“I made mistakes,” she whispered.
“Mistakes?” Kemi laughed harshly. “You didn’t forget your keys. You abandoned us.”
Folake began crying softly.
Abiola stared at the ground, torn between pain and pity.
Titi looked confused, uncomfortable, and sad.
Toby raised a hand.
“That is enough.”
It was not loud, but it carried authority.
Silence fell.
Bolanle looked at him with trembling lips.
“I have spent twenty years thinking about the day I left,” she said. “I thought wealth would bring happiness. It didn’t. It brought loneliness. After Chief Balogun died, I realized too late what I had lost.”
She took a shaky breath.
“I know I cannot undo what I did. But I came to ask… for forgiveness.”
The word hung in the air.
Every daughter reacted differently.
Yetunde’s face softened slightly.
Kemi remained hard.
Abiola looked conflicted.
Folake cried openly.
Titi simply stared.
Toby stood still for a long moment.
Then he said, “Forgiveness is not a simple word.”
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