SHADES OF LUST Episode 21-59

[Edoman]

 Episode 21-59

Episode 21

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’hi what’s up?’’ Jessica greeted as soon as I picked up her phone call.

‘’I’m cool and you?’’ I replied with a soft tone, wondering the reason she called by that hour.

‘’you asked for another date with me and I promised to give you a reply today. That’s the reason I’m calling now’’ she quickly added as if she knew what I was thinking.

‘’oh cool’’ I stammered, not really sure of what to say to her words.

‘’I will be free for another date this evening, but it’s going to take the form of an outing’’ she said softly, leaving me silent for some seconds.

‘’outing?, I really don’t get what you mean by outing’’ I muttered, expecting her to explain in details because what I wanted was to have a quiet date with her in a restaurant or someplace private but the way she mentioned the word outing looked as if she was suggesting a road trip or something similar which really looked out of ordinary considering the level of our relationship..

‘’never mind, hope you can come over to my house by 4pm?’’ she asked quickly.

‘’Yes of course ‘’ I answered .

‘’Good. Here is my address ‘’ she added softly, calling out her house address which I already knew.

After the call, I faced Joe with a smile.
‘’it’s Jessica. She called to accept another date request I made the previous day but she wants a road trip which I really don’t understand. She asked me to come over to her house by 4pm’’ I explained to my friend, who laughed.

‘’maybe she wants you to take her to Nekede zoo or maybe Oguta lake’’ he joked, laughing hard.

‘’this isn’t a laughing matter brother’’ I said seriously, stopping his laughter with my words.

‘’well I really don’t have any advice to give. You already know she was involved with your late uncle and could probably be behind the attack you had last night. So you just have to be very careful. I hope she isn’t taking you out of town to kill you?’’ he said with a very serious tone while I shrugged.

‘’I really think she is very bad but then there is this feeling of calmness, this feeling of openness I always have whenever I’m with her. She acts like an innocent angel and I don’t just know what to believe anymore’’ I confessed .

‘’you just have to be careful. Only time will tell what she really is’’ he breathed with an air of certainty.

‘’I will meet her by 4pm. Life is all about taking risk. Whatever will be will be’’ I said with a forced smile.

Jude’s side of the story continues

I left Pamela at the hotel by 6am with my head high like someone who just graduated with first class result. Pamela never uttered a word to me nor tried to stop me from leaving after the little talk we had that early morning. I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking by wanting me to leave the country with her. I couldn’t imagine what she could be planning or what exactly was going on with her life.
Leaving the relationship was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life but deep down I was still nervous, I was still scared that somehow she was going to pop up in my life again.

I returned to my hostel, very restless and nervous. I badly needed something to calm my nerves but unfortunately a long weekend was still ahead and Tracy wasn’t around anymore to keep me company. Without thinking twice, I did the unimaginable by calling her on phone with the news that I was coming over to her house that very day.

She couldn’t believe her ears when I broke the news. She kept quiet for some seconds before speaking.

‘’you are joking right?’’ she asked.

‘’I’m already on my way’’ I informed her.

‘’but why?. What made you change your mind?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’because I miss you very much. I can’t survive the weekend without you. I have seen how important you are to me’’ I confessed, leaving her silent for few seconds.

‘’you just made me cry now. I also do miss you over here’’ she confessed.

‘’I will be there in few hours. I promise’’ I breathed, hung up and got my things ready for a trip to Enugu.

——————————–

It really was my first time of visiting a female friend in her family house and of course I was extremely nervous. I prayed for her parents to be kind and accommodative.

‘’I hope your dad won’t get mad at me’’ I asked her over and over as we chatted on my way to her house.

On getting to Enugu, Tracy was already at the bus station waiting for me with a chartered taxi. She cried out with joy as soon as she saw me alight from the bus.

‘’finally you made it’’ she broke out, hugging me tightly and drawing the attention of everyone at the bus station. I felt on top of the world, having such a pretty girl who cared so much for my well being, for my happiness, for my future all to myself. And that is what true love is all about.

But did I really deserve Tracy’s love??

Episode 22

Jude’s side of the story continues

As Tracy and I headed to her house minutes later, she held my hand and looked up at me with a worried look.

‘’please bear in mind that my dad is a medical doctor who also lectures in UNN. Do answer all his questions honestly, don’t lie about anything. He knows much about school stuffs and he is a very understanding man’’ she begged softly while I nodded like a child.
When we got to her house, she quickly led me to the sitting room where her dad and mother were seated, probably waiting for me even though it looked as if they were just busy watching a TV show.

They politely smiled as Tracy led me in.

‘’oh my dear you never told us you were bringing in a half caste’’ Tracy’s mother muttered jokingly. I greeted politely.

‘’you are welcome my son, Tracy told us a lot about you and one thing I do admire in my children is that they always bring their friends home for us to see and access. So do relax and feel at home’’ the old lady said to me sweetly, stood up and playfully dragged Tracy to one of the rooms, leaving me all alone with her husband.
Tears melted in my eyes as I remembered my mother. Tracy’s family really was the type of family I wanted for myself. I never played with my mother. I never saw my mum and dad together as a happy couple. It was just so painful seeing the kind of family I wanted, playing before my eyes.

The old man soon cleared his throat after feeding his eyes on me for some seconds.
‘’I’m not good with words but you should know that my daughter took a lot of risk by bringing you before us. Your presence in this house means that my daughter trusts and believes in you and I hope it will remain that way. You are the first man she is bringing home and I hope you won’t hurt her in the end?. I know what students are capable of and left for me, my daughter is still too young to have a male friend but I have no choice than to accept you. So feel free in my house’’ he said with a smile while I nervously nodded like a kid who just got luckily adopted by a rich family.

‘’thank you sir’’ I muttered softly.

———————-
The rest of the evening really was a bit uneventful. I had my shower, rested for a while at the guest room before joining the family for dinner. Yes I was overly nervous being with them and I had a hard time finishing my own share of the meal.
However after dinner, as I stood up to leave the dining room, Tracy’s mother asked me to wait for her in the sitting room.

‘’we have much to talk this evening. I hope you are not too tired?’’ she asked as I sat up.

‘’mum come on, he just got here’’ Tracy protested.

‘’I’m ready to talk anytime’’ I replied with a smile.

‘’good’’ the old woman smiled with satisfaction.

———————–

Minutes later in the sitting room, I sat alone with Tracy’s mother who took her time in asking me prying questions about my life, my fears and plans for the future. Yes she already knew a lot about me from her daughter and that really made our talk flow easily.

‘’you know during my days, most of my friends that ended up being successful in life were the ones with a very difficult background. I can vividly remember a friend back then in UNN. She lost her parents, five days before our first year first semester examination. And she was the first daughter of the family. All her siblings were very little back then and all her uncle’s could come up with was that she should return home, plan her parents burial, get married and care for her siblings. The whole department virtually had to force her to stay back and try her best in the coming exam which probably was going to be her last exam in the school since it was very clear to everyone that was going to drop out from school. She stayed behind, did her best, bade us farewell and left the school for an uncertain future. Could you believe that when the results came out, she turned out to be the best first year student in the whole faculty, which earned her a scholarship. She had to come back to school but it still wasn’t an easy ride for her. She turned herself to a student trader, and the proceeds were enough to cater for her siblings at home. Today she is a senior lecturer in U.N.N. So my dear what am I trying to say is that you should make good use of every situation you find yourself and never give up on life. God has a way of helping everyone. Sometimes it might look as if God isn’t on your side but the truth is that you fail to look beyond what your eyes are seeing that moment. At least you are lucky your dad left you a little thing to fall back on before he died. So what you should be thinking now is how to better your life and expand the family name. You look like a level headed boy to me and my daughter speaks very highly of you which left me and her father very curious to see you. Anyway we still have a lot to talk about’’ she summarized with a smile while I breathed deeply.
It really was the first time a woman sat me down and spoke to me like a mother and it just looked as if a new spirit fell upon me.

‘’you should go to your room and rest. We have church service to attend tomorrow. I hope you do go to church?’’ she asked with a smile. I nodded, smiled back at her and headed to the guest room, feeling very much at home.

——————————-

The old woman’s words really touched me a great deal and even when I got to my room, I sat up on my bed and played back all she preached on my head. Tracy soon sneaked in, smiling like a little kid. She threw herself on me, resting her head on my laps.

‘’I told you my parents are good and accommodative. It’s just a pity you didn’t meet my siblings. Dad locked up the younger ones at the dormitory’’ she said with a smile, caressing my hands.

‘’Thank you for bringing me here. You really don’t know how much I feel right now’’ I confessed. She sat up, brought her face forward and stared into my eyes.

‘’I did it because I love you. I will do much more for you. I just pray you won’t disappoint or embarrass me before my family in future’’ she breathed solemnly.

‘’I love you too Tracy and I promise to be you forever’’ I promised, kissing her softly. She held me tightly, moaning under my soft kisses and wriggling as if an evil genie flew into her night wear. In no time we were passionately kissing on the bed, throwing caution to the wind. The urge in me was so strong and I knew she felt the same way.

‘’I’m willing to give you my virginity but it will be when we get back to our hostel’’ she suddenly promised, breaking away from my kisses.

‘’no I won’t need it till our wedding night. Just keep it safe for me’’ I replied with all sincerity because he just was my precious and the last thing I wanted was breaking into her vineyard so prematurely.

‘’I know you are not a virgin and I don’t want to be cheated on. So how do you satisfy your sexual urge since you don’t want it with me for the moment?’’ she suddenly asked, throwing off balance with such prying but valid question.

Episode 23

Jude’s side of the story continues

‘’and what gave you the impression that guys can’t survive without s-x?’’ I asked, smiling faintly. She said nothing.

‘’what matters the most is what we feel for each other. I respect you. I adore you. I love you and that’s more than enough reason for me to abstain from s-x till we get married’’ I answered, kissing her forehead. Her eyes brightened with tears of joy.

‘’that’s so sweet of you. You are such a gentleman. I really do pray nothing comes between us’’ she muttered softly, getting up from the bed.

‘’good night my love’’ she added, smiled and left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts and conscience as Pamela’s image flashed through my mind.

I left Pamela in a rough condition and deep down I knew I was yet to see the end of her even though I did the best thing by ending our relationship before it got out hand.

Kelvin’s side of the story continues **
10am, Saturday

With the help of Joe, I got some laborers who fixed my fence while I busied myself tidying up my house, especially my kitchen that was tampered with by the hoodlums. I equally used the opportunity to hide the briefcase I got from my late uncle’s apartment because it really was the only new thing I had in my apartment that could probably be the reason I was attacked in such daring manner.

Later in the day, Joe brought a young Fulani guy to my house.

‘’you need someone to watch over your property and this guy here is the man’’ he said to me with a smile as I assessed the innocent looking guy with my eyes.

‘’you have nothing to worry about him. I know him very well’’ he added with a smile while I nodded in gratitude.

‘’thanks Joe; you have shown what a great friend you are. I will be at your gym tomorrow morning to brief you on my date with Jessica’’ I said to him with a smile. He laughed and shook his head.

‘’of course if you come back alive’’ he joked, shook hands with me and left.

———————

The rest of the afternoon was a bit uneventful. All I did was rehearse and reshape the plans I had for Jessica and prepare for the date ahead. Of course as a human being I was a bit nervous and scared.
Just like my friend Joe insinuated, she could be behind the attack I had the previous night. She could be a wolf disguised as a sheep.
She could be luring me to my death and I had to be prepared for anything.

————————-

By 4:15pm, I was in front of Jessica’s house all nervous and vigilant. She soon appeared at her gate, smiling nicely like a beauty queen.

‘’thanks for coming on time’’ she muttered happily, drew close and surprised me with a hug which calmed my nerves.

‘’I guess you must be wondering what I’m up to?’’ she asked, smiling.

‘’yes of course’’ I replied, returning her gaze.

‘’you see every once in a while, I do take out my time to visit some orphanages and contribute my quota to their survival. It’s also something I always introduce my friends to. Something just struck me to involve you today. We can also use the opportunity to discuss and know each other very well as we drive round the town’’ she explained, smiling deeply and leaving me totally surprised, relived and stunned. Yes I was totally relieved in one hand and a bit stunned by the reason she just gave.
To me she was a high class lady, very charming and probably deceptive. I was all out to get her down but so far her behavior, her character and her heart showed nothing but innocence and purity. I honored her invitation, scared of what she was planning for me only to discover that all she wanted was for me to accompany her on a charity work.

‘’I hope you are not angry at me?’’ I heard her ask curiously.

‘’no of course not’’ I quickly replied. She smiled with relief and signaled to her gateman who quickly came out with some cartons of Indomie noodles, children clothes, provisions and toiletries. My car boot was soon filled up and all I could do was just to stare at her with great admiration. I used the moment to examine my life as I realized that I was yet to give out a single penny to the needy which really was totally bad of me.

‘’you know nothing sets the heart more at peace than helping people in need. Have you ever visited an orphanage before?’’ she asked as we headed to the first orphanage located at Aladinma.

‘’no it has never crossed my mind’’ I answered truthfully.

‘’God blessed you for a reason and the least you can do is to help the needy, to touch someone’s life with your help. You can’t believe the number of kids I’m paying school fees for.’’ She added with a smile while I kept quiet.

——————

The evening turned out to be a very long and interesting one for me. I got to experience firsthand how an orphanage looked like and how the kids living there were treated. We visited about five of such homes and I ended up donating five thousand naira to each of them which really was nothing, compared to what Jessica gave out.

When we got back to her house, late in the evening, she invited me inside for the first time.

‘’I’m really proud of you Kelvin. Not many guys would be happy on what I did. I took you to where you never planned visiting and yet you contributed your quota. So you now have the right to pick out the time and place of our next date’’ she said to me with a happy smile after showing round her impressive residence. I couldn’t believe my ears.

‘’wow that’s so good to hear, but really you taught me a very wonderful lesson today’’ I confessed. She drew close, breathed deeply, hugged and pecked me affectionately.

‘’you are such a wonderful guy Kelvin and I really enjoyed my evening with you’’ she whispered, melting my heart with her action and I kind of trembled before her as I tried so hard to control my emotions.
I so badly wanted to grab and kiss her that moment but luckily I was able to hold back myself.

I never planned falling in love with Jessica because she was still my main suspect over my uncle’s death but somehow my emotions were getting on the way and she looked so pure, open minded and honest.

It looked as if I was gradually falling in love for the first time. Or could it be lust??

Episode 24

Jude’s side of the story continues

Early Sunday morning, we all headed to a catholic church down the street for a Sunday Church service. The kindness and love shown to me by Tracy’s parents was something I never dreamt of having. I really felt so much at peace being with them.

