Binary Hearts

32| Shattered Trust 🫀

The morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow over Tunde Adeyemi's bedroom, but his heart felt anything but warm. He had fallen asleep restless and worried, his thoughts consumed with Adaora. She hadn’t answered his calls last night, leaving him in a state of unease that gnawed at him until he finally dozed off.

He woke up with a start, immediately reaching for his phone. His fingers trembled slightly as he checked the social media channels for Spark Technologies. But what he saw left him stunned. The top trending topic wasn’t Spark or their latest breakthrough. It was Chidi Okoye, the Paystack billionaire.

Tunde’s heart pounded as he scrolled through the feed, each post making him feel more betrayed. And then, he found it—a video that made his blood run cold. The headline read: "Chidi and His Babe, Adaora Eze Okafor."

His hands shook as he pressed play. The video opened with Egungun, the famous interviewer, smiling widely as he introduced the pair as a couple. And there she was—his Adaora—standing next to Chidi Okoye, looking unsure but not denying a single word. She didn’t correct the assumption, didn’t defend their relationship. She just stood there, silent.

Rage and hurt crashed over him in waves. Tunde could barely breathe. He jumped out of bed, throwing on his clothes hastily, not even bothering to shower. His mind was on one thing—confronting Adaora.

He drove to the island with a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel, the city’s morning bustle lost on him. When he reached her apartment, he didn’t knock. He barged in, his face a mask of pain and anger.

Adaora was in the living room, her eyes red and swollen from crying. She looked up at him, her heart sinking at the fury in his eyes.

“Tunde…” she began, but he cut her off, his voice cold and trembling with barely restrained emotion.

“What the hell is this, Adaora?” Tunde demanded, holding up his phone with the video paused on the screen. “You’re now parading around with Chidi Okoye as his *babe*? Is that it?”

Adaora’s eyes filled with fresh tears. “Tunde, it’s not what you think…”

“Not what I think?” Tunde’s voice cracked, raw with betrayal. “Then what is it, Adaora? Because I watched that video—watched you standing there, not denying it. You didn’t say a word! You just let everyone believe that you’re with him!”

“I was trying to clear my name,” she said desperately, but Tunde shook his head, cutting her off again.

“Clear your name?” he scoffed. “From what? What has Chidi Okoye ever done for you, Ada? Huh? What has he ever done? Did he help your dying mom? No, I did. I was the one there for you when you had nothing. I took you in when you were struggling, I supported you when you were trying to make a name for yourself in tech. And now, this is how you repay me? By running off with him?”

Adaora’s tears spilled over. “Tunde, please… you don’t understand.”

“Oh, I understand perfectly,” Tunde shot back, his eyes glistening with tears he refused to shed. “I didn’t know you before, but I believed in you. I saw something in you, Ada. You were brilliant, driven, and I admired that. I wanted to be there for you, to help you achieve your dreams. But now, you’re with my enemy, my rival. How am I supposed to feel?”

Adaora’s mind flashed back to the first time they met. She remembered how Tunde had called her “Coderada,” her favorite nickname that only a few close friends used. She had been so surprised that this handsome stranger knew it, but even more surprised by his genuine admiration for her work. He had been so patient, waiting for her to open up, and when she finally did, he had been there every step of the way. He had appreciated her efforts and determination in the tech world, encouraging her when she doubted herself.

But now, all those memories felt like they were slipping through her fingers. She couldn’t stop the tears, but they only seemed to make Tunde angrier.

“Answer me, Ada! What the hell did Chidi do for you that I didn’t? Why are you with him?”

“I’m not with him, Tunde, I swear! It was all a misunderstanding. I was just trying to—”

“To what?” Tunde shouted, his voice breaking. “Trying to what, Ada? To humiliate me? To make me look like a fool?”

“No!” Adaora cried, but it was too late. The damage was done.

Tunde took a deep breath, his chest heaving as he tried to keep his composure. “I can’t do this anymore, Ada. I can’t… I can’t be with someone who doesn’t respect me. Who doesn’t care about how I feel.”

“Tunde, please…” Adaora’s voice was barely a whisper now, her heart shattering with every word.

But Tunde just shook his head. “It’s over, Ada. We’re done.”

With that, he turned and walked to the bedroom, packing up the few things he had at her place—his toothbrush, a spare shirt, a few other odds and ends. Adaora watched him, her legs trembling as she struggled to stay on her feet.

When he finally left, slamming the door behind him, she collapsed on the couch, her body wracked with sobs. She buried her face in her hands, the weight of everything crashing down on her.

Tunde drove away, his vision blurred by tears he refused to let fall. His mind replayed all the moments they’d shared, all the times he’d been there for her, and it only made the pain worse. He didn’t want to leave her, but he felt like he had no choice. He couldn’t stay with someone who could hurt him like this, who could betray him so deeply.

Back at her apartment, Adaora sat alone, her tears soaking the cushions. She had never felt so lost, so utterly broken. The memory of Tunde calling her “Coderada” flashed in her mind again, but this time it felt like a cruel joke. The one person who had believed in her, who had seen her for who she truly was, was gone.

And she didn’t know how to fix it.