Adesuwa O’man Nwokedi’s A Betrayed Kind of Love tells the story of Bonju Adalemo and Alero Gboye, whose lives are marked by a cyclical pattern of love, devastating betrayal, and eventual redemption. The book opens in April 2019, with Bonju living a life of leisure in London as a successful but emotionally stagnant investor. Despite his wealth and a “revolving door” of beautiful women, he remains haunted by a failure to give his heart away for twenty years. He receives an invitation to his Malomo High class of 1999 20-year reunion and decides to attend, primarily driven by the hope of seeing the one woman who has possessed his mind for two decades. Meanwhile, in Lagos, Alero Gboye works as a freelance interior decorator and struggles to keep her head above water financially. She helps her brother, Destiny, run an online radio station that plays ‘80s and ‘90s rock and pop, a genre deeply tied to her late father’s memory. Alero is hesitant to attend the reunion because she views her former classmates as strangers, but she is persuaded by Destiny to use the event as a networking opportunity to find investors for their station.
The narrative shifts to the reunion weekend at a luxury resort in Epe, where the past and present collide. Alero is immediately struck by the opulence of the hotel, which contrasts with the aging Honda she had to borrow from her brother. When Bonju enters the mixer, the room’s atmosphere changes, and Alero is reminded of how he broke her heart and obliterated her reputation twenty years prior. Bonju is equally shaken by the sight of her, noting that while she has changed, she still possesses the “constellation of freckles” and expressive eyes that once captivated him. The tension of the reunion triggers an extensive flashback to their original connection in 1998.
According to the Novel, Alero had an idyllic childhood with her parents, Eyitemi and Tofe, until her father’s sudden death in 1994. After his death, Alero discovered that her father had never legally married her mother and was still bound to his first wife, Omasan. This revelation led to her paternal relatives stripping her and her mother of their home and assets, forcing them into a nomadic and impoverished lifestyle. In the summer of 1998, she met Bonju at a school reunion luncheon for their mothers. Bonju, the son of a wealthy man with multiple wives, had recently moved from London to Nigeria and was enjoying his status as a “king” among his peers. They bonded over her father’s extensive LP collection, which was one of the few things she had managed to keep from her old life.
Their relationship developed through a shared passion for music, with Bonju visiting her modest apartment in Ebute-Metta to borrow albums and burn them to CDs. By early 1999, they were officially a couple, though they kept their relationship secret at school. The first major crack in their happiness occurred during the Easter holidays of 1999, when Bonju invited Alero to his imposing family home. There, his mother, Omere, reacted with extreme hostility, calling Alero’s father a “born-troway” a derogatory term for his biracial heritage and throwing money at Alero to order her out of the house. Although Bonju apologized and they reconciled, the weekend took a darker turn when Babawale, Bonju’s older brother, caught Alero in Bonju’s bedroom.
The Novel describe the ultimate betrayal occurring shortly after. When their classmates Demola and Folarin saw Alero leaving Bonju’s house, they questioned him about their relationship. In a moment of weak ego and a desire to be seen as a “sharp guy” like his father, Bonju admitted to “shagging” the “untouchable Alero Gboye”. The news spread through Malomo High like wildfire, and Alero returned to school for her final term to find herself a pariah and a laughingstock. Bonju, eaten by guilt and cowardice, failed to defend her and eventually walked away when she confronted him. This betrayal caused Alero to fall apart; she failed her university entrance exams and eventually moved to Sapele to escape the shame, while Bonju returned to London for his A-levels, realizing too late that he had lost her forever.
Returning to the 2019 timeline, the Novel details Bonju’s desperate attempts to seek forgiveness. After the reunion, he hires a fixer to find Alero’s address and visits her apartment, but she shuts the door in his face, stating that she can never forgive him. Seeking another way into her life, Bonju discovers through his friend Emeka that the investment opportunity Destiny mentioned is actually Alero’s radio station. When Alero realizes Bonju is the potential investor, she is incensed and views it as a calculated move to manipulate her. However, she hatches a plan for revenge: she will pretend to forgive him, allow him to invest his money and his heart, and then humiliate him as he once did her.