However on our way to the church, Tracy took my phone for no just reason and since I had nothing to hide (Apart from Pamela’s phone numbers which were saved in my phone with her real name, everything other thing like our chats and messages were always deleted after each chat session). I allowed Tracy to have my phone. But unfortunately, that very Sunday was the day the devil remembered me.

Later in the day, just minutes after we got back from church service, Tracy ran into my room, all colored up and angry. She threw my phone at me with great rage, while I stared at her with great confusion.

‘’I can’t believe you were with another girl, the night before you came here. What an insult to me. I cheapened myself so much for you. I blame myself for this’’ she burst out with such a loud voice that left me very scared.

‘’you have to reduce your voice and talk me. Do you want your parents to hear your voice?. I don’t understand what you are saying’’ I tried my best to calm her but instead of calming down, she drew forward to slap me but I caught her hand on time and firmly dragged her down on the bed while she struggled to free herself.

I really couldn’t figure out how she discovered I spent the night with Pamela since I had nothing incriminating on my phone. I equally was very sure that the last thing Pamela would do was to share our little secret to anyone because she was so conscious of herself and dignity.

‘’you still don’t understand right?. Get your phone, read the message you just got. Yes I read it. Yes I invaded your privacy but I did it for a genuine reason’’ she breathed as she struggled with me.
I slowly grabbed my phone, opened the message box and read the first message I saw. Of course the message was from no other person than Pamela. I froze as I read the text message she left me.

‘’I can’t still believe you had the mind to do what you did after the risk I took in coming down to spend Friday night with you. Things don’t always go the way we plan, but just know that we are in this together. I won’t bother you again but you will come looking for me’’

I read the message over and over without really knowing what to make of it or the explanation to give to Tracy. I was simply unprepared and clueless on how to tackle the situation. I couldn’t even think properly.

‘’why would you be with another woman on Friday and then the next day, you pretend and come over to my house like a saint?. What kind of man are you?’’ she asked with tears on her eyes and I really felt so bad. She was a woman before anything and I knew she would never understand if I try giving an honest explanation.
There wasn’t any doubt she was already disgusted by me. To her, I greatly dishonored her love and all she felt for me by taking advantage of her feelings. I was now nothing but a good pretender before her eyes.

‘’I just don’t know you Jude’’ she sobbed deeply.

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’so how about you come over to my house tomorrow afternoon for a date?. I’m a good cook and it really will be an honor cooking for such a wonderful lady like you’’ I suddenly asked Jessica as she escorted me out of her house that Saturday evening.

‘’of course you already know I can’t say no’’ she replied sweetly, rolling her eyes.
I quickly gave her my address, hugged her again and drove home in a very happy mood. There wasn’t any doubt that I was making a smooth headway to her heart and she equally was slowly gaining direct access to my heart.

————-

Early Sunday morning when everyone was heading to church, I headed to Joe’s gym to exercise and chat with my friend. Joe looked so happy to see me and I couldn’t help but wonder if he really thought I was going to die the previous evening.

‘’I’m so glad to see you my friend. Since you survived yesterday, I guess you aren’t dying anytime soon’’ he joked while I laughed.
In no time I told him everything that happened between Jessica and I the previous evening, hiding nothing from him.

‘’I hope you are not going to end up having kids with her?. With the way you guys are going, I won’t be surprised if that happens’’ he joked when I was done with my story.

‘’seriously bro, I always feel different whenever I’m with Jessica. I really haven’t achieved much with her other than stupidly getting romantically attached to her and I can’t stop myself or control what I’m feeling’’ I confessed.

‘’hmmm you have to take it easy’’ he advised with a smile.

—————————–

An hour later, I returned to my house and busied myself with preparing a delicious meal of fried rice and salad for Jessica. Growing up in the village taught me a whole lot of things and I could boast of being one of the best male cooks around. Though lately, Cynthia had always been around to help me out.

The spirit and energy I used in cooking for Jessica was something I really didn’t know where it came from and by 1pm, the food, table, wine and flowers were all ready. I just felt like a bachelor who was expecting his fiancée from abroad.

2pm, Jessica arrived my house, looking so gorgeous and charming. My heart pounded loud as I welcomed her into my house.

‘’wow, you have such a nice house. You are doing too well for yourself’’ she complemented my great taste. I smiled nervously.

Thirty five minutes later, we were done with lunch and the look of admiration on her face was clearly visible.

‘’you know when you said you were going to cook for me, I thought maybe you were just trying to impress me but seriously after eating and listening to your story on how you learnt to cook and the method you used to prepare this wonderful meal, you totally won a great deal of me. I like guys who know how to cook and I adore guys who know how to cook excellently well. I score you 99%’’ she said with great admiration while my head swelled with pride.

‘’so what now?’’ she asked as we got up to leave the table. I smiled, drew close and did what I never wanted to do.
I kissed her and surprisingly, she kissed back, opening a new chapter in my life.

Will I end up regretting or did I make the right decision???

Hmmmmmm

Episode 25

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene

We kissed passionately for a while before Jessica got hold of her body and broke away from me.

‘’stop this. I beg of you’’ she breathed, looking down. I slowly brought up her face with my hands and looked into her eyes with great desire. The urge to make love to her was so much in me. I just felt hot and hor.ny like a guy who hasn’t been with a woman for many years.

‘’I don’t know why I’m feeling this way. I hardly have feelings for women but with you things are different. I can’t control my body. I can’t even hold back what I’m feeling inside. I’m sorry for ruining our date’’ I stammered softly. She shook her head and breathed deeply.

‘’you didn’t ruin anything Kelvin. I feel the same way’’ she confessed, leaving me a bit stunned and happy at the same time. Without another word, I drew closer and kissed her again, this time around, putting more fire and energy into it.

‘’oh easy’’ she moaned, holding me tightly as if she was scared of standing on her feet. I just was on top of the world that moment. It was as if we were the only couple on earth. I never knew when or how I got the energy to carry her to my room without breaking our kiss and oh yes she was quite a great kisser.

In no time, my mouth was on her left nipp.le which I managed to squeeze out of her bra and just like that we were soon unclad on my bed, ready to take our passion to the next level.

‘’what are you doing?’’ she asked weakly as I slowly dug into her. Her body was so warm and welcoming.

Thirty five minutes later, we fell apart, totally spent and tired. It really was one hell of a love making.

‘’I can’t believe we just did it’’ I heard her mutter to herself as she buried her face on my pillow while I slowly regained my senses as the consequences of what we just did slowly dawned on me.
Making love to her was never part of the plan and with the way I still felt about her, I was very clueless on the direction my life and plans were heading.

———————————-

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene
‘’you have to listen to me Tracy, even if it’s for the last time’’ I begged, trying hard to get the broken girl to listen to me.

‘’what is there to lie huh? What is there to say?’’ she breathed solemnly.

‘’and what gave you the impression that I want to lie. I only wanted to protect you by keeping this away from you but since it has come to this level, I have no choice than to tell you what actually happened on Friday night and the reason I came over to your house yesterday’’ I stammered, trying so hard to come up with an explanation.

I never planned telling her the truth but I equally knew I had to at least come up with something close to the truth to get her trust back. I really wasn’t a good liar but my business with Kelvin taught me a whole lot of things, including turning a lie into a believable truth.
Coolval once wrote that ‘sometimes a well told lie is better than a painful truth’ and that was the option I had no choice than to take. I had to come up with a well constructed lie.

‘’I was with Pamela on Friday night. The silly girl just showed up to spend the weekend with me, without even notifying me that she was coming over. It was hell spending the night with her because all I could think about was you. And early the next day, I had to lie to her that I was travelling. I couldn’t bear spending Saturday and Sunday with her and the only way to kick her out was to make her believe I was travelling. It was the reason I had to start coming down to your house yesterday, instead of Monday we agreed on. I did it all for you. Okay why will a guy spend a night with a girl on Friday and abandon her to visit another girl on Saturday?’’ I explained nervously.
For the first time, Tracy kept calm and searched me with her eyes. It was obvious she was buying all I just poured out.

‘’but who is she?’’ she asked, leaving me a bit uncomfortable with the question. Of course the last thing I would do was telling her that Pamela was a married woman. That she’s a senator’s wife.

‘’Pamela is a student. I used to have fun with her before the death of my dad’’ I lied. She looked down, saying nothing.

‘’I know you still don’t believe me but do know that I have genuine feelings and intentions for you. I will leave your house this evening because I don’t want you to embarrass me before your parents. I never came here to take advantage of you. Please simply pretend as if all Is still well between us, till I leave in few hours’’ I begged her softly.

‘’who told you I didn’t believe you?. I know you have no reason to lie to me and the explanation you gave is more than convincing. You have no reason to be here yesterday but you surprised me by coming over instead of being with her. Not many guys would do it. I’m sorry for doubting you. It’s just that her text message shocked me. I’m fine now and I believe you’’ she suddenly opened up with eyes filled with tears.

I swallowed hard with guilt as I stared back at her. Tears slowly showed up in my eyes. She never deserved being lied to but I had no choice.

To be continued

Episode 26

Jude’s side of the story continues

I ended up spending seven cool days at Tracy’s house and I really had a very great time with the lovely family. They showed me great love and I couldn’t help but pray to God, begging him to give me such type of happy home in future.
I really felt at peace being them.

Tracy and i headed back to school at the end of the week to face a very tough examination. I started the semester very badly and so really wasn’t hoping for a good result. Nevertheless I tried my best with Tracy’s assistance which was more than enough for me.

The exam week really was very uneventful and nothing much happened in my life apart from the regular routine of leaving the hostel early and returning late throughout the duration.

However precisely one week after the exams, just as I was making plans for my industrial training, something happened that shook my entire being. It was something I never expected in any way and yes it did happen in a very shocking manner.

On that fateful evening, I was lazily going through my bbm chats when something or should I say curiosity made me check Pamela’s profile. As I clicked on her profile, the bbm status she uploaded kind of left me speechless for a while.

’’I’ll soon be a mother. Can’t wait’’ were the exact words I saw on her status. And after few minutes of reading the status over and over, I sent her a message.

’’congrats on the baby you are expecting. God is wonderful’’ I sent to her with an open heart.
It really was the first time I was sending her a message after breaking up with her weeks ago and deep down I equally was very surprised that she could stay a week or two without bothering to chat me up.

Yes I know i shouldn’t have sent her the message. I should have deleted her contact long ago, but I failed to do so for no just reason.

In two minutes, my bbm beeped and on checking it, I saw that she replied my message.

‘’ yes I’m having your baby for my husband’’ was the reply she sent me, leaving me so cold with shock and disbelief. My head just went hollow that moment. I really didn’t know what to think or what to reply.

’’really?’’ I managed to type and send.

’’yep’’ she replied instantly.
I switched off my phone and fell back on my bed to calm down as the reality of what she just informed me did wonders on my body.

‘’maybe she’s trying to play a fast one on me. I have to relax. I have to keep calm before Tracy walks in and catches me in this state’’ I said to myself as sweat soaked my body and no matter how hard I tried to calm down, I just couldn’t keep my mind at rest.

In few minutes, I was down with severe headache which slowly heated up every part of my body, making it look as if I was down with malaria. Tracy soon walked in to see me looking so sick. Feeling my pulse, she concluded that I was down with malaria and rushed out to get some malaria drugs for me, which I took without hesitation because I had no strength to argue with her.

The next day, I woke up without any headache or fever. But my problems and fear were still there to solve. I lazily grabbed my phone, checked my bbm and read the short chat I had with Pamela the previous day. I read it over and over to be sure of myself before deleting it.

‘’I can’t solve this on my own. I have to open up to Kelvin. He is older and more experienced. He will figure out something for me’’ I decided without any other choice.

———————————

After having breakfast with Tracy that fateful morning, I headed to Kelvin’s house ignoring Tracy’s pleas to stay back and rest. Of course she was far from knowing what really was wrong with me and all her concerns were on my health without knowing that something stronger was killing me inside.

I arrived at Kelvin’s house around 9:45am and headed straight to his bedroom since I couldn’t find him in the sitting room. But on getting to his bedroom, I heard voices coming out from inside which told me that he’s with someone.
The voices I heard were that of two adults discussing and not that of two adults making love. I tapped on the door to make my presence known before peeping into the room to know if I was free to enter but as soon as I peeped in, a sight struck me that shattered the remaining sanity I had left.

Kelvin sat on his bed, carrying a lady on his body and the lady was no other person than the lady he showed me on his computer sometime back. The lady he introduced to me as Jessica Simon. The lady he told me could be behind my father’s death.

Yes her image stuck in my head from that day he showed me her picture and she was the same lady I just saw him playing with.

I staggered back, surprised, shocked and confused.

Episode 27

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

I returned to the sitting room, feeling so cold and miserable. I really didn’t know how to react over the scene I just witnessed. What I saw was nothing but two adults in love and I couldn’t help but reason that Kelvin could be working for both sides. He was a scammer for crying out loud and so was capable of anything.

Yes he told me about the lady quite alright. He equally told me about his plans for her but what I just saw really wasn’t part of the plan and I was no fool not to know when being played.

‘’Jude I’m so glad you came’’ I soon heard Kelvin say to me with a smile as he showed up in the sitting room. It was possible he saw me when I peeped into his room, minutes ago.

‘’please let’s talk outside’’ he added, winking at me. I breathed deeply and followed him to the front veranda where he stopped and searched me with his eyes, expecting me to say something but I didn’t. I simply kept my feelings to myself and made no attempt to ask him about what I just witnessed.

‘’I’m with Jessica’’ he whispered with a smile, trying hard to be open with me. I simply shrugged, saying nothing.

‘’things are going on well between us and by God’s grace in no time I will uncover all she’s hiding’’ he added with a smile of accomplishment, expecting me to leave a positive response but I said nothing, instead smiled and shook my head. The last thing in my mind was to believe him. I simply pretended and smiled like an innocent kid.

‘’you don’t look too well to me. What’s up?’’ he asked, searching me with his eyes once again.

‘’I have been down with fever. The exam stress was just too much’’ I answered softly, keeping the main reason I came to visit him to myself. Of course I couldn’t get myself to tell him my problem and secret after what I just witnessed. I kind of decided to tackle my problem without involving him.

‘’oh I see. No wonder’’ he breathed.

‘’I just felt like saying hello to you today, that’s the reason I stopped by. Anyway I have to go. You are busy’’ I said, forcing out a smile while he shrugged, his eyes still on me. It was very obvious he sensed something wasn’t right with me.

‘’okay but I will be expecting you soon again because we have a new deal to push through’’ he muttered softly. I smiled, nodded and left his apartment without another word.

Yes I really felt bitter seeing him with that woman and supposing I was stronger and older than him, I would have dealt with the lady in his presence without minding what it would lead to but unfortunately all I could do that moment was just to pretend and walk away with a heart full of hatred.

———————————————-

On getting to my car, I dialed Pamela’s number. She soon picked my call without greeting or saying hi to me.

‘’we have to talk’’’ I said coldly.

