shop was safe, but she’d kill me if she knew I was homeless. Kunle was out there somewhere with a photo and a claim on my baby.
My baby. Not thebaby. Mine.
A black car pulled up. Tinted windows.
The back window rolled down.
Kunle.
“Need a ride, baby mama?” He smiled. Same smile from Silk. The one I fell for at 18. “Heard my kid needs a father.”
I stood up. My bag was heavy. My stomach was turning. “Stay away from me.”
“I can’t. You’re carrying my son.” He opened the car door. “Get in. We need to talk about our future.”
Our future.
“No.”
His smile dropped. “Lila. Don’t make this hard. You’re homeless. Pregnant. That professor just threw you out. I’m the only one who wants you.”
“Wants me?” I laughed. It sounded broken. “You drugged me, Kunle. You took me home when I was unconscious. That’s not want. That’s—”
“That’s love.” He got out of the car. “You were mine first. You were crying over me that night. You always come back to me.”
He grabbed my arm.
I tried to pull away. “Let go!”
“Stop making a scene.” He squeezed harder. “You’re my wife now. Not his. The baby proves it.”
He wasn’t wrong. Legally, I was still married to Professor Cole until annulment. But biologically…
“Get in the car, Lila.”
A car horn blared.
We both turned.
Professor Cole’s car. The same one that drove me here yesterday. His driver was behind the wheel. Window down.
The back door opened.
Professor Cole stepped out.
He wasn’t wearing a suit. Just a black shirt, sleeves rolled up. No glasses. He looked like the guy from VIP. The one who bought me water.
He walked to us. Slow. Calm.
“Take your hand off her,” he said.
Kunle didn’t let go. “f**k off, Prof. This is between me and my girl.”
“Your girl is married. To me.” Professor Cole’s voice was quiet. “And you’re touching my wife without permission.”
“She’s not your wife! The baby’s mine! The test—”
“I know.”
Kunle blinked. “You… you know?”
“I know.” Professor Cole stepped closer. “And I still told the Dean this morning that Lila Adeyemi is my wife. I still put my name on her medical files. I still cleared her scholarship.”
I stared at him. “What? Why?”
He didn’t look at me. He looked at Kunle. “Because she was drunk. And you took advantage. And I don’t care whose DNA it is. No one touches her without consequences.”
Kunle laughed. “You’re insane. You want to raise my kid?”
“No.” Professor Cole finally looked at me. “I want to ruin you. And she’s the fastest way to do it.”
He grabbed my bag from the ground. “Get in the car, Lila.”
I didn’t move. “You said get out. You ripped the certificate.”
“I changed my mind.” He opened the car door. “You’re not homeless. You’re not his. You’re mine until I say otherwise.”
“Why?” My voice broke. “Why would you—”
“Because I was drugged that night too.” His jaw ticked. “By him.”
Kunle went still.
Professor Cole turned. “You spiked my drink at Silk, didn’t you, Kunle? You wanted me out of the way so you could take her. But you didn’t know I have cameras in VIP. I saw you pour it. I have the footage.”
Kunle’s face went white.
“Assault. Drugging. Rape.” Professor Cole stepped closer. “That’s 21 years, minimum. Unless…”
“Unless what?” Kunle whispered.
“Unless you leave Lagos tonight. And you never contact her again. Ever.” Professor Cole smiled. No warmth. “Or I send the footage to the police. And the press. And your father.”
Kunle’s father was a pastor. With a church. And a reputation.
Kunle let go of my arm like I burned him.
“This isn’t over,” he said. But his voice shook.
“It is.” Professor Cole opened the car door wider. “Lila. Now.”
I got in.
He closed the door behind me. Through the window, I saw him say something to Kunle. Too low to hear.
Kunle got in his car and sped off.
Professor Cole got in the front seat. Not the back. “Drive,” he told the driver.
The car moved.
Silence for ten blocks.
Then he said, “You’re not staying in the penthouse. Too many memories.”
“Then where—”
“My house on the Island. No one knows about it. No cameras. No Kunle.”
I looked at my hands. “You don’t have to do this. The baby’s not yours.”
“I know.” He didn’t turn around. “But he drugged me too, Lila. He tried to take my life that night. He took yours instead.”
He finally looked back at me.
“So now I’m taking his.”
The car stopped at a gate. Big house. White walls. Silent.
Professor Cole got out. Opened my door.
“Rules,” he said. “New rules. One. You stay here until the baby is born. Two. You don’t see him. Ever. Three. After the birth, we do a second DNA test. If it’s still his, I file for annulment and full custody. If it’s mine…”
He stopped.
“If it’s mine?” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
He just took my bag from the driver and walked into the house.
Left me standing in the driveway.
With his ring in my pocket.
And a photo on my cracked phone of Kunle carrying me out of Silk.
Time stamped 11:43 PM.
But I just remembered something.
Silk’s back exit clock was 12 minutes fast.
I checked it last semester for a class project.
11:43 PM was really 11:31 PM.
And Professor Cole bought me water at 11:35 PM.
On camera.
In VIP.
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