Alero begins a fake courtship with Bonju, responding to his texts and agreeing to dinner. Bonju is overjoyed, believing that fate has given him a second chance. Over the next several months, they spend time together in Lagos and communicate while he is in London. They successfully set up Tempo 92.5 in a building Bonju owns on Adeola Odeku Street, which he offers for the station’s use. During a wedding reception in Ibadan, Bonju proposes to Alero, and she says “Yes” only to ensure his fall will be more catastrophic. The climax of her revenge occurs on December 28, 2019, during the Adalemo family’s annual lunch. In front of nearly thirty relatives, Alero confronts Omere for her past insults, returns the money she was once thrown with interest, and tells Bonju he is a “vile, sorry excuse of a man” whom she will never marry.
The aftermath of this strike leaves Alero weeping in a taxi, realizing that her “sweet” revenge has only left her feeling empty and more heartbroken than before. Bonju is devastated by the revelation that their recent months together were an act. Despite his pain, he decides to proceed with the investment anyway, removing all contentious clauses from the legal agreements to ensure the station’s success before fleeing back to London to lick his wounds. In February 2020, Tempo 92.5 launches and becomes an overnight success, but the victory feels hollow for both Alero and Bonju, who are now separated by oceans and unresolved feelings.
The narrative takes another major turn in June 2020 when Bonju’s father, Bankole, dies in Kent. At the reading of the will in Ijebu-Ode, the family is shocked when Bankole nominates Bonju to replace Babawale as the Managing Director of Oceadrill, citing his son’s superior business instincts and Babawale’s history of costly mistakes. This triggers a corporate and family war, forcing Bonju to remain in Lagos to lobby directors and shareholders for votes at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM). He moves into the eleventh floor of the Tempo Plaza building, directly below Alero’s studio.
Bonju and Alero attempt to maintain a strained friendship while working in the same building. Their proximity, however, makes it impossible to ignore their mutual attraction. This attraction peaks in August 2020 when Alero, acting as a decorator for the restoration of the Walter Carrington house, spends a night with Bonju. However, the morning after, Bonju’s fear of being hurt again leads him to callously tell Alero that their encounter was “just physical,” causing her to retreat once more. To distance himself further, Bonju begins dating Jummai Jatau, the daughter of the board’s acting chairman, Dogo Jatau.
The tension culminates in February 2021 as the AGM approaches. Bonju’s mother, Omere, returns to Nigeria and continues her campaign against Alero, calling her “vermin” during a disastrous visit. When Alero accuses Bonju of failing to defend her against his mother’s insults, it leads to another bitter parting. Desperate to win the MD position, Kamson manipulates Alero, convincing her that she is the only obstacle to Bonju’s career because Dogo Jatau wants Bonju to marry Jummai. In an act of ultimate sacrifice, Alero lies to Bonju, telling him she never loved him and that their relationship was just a “hormonal itch,” in order to push him toward Jummai and the MD seat.
At the AGM on February 26, 2021, the results are announced: Busayo, Bonju’s long-estranged older brother, has entered the race and wins the Managing Director position, with Bonju losing by only two percent. Bonju and Busayo reconcile, agreeing to run the company together as MD and Deputy MD. Bonju, however, plans to return to London, believing he has lost Alero for good. On his birthday, March 8, he encounters Mofe Thompson, who tells him that sometimes one must fight for love rather than let ego get in the way.
The final resolution occurs when Bonju discovers Alero’s candles at his mother’s house and learns of Kamson’s manipulation. He realizes that Alero’s harsh rejection was actually a sacrifice for his benefit. He races to find her, eventually tracking her to Crust Alchemy during a heavy rainstorm. In the rain, he declares that they are soulmates, and Alero finally unravels, running into his arms. The Novel conclude in April 2021 in Sandgate, Kent, where Bonju and Alero are finally engaged, watching the sunset over the English Channel. Bonju presents her with the platinum diamond ring his father had intended for his “one true love,” and they prepare to build a future together, having finally overcome twenty-two years of betrayal and misunderstanding.