THIRD PERSON POV
Demi heard about the engagement before sunrise.
He sat alone in his study, news glowing softly on his tablet, Bukky still asleep in the next room.
He didn't feel anger.
That surprised him.
What he felt was… finality.
"So that's it," he murmured.
Later that morning, he stood by the window, watching Ekiti wake up. The city he had once tried to dominate. The city Akanni had quietly shaped.
"I won't repeat my mistakes," he said to himself.
Not in love.
Not in power.
Not in pride.
That same week, he requested a meeting.
Not through assistants.
Not through intermediaries.
Direct.
The room was neutral.
Glass walls. Minimal décor. No posturing.
Two men who had once been rivals sat across from each other.
Akanni spoke first.
"You didn't come here to compete."
Demi nodded. "No. I came to build."
Silence stretched—not hostile, just measured.
"You hurt her," Akanni said calmly.
Demi swallowed. "I know. I'll spend my life making sure I never become that man again."
Akanni studied him for a long moment.
Then he nodded once.
"Then we move forward."
They didn't shake hands immediately.
They talked.
About infrastructure.
About agriculture corridors.
About youth employment.
About power grids.
About Ekiti—not as a forgotten state, but as a model.
"The Convergence Group can't do it alone," Akanni said.
"And Dennis Group doesn't have to compete."
Demi exhaled. "Together, we change the narrative."
Finally, they shook hands.
Not as enemies.
Not as friends.
As men who had outgrown war.