CHAPTER 1 — The Perfect Husband
Eight months earlier, no one would have believed Richard was a cruel man.
To everyone else, he was the perfect husband. Handsome, polite, charming, and always in control. He knew how to speak in a room full of powerful people. He knew how to make others listen. He remembered every anniversary, every meal Christiana liked, every song she played when she worked late at night.
He always pulled out her chair at restaurants.
He always placed a hand gently behind her back when they walked through crowds.
He always bent down to tie her shoe if she looked tired.
Whenever people praised him for loving his wife so much, Richard would only smile modestly.
“I’m the lucky one,” he would say. “I’m blessed to have her.”
Christiana had believed him.
She was the only daughter of Gabriel Adebayo, the founder of a major construction empire and a charity foundation for single mothers. After her father passed away, Christiana inherited the mansion on the hill, most of the family company shares, and the right to manage the foundation named after her late mother.
But wealth did not make her stronger.
In many ways, it made her more guarded.
Since her father’s death, too many people had entered her life with kind smiles and greedy eyes. Some wanted money. Some wanted partnerships. Some wanted marriage. Some wanted to become “family” only because of the Adebayo name behind her.
Richard had seemed different.
At least, that was what she had believed.
He never asked how much money she had. He never mentioned shares. He never seemed curious about her father’s will. When they were dating, he often said:
“I don’t need what you have. I only need you.”
That sentence had once made Christiana cry.
Because in a world where everyone wanted something from her, Richard was the first person who made her feel loved without conditions.
They married in a luxurious but private ceremony. Richard had wanted it that way. He told her she had already suffered enough from public attention and people gossiping about her family. He said he wanted to keep their love private.
Christiana was touched by that.
She did not know that privacy was not always meant to protect love.
Sometimes, privacy was used to hide a plan.
After the wedding, Richard moved into her mansion. He said her home was now their home, but he never said it in a greedy way. He was careful. Smooth. Patient.
Every change he made sounded reasonable.
He suggested replacing the old security team because he said it would make her safer.
He changed her personal accountant because he said the old one was too slow.
He began attending foundation meetings because he said he only wanted to support her.
He even convinced Christiana to reduce her workload after she became pregnant because, according to him, her health and the baby had to come first.
Everything sounded like love.
Until love slowly became a cage.
Christiana stopped driving herself. Richard said the driver should take her everywhere.
She stopped attending major meetings alone. Richard said he would go with her so she would not get tired.
Whenever she wanted to approve a new foundation project, Richard told her to let him review it first.
“You’re pregnant,” he would say, kissing her forehead. “You don’t have to carry everything alone. I’m here to carry it for you.”
That sentence had once made her feel protected.
Now, when she remembered it, Christiana finally understood.
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He had not been helping her carry anything.
He had been taking everything from her hands.
