A week passed. Amara stayed mostly in her room, as the doctor had advised her to avoid excessive movement. Gold made sure her meals arrived on time and often visited to check on her. Amara didn’t like her, but Gold never held any ill feelings—she always considered Amara a sister and only wished the best for her. Tunde mostly avoided visiting Amara or even wandering near her room, but Amara would call him every day on some pretext or another and make him sit and talk with her. Gold had seen Tunde coming out of Amara’s room multiple times. It hurt her a lot, but she was very strong. She had decided that if Tunde liked Amara, she would not come between them and would step aside on her own, because all she wanted was for Tunde to be happy.

Now Amara’s injury had healed significantly and she could walk a little on her own without support. Although Tunde had appointed a nurse for her twenty-four-hour care, Amara preferred staying alone in her room. She spent the entire day lying on the bed, watching movies, and talking to her mother. During these days, both Tunde and Kunle had tried multiple times to contact Michael to find out when he would return, but every time, Beauty answered the call and made some excuse to avoid letting them talk to Michael.

Now Olamide and Rita’s wedding day was approaching. All the preparations were done and the wedding rituals were set to begin in two weeks, with arrangements already in progress. The wedding contract was still with Raymond, who frequently found excuses to be around Gold. Tunde had noticed his actions multiple times but ignored them, thinking of him as Gold’s friend. Gold didn’t talk much with Raymond, but he always managed to find reasons to approach her.

One day, Amara was getting bored sitting in her room, so she thought of going out for a walk. She changed into proper clothes and stepped out of her room, heading downstairs. She looked around and saw that Olamide and Rita’s wedding preparations were in full swing. Just then, she accidentally bumped into Raymond. Without looking at him, she started yelling.

Amara: Are you blind? Can’t you walk properly?

Raymond: You could have watched where you were going too!

But as soon as they saw each other, both were shocked.

Amara: Why do I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before?

Raymond: Aren’t you Gold’s sister, Amara?

Amara: Yes, but how do you know that? Wait a minute… Are you Raymond? You were in our college, right?

Raymond: Yes, you guessed it right. It’s been a long time. But what are you doing here? Oh, I see, you must have come for Mr. Olamide’s wedding. Gold must have invited you.

Amara: Excuse me… Why would she invite me? And why would I come if she called me?

Raymond: Then what are you doing here?

Amara was furious but didn’t answer him and walked away. Raymond was also angry and confused by her behavior. However, he didn’t think too much about it and got back to his work. As days passed, Tunde’s confusion kept increasing. Amara was trying to get closer to him and despite her efforts, he couldn’t ignore her. But somewhere deep down, he kept thinking about Gold. He could see the pain in Gold’s eyes. But why? That was the only thing he couldn’t understand.

Gold had decided not to tell Tunde anything. She didn’t want to make things more difficult for him. She was silently preparing herself for Tunde’s decision because, even though no one talked about it, everyone knew very well that this was a major issue—Tunde would have to choose between Amara and Gold, and this decision was crucial.

Finally, Aisha made up her mind and went to Amara’s room. Amara was sitting on the bed watching TV. Seeing Aisha enter, she immediately tried to sit properly.

Amara: Oh yes, Mom, there’s no need to ask. Please come in.

But today, Amara calling her “Mom” didn’t feel right to Aisha at all, because she had lost that right. However, she ignored this thought and sat beside Amara.

Aisha: How is your injury now? The doctor said the results are quite good.

Amara: Yes, Mom, I’m feeling much better now and the pain isn’t as bad as before.

Aisha: That’s really good.

Aisha had come to talk to Amara about something, but she was hesitating. Seeing her like this, Amara got suspicious that she must have come to say something important. Still, she asked with affection.

Amara: What happened, Mom? You seem worried. If there’s any problem, please tell me.

Aisha: Look, my child, you know that I have always considered you like my daughter. So, as a mother, I want to talk to you about something.

Amara: Yes, go ahead.

Aisha: Is staying in our house really a necessity for you, or are you just trying to get close to Tunde?

Amara: What are you saying, Mom? I don’t understand.

Aisha: You understand very well what I’m trying to say. I am requesting you, please don’t come between Tunde and Gold. They are very happy together, so please don’t cast a shadow on their happiness. Everyone here knows about your past relationship with Tunde, but now Tunde is married to Gold. In such a situation, your presence in this house, being around Tunde… it’s not right for their relationship. I’m not telling you that you can’t stay here, but you are mature and understand everything, so please think about their happiness.

Hearing Aisha’s words, Amara remained silent for a long time, but then she slowly said.

Amara: But what if Tunde’s happiness is with me?

Aisha: What? What did you say?

Amara: I said, what if Tunde’s happiness is with me? You know it and I know it too, that Tunde has only ever loved me. And I’m sure he still loves me just as much. I admit that I betrayed him, but I had no choice. It wasn’t my fault; you know that too. And you’re his mother—you must understand his pain very well. You must have seen how much he suffered after I left. So now that I am back, why are you—

Aisha: Enough! You’re just saying anything now. Listen, what you’re thinking is not possible at all because now, the daughter-in-law of this house and Tunde’s wife is only and only Gold. So stop thinking about what you’re saying.

Amara: But Tunde doesn’t even consider her his wife. There’s nothing between them—they’re just bound by circumstances. I know very well under what conditions they got married. What’s the point of a relationship where there are no feelings? And if such a relationship breaks, who would even care?

Aisha: We will care. Our entire family will care. And yes, Tunde will care the most. Because maybe everyone thinks that Tunde and Gold’s relationship is forced, but I have seen my son’s eyes. After you left, it was as if his happiness had died, but Gold brought life back into him. She didn’t let my child break, she didn’t let him fall apart. And Gold is my daughter too—I will not let her home and family break under any circumstances. I thought you would understand what I’m saying, but now I feel like it doesn’t matter what I say to you. But listen to me very carefully—whatever intention you came here with, you will never succeed. So, the sooner you leave and return to your home, the better.

Saying this, Aisha left in anger. She could have gone straight to Tunde and told him everything, because she knew that Tunde would never ignore her words. But this time, she wanted to leave the decision to Tunde. She wanted him to understand what was right and what was wrong. She wanted him to see Amara’s true colors himself and make his own decision—who was right for him, Amara or Gold?

But Amara was not affected by their words at all. She just started making different plans to get closer to Tunde and to send Gold away. Most of the family members didn’t even talk to her because they didn’t trust her intentions. But Gold, despite noticing Amara’s actions, chose to ignore them. And Tunde—he was so caught up in his own struggles that he couldn’t see what was happening around him.

Kunle and Aisha were now very worried. They were deeply concerned about both Gold and Tunde. Kunle kept trying to contact Michael, but it was of no use. The atmosphere in the house was not good because of Amara, but no one wanted her presence to ruin Olamide and Rita’s wedding.

To be continued in the next chapter…