‘’I can’t speak to you on phone. If you are serious about settling with me then you should come over to Abuja’’ she replied and hung up rudely, leaving me speechless and totally confused.

‘’is she really serious?’’ I reasoned as I dialed her number again.

‘’please if you are really serious about speaking with me, just find a way to come over to Abuja’’ she said again, hanging up rudely.

I just can’t describe how I felt that moment. My head was just filled with confusion and indecisiveness. I had Kelvin’s games on one hand to deal with, Jessica’s involvement on my father’s death to unravel, Pamela before me to subdue and innocent Tracy at the corner, totally unaware of anything or the dangers I could be putting her to.

‘’Should I go to Abuja or not?’’ I reasoned over and over.

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

I returned to my room with great guilt. Of course I noticed the suspicion on Jude’s face as we talked seconds ago. I equally knew he visited for a reason but had to go back without opening up to me.
I knew I went over the line in my dealings with Jessica. I knew what I was doing with her was totally wrong but the problem was how to stop and get my act together.
From the first day I tasted her honeypot, my feelings and plans totally changed to something I just couldn’t describe. I couldn’t even stay a day without being with the pretty lady and she was now influencing my life a great deal.
I was just like a hunter who got caught in his own trap and about to be devoured by the animal the trap was meant for.

‘’who was the guy that peeped at us?’’ Jessica asked as I walked into my room.

‘’oh he’s my cousin Jude’’ I answered with a smile. Her eyes instantly widened with excitement.

‘’your cousin Jude?. Where is he now?. I can’t wait to be introduced to him’’ she asked with a smile while I stared at her suspiciously, trying hard to keep my feelings in check.

Episode 28

Jude’s side of the story continues

I returned to my hostel with a very troubled spirit. I just didn’t know the direction to think. I knew I had to do something to stop Pamela’s plans but what exactly do I do was a question I couldn’t answer.

‘’dear lord I hope she isn’t pregnant for me’’ I prayed as my mind flashed back to the fun I had with her. Of course I was so stupid to sleep with her without any form of protection. I was so carried away by her beauty and personality without knowing that she had sinister plans for me. I just felt like a big fool. Oh yes I was a very big idiot.

Keeping my fears and feelings away from Tracy was another tough battle I fought so hard to win but in the end the caring girl soon noticed that something else was eating me up.
Tracy was just so sharp in noticing things and it really was one of the qualities I admired in her.

‘’you know yesterday, I thought it was only malaria that was bothering you but I feel something else is eating you up. You have been acting so withdrawn and strange since yesterday. What is bothering you?’’ she asked curiously when we were alone in her room. I breathed deeply, wondering if it was okay to tell her the truth or not.

‘’yesterday I was down with fever but today I’m okay, only that I’m still weak’’ I answered, smiling convincingly.

‘’Jude I have known you for a long time and I know when you lie. At least I know ninety five percent of the times you lie. You just lied now’’ she pushed on.

‘’okay fine, my cousin Kelvin invited me to his house just to tell me that an uncle in Abuja wants to see me and I think its relating to my dad’s death. Moreover I’m yet to travel to the states to meet my dad’s attorney. I just have a lot going on in my head right now and I’m still indecisive on whether to head to Abuja tomorrow or not’’ I lied fluently. She breathed deeply and held my hand.

‘’now I understand how you feel. I think it’s best you meet your uncle. You have a lot to gain. But first you have to be strong’’ she said with a smile. I swallowed hard with guilt as I returned her gaze. Each time I lied to the innocent girl, my conscience always pinched me. She never deserved a guy like me but unfortunately love pushed her to me.

‘’Tomorrow I will head to Abuja then ‘’ I muttered with a smile.

———————————————–

Later in the night as I was about falling asleep, my phone rang and it was Pamela calling me for the first time since I broke up with her. I stared at the ringing phone for a while before answering the call.
Luckily the night was one of those nights Tracy insisted on sleeping in her room and I really was grateful for it because I still had a lot to talk with Pamela.

‘’listen Jude, I really don’t want to be hard on you. No matter what happened in the past, I still love you and you are going to be the father of my child. I think you should keep aside your pride and come over to Abuja for us to talk. I didn’t get pregnant to punish you or to force myself on you. I got pregnant for a reason. I got pregnant because I’m obliged to have a baby at all cost and I couldn’t help but allow a man I love the most to father the child for me. We really have a lot to talk. Just come over to Abuja. You have nothing to fear’’ she preached softly.

‘’fine, I will be there tomorrow evening. I will take a flight to Abuja tomorrow’’ I agreed softly.

‘’ Just alert me when you touch down at the airport. I will come pick you up’’ she added and hung up, leaving me with my thoughts.

Abuja , Nigeria
By 6:23pm the next evening, I was in a black Hilux truck Pamela sent to pick me from the airport. At first I was nervous when the driver walked up to me but his friendly smile and Igbo language made me loosen up.
In no time we arrived at Pamela’s house. A very cute bungalow built with high taste.
Of course I was scared as I alighted from the truck. I never expected to find myself there. I thought we were meeting at a hotel or guest house.

Pamela soon appeared, smiling happily.

‘’welcome to my house Jude’’ she greeted proudly while I stared at her suspiciously. But I said nothing nor made any protest until we were all alone in the sitting room.

‘’why bring me here?. This is your matrimonial house right?’’ I asked nervously.

‘’oh come on Jude! Does this lonely house look like the house a serving senator resides in?’’ she asked, leaving me silent.

‘’I live here all alone with my security and driver. I already told you there are many things about me you are yet to know’’ she explained with a smile, leaving me to wonder if she’s actually a senator’s wife or a senator’s mistress. Moreover she revealed the previous night that she needed a child at all cost.

‘’what really is she up to?. I pray I don’t burn in hell with her’’ I pondered as I prayed silently.

Episode 29

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

‘’I prepared something delicious for you. Let’s go to the dining table or do you want to first freshen up?’’ Pamela asked, trying hard to make me feel at home but unfortunately my mind was far from being at ease. All I wanted was to reach a good compromise with her. I just couldn’t bear the idea of her having my first child.

‘’I didn’t come here to freshen up or to eat. I came for something serious. You are not having my child, are you?’’ I asked coldly. She laughed and shook her head.

‘’you know most times guys always like playing the victim when it comes to issues concerning unwanted pregnancy. I really don’t understand why you are trying to look innocent. You very well knew my marital status, yet you had the mind to approach and make countless love to me without protection. The result of our action pops up and you finally remember that I’m not worthy of you. We really have a lot to talk Jude. I advice you calm down, let’s go to the dining room. We will talk after dinner’’ she said softly, flashing an annoying smile while I slowly calmed down.
Of course she was very right with what we just said. She wasn’t to be blamed for what we did together.

@the dining table

I nervously ate the fried rice she served me halfheartedly. My mind was just so occupied with many thoughts. I couldn’t help but realize that moment that my journey to Abuja was nothing but useless. Pamela had her plans already figured out and my visit was never going to change a thing.
‘’dear lord I’m just being more stupid with each passing moment. What is wrong with me?. Why can’t I think things before acting?’’ I prayed and pondered in my mind.
I really was so pathetic and silly. I couldn’t believe it was all happening. It looked more of a dream to me than reality.

Pamela soon reached out to hold my left hand.

‘’Jude you shouldn’t look so worried. I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess. The last thing I would do is to hurt you. Nevertheless you have to listen to what I have to say and support me’’ she breathed softly. I stared at her, saying nothing.

‘’I grew up in the worst kind of family a child would ever have. My Nigerian father so much abused my mum, to the extent of strangling her before my eyes. He ended up with a life sentence in the states and I had to grow up in three different homes. I won’t bore you with my childhood tales but you have to know that I did anything to survive back then until I met my husband the senator. A friend actually introduced me to him for a one night stand but he ended up falling in love with me. He got me a new apartment, brushed me up and changed my life. He finally had to ask me to convert to his religion and marry him. My friends all encouraged me to go on with him but I never loved him. The only attraction he had was his money. I was advised to marry him, have a child for him and get a divorce after some months. Unfortunately it was all easier said than done. After the quiet marriage, he tried making me part of his household but his wife and children were far from being accommodative. They tried every trick to get me out of the house until the old man had no choice than to get me this house. He couldn’t even get me pregnant and that’s my only ticket to freedom and equally the main reason I needed you. You have all the features I want my son’s father to have.
What’s left for me to do now is to convince the senator that I’m pregnant for him. He still loves me and I already have made good use of the opportunity to milk him very much. I will have my child in the states and I will never come back to Nigeria. The old man will only learn the truth when I decide. So nothing you will ever say to me will make me to lose your child. The best you can do is to leave the country with me. We can start all over. I have more than enough money for that. Of course I know you won’t allow your child to grow up without knowing you’’ she slowly opened up, leaving me feeling so sick and nauseous. I just didn’t know what to say or how to react.

‘’so you are using my child for a dangerous game. You just don’t know what you are getting yourself into. You can’t play a politician and live to tell the story’’ I muttered, dropping my eyes.

‘’moreover I still find it hard to believe your story’’ I added, frowning deeply.

‘’tomorrow is my birthday. I will be twenty seven tomorrow. How about we make plans’’ she suddenly changed the topic as if we were done with the current situation. I sprang up furiously.

‘’I will never be part of your games. Not anymore. I’m leaving’’ I shouted at her.

‘’you can’t be serious’’ she replied, smiling and licking her lips.

‘’I have enough money. I can lodge in any hotel’’ I barked seriously, heading out of the dining room.

‘’there is someone I will like you to meet. She told me something strange when I asked her to check you out. Your life could be in danger Jude’’ she suddenly muttered, stopping me with her words. I turned and faced her seriously.

‘’are you trying to play another trick on me?’’ I asked. She scoffed and shrugged.

‘’I’m not begging you to stay back. You can leave if you want to’’ she breathed and stood up with a drawn face. I stared at her suspiciously, not knowing the right decision to take.

‘’The lady told me that the same wind that blew your father away is now dangerously hovering above you’’ she added, eyed me and headed out of the dining room while I stood still like a palm tree.
I felt she was trying to get in my head. I felt she was trying to use my weak point against me. I felt she was playing a mind game on me but still I was very curious to know the meaning of what she just said. I couldn’t just leave after what she said about my life being in danger.
———————————

Kelvin’s side of the story continues (same evening)

I was driving out of Joe’s gym when my phone rang and it was Jessica calling. I smiled as I answered her call.

‘’Hi dear. Guess where I’m?’’ she said sweetly,

‘’hmmm tell me’’ I begged.

‘’I’m in front of your house’’ she answered.

‘’oh dear me, I will be home in few minutes’’ I replied, smiling broadly.

‘’I’m waiting, better hurry’’ she added and hung up.
I smiled to myself as I sped up. Jessica was nothing but a she devil. I just couldn’t have enough of her.

On getting to my house, she came forward and hugged me, softening my heart tremendously.

‘’I prepared a special bean-cake (moi moi) at home and I had to bring it over here for us to eat together. It actually took me all evening to prepare but the stress is worth it’’ she said happily, pecking me. I swallowed hard with great eagerness. I couldn’t wait to have the delicious meal. The last time I ate such food was two years ago in the village.

In no time we were enjoying the super delicious bean-cake with pap mixed with milk. I really felt like proposing to her that moment. Of course the fastest way to most men’s heart is through the stomach.

‘’I have something to ask of you?’’ she suddenly breathed when we were done with the meal.

‘’what is it you want?’’ I asked curiously.

‘’I want you to introduce me to your cousin Jude’’ she demanded, leaving me totally stunned.

I almost choked with surprise.

Episode 30

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
——————————————–

‘’what’s up with your interest in my cousin Jude?. Do you know his late father?. Is there anything you are not telling me?’’ I asked Jessica, searching her reaction. She smiled and shrugged.

‘’I feel that you don’t want your family to know about me. You don’t tell me anything about them and your body language is not like that of a guy who wants to take our relationship to the next level’’ she answered softly while I breathed deeply.
I really wasn’t expecting such reply from her. I had expected my question to throw her off balance but she answered it quickly and innocently as if she had nothing else in mind. If actually she wanted to meet Jude for another motive, it never showed on her.

‘’how do you think, introducing you to my cousin will change my body language?’’ I asked.

‘’At least knowing one person from your family will assure me that you are not a ghost’’ she answered with a smile.

‘’fine, by next weekend, Jude and I will have dinner at your place. Hope you are cool with it?’’ I offered, leaving a very satisfying smile on her face.
If really she was planning something bad for my cousin, it failed to show on her.

—————————–

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

—————————–

‘’what exactly did the lady tell you about my life?. I hope you are not trying to play with my head?’’ I asked Pamela as I followed her to the kitchen. She scoffed, turned and faced me.

‘’what will I gain by playing with head. You are free to leave. You act like a little kid and I feel so sick being with you sometimes’’ she answered coldly, eyed me and faced the dishes she was about washing.
I silently watched her for a while, uncertain of what to do next. She really seemed very serious with the information she gave me but then it equally looked like a ploy to stop me from leaving.

‘’can you tell me about the lady?’’ I demanded but she kept quiet, saying nothing to me.

‘’please I beg of you. Who is the lady and how did she know me?’’ I begged breathlessly. She turned, stared at me for a while and smiled.

‘’don’t get so colored up. You are not dying tonight. I will tell you everything you need to know later in the night’’ she said softly. I shrugged with resignation.

——————

I ended up spending the night at her place and it really was a very long and memorable one for me. Pamela and I had a lot to discuss and yes we had a very long talk.

‘’so tell me about your new girlfriend?’’ she asked as she settled down beside me on her bed. I smiled to myself as Tracy’s image appeared in my head.

‘’her name is Tracy. She has everything I need in a woman. She is beautiful, intelligent and down to earth’’ I answered softly. Pamela breathed deeply, drew closer and placed her head on my chest.

‘’we have been through a lot together and she trusts me so much’’ I added proudly.

‘’do you have her picture on your phone?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’yes’’ I answered, reached for my phone and opened the picture gallery. Together we went through Tracy’s pictures.

‘’she is very beautiful’’ she confessed.

‘’yes and I’m very proud of her’’ I answered proudly.

‘’so are you going to tell her about us?’’ she suddenly asked, shocking me with the question.

‘’no I can’t’’ I breathed quickly.

‘’but you have to. Sooner or later she’s bound to find out and if you are really serious about her, I think the best thing to do is to open up to her yourself’’ she softly advised while I eyed her angrily.

‘’you are a lady and you know a young girl like her will break up with me on learning of our illicit affair. The great love and trust she has for me won’t stop her from walking away.’’ I replied with a slightly raised tone.

‘’okay fine, just do your thing the way you want’’ she muttered with resignation.

‘’right now, I feel like strangling you. I feel like resetting my life. You came into my life to ruin me. I’m really far from happy with you’’ I confessed.

