​”He promised to buy me the car I wanted, Mummy!” I shouted, tears stinging my eyes. “He said if I kept quiet, he would send me to London for my PhD. If I told you, he said he would cut both of us off and leave us with nothing! I did it for us!”

​The air in the room felt thick. My mother looked at the man she had been married to for twenty-five years. Chief Segun walked down the stairs, looking calm in his white agbada. He didn’t look ashamed. He didn’t even look at my mother. He walked straight to Bolatito and put a hand on her shoulder.

​”Funke, don’t make a scene,” my father said coldly. “Bolatito is carrying the son you could never give me. After three girls, I need a replacement. I have already contacted the lawyers. You have two weeks to pack your things and move to the village house.”