He looked at his daughters.
“They carried the consequences of your choice.”
Then he looked back at Bolanle.
“And so did I.”
The square remained silent.
For twenty years, this confrontation had waited.
Now it stood before them all.
Toby took a breath.
“For many years,” he said calmly, “I asked myself why this happened to us. At first, I believed life had simply been unfair.”
He glanced toward the academy site behind the stage.
“But time taught me something else. The hardest moments in our lives often become the moments that shape our future.”
He turned back to Bolanle.
“When you left, our home was broken. Our daughters suffered. And I suffered too.”
Bolanle lowered her head.
Then Toby continued.
“But we became stronger.”
He gestured toward the women beside him.
“These five daughters are the greatest success of my life.”
The daughters looked at him, emotion flickering across their faces.
Then Toby said the words no one expected.
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