‘’so do you still want to hear about the lady I told you about or not?’’ she suddenly asked, changing the topic.

‘’so tell me about her. That’s the main reason I stayed back’’ I muttered. She smiled and sat up.

‘’she is a very powerful spiritualist. She has been giving me spiritual guidance ever since I came to this country and never for once has she failed me. She sees the future and sometimes can manipulate one’s destiny. A friend actually introduced her to me and you can’t believe her clientele ranges from young girls, politicians, government contractors, and even pastors. She has a special way of offering prayers’’ she slowly explained while I laughed.

‘’I really don’t believe in that stuff. There are a lot of them in my area’’ I said, smiling with disbelief.

‘’before we had the first s-x, I scanned your picture and gave to her to check if we were compatible. After her prayers, she told me you are going to be my child’s father but may end up not seeing the child.’’ She narrated softly.

‘’when I pressed her further, she told me that an evil wind is circling round you, the same wind that took away your father.’’ She added, putting a little fear in my heart with her words. I swallowed hard, unable to say anything.
Of course I knew most spiritualists were nothing but fraudsters but then I equally knew that most of them were good at predicting ugly events.

‘’if you still doubt me, tomorrow I will take you to her. Perhaps she will have something new to tell you’’ she added and smiled reassuringly, leaving me deep in thought whether to go with her to see the woman or not.

‘’Jude there is no doubt your life is in danger. Trust me. The last thing I will do is to hurt you because I so much wish for my child’s father to live a very long life’’ she pressed further, totally convincing me.

To be continued

Episode 31

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————————–

‘’how about we make love?’’ Pamela suddenly demanded, pulled up her night wear and climbed over me seductively. I swallowed hard as I stared at her tempting body. I never suspected she was unclad underneath, until she pulled up her night wear that very moment.

‘’I’m not in the mood. I want to sleep’’ I lied, trying hard to look responsible while deep down my body was already responding to the sight of her seductive body.

‘’I’m already pregnant. So there is nothing to lose. Relax’’ she pushed, slowly went for my d—k, drew down my shorts and suc.ked it with great energy. Her mouth and tongue were just made for the stuff J .

We ended up making love once again. I had no one but myself to blame for having s-x with Pamela that fateful night. I just couldn’t hold myself from doing it with her not minding the problems ahead. Perhaps I easily got in the mood because the last time I had s-x was weeks ago and it was already telling on me.
Yes I enjoyed every bit of it as it lasted but immediately after the deed my conscience flogged me. I began feeling regret and nauseous.

————————–

The next morning, I woke up to see Pamela smiling with her eyes on me. I yawned and sat up, returning her gaze.

‘’you know my greatest prayer is for us to have a happy family. I can’t imagine how it would feel, waking up every morning in your arms. I never believed in love until I met you and now it’s making me look stupid’’ she breathed softly. I kept quiet. Of course I couldn’t figure out what to say.

‘’you can’t even wish me a happy birthday’’ she suddenly complained with a sigh. I smiled, drew close and gave her a surprising kiss.

‘’happy birthday dear’’ I muttered sweetly, leaving her blushing with delight.

‘’so what are your plans for today?. Do you still wish to see the woman I told you about or should we plan something for my birthday?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’I’m going back to where I came from today. I think I will first like to see the woman before heading back to my state’’ I answered.

‘’okay cool. I guess I will have to sacrifice my birthday celebration for you.’’ She muttered with resignation.

——————————————

By 10am, we were on our way to Suleja to meet the overhyped spiritualist. I really never believed in such stuff but sometimes that are things that could lead one into doing something out of curiosity. I had nothing to lose seeing the lady and so had to accept going with Pamela to see her.
Pamela equally insisted we go in the morning in order to be attended to on time. According to her, the place was always filled up with people searching for answers to their problems.

11am, we arrived at the big house where the spiritualist resided. The house really looked like every other house in the neighborhood, though bigger in shape and size.
Just like Pamela said, there were lots of people, especially young girls waiting to be attended to. And I couldn’t help but wonder the kind of problem they were all having.

‘’I have to go book our presence’’ Pamela whispered to me as I settled down on an empty chair. She left seconds after to speak with a lady who was holding something like a register in one of the open rooms.

She returned minutes later with a smile on her face.
‘’we will have to wait some minutes for our turn’’ she said, sitting beside me.

We ended up spending close to an hour before being invited into the main room, where an old woman dressed like a devoted Muslim was seated on a mat. Pamela graciously sat before her and I equally did the same.

‘’Zainab what brings you here today?’’ the old woman asked Pamela who smiled and nodded at me.

‘’I brought my friend to see you. He wants answers’’ she replied softly. The old lady left her eyes on me for some seconds before giving me an ointment to rub on my eyes.

‘’now hold my hands and close your eyes’’ she said, offering her hands. I silently obeyed and did like she demanded. She soon started speaking in a foreign language.

In few seconds, I felt as if I was drowning. I felt as if someone was trying to rip my heart off. I really didn’t know how the woman did the trick. Perhaps it was the ointment I rubbed on my eyes that made me feel that way.

‘’your future is very much clouded, but you can still change it for good. Trust no one but her. Trust no one but her’’ the old woman breathed with a slightly raised tone, releasing my hands with great energy.
I opened my eyes to see Pamela smiling with satisfaction while the old woman’s words played back in my head.

‘’Trust no one but her. Unfortunately I couldn’t comprehend because i had two women in my life. Tracy and Pamela,

To be continued

[Edoman]

Episode 31

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————————–

‘’how about we make love?’’ Pamela suddenly demanded, pulled up her night wear and climbed over me seductively. I swallowed hard as I stared at her tempting body. I never suspected she was unclad underneath, until she pulled up her night wear that very moment.

‘’I’m not in the mood. I want to sleep’’ I lied, trying hard to look responsible while deep down my body was already responding to the sight of her seductive body.

‘’I’m already pregnant. So there is nothing to lose. Relax’’ she pushed, slowly went for my d—k, drew down my shorts and suc.ked it with great energy. Her mouth and tongue were just made for the stuff J .

We ended up making love once again. I had no one but myself to blame for having s-x with Pamela that fateful night. I just couldn’t hold myself from doing it with her not minding the problems ahead. Perhaps I easily got in the mood because the last time I had s-x was weeks ago and it was already telling on me.
Yes I enjoyed every bit of it as it lasted but immediately after the deed my conscience flogged me. I began feeling regret and nauseous.

————————–

The next morning, I woke up to see Pamela smiling with her eyes on me. I yawned and sat up, returning her gaze.

‘’you know my greatest prayer is for us to have a happy family. I can’t imagine how it would feel, waking up every morning in your arms. I never believed in love until I met you and now it’s making me look stupid’’ she breathed softly. I kept quiet. Of course I couldn’t figure out what to say.

‘’you can’t even wish me a happy birthday’’ she suddenly complained with a sigh. I smiled, drew close and gave her a surprising kiss.

‘’happy birthday dear’’ I muttered sweetly, leaving her blushing with delight.

‘’so what are your plans for today?. Do you still wish to see the woman I told you about or should we plan something for my birthday?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’I’m going back to where I came from today. I think I will first like to see the woman before heading back to my state’’ I answered.

‘’okay cool. I guess I will have to sacrifice my birthday celebration for you.’’ She muttered with resignation.

——————————————

By 10am, we were on our way to Suleja to meet the overhyped spiritualist. I really never believed in such stuff but sometimes that are things that could lead one into doing something out of curiosity. I had nothing to lose seeing the lady and so had to accept going with Pamela to see her.
Pamela equally insisted we go in the morning in order to be attended to on time. According to her, the place was always filled up with people searching for answers to their problems.

11am, we arrived at the big house where the spiritualist resided. The house really looked like every other house in the neighborhood, though bigger in shape and size.
Just like Pamela said, there were lots of people, especially young girls waiting to be attended to. And I couldn’t help but wonder the kind of problem they were all having.

‘’I have to go book our presence’’ Pamela whispered to me as I settled down on an empty chair. She left seconds after to speak with a lady who was holding something like a register in one of the open rooms.

She returned minutes later with a smile on her face.
‘’we will have to wait some minutes for our turn’’ she said, sitting beside me.

We ended up spending close to an hour before being invited into the main room, where an old woman dressed like a devoted Muslim was seated on a mat. Pamela graciously sat before her and I equally did the same.

‘’Zainab what brings you here today?’’ the old woman asked Pamela who smiled and nodded at me.

‘’I brought my friend to see you. He wants answers’’ she replied softly. The old lady left her eyes on me for some seconds before giving me an ointment to rub on my eyes.

‘’now hold my hands and close your eyes’’ she said, offering her hands. I silently obeyed and did like she demanded. She soon started speaking in a foreign language.

In few seconds, I felt as if I was drowning. I felt as if someone was trying to rip my heart off. I really didn’t know how the woman did the trick. Perhaps it was the ointment I rubbed on my eyes that made me feel that way.

‘’your future is very much clouded, but you can still change it for good. Trust no one but her. Trust no one but her’’ the old woman breathed with a slightly raised tone, releasing my hands with great energy.
I opened my eyes to see Pamela smiling with satisfaction while the old woman’s words played back in my head.

‘’Trust no one but her. Unfortunately I couldn’t comprehend because i had two women in my life. Tracy and Pamela,

Episode 32

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————————–

‘’so what now?’’ Pamela asked as we headed back to her house minutes later. I shook my head and shrugged silently. The events of the past few days were really getting on me. I never imagined my life would be so dramatic. I just had a lot to resolve and the funniest thing was that I had no idea on how to tackle them.

‘’I will take a night bus back to my school. I never planned staying this long. I have a lot to do in school’’ I replied softly.

‘’that means you won’t be staying for my birthday celebration tonight?’’ she asked after few minutes of silent. I gave her a very long searching look.

‘’you have a husband and I think he is in the best position to celebrate with you. Moreover I still find it a bit odd on how you courageously brought me to your home without minding that your husband or any of his aides could show up at the house’’ I muttered searchingly. She kept quiet and never said another word until we got to her house later in the day.

—————————-

I took a night bus back to Owerri that fateful evening. My head, my conscience, everything was in complete disarray. I had no solid plans for my future and I couldn’t help but wonder how my life would turn out in the coming years.
Tracy was the only good thing I had. The only good thing I could boast of having, but then I knew our relationship could end any moment. I knew my affair with Pamela would burst out fairly soon and I knew Tracy would never forgive or continue with our relationship once that happens. Everything has its boundary, including love.
It really was my entire fault. I was too stupid to be carried away by lust and the price was about costing me my future, my happiness.

‘’God help me’’ I prayed as the bus sped into the night.

————————

I got to my hostel by 6:05am the next morning and first headed to Tracy’s room to check on her. I met my girl depressed and moody. At first my heart jumped out of guilt but I carefully controlled my nerves.

‘’you don’t look too happy to see me. What’s wrong?’’ I asked breathlessly.

‘’my mother called yesterday night to inform me that the manager of the company I applied for my industrial training in Enugu wants me to resume in two days. And I have no choice than to travel home today. We may end up not seeing each other for three months or more’’ she muttered solemnly, relieving the tension in me with her words. I breathed deeply, smiled and hugged her.

‘’I can be visiting every weekend. Enugu isn’t very far from here’’ I reassured her softly.

‘’I know but secondly I keep having this nightmares, especially whenever I sleep alone. I just can’t explain it but I have this fear that our relationship will not last long. Maybe my head is just playing tricks on me or something. But the fear is so strong. I don’t know why I feel this way’’ she complained while I closed my eyes, held her and kissed her forehead.

‘’ I already know everything about you and I don’t think there is anything that can break us up. I don’t just know. Maybe I’m going crazy or maybe I feel this way because it’s my first relationship’’ she continued like a terrified child. I softly caressed her back, bent and kissed her neck.

Deep down I was scared as well. I had many secrets. My life of crime with Kelvin and my unwanted child with Pamela were one hell of a secret that could blow up any moment and my poor Tracy was just in the middle of it.

‘’nothing will ever break us apart my love. We have just one year to graduate and another year for our youth service. We will get married and head over to the states to start a family. There is nothing to fear. Nothing could possibly happen to break us up in two years’’ I reassured her softly. She looked up at me with eyes filled with love, care and hope. I swallowed hard and looked away with guilt.

‘’dear lord, I don’t want to lose her’’ I prayed.

————————————————-

Kelvin’s side of the story continues
4pm, same day.
—————–

I was busy with my computer, arranging and setting up formats for a new deal I planned pulling with Jude when Jessica walked into my sitting room with a very serious look. I wasn’t expecting her because she never told me she was coming over and the frown on her face gave a bad signal to me.

‘’please who are you exactly?. Why did you show up in my life?’’ she asked, throwing me off balance with the question. I stood up and searched her with my eyes. I just couldn’t say a word because I really didn’t know from which angle she was coming with the questions.

‘’cut the innocent look my friend. I told you when we met for the first time that I worked in a bank, a big bank for that matter. I equally told you I knew many people. Do you think I won’t check up on you or on your source of wealth?. I now know for a fact that you are not into any transport business but the curious thing is that your bank accounts keep growing from suspicious transactions and deposits. I did a lot of digging up. I even know the bank officials that approve your transactions. So my question remains, why me?. Why did you appear in my life?. I want answers now?’’ she demanded furiously. I shook my head with disbelief.

‘’how the hell did you get my bank details?. Are you sure you know what you are talking about?’’ I stammered, visibly shaken. She scoffed and eyed me.

‘’I guess you underestimated me?. You better talk now my friend. I never got to this level in my life by being a dunce. Everyone has a skeleton to hide but yours is way too much Kelvin. Why are you into my life?’’ she demanded furiously, waiting for answers I wasn’t ready to give.

However one thing was certain, Jessica was much more than what I thought her to be and I couldn’t help but feel that she was getting ahead of me in the game. She could end up roping me to a corner and sending me to the gallows.

Episode 33

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————–

‘’I don’t know the basis of your suspicion. Is it a crime to fall in love with you?. Have I ever done anything that suggests that I could be into you for another reason?’’ I asked with a bold outburst. Jessica scoffed and eyed me.

‘’yes I did one or two deals in the past to get rich but that was in the past. I really don’t feel comfortable with you right now. Perhaps I got it all wrong by thinking I could start a new life with you’’ I added with energy. She kept quiet, keenly studying me.
My heart throbbed loud as I desperately thought of the next words to say. I never expected such confrontation from her and I knew I was in a tight fix.
I badly needed to turn things around with my words but unfortunately Jessica did her homework very well and a little miscalculation on my part could make things worse.

