Married for His Empire

iling windows offered a panoramic view of Lagos-the Atlantic glittering in the

. Professional, warm smile. "Ms. Adeyemi, welcome. I'm

r of numbers and deadlines. I followed Grace through rooms that belonged in architectural maga

Grace said, opening double doors. "Thi

white linens. Sitting area with leather chairs and a view of the harbor. Bathroom with

closet. Designer l

ow my measurem

oin him, or I can bring a tray to your room. The contract and supporting documents are on the desk

and I was alone i

movements, the noise muted by triple-pane glass. Somewhere down there were the men who'd fire

e desk in a leather fo

ened

meaning in dense paragraphs, this was surprisi

EYEMI MARRIA

1: TERM A

r (24) months. Purpose: To satisfy the matrimonial and heir requirements of the Last Will and Test

onest about it be

RESIDENCE AN

A's Lagos penthouse or such other residences as req

suite with pr

l vehicle

etail as deem

dget of $10,00

I'd been wearing the same three wor

FINANCIAL

shall r

rsonal stipen

al, dental, l

ompletion of minimum

or contract extension

ears, that was more than I'd earn in a lifetime at Westbridge.

7: HEIR R

medical artificial insemination within eighteen (

evaluation for fe

procedures as sched

al care per medica

irth. Party B entitled to reasonable visitatio

ity of having a child I'd hand

ys, video calls. But the message was clear: this would be Elijah's child, raise

uzzed. Cyn

w. Segun's upset I didn't tell you sooner.

o guilt. Just

view that cost more per month than my old apartment. At the con

12: PUBLI

B agr

g, devoted spouse at

dicting Party A's busi

arance of a legitima

a training and pr

A agr

with public res

ce notice of req

on matters affectin

use for the cameras while maintainin

15: CONFI

ture of the marriage, financial terms, and heir arrangement, shall remain strictly confidential. Viol

the truth, I'd

18: TER

days written notice. Early termination by Party A without cause results in full payout to

k away with five million dollars a

on my cousin's couch, waiting for the people I'

e to inform you that Attorney Olatunde will be availa

nk y

rything. Uploaded my evidence files to three different cloud services. Sent the passwords to my

estruction, exactl

months. Fifty thousand per month. Five million at the end. Tha

other through university without loans. Start my

ave his child via medical procedure, an

-

the sound of quiet piano music thro

on his tablet. He'd changed-dark slacks, white shirt with sl

d up. "Y

hun

mile. "Honest. I

. Jollof rice with grilled fish. Fried plantain. The kind of home-st

minutes. Then he said, "Qu

uld hire a surrogate. Marry someone from your soci

ationship was with a woman who turned out to be feeding information to my competi

ink I can't

he police instead of selling those files." Now he looked at me. "Y

enough to b

're credentialed, intelligent, and you have a legitimate reason to be in La

t st

essed by your integrity and intelligence. We grew close during the investigation." He said it like he'd

where we're not

ill look for cracks. The board will test whether you're real or ju

if I can't pull it off? If I

at's going to be a problem. You sat in that police station and reported billion

sn't

insemination,"

en months of my father's death, but that just means confirmed pregnancy, not birth." He set down his wine g

inical

"This is a business arrangement. Clear terms, clear

appens to them in all

erything. Best schools, security, opportunities. I won't be a warm fath

more than mat

cruelty, just fact. "I'm offering you honesty, Eniola. Not perfection

the windows, millions of people living their normal lives whil

ne. Read the appendices. Sleep on it.

l say yes. You're angry, and anger is useful. You want to watch them burn as mu

Somewhere in that sprawl of light and chaos were the men who'd fired me. Who'd

covered rent. My mother, still teaching because they couldn't afford fo

ed harder than everyone. Done the right thing. An

y-seven pages of terms and condit

ensive pen Elijah h

ture line on pa

igned m

believed in fairy tales or love conquer

way to stop being a victim is t

page and texted it to Elijah'

ely. Then: *Good. We have wo

indow. A woman who'd just sold two year

had died at tha

was just ge

apologizing for w