### **INFLATION OF LOVE** The small, dimly lit room smelled of dust and old dreams. Kunle sat on the floor, his back against the wall, staring at the ceiling like it held the answers he had spent months searching for. His wife, Ifeoma, paced back and forth, frustration etched into every movement. Their friend and neighbor, Sanni, sat by the only table in the room, silently watching the storm brew between the couple. "Ifeoma, you have to understand," Kunle finally spoke, his voice hoarse from exhaustion. "I didn’t plan for things to be this way." Ifeoma stopped pacing and turned to him, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "Then tell me, Kunle, how did we get here? How did love become this expensive?" Sanni shifted uncomfortably. He had heard this conversation before, not just from Kunle and Ifeoma but from almost every struggling couple in the neighborhood. Love used to be simple—built on dreams, laughter, and the little things. But now? Love had a price tag. And in Nigeria,