‘’you just said everyone has a skeleton hidden somewhere. If I should start digging into your past, I know I will dig out something nasty. But the past always belongs to the past. Nigeria is a very tough country to survive in and without extreme measures you can’t survive or live a fulfilled life. What matters is how we atone for our sins. Believe me It isn’t easy for me. I came to your life to seek happiness, to seek peace, to start all over. I will never do anything to hurt you. Believe me’’ I poured out solemnly. She took a step closer and smiled for the first time.

‘’I feel at ease now. I believe you. Let’s just forget about the past but if in any way I discover that you are using me for a devilish agenda, I won’t hesitate turning you to the police or to the EFCC.’’ She muttered with a soft voice, but her words to me sounded more like a threat. I nodded in agreement, breathing deeply.
She surprisingly drew closer and hugged me.

‘’I’m sorry for being a bit aggressive. I was only protecting my interest’’ she apologized softly.

‘’I guess you are still coming over with Jude on Saturday?’’ she asked.

‘’yes I’m’’ I answered softly.

—————————————

Jessica left minutes after, leaving shaken and a bit scared. Of course I knew she was capable of reporting me to the cops. I equally knew she could still be spying on me. I had to come up with another plan. I had to dig into her past as well. It really was so unfortunate that I deviated from my main purpose of approaching her all because of love or perhaps lust.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I battled with my thoughts as I weighed every possible means of digging into Jessica’s past. She really was very good at hiding things and I was slowly realizing that behind her cheerful smile and acts, she equally was a very ruthless lady, capable of doing anything to protect her interest.

‘’jeez, how which direction do I take?’’ I wondered miserably.

———————————–

Early the next day, I headed to Joe’s gym to open my fears to my friend who listened patiently as I narrated the events of the previous day to him.

‘’hmmmm Jessica is very smart. The lady was into you the moment you stepped foot into her life but you thought you had the game all figured out, giving her ample time to dig around you. I really don’t fancy your position right now because she has already dug around you. Any step you take might end up getting you in a pit’’ he muttered carefully.

‘’so what do you think?’’ I asked nervously.

‘’I think she knows more than she told you yesterday. She probably knows about your possible plan with your cousin and I believe she stayed back to use you to achieve her aim or maybe she also is in love with you and can’t afford losing you no matter what’’ he added seriously.

‘’so what now?’’ I asked.

‘’simply keep calm and wait’’ he suggested.

————————————————————–

Jude’s side of the story continues
Same day
———–

I woke up feeling so bored and a bit angry. I wasn’t prepared for Tracy’s departure the previous day and I had no choice than to start making my own plans.

‘’I have to see Kelvin today. He once promised to link me up with a drug manufacturing company for my industrial training. I have no choice than to stick with him now’’ I reasoned as the scene I witnessed weeks ago in his house annoyingly played back in my head.

‘’I must find a way to confront Jessica on my own. I can’t keep waiting for Kelvin to act on it’’ I made up my mind.

By 12noon, My phone rang and it was Kelvin calling.

‘’hey bro, can you come over to my house right now?’’ he asked.

‘’yes I will be there in an hour’’ I answered softly.

————————
An hour later, @kelvin’s house

I walked into Kelvin’s sitting room, to see him busy with his computer. He instantly smiled on seeing me.

‘’thank God you are here. We have a new million dollar deal on the way’’ he announced happily. I forced out a smile as I settled beside him.

‘’so what’s up with you and school work?’’ he asked with concern.

‘’I’m still looking for a placement for my I.T’’ I answered.

‘’that shouldn’t be a problem. I will link you up with the guy I promised you sometime back. The only problem is that his company is located at Aba’’ he offered seriously.

‘’oh thanks, the location doesn’t matter’’ I thanked him with a smile.

‘’Jessica wants us to have dinner at her place. I don’t know how you feel about it but I think we are going to make progress with it’’ he softly mentioned, studying me keenly.

‘’that’s cool. I can’t wait to share the same table with her’’ I plainly answered without wasting any time, leaving my cousin totally surprised.
I bet he wasn’t expecting such quick answer from me and I knew he must be wondering what I really was up to.

I just couldn’t wait to be close to the lady who knew a lot about my father’s dead.

Episode 34

Jude’s side of the story continues
——————

Yes I was totally excited over the news Kelvin broke to me. I just couldn’t wait to have a one on one conversation with Jessica. My head was just filled with many ideas and thoughts.

‘’please I won’t want you to act arrogantly before Jessica. Just be civil with her. I already have things planned out and I still want you to leave the questions and investigation for me to handle’’ Kelvin begged after breaking the news to me.

Of course I accepted all his terms to put his mind at rest but I wasn’t ready to continue trusting him over Jessica’s issue. I had to make my own plans and get my own act together.

Early the next day, I headed to Aba to meet Kelvin’s friend for my I.T placement. I almost spent all day at the noisy city but it was worth the effort at the end. I returned later in the evening very happy to have settled that part of my life.

I returned to my hostel to continue with my plans for Jessica. I planned confronting her with a whole lot of questions. I planned throwing to her face that I knew she was with my father the day he died. I planned giving her opportunity to spill out the truth or have me and the law to deal with.
I already had wasted enough time waiting for Kelvin to act and her body language on Saturday was going to determine for me whether to press charges on her or not.
I had enough money to get the police to my side, I had enough money to take my case to court and if possible get a search warrant to go through her things.

Yes I knew my plans were quiet ambitious for a boy of my age and it could lead to a fierce quarrel between Kelvin and I but I was a very desperate boy who wanted nothing but closure on his father’s death and I knew I could end up losing the little money I had over it. I could end up running to Pamela for financial aid but I felt it was worth the sacrifice to get to the root of my father’s death.

————————

Friday evening, I called my Tracy to speak with her like I always did everyday but to my surprise her mother answered her phone, leaving me a bit shocked as I heard her voice.

‘’Tracy was involved in a car accident hours ago. She can’t speak to you right now’’ the old woman informed me. I couldn’t believe my ears. I couldn’t even talk for some seconds.

‘’what??’’ I shouted.

‘’there is nothing to worry about. She is in a stable condition. I believe by tomorrow you will be able to speak with her’’ she muttered to calm me down.

‘’so where is she right now?’’ I asked.

‘’we are at the national orthopedic hospital. Her left leg got fractured a little’’ she answered, leaving me so scared.

‘’I will be there tomorrow morning’’ I promised after few seconds of silence.

‘’is it necessary?’’ she asked.

‘’of course it is. I will be there first thing tomorrow’’ I breathed strongly.

‘’very well then, when you get to Enugu, put a call through. I will send someone to pick you up’’ she promised and hung up, leaving me with my thoughts.

‘’dear lord, I hope her leg injury won’t be a permanent one’’ I prayed solemnly.

———————————-

Very early the next day, which was Saturday, I headed straight to Enugu to see my Tracy. I couldn’t sleep the previous night and I couldn’t even get myself to eat before embarking on the long journey. All that was in my mind was to see my girl.

By 12noon, I was already at the hospital, holding Tracy’s hand with great concern. The poor girl never believed her eyes when she saw me.

‘’my mum is very wicked. She never told me you were coming’’ she breathed with great happiness while her mum who was watching us from a distance smiled to herself. I couldn’t get myself to smile. I just was so concerned over her state of health.

‘’a fast moving bus collided with a taxi I took yesterday. I was in the front seat and I got the impact of the collision on my legs. It’s just a minor fracture but mum won’t let me go home yet. She wants the best specialist to give my legs a hundred percent before we go home’’ she explained softly.

‘’when I called yesterday and mum told me you were involved in an accident, I almost fainted with fear’’ I said calmly. She laughed.

‘’hmmmm I never knew you cared so much’’ She breathed with great love while I stared into her eyes. My phone rang that moment, taking away my attention. It was Kelvin calling and as soon as I saw his name on my phone screen, I instantly remembered our date with Jessica.

‘’how far where are you?’’ he asked.

‘’I’m sorry bro, I can’t make it again today. I’m currently in Enugu,. My friend had an accident yesterday and I’m there to be with her’’ I informed him. He kept silent for a while.

‘’you could have told me and saved me the worry’’ he breathed and hung up.

———————————

Kelvin’s side of the story continues
I really didn’t know whether to feel relived or disappointed when Jude told me he wasn’t going to show up again. In fact I just was in the middle of the two emotions.
I really was never comfortable with the plan of showing up at Jessica’s house with him. Moreover the way he acted when I told him about Jessica’s request gave me a lot to worry about. So hearing that he wasn’t going to make it after all, really set my heart temporarily at rest.

————–

I got to Jessica house at exactly 6:15pm that fateful Saturday a bit nervous. I planned using the opportunity Jude’s absence created to directly confront her for the first time without mincing words.

Jessica wasn’t really happy to see me all alone. She searched me with her eyes the moment I walked into her sitting room.

‘’how about your cousin?. I thought you were bringing him along?’’ she asked curiously. I shrugged.

‘’he had an emergency and had to travel to Enugu this morning’’ I answered.

‘’hmmmmm. Should I believe that?’’ she asked arrogantly.

‘’I really don’t care what you believe my dear. I have passed the stage of lying over such a trivial matter. However I have some questions for you’’ I said with a soft smile while she drew back with surprise over my boldness.

‘’my cousin, told me something that I still find hard to believe. He said before his father died, that he told him about a lady known as Jessica Simon, who was handling many of his projects. According to him, his father planned making the lady his step mother and even shared one of her pictures with him’’ I said softly, studying her reaction..

‘’the day he walked in on us, he told me you looked very much like the lady in question. I don’t know why he was so sure but now you are my woman and your life and happiness matters a lot to me. You told me days ago that you ran a background check on me and I feel you equally did the same on my family. And if that’s the case, I believe you equally know a lot about my cousin Jude. So tell me, have you dealt with the boy’s father before?’’ I asked calmly but seriously, giving her room to trust me and open up with a clear conscience. She surprisingly colored up, breathed deeply and nodded.

‘’yes I knew Jude’s father’’ she finally admitted.

Episode 35

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

‘’The first time you told me your surname and village, I was scared you were after me. I thought you knew a lot about me and I decided to play along to know how much you knew about me. But now I don’t just know how to act anymore’’ Jessica breathed, turned and backed. I breathed deeply, drew close and held her by the waist.

‘’you have to tell me everything. There isn’t any need hiding such an open secret’’ I urged her softly.

‘’I met Jude’s father during my early years as a banker. He really trusted me with a whole lot of things and I never failed him. I virtually took charge of his account, till I left the banking sector to start my own business. We still maintained the cordial business relationship and I ran numerous errands for him with my establishment. When he returned to the country earlier in the year, he asked me to get a new contractor for his building project in the village because the old contractor wasn’t delivering like he wanted. I had to go down to the village with him and after seeing the house, he asked me to wait for him to see his brothers and I obliged for some hours but had to leave when it was getting late. The next day I heard he was dead and I just couldn’t get myself to show up at his burial even though it hurt my conscience’’ she narrated convincingly. However I couldn’t help but notice some loopholes in her story.

‘’so you never had an affair with him?’’ I asked. She turned and faced me with a deeply colored face.

‘’of course not. We just were friends and nothing more. I was surprised when you said he showed my picture to his son’’ she answered softly. I breathed deeply.

‘’Jude is planning to start up a formal investigation on his father’s dead. I hope you can tell the police all you just told me because it looks as if you were the last person seen with him before his death?’’ I asked. She nodded slowly

‘’yes I won’t mind telling the police all I know but I don’t want to be involved in the case. Just find a way to keep me off it. I beg of you. Now is time to prove that you really love me’’ she suddenly demanded, taking me aback with her demand.

‘’Yes I really don’t want to be involved in any of it. Remember I kept quiet and believed you after finding out the kind of life you have been living?. I believed you because I love you. I hope you will reciprocate by protecting me?’’ she asked, leaving me stunned and a bit uncomfortable.

‘’since you are innocent, you have nothing to fear’’ I muttered weakly.

‘’you don’t understand how this country works. I’m a very wealthy young lady. The police can easily bring up a theory and rope me in with motive. I want none of it and you have to protect me. I didn’t kill the man. I have no reason to’’ she pushed on, leaving me totally confused and speechless..

‘’I will see what I can do’’ I weakly promised.

————————-

I headed back to my house after a quiet dinner with Jessica. Of course I had a lot to figure out. I had a decision to make. She sounded so convincing and innocent but then deep down I felt she was still hiding something. I felt she didn’t tell me all she knew about my uncle. Perhaps she wasn’t directly responsible but could know what really led to the man’s death. Unfortunately I knew I had no choice than to find a way to conclude my investigation without involving the police or telling Jude everything I knew.

It was something I had to do, not because of my strong feelings towards Jessica but as a leverage to protect myself.
Yes she knew a lot about my criminal life and if things go wrongly could drag me down with her.

There wasn’t any doubt Jude’s father was murdered but supposing Jessica was actually telling the truth, it then meant that my uncle’s murderer was still free out there.

——

I returned to my house around 8pm, to see Cynthia waiting for me. I was so surprised to see her in my house by that hour. I equally haven’t seen her in a long while and her presence kind of left me totally shocked.

‘’What the hell!’’ I exclaimed as my eyes fell on her abdomen which really was bigger than it used to be. I could help but have silly ideas in my head as I faced her.

‘’aren’t you happy to see me?’’ she asked with a calm disgusting smile.

To be continued

 


Episode 36

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

—-

‘’what the hell are you doing here by this hour?’’ I managed to ask as my eyes fell on her abdomen. She shrugged and smiled.

‘’I guess you aren’t happy to see me after such a long while?’’ she breathed, drawing closer to me. I took a step backwards as if I was scared of her touching me.

‘’I can’t believe you had to mind to avoid me for almost a month. You never bothered to call or even to leave a text message’’ she complained softly.

‘’I have been very busy lately. As you can see I just came back from a very tight schedule and please you can come over tomorrow. I’m tired’’ I breathed a bit coldly. She shook her head bitterly.

‘’I’m pregnant. Three months pregnant’’ she suddenly muttered, leaving me speechless for a while. I couldn’t believe my ears. I felt like killing her that moment but as a cool guy, I held my temper and smiled.

‘’congrats. When the baby is out, kindly inform me’’ I replied and took a step towards my room. She quickly grabbed my left hand, stopping me.

‘’so that’s all you have to say huh?. You are so despicable. You have no atom of human feeling in you’’ she breathed fiercely, getting me angrier.

‘’we never planned a baby together. You made the decision yourself. So if you feel like you can tie me down or make me marry you with this scam of yours then you need to have a brain check. This is the era of baby mamas and it really will fit you’’ I said coldly.

‘’how dare you?’’ she shouted, slapping me with great force. I staggered back with surprise while she pounced on me like a wild cat she was, hitting my chest with great fury.

‘’I’m not going anywhere. We did this together and we have to stick with each other. If you think you can dump me for a corporate w—e then you must high on weed. I have been with you all through these while, helping you build your life and keeping your secrets. I can’t allow another woman to enjoy my sweat. I rather die’’ she poured out angrily as she hit me.

