The call came just before dawn.
Arden was already awake when his phone vibrated in his hand, the screen lighting up with a name he hadn't seen in weeks.
Father.
For a moment, he simply stared at it.
Then he answered.
"Where are you hiding?" his father's voice asked calmly, as if they were discussing weather.
"I'm not hiding anymore," Arden replied.
A pause. Then a low chuckle. "That's disappointing."
Arden stood and walked onto the balcony, the cool air steadying his nerves. "Your enemies aren't after me because of what I've done. They're after me because of what you did."
Silence stretched longer this time.
"You're alive because of me," his father said finally. "Everything you are exists because I protected you."
"You protected your legacy," Arden snapped. "Not me."
"You think love makes you brave?" his father scoffed. "It makes you visible."
Arden's jaw tightened. "I won't disappear again."
"You don't get to decide that," his father said softly. "Not when you're still useful."
The line went dead.
Arden lowered the phone slowly, his heart pounding—not with fear, but clarity.
Inside the apartment, Ife was already dressed.
Arden noticed immediately. "Where are you going?"
She avoided his eyes as she slipped on her sandals. "Out."
"No," he said sharply. "Victor's rules—"
"I know the rules," she interrupted. "And I'm tired of them."
Arden stepped closer. "This isn't about control. It's about safety."
She finally looked at him. "Then why do I feel like I'm slowly disappearing?"
He didn't have an answer.
"I need to do something," she continued. "Something that reminds me I still exist outside of danger and fear."
Arden searched her face. "What are you planning?"
She smiled faintly. "Trust me."
Before he could stop her, she was gone.
Ife took a bus.
It was reckless. She knew that. Victor would lose his mind. Arden would panic.
But sitting still had started to feel like dying slowly.
She wrapped her scarf tighter and blended into the noise of Lagos, letting the chaos remind her who she was before fear crept in.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
She hesitated.
Then answered.
"You shouldn't be alone," the voice said calmly.
Her heart slammed. "I'm not."
A soft laugh. "You never are. Not really."
She stopped walking.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"To see if you're as brave as you pretend to be."
She swallowed. "You're not as invisible as you think."
"I don't need to be," the voice replied. "I just need you to keep walking."
Her pulse roared in her ears.
Instead, she turned sharply into a crowded café and sat down, ordering tea she didn't want.
"You made a mistake," the voice said through the phone.
"No," Ife replied quietly. "I made a choice."
She hung up.
And waited.
Back at the apartment, Arden felt it in his bones.
Something was wrong.
Victor burst in moments later, eyes blazing. "She left."
"I know," Arden said.
"She's exposed," Victor growled. "This wasn't courage. It was bait."
Arden grabbed his jacket. "Then let's not waste it."
The café door opened.
Ife looked up—and froze.
Arden stood there, chest rising fast, eyes dark with fear and fury.
"You are unbelievable," he said, reaching her in seconds.
She stood slowly. "You didn't trust me."
"I trust you," he snapped. "I don't trust them."
She lifted her chin. "I won't live as leverage."
His voice dropped. "And I won't bury you."
They stood inches apart, breathing hard.
Outside, Victor's men shifted nervously.
"You could've gotten hurt," Arden said.
She placed her hand over his heart. "I needed to remind myself I wasn't already."
Something in him broke.
He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly, right there in the café, uncaring of eyes or whispers.
"I confronted my father," he murmured into her hair.
Her breath caught. "And?"
"I chose you."
She closed her eyes, pressing closer. "Then whatever comes next, we face it together."
Outside, across the street, a man lowered his phone and smiled.
The game had officially changed.