THE CONTRACT

CHAPTER 1: ONE My name is Daniel Adebayo. I am 24 years old. I am broke. And in 3 days, my family will be on the street. The letter was in my hand. Red ink. Bold letters. "FINAL NOTICE. PAY 2 MILLION NAIRA OR WE SEIZE THE HOUSE." That was my father’s debt. Before he died. Now the bank wants it. And we have nothing. Mom was crying in the room. "Daniel, what are we going to do? They will chase us out." My little sister Tolu, 8 years old, was hugging Mom’s leg. She doesn’t understand. She just knows Mom is crying. I went outside. Benin sun was hot. My head was hotter. 2 million naira. Where would I get it? I have applied to 100 jobs. "No experience." I have 1,500 naira in my pocket. I sat at a beer parlor, just to think. That’s when I saw her. She walked in like she owned the place. Heels. Suit. Sunglasses. Bodyguard behind her. Everyone turned to look. She sat down at my table. "Are you Daniel Adebayo?" Her voice was cold. "Yes," I said. "Who are you?" She removed her glasses. Beautiful. Too beautiful. "I’m Victoria Okoro. CEO of Okoro Group." "And I have a proposal for you." I laughed. "Madam, I don’t sell anything." "You do," she said. "You sell your name." She brought out a file. Thick. **MARRIAGE CONTRACT** was written on top. "My grandfather is dying. His last wish is to see me married. If I don’t marry in 30 days, I lose my inheritance. 500 million naira." She looked straight at me. "Marry me. For 6 months. On paper. I will pay your father’s debt. 2 million naira today. After 6 months, we divorce. No love. No touching. Just contract." My mouth opened. But no words came out. "You have 24 hours to decide," she said. "Sign this, and your family keeps their house. Refuse, and you lose everything." She stood up and left. The file remained on the table. That night, I didn’t sleep. Mom asked me what happened. I couldn’t tell her. Marry a stranger? For money? But then I thought of Tolu. Sleeping on the floor. Hungry. I thought of the red letter. "SEIZE THE HOUSE." By morning, I had made my decision. I went to her office. 30th floor. Glass everywhere. Her secretary said, "She’s expecting you." Victoria was on the phone. She ended the call when she saw me. "So?" she asked. I put the signed contract on her desk. Her eyes widened. Just a little. "Good," she said. "Wedding is in 3 days. Press will be there." "3 days?" I asked. "That’s too fast." "That’s the point," she said. "No time to think. No time to fall in love." She brought out a pen. "One more thing," she said. "Rule number 1 of the contract: We are strangers in public. We are husband and wife on paper. Break the rules, and the contract is void. You get nothing." I nodded. My heart was beating fast. Was I selling myself? Or saving my family? She signed her own name. Victoria Okoro. Then she looked at me. "Congratulations, Mr. Adebayo. You’re married." The word hit me like slap. Married. To a stranger. For 2 million naira. As I walked out of that office, my phone rang. Bank: "2 million naira has been credited to your account." The debt was gone. But my life... my life just started a new contract. And I had no idea what I signed up for. TO BE CONTINUED ---