I just didn’t know what to do that moment. Cynthia wasn’t like every other girl in the street. She was a wild cat capable of doing anything to survive. And I knew I was in for a tough ride with her.
The silly girl waited for some months before breaking the pregnancy news to me because she knew having an abortion in that stage was practically impossible. I was lost, confused and totally hopeless. The last thing I wanted was her being the mother of my child. She had none of the qualities every decent man would want in a wife. I could help but wonder the kind of gene our child was going to have.

‘’you should please go home, tomorrow we will talk things through’’ I finally begged calmly but she simply refused. She was just so adamant on spending the night in my house.

‘’I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere’’ she breathed furiously.

‘’then I will have to drag you out’’ I threatened, grasped her hand tried dragging her out to the gate but she fought back. She struggled and bit my hands, almost tearing out my skin.
I lost it that moment. I lost control of my temper and lashed out a slap on her face.
The impact of my slap left her stunned for a while. She simply froze for some seconds before attacking me once again with great energy. I slapped her again and again.

This time she fell and laid still on the floor, losing consciousness.

————–

Jude’s side of the story continues
—

Tracy was discharged from the hospital later in the evening after all the necessary treatment and scans had been done. My girl was simply close to tears as she managed to walk to the car with my assistance. I couldn’t help but notice that the accident affected her leg more than I was made to believe.

‘’ Just look at me. I’m now a limping girl’’ she breathed sorrowfully. I smiled reassuringly.

‘’it’s just a matter of days before you start walking properly again. That’s what your doctor said. You just have to calm down and be strong’’ I said softly.

‘’I’m so scared. I really don’t believe what the doctor said. Maybe he said those words just to make me happy. I’m now an adult and I fear it won’t completely heal’’ she replied with tears in her eyes.

‘’you worry over nothing my dear. Just be strong. Moreover you wouldn’t have been discharged so soon supposing it was a serious injury’’ I said intelligently.

‘’I really hope so. Thanks for being by my side’’ she added softly, dropping her wondrous eyes. I swallowed hard with great pain. I kind of felt responsible for her injury without knowing the reason I felt that way..

Episode 37

Jude’s side of the story continues

We barely had arrived at Tracy’s house when a hostel neighbor called to give me very shocking news.

‘’hey guy where are you?’’ Tony asked as soon as I answered his phone call. I couldn’t help but wonder the reason he was calling by that hour. He was just nothing but a neighbor to me and even though we had each other’s phone number we never spoke on phone.

‘’I travelled to Enugu early today’’ I replied softly.

‘’I think someone broke into your room. The door is wide open and your things scattered all over the place’’ he informed me softly. I gasped.

‘’are you serious?. How did that happen?’’ I asked without thinking straight.

‘’I don’t know ooo. You just have to come back and check what was stolen. I have already informed the hostel president and gateman’’ he added and hung up while Tracy stared at me curiously.

‘’what happened?’’ she asked.

‘’my room was just ransacked. That was what Tony called to tell me’’ I informed her slowly.

‘’that can’t be true!. Our hotel is the most secure in the vicinity. It has never been robbed before’’ she breathed with disbelief.

‘’a record always takes a day to be broken my dear. I guess our hostel isn’t as secured as we think’’ I answered faintly, slowly searched for the hostel Gateman’s number in my phone and dialed it. He picked up after three attempts,

‘’hey bro. how far na?’’ he greeted.

‘’please I heard my room was just robbed, is it true??’’ I asked calmly.

‘’yes ooo my oga’’ he answered quickly.

‘’please kindly help me shut my door. I will be there tomorrow’’ I informed him weakly.

‘’no worry. I dey your room already. I’m very surprised oooo. Only your room was robbed and no much visitors came into the hostel today’’ he replied, mixing English with pidgin. I simply hung up, without saying any other thing to him. My greatest fear was losing my school documents which unfortunately were all in the room.

‘’I just pray thief didn’t tamper with my school stuff’’ I opened up to Tracy.

‘’I don’t think so. Moreover it’s of no use to anyone’’ she answered with a smile.

‘’but dear, I think it will be better you bring over your school documents here for safe keeping. My mum is good at it. All my documents plus that of my siblings are with her’’ she suggested softly while my thoughts wandered off again. I couldn’t help but wonder if my room was ransacked by students who probably were looking for some money and electronics to steal or by the same set of thieves that ransacked my father’s house in the village. But then I knew a stranger couldn’t pull up such stunt in the day time without being noticed, leaving me with the conclusion that my room was ransacked by either a neighbor who had been waiting for an opportunity to rob me or perhaps someone paid him to do the job.

‘’I will return to the hostel early tomorrow to see things for myself’’ I informed my girl with a sad look. She frowned and looked down.

‘’I really was hoping we would spend the weekend together. It isn’t your fault though. You have to go check your things’’ she muttered with understanding.

—————————————–

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
I slowly squatted beside the unconscious girl, shaking her softly. My heart pounded furiously with great fear.
‘’dear lord I hope she’s fine?’’ I prayed. Cynthia sneezed, opened her eyes and quickly sat up, holding her head.

‘’you want to kill me right?. You better finish it up because that’s the only way I’m leaving you’’ she threatened seriously. I knew I had to keep myself in check and act wisely.

‘’I’m sorry dear. You just got on my nerves with your behavior. Kindly go to one of the rooms and sleep. Tomorrow we will figure things out’’ I begged. She breathed deeply, stared at me suspiciously for a while, shrugged, got up and headed to the toilet without another word. I fell back on the floor and swallowed hard.
I needed no telling that I was in for a tough ride with her.

‘’Dear Lord. I don’t want to marry this lady; I equally don’t want her to be the mother of my child. Help me. This is too much a punishment’’ I prayed sadly.

I couldn’t sleep that very night. My head was just filled with many impossible ideas and silly thoughts. Yet I couldn’t come up with a solution and the next day I woke up with a terrible headache.
I managed to take some pills before slowly heading to my sitting room to see if I could find an interesting program on TV.
—————————

On getting to my sitting room, I was shocked to see Cynthia calmly seated and watching a movie like a happy housewife. She was tying only a wrapper as if she was in her matrimonial home. I lost it again.

‘’Cynthia what is wrong with you?’’ I barked furiously, but before she could turn and answer, Jessica stormed into my apartment, carrying a big food flask.
The shock that befell her was really killing as her eyes fell on Cynthia and I.

I couldn’t believe the id.i-t guarding my gate let her in without notifying me.

Episode 38

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

I just didn’t know what to say as I faced Jessica, who quickly regained her composure, ignored Cynthia and walked towards me with a cold smile.
Her face was simply plain and expressionless as she walked towards me. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her head that moment.

Cynthia equally was stunned by Jessica’s presence. She couldn’t say a word as she watched her walk up to me.

‘’I made this breakfast for you. I never knew you had a guest. I just got back from church and rushed over to bring it over. Happy Sunday dear’’ she breathed calmly, offered the flask to me, smiled, turned and left my house without another word.
I couldn’t even make a move or say anything to her. My head, my tongue, my speech all were frozen with tension. However I thanked God for the calm and matured way she acted. I never expected such calmness from her.

Cynthia soon sprang to my side, snatching the flask from me.
‘’I knew it. Yes I knew it. That w.hore, she even had the nerves to offer you food in my presence. You guys have enjoyed enough romance already. I’m here to stop it. Enough is enough’’ she breathed fiercely and headed to the kitchen like an angry cow. I cursed inwardly as I followed her.
I felt like smashing her head to the wall but I knew it would do me more harm than good. She really was tempting me, knowing full well that I could lose my head any moment.

On getting to the kitchen, she opened the food flask and threw the contents into the dustbin while I bit my lips in anger.

‘’I can’t tolerate this nonsense anymore. She has bewitched you’’ she muttered furiously.

‘’listen Cynthia. You are not my wife and I will never marry you. Simply get your things and leave my house. I don’t want to kill you but you are tempting me’’ I shouted angrily.

‘’you can’t do anything to me. You can’t’’ she dared me.

‘’I won’t lay my hands on you again. You are sick. You are looking for someone to kill you but I won’t give you the pleasure. I will get the police to throw you out of my house. You don’t know what I’m capable of’’ I shouted, left the kitchen and headed to my room to freshen up.
I left my apartment minutes later without saying a word to her. I had to leave my house in order to cool down my temper.

As I drove out of my house that morning with a heart full of anger and confusion, I totally was at lost on how to deal with Cynthia. She just was a wild lady capable of withstanding anything and she had no atom of shame in her.

‘’how did it all get to this level’’ I asked myself over and over as I headed to Joe’s gym.
After a short drive, I stopped, turned my car and headed towards Jessica’s house. Of course I had a lot of explanations to make and I knew I had to come up with a good one.
———————–

Jessica frowned on seeing me walk into her sitting room. She first searched me with her eyes before shaking her head.

‘’I’m sorry for what happened this morning. It was totally unexpected’’ I apologized softly.

‘’of course you weren’t expecting me to show up by that hour. So what’s your excuse or lie?’’ she demanded.

‘’I have no excuse. I have no lie. I’m totally responsible for everything. The young lady was a girl I used to have fun with in the past. A girl I always used to cure my sexual hunger before I got to know you. I haven’t seen her for almost a month and when I got home from your house yesterday, I saw her waiting for me. She is claiming to be three months pregnant for me. I tried forcing her out of my house yesterday and she almost fainted in the process. I will have to get the police to help me out’’ I explained weakly.

‘’so should I believe you?’’ she asked with a strange smile.

‘’no you don’t have to’’ I replied honestly.

‘’but I do believe you’’ she muttered, surprising me with her words.

‘’you saw a cheap girl and started enjoying her without reservation. Your stupid head never told you she had her own plans. Why are guys always good at cheap things?’’ she asked while I kept quiet like a spoilt kid.

‘’just give me her phone number, I will talk to her and see what she wants’’ she suddenly offered, leaving me with no choice than to oblige even though I was very suspicious of her motive. I knew Cynthia would never listen to her.

———————————————–

I headed to Joe’s gym after spending some minutes with Jessica. I must confess Jessica’s calmness and understanding was a welcomed development but equally extremely suspicious. I never expected her to be so understanding and calm. Could it be that her love for me is so strong to make her this understanding?’’ I wondered as I drove to Joe’s gym.

————-
Joe and I had a long very long talk when I got to his place but unfortunately he couldn’t offer any solid advice to me.

‘’my brother your situation is a very difficult one. Supposing you are dealing with young school girls I would have known what to advice. But the two ladies are big time adults with their own plans. Only God will help you out of this. If I’m in your shoes, I will simply forget about Jessica and deal with Cynthia before things gets out of hand’’ he advised, leaving me deep with thoughts but unfortunately i couldn’t accept his suggestion because I was already way deep into Jessica to back away. My main priority was getting rid of Cynthia.

————

I returned to my house, uncertain on how to push out Cynthia from my life. I threatened earlier to call the police on her but failed to do it. I went into my house with prayers in my lips.
I really didn’t want things to get messy with her but the d–n girl was daring me. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing inside.

As I walked into my sitting room, I was surprised to see her well dressed up, holding her big handbag. I stared at her curiously, wondering what she was up to.

‘’I’m leaving but I will be back later. So don’t celebrate yet’’ she muttered coldly, eyed me and left my house without another word.
She simply left without any fight and I couldn’t believe myself.

My phone however rang a minute later and it was Jessica calling.

‘’so how far?’’ she asked as if she was seeing me from somewhere. I breathed deeply, unable to find my voice.

‘’meet me at my house by 5pm’’ she said and hung up.

Episode 39

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

By 5:15pm that fateful Sunday, I slowly arrived at Jessica’s house. I couldn’t help but wonder why she asked me to come over.
As I approached the door leading to her sitting room, I heard two female voices arguing with great energy. I easily made out Jessica’s voice but couldn’t make out the second voice even though it sounded very much like Cynthia’s voice. I knew she had no reason to be there and so it never crossed my mind that it could be her.

As I walked into the sitting room, I was confronted with the greatest shock of my life. I couldn’t believe myself as my eyes fell on Cynthia and Jessica exchanging words. Cynthia was standing with both hands on her waist while Jessica was sitting a distance away, facing her.
I froze for some seconds as I quickly thought of how to face the unexpected situation.

‘’thank God you are here’’ Cynthia quickly said as soon as she saw me while Jessica stood up with her eyes on me.

‘’I invited her over to see if we could reach a good compromise but I just realized I made a very terrible mistake. She has been threatening me ever since she got here’’ Jessica softly explained.

‘’of course you deserve everything that I have been throwing at you. Why can’t you go and find your own man?. Why can’t you struggle to build your own man?. Aren’t you ashamed that at your age and with all your acclaimed accomplishments, you stooped to low to steal another person’s man’’ Cynthia fired violently at her while I shook my head, uncertain of what exactly to say.

I never expected to confront such scene and it just looked like a dream. I never expected Jessica to be so stupid as to invite Cynthia to her house unless perhaps she had another hidden motive.

‘’Jessica I never asked you to invite her to your place. I never asked you to help me with my problem’’ I scolded Jessica before facing Cynthia with a cold smile.

‘’let’s get out of here please. You shouldn’t be here in the first place’’ I said softly.

‘’you are just a retired prostitute who’s looking for young blood to settle down with. Sorry my man isn’t available’’ Cynthia mocked, drawing out Jessica’s temper.

‘’what did you just call me?’’ she asked, closing in on Cynthia who quickly pushed her backwards. Before I could even blink, Jessica pounced on Cynthia like an angry lion, pushed her to the floor and hit her head severally on the tiles before choking her by grasping her throat. I quickly pounced on Jessica, pushing her away from Cynthia’s body but unfortunately I intervened too late.

Yes Cynthia was a very strong lady who could easily beat Jessica in any fight but she never expected Jessica to go extreme by attacking her in such manner. Moreover she was pregnant and wasn’t as strong as she used to be, giving Jessica an upper hand in the fight.

As I pulled out Jessica from Cynthia’s body, I noticed that Cynthia wasn’t breathing nor moving. I nervously shook her with great force but she still failed to move.

‘’what have you done Jessica?’’ I asked with fear.

‘’she deserves to die’’ she replied without any atom of remorse. I couldn’t believe I was in such a nasty mess.

‘’I think you have killed her’’ I breathed nervously as I felt Cynthia’s pulse over and over without getting any sign of life.

————————————————–

Jude’s side of the story continues

I returned to my hostel at exactly 4:45pm that fateful Sunday. My room was totally ransacked just like I was told but none of my electronics was taken. I quickly arranged my school documents which I found scattered all over my bed.

‘’I guess it wasn’t robbery after all. I guess the person that broke in was searching for some other thing possibly the suitcase in Kelvin’s care’’ I reasoned as I dialed my cousin’s phone number but surprisingly he rejected my call.
I shrugged, went down to meet the hostel gateman, paid him for another key and lock before heading over to Kelvin’s house.
Of course i had a lot to talk with him. I equally was curious to know how things went with Jessica the previous day.

But on getting to his house, I was told that he left minutes ago. I dialed his number again and for the second time he rejected my call, something he has never done before.

Episode 40

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’let’s take her to the hospital’’ I breathed, holding up Cynthia’s head as I threw a look at Jessica who shrugged, bent and felt the poor girl’s pulse.

‘’ please give chance’’ she said softly, pushed me aside and did a little push up on Cynthia’s chest but unfortunately the poor girl made no sign of coming back to life.

‘’she’s dead’’ Jessica suddenly announced, wiping out sweat from her forehead. I gasped with great fear.

‘’let’s stop wasting time and take her to the hospital. We can’t let her die here’’ I muttered, shaking with fright.

‘’she is dead already. There is nothing you can do about it’’ she replied softly, shook her head and looked away. I couldn’t believe it was all happening. I couldn’t believe it was all real.

‘’but let’s take her to the hospital to be sure’’ I muttered faintly.

‘’what will be your explanation to the doctor or her family or even the police when they start asking questions?’’ she suddenly asked, putting more fear into me with the question.

‘’my friend you are going to jail and there is no two ways about it. This is Nigeria in case you have forgotten’’ she said a bit coldly.

‘’what kind of woman are you?. Don’t you have any human feelings inside?. I’m so disappointed in you. I can’t believe you have the mind to talk this way after killing her in your house. Now tell me, what you want me to do?’’ I asked angrily.

‘’please stop playing the blame game. We are into this together. We are nothing but the same. You are also a killer just like me. Or don’t you know how many lives you have ruined with your scams?’’ she fired back. I shook my head, bit my lips and headed towards the door in desperation.

‘’Dear Lord why me. Why am I into this mess? This is so unbelievable’’ I breathed with a faint heart.

‘’you are not walking away, are you?’’ I heard her ask quietly. I turned and faced her with eyes filled with tears.

‘’my life is ruined. You have succeeded in ruining me’’ I stammered. She smiled, drew close and held my hands.

‘’I never meant for this to happen. It was all a mistake. But we still have a life to live. We have a future together. Let’s work harmoniously to set things right’’ she offered solemnly.

‘’what do we do now?’’ I asked.

‘’she took her things out of your house before coming here right?’’ she asked while I nodded.

‘’good, so that takes you out of the picture and I bet she told no one she was coming to my house today. The best thing to do right now is to find a good place to dump her body. In few days she will be found. Yes the police will come questioning you but I can be your alibi. Simply tell them we spent Sunday evening together. I have my team of lawyers and the police wont dare question me because I don’t talk to the police without my lawyers being present’’ she lectured calmly. I couldn’t help but be amazed at her articulate plan.

‘’have you done this before?’’ I asked suspiciously.

‘’no of course but I know my way around things and that’s why I’m successful in life’’ she replied with a smile.

‘’how about the people living with you?. Won’t they talk?’’ I asked.

‘’no of course not. They won’t dare snitch on me’’ she answered confidently.

‘’so what now?’’ I asked.

‘’let’s take her body to your car and find a place to dump her’’ she said quickly.

‘’no not my car. The police can easily get a warrant to search my car if her body is discovered later. DNA things, Let’s use your car instead’’ I suggested. She shrugged with resignation.

‘’fine, let’s get going’’ she breathed quickly.

————————————————–

It really was a very hard and nauseating task getting Cynthia’s body into Jessica’s car. It was the most deadly thing I have ever done in my entire life. I had no choice than to go with Jessica’s plan even though I wasn’t responsible for killing Cynthia. I knew I had to go with her plans in order to survive. There wasn’t any other way apart from the road to jail which I wasn’t ready to take. I knew the odds were all against me and I had to take the easiest way out.

In the cover of darkness we headed out with Cynthia’s body, looking for a good place to dump the poor girl. I was so totally sacred and anxious but Jessica was very relaxed. It was just as if she was cold hearted and blooded.

‘’dear lord, help me’’ I prayed over and over.

In no time we got to a very quiet refuse dump site along Portharcourt expressway. Jessica pulled over and stopped her car.

‘’let’s get it done’’ she breathed, opening her car door. Together we dumped Cynthia’s body and silently headed back to town.

How did my life get this way?

To be continued

[Edoman]

Episode 41

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

Jessica and I silently headed back to her house after dumping Cynthia’s body. I was so scared, so nauseous and so afraid. It was my first time of witnessing or partaking in murder and it was such a horrifying experience.

Jessica said nothing to me as she slowly drove back to her house. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her mind. I never knew a woman could be so strong and devoid of feelings.

‘’dear lord how do I atone for this great sin?. How do I get my life back after what I just did? I shouldn’t have gotten involved with Jessica. Please God help me to be strong’’ I prayed nervously.

On getting to her house, Jessica parked her car, breathed deeply and faced me.

‘’gosh I’m so terrified. I need a strong drink’’ she said softly. I shook my head, unable to say a word.

‘’I hope you aren’t planning of leaving tonight?. I can’t spend the night alone. I need you by my side. We have to stick by each other’’ she muttered searchingly. I rubbed my face with my palms and shrugged.

‘’you are right. We have to spend the night together. I can’t imagine sleeping after what we have done. We should have taken her to the hospital. Cynthia can’t just die like that. She’s a very young and strong woman’’ I stammered, opening the car door.

‘’enough of regrets my dear. Let’s go have a drink inside’’ she replied with a soft smile and together we headed into the house to drink.

—————————————-

Yes I was a bad guy. Yes I ran a lot of scams to survive but taking someone’s life was never my thing. It was something I never dreamt of doing. I couldn’t help but wonder how I would face the police, Cynthia’s friends and family in coming days. As her boyfriend, I knew I had lots of questions to answer. I equally knew my body language and reply would be used to judge me.
I definitely had to get myself back in shape ahead of what was coming. My survival depended on it and the last place I wanted to be was in jail.

‘’what are you thinking?’’ Jessica soon asked, watching me keenly as she poured another drink to her cup. I breathed deeply and shook my head.

‘’I’m so scared Jessica. What if Cynthia never really died?. How are we sure she’s dead?. We could have taken her to the hospital’’ I breathed fearfully.

‘’I’m also scared as well but there is nothing we can do about it’’ she muttered, stood up and pulled down her trouser and pant. I stared at her curiously, breathing heavily.

‘’what on earth are you doing?’’ I asked.

‘’we can’t just continue drinking all through the evening’’ she replied, licking her lips as she pulled off her top, leaving only her sexy bra. I swallowed hard as my joystick warmed up.
She slowly drew close, climbed on my body, took the drink I was holding and dropped it on the table.

‘’my body is on fire. I need you. I want you inside me. Let’s take each other to cloud nine’’ she demanded, breathing into my ear as she opened my shirt.

In no time, I was completely unclad with her in the sitting room, playing love with great abandon. We mercilessly devoured each other. We made love in the kitchen, in the bathroom and in the bedroom. We never had it so intense. It was just as if the spirit of s-x took control of the whole atmosphere. We never stopped until we almost collapsed with exhaustion.

‘’I love you so much and I believe together we can achieve a lot. How about we get married?’’ she suddenly proposed after the intense love making. I couldn’t believe she was proposing to me.

‘’you mean we should get married?’’ I asked with disbelief.

‘’yes my love, let’s get married. At least that’s the only way we can be sure of protecting our secrets and interests. But there is still one obstacle though’’ she added, pulling away from my body. I stared at her curiously, wondering what the obstacle could be.

‘’so tell me about the obstacle?’’ I demanded seriously. She smiled and shook my head.

‘’just leave that for me. It’s nothing’’ she replied, kissed me and walked to the bathroom without another word. I breathed deeply as I watched her disappear into the bathroom.
To be sincere I just was in a vegetable condition. I couldn’t even figure out a da.mn thing or know what exactly my life was turning into. It was very clear that Jessica was slowly running my life and pushing me deep into uncertainty.

Jude’s side of the story continues
I decided to wait for my cousin instead of returning to my hostel but as the clock struck 10pm, it became very obvious that he wasn’t coming home. I couldn’t help but feel that he was with Jessica again. My cousin was slowly becoming my enemy without realizing it and I just didn’t know how to follow him up because he still was the only family I could boast of having.
I tried his number again and again and still he refused to answer my calls.

At exactly 11pm, my phone rang and it was Pamela calling.

‘’where are you?’’ she asked.

‘’I’m at my hostel’’ I lied.

‘’are you sure?’’ she asked, surprising me with such prying question.

‘’yes but is anything the matter?’’ I asked. She kept quiet for a while.

‘’not really but I have this bad feeling that something could happen to you tonight’’ she breathed and hung up, leaving me totally scared and worried. Her phone call was definitely very strange,

Yes very, very strange.

Episode 42

jude’s side of the story continues

I was so terrified after Pamela’s strange call. I just didn’t know what to think or believe. I had no option than to go down on my knees and ask for God’s help.
Prayer was the only thing that came to my mind that moment and I did a very good job of it, not minding that I was a big sinner.

I prayed, asking for God’s help, protection and mercy. He really was the only one that could help me out without asking for anything in return. It equally was my first time of praying so intensely.
As soon as I rounded up my prayer, a heavy downpour took over the night. It was as if God sent the rain as sign that my prayers were accepted. I suddenly felt so relaxed. In no time, I was fast asleep and a very cold night it was.

—————————————–

Kelvin’s side of the story continues
Jessica returned from the bathroom smiling down at me.
‘’it’s raining heavily outside’’ she breathed, settling beside me. I closed my eyes, saying nothing.

‘’the rain will help wash away any evidence we might have mistakenly left behind on her body. Hmmmmm this life’’ she sighed, placing her head on my chest.

‘’I think we should give each other a little break. I just want to be alone for a week to put my act in order’’ I suddenly informed her, biting my lips. She quickly sat up with her eyes on me.

‘’come on, I think we agreed on sticking with each other?’’ she asked quickly.

‘’yes of course but it still doesn’t change the fact that we did a very terrible thing today. I need a little space to battle with my conscience’’ I replied. She shrugged with resignation.

‘’very well then. If that’s what you want’’ she muttered slowly.

———————————

Early the next day, I woke up to find myself alone in the room. I slowly dressed up before searching for Jessica. I found her at the backyard, burning Cynthia’s stuffs.

‘’what are you doing?’’ I asked curiously. She turned to face me with a smile.

‘’we forgot disposing her handbag and phone. I’m burning them’’ she replied. I silently watched the stuffs burn for a while before turning to leave.

‘’we will see by next weekend’’ I muttered and walked away without looking back.

——————————————————

I arrived at my apartment that Monday morning to meet Jude waiting for me. I never expected to meet him in my house and I equally wasn’t ready to meet him in my current condition. Yes I failed answering his calls the previous day because of the situation I found myself in and I equally wasn’t in the mood to answer the questions I knew he would ask.

‘’good morning bro’’ Jude greeted a bit coldly. I forced out a smile, breathing deeply.

‘’I’m sorry about last night, I was very much engaged and drunk’’ I lied. He shrugged, scanning me with his eyes.

‘’so how far with Jessica?. How did the date go on Saturday since I failed to show up?’’ he asked curiously.

‘’Jude my brother, i advice you stay away from Jessica. I know I sound weird but believe me its better you stay away from her. You are still a young man and you still have a long way to go in life. I don’t know how long I have left in this world, so let’s make use of the little time we have to pull off as much deals as possible instead of wasting time chasing shadows. Believe me you will need the money’’ I said to him with a serious look, leaving him totally surprised and speechless.
The way he stared at me showed how confused he was. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his mind that moment.

Yes he was still a young man and my brother. I vowed to protect him and even though I was failing in many things, it was still in my best interest and his to stay away from Jessica. Deep down I knew Jude wasn’t pleased with what I told him. I knew his young mind was totally suspicious with my movements with Jessica but I cared less.
He had to stay away from Jessica and forget about his father’s death.

————————————-

Jude never asked any other prying question and it was just as if he bought the advice I gave him. We spent the new week setting up a deal worth over thirty five thousand dollars and by Friday we took a rest and waited for the deal to click.
Jude was just a fast learner, so intelligent and innovative. He took the work with a zeal he never used in the past and it was as if he had his own target.

Throughout the week, I buried my fears with my work while waiting for the police or Cynthia’s friends to come asking questions about her disappearance but surprisingly no one confronted me about the poor girl and the more I waited for a confrontation, the more nervous I got.

Finally on Friday, after rounding up the project with Jude, something came into my mind and I felt like dialing Cynthia’s number even though I witnessed as Jessica burned the girl’s phone the previous Monday. But to my surprise the number went through with a beeping sound which clearly showed that the line was in use and ringing.
I froze with shock and disbelief, instantly ending the call as I stared at my phone as if it was a ghost.

‘’no this can’t be’’ I stammered as I courageously dialed the number again but this time around an automated voice message told me that the number was switched off. I fell back on my chair with relief.

‘’perhaps the line never rang in the first place. My head just played tricks on me. It was nothing but my imagination’’ I reasoned as I dialed the number again and again, getting the same voice response.

Episode 43

Jude’s side of the story continues

Early Saturday morning, I headed to Enugu to see my girl (Tracy). It really was a long week without her and I couldn’t help but think about how my life would be without her. Her damaged leg equally was something that worried me a lot. She was too beautiful to live with a disfigured leg.

As I sat alone in the bus, my thoughts wandered restlessly. I thought about many things ranging from Kelvin’s double life to the way he was desperately trying to keep me from meeting Jessica without any tangible reason. There wasn’t any doubt he was working for both Jessica and I at the same time, something I really found hard to understand.
I already made up my mind not to bother him with my problems anymore. I was a man just like him and so was capable of taking care of myself. All I now desperately wanted was to make enough money, graduate from school and investigate my father’s death without answering to anyone. I swore to bring his killers to justice even if Kelvin was involved; I swore to give him the same treatment.

I equally thought about Pamela and her child. It really was an affair I knew would come back haunting me at the wrong time. I just really was confused on how to settle that issue. Pamela already was playing the script she prepared for herself and nothing on earth would stop her from playing it to the end.
Somehow I felt I would lose Tracy at the end. I felt the poor girl would never marry me. I knew sooner or later my affair with Pamela would be exposed and Tracy won’t have any choice than to quit our relationship.

As I thought about all these, tears slowly appeared in my eyes.

‘’Lord help me’’ I breathed as I looked out of the window.

———————————————

Kelvin’s side of the story continues
By 9am that fateful Saturday, I drove out and headed towards Cynthia’s shop to see if it was open. Of course I still was scared over what happened the previous day when I dialed her phone number. I just wanted to be sure of myself. I just wanted to know the situation of things at her end.

‘’how come no one is yet to ask about her?. Why haven’t I been questioned about her disappearance?. None of her friends has even bothered to call me’’ I wondered as I made my way to the shop.
I really was dying out of guilty conscience and couldn’t help but wonder over and over if Cynthia was actually dead even though I witnessed how everything happened the previous week.

On getting to her shop, I found it firmly locked. I Slowed down my car, looked around for some seconds before speeding away. A part of me felt like driving over to her house to verify as well but another part of me kicked against such idea.
After driving around for a while, I turned back and headed to my house where I met Jessica waiting for me.

‘’where went you?’’ she asked curiously as we hugged tightly.

‘’I tried calling Cynthia yesterday and her phone rang to my surprise. But after the first attempt the line stopped going through and so I had to drive to her shop this morning to check if anything unusual is happening’’ I explained like a terrified child. Jessica broke away from me and smiled.

‘’you see the reason I asked for us to stick with each other?. You are slowly losing your mind. You called a dead girl’s phone number yesterday and it rang in your head huh?. I suggest you move over to my place before you totally lose your mind’’ she said with a smile. I shrugged and breathed deeply.

‘’I guess you are right. We have to start living together’’ I finally accepted.

‘’I was on my way to market before I stopped over. I will be expecting you at my house before 1pm’’ she breathed, kissed me and headed to her car.
I watched her drive away before heading to my room to think.

————————–

I barely had settled down in my room when I began hearing strange sounds coming from the place I hid my late uncle’s suitcase. I quickly brought it down, searching for the rat which I thought was behind the noise but couldn’t find any rat, instead a cockroach fell off the suitcase, leaving me with no choice than to open up the bag and pour out the contents.
After taking out the contents, I headed outside to dust and shake the suitcase in case another cockroach was still inside but to my surprise a very small diary fell off from nowhere.

I slowly dropped the suitcase, picked up the diary and went through it but unfortunately the diary had nothing in it. The first few pages were totally empty with no write-ups but something pushed me to continue going through it until I got to the sixteenth page which had the date January 17 and on the page was a boldly written sentence.

‘’ I finally secured a red bungalow today at Worldbank housing new Owerri. I can’t wait to furnish the property ‘’ were the words written on the diary. I read it over and over as my thoughts quickly raced to Jessica’s bungalow which has the same color as noted in the diary.

‘’could it be the same house?’’ I wondered deeply.

Episode 44

Jude’s side of the story continues

Tracy was extremely happy to see me. The joy in her eyes as we hugged each other at her house was quite indescribable.
‘’I never believed it when you told me you were coming. You can’t imagine how much I missed you’’ she breathed with great joy while I smiled, hugging her tightly..

I really was happy to see that her leg was quickly getting back in shape and I believed in few weeks she would be perfectly okay.

Nothing spectacular happened throughout the rest of the day. We simply spend the evening chatting and joking like we used to do in the past. However around 6:22pm when she left me to prepare dinner, Pamela called with her own problem.

‘’I plan coming to Owerri tomorrow’’ she informed me as soon as I answered her call.

‘’what for?’’ I asked.

‘’to see you of course’’ she replied quickly.

‘’I travelled to Enugu today. I’m currently at my girlfriend’s house’’ I informed her truthfully. She kept quiet for a while.

‘’have you told her about us?’’ she asked.

‘’no I haven’t’’ I replied slowly.

‘’fine can you come to Abuja tomorrow?. It’s very important’’ she demanded.

‘’can’t you tell me the issue on phone?’’ I asked.

‘’no it’s a long story and I’m almost through with my arrangement in leaving the country but I still need you for some things. It’s very important we meet’’ she replied, sounding very genuine. I breathed deeply, deep in thoughts.

‘’oh Pamela I don’t know’’ I muttered indecisively.

‘’come over on Sunday, I’m expecting you ’’ she added and hung.
I dropped my phone to see Tracy staring at me. I was so occupied with the call that I never noticed when she walked in. I equally didn’t know how much she heard. I panicked.

‘’who were you talking with?’’ she asked while I quickly thought of the best answer to give.

‘’my cousin’’ I lied with fear, watching her reaction. She shrugged, came forward, sat beside me and offered me a saucer filled with fried meat.

‘’so what’s up with you and your cousin?’’ she asked. I breathed deeply, shaking my head.

‘’I don’t trust the guy. He isn’t being totally honest with me’’ I confessed while she shrugged, saying nothing.

—————————————–

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

I nervously went through all the pages of the diary but couldn’t find any other helpful write-ups. I nervously went back to my room, packed the documents back into the suitcase, hid the bag and went back to my sitting room to think.

I couldn’t believe Jessica’s house could equally be one of my uncle’s properties. I bit my lips in anger as I cursed my uncle in my mind. I just found it hard to believe that he could so much trust an outsider to the extent of giving her access to his investments while ignoring his relatives who were in the best position to protect his wealth.
With the look of things, only Jessica knew how much the man was worth. Only Jessica had access to everything he had apart from his building in the village. I felt totally disgusted and angry. I never knew my uncle could be so stupid unless of course there was another explanation to the whole affair.

I made up my mind to confront Jessica the way I did the last time when she finally admitted knowing my uncle. I felt I could get her to talk again since she already felt that I was on her side. It was something I had to do even though I had no idea what I was going to do with the information because she already had a strong rope round my neck.

By 3:30pm that fateful day, I arrived at Jessica’s house with lots of ideas in my head. Jessica on the other hand wasn’t too pleased to see me.

‘’you showed up late why?’’ she queried seriously.

‘’I’m sorry. I just had a lot of things to do’’ I replied

—————————————

I never questioned her, till later in the evening when we were almost through with dinner. I reached for her hand, smiled and looked firmly at her.

‘’I believe we are into many things together. And I thought by now that we won’t be having any secret’’ I breathed while she nodded, returning my gaze.

‘’my cousin Jude told me something this evening that shook my mind a great deal. It seems like the boy has a lot of information in his head and because he believes that I’m helping him by getting close to you, he keeps on feeding me with information concerning you’’ I breathed while she nodded, urging me to continue.

‘’he revealed to me that his father acquired a red bungalow within this vicinity and I just want to know if the house he’s talking about is this one?. Apart from Jude, you are the only other person that knows a lot about my late uncle. So tell me, is this house my uncle’s property?’’ I asked, watching her keenly.

Jessica quickly grew cold. For the first time she appeared totally disturbed and disoriented. I bet she wasn’t expecting such question from me. However she quickly forced out a smile.

‘’I believe your young cousin is confused. I think it’s time we meet face to face so that I can answer all his questions. Please I won’t like to discuss any issue concerning your late uncle again’’ she answered, left the table and headed to her room as if she was in rage.
Something made me to follow her and as soon as I got to her room door, I overheard her speaking on phone.

‘’barrister we need to talk. Yes it’s urgent and it’s concerning the house. I’m coming over right away’’ I heard her say.

Episode 45

kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’oh jeez you are not in town?’’ I suddenly heard her scream in frustration.

‘’please get back to me as soon as you are back’’ she begged and hung up while I slowly smiled with satisfaction as all I just heard buried in my head.

I quickly made a decision to get the number she just called by any means because to me the person could also be an accomplice in everything that happened to my uncle.

———————–

I composed myself, knocked on the open door before walking in innocently. Jessica froze with a colored look as soon as she saw me walk in while I pretended as if I heard nothing.
I drew close to her, softly grabbing her waist. She curiously scanned me with her eyes.

‘’I’m sorry for being a bit insensitive with my nosy questions. I promise it won’t happen again’’ I apologized softly. She breathed deeply out of relief, smiling seductively.

‘’It’s okay but you have to start trusting me. All I have is yours and that’s the reason I suggested for us to get married the other time but you acted as if you are not interested’’ she replied, rolling her eyes.

‘’I understand you my love but I’m still in the process of arranging a big surprise for you’’ I hinted, kissed her strongly and dragged her to the bed where I quickly undressed her. She was totally surprised by my moves.

In no time, we were fuc.king away like mad dogs, enjoying each other with great abandon. An hour later she was fast asleep with her head on my chest, while I lay awake, ready to search her phone.

Luckily her phone wasn’t pass-worded which gave me the opportunity to go through every inch of it but there wasn’t any incriminating text message, video or picture I could find. The phone was just clean and I simply copied out her lawyer’s phone number which was the last number she called that evening, saved it on my phone and quickly settled down to sleep beside her.

Just like I said earlier, I was ready to get to the root of my uncle’s death even though I was clueless on what to do with the information I would obtain because I knew I couldn’t take Jessica down without going down with her.

——————————-

Jude’s side of the story continues

‘’I will be travelling back to Imo state early tomorrow morning. I’m yet to wash my clothes and prepare myself ahead of my I.T on Monday’’ I lied to Tracy as she was about leaving for her room after dinner. The look on her face as I broke the news was far from pleasant but she had no choice than to accept my decision.

‘’I thought we were going to spend some days together?, but it’s all cool. Your industrial training is very much important. I believe in future we still have a lot of time to spend together’’ she muttered with a smile, drawing close to give me another long hug.

Of course my conscience hurt me because I lied In order to be with Pamela. I had every right not to honor Pamela’s invitation but something in me kind of pushed me to change my weekend plans for her and early the next day. I found myself in a bus, heading to Abuja.

—————————-

I got to Abuja by 6:34pm, a bit worried and nervous. Pamela’s driver as usual was waiting for me at the bus station, making my journey a very easy one.

By 7:30pm, I was well settled in Pamela’s house, where I was treated like a king. Yes Pamela really was a wonderful lady but my only problem with her was that she was using me without my consent for her own goals and secondly she was nothing but a married woman no matter how young she appeared to be.

‘’I’m glad you came my love. You can’t imagine how much I missed you. You can’t imagine how much I have yearned for you. You can’t imagine how many sleepless nights I had because of your absence. Every part of me is just itching and waiting for your touch’’ she breathed as we settled down for dinner.
I smiled to her words. Of course as a man my ego swelled. It felt good being flattered by a beautiful rich lady.

‘’I have settled every issue with my husband concerning the pregnancy and I will be travelling out in few weeks. Perhaps this might be the last time we will see each other this year in Nigeria. You already know my plans. Our child deserves the best and perhaps the next we will meet, you won’t be seeing only me but your child as well.’’ She added, slowly reaching for my hand. I stared into her eyes, unable to say a word.

Of course I wasn’t happy about having a child with her but the way she just presented her words kind of made me look forward in seeing my first blood.

‘’i want to close one of my accounts and transfer everything in it to yours. I won’t want you to look unhealthy when you finally meet me over there’’ she suddenly announced, leaving me more stunned.

‘’Pamela seriously I don’t know if you are a blessing or a curse to me. Yes everything about you is awesome but I don’t just know. You are having my baby; you are now offering me money I know you stole from your husband. I never planned for all these. It’s just as if you are now the one running my life for me. What happens when our child is born?. You know I can’t allow him to grow without my presence in his life but I also have my own life to live. Unfortunately it’s now as if you have my life in your hands.’’ I confessed.

‘’is it because of Tracy that you are sounding so immature?’’ she suddenly asked with a curious smile.

‘’and what’s so immature with my words?’’ I fired back. She dropped her eyes like someone in pain.

‘’it’s quite a pity you are too blind to notice how much I love you’’ she muttered solemnly.

Perhaps she was right, I was blinded by what I felt for Tracy even though with the look of things Tracy could end up belonging to my past.
Do you think so?

To be continued

 
Episode 46

Jude’s side of the story continues

‘’you already know how much I feel about my Tracy, so your question is kind of irrelevant’’ I slowly muttered. Pamela smiled and shook her head.

‘’ninety percent of campus relationships doesn’t end up well. There are always many factors that lead to breakup. I guess I should just focus on my happiness for now. Sooner or later you guys will eventually break up and you won’t have any reason to feel bad again’’ she summarized with a smile while I kept quiet, saying nothing to her words. Of course there wasn’t any need arguing with her on such topic.

——————-
minutes later @the bedroom

‘’are you leaving tomorrow?’’ she asked as I settled down for sleep. I nodded quietly.

‘’I never planned coming here in the first place and yes I will be leaving very early tomorrow because of my industrial training program’’ I softly replied. She smiled, pulled off her night wear and stood before me like a na.ked model, observing my reaction. I hungrily stared at her as I quickly tried my best to control my feelings.

‘’how good is Tracy on bed?’’ she softly asked, joining me on the bed. I closed my eyes like a terrified child, saying nothing to her question.
I soon felt her hands on my shirt as she slowly unbuttoned it before caressing my chest.

‘’please stop it’’ I breathed weakly.
Deep down my body was on fire. I badly wanted to satisfy the sexual hunger in me but my conscience kind of brought Tracy’s image to my head. I didn’t want to cheat on her again but my body was too weak to resist Pamela’s feminine touch.

‘’hope she su.cks you real good?’’ I soon heard her ask as she pulled down my shorts, burying my joystick in her mouth.
Oh I felt like exploding. I just had to grab her roughly and make love to her with great energy.

Only if Tracy wasn’t a virgin, perhaps I wouldn’t have cheated on her, but it never really was her fault because she offered me her body which I declined to taste till marriage. I had no excuse cheating on her but Pamela was just should I say a tempest.

‘’my love please I really will want you to be very much around when I put to bed. You have to rush up with whatever is keeping you here in Nigeria and join me by December or January. Your future isn’t in this country’’ Pamela breathed when we were done making love.
I really had no reply for her request; instead I pulled away from her and headed to the bathroom.

———————————-

Very early the next day, I headed back to my school feeling very guilty and lightheaded. Saying goodbye to Pamela was really more difficult than I thought it would be and the s-x we had the previous night was nothing but a goodbye s-x.

(A week later she wired five million naira into my account, calling me the next day to say she was already in the states waiting for me. I never got to see her again till the following year.)

—————————–

Kelvin’s side of the story continues
After getting the lawyer’s number from Jessica’s phone, I tried contacting him two days later with a big lie that I wanted him to defend me on a case but unfortunately he told me that he wasn’t in town.

‘’I will get back to you in few days or call me by Saturday if i fail to call you’’ he had replied but to my surprise he never did call back and when I tried contacting him again, I got an automated voice response that his number was switched off. But after the second week of unsuccessfully trying to reach him, I realized that perhaps he deliberately changed his line for a reason known to him.

——-

The month leading to December was extremely uneventful. Cynthia never appeared mysteriously nor did anyone question me about her disappearance. Her shop equally remained closed, leaving her issue as one of the greatest puzzles I have ever faced. My conscience never allowed me to rest and I found myself losing weight a great deal.

Jessica on her part tried her best in making me believe she was a clean and innocent entrepreneur. She slowly worked her way into every aspect of my life and would have dragged me down to the altar if she had the power.
All through the remaining months leading to December, she never let a day pass without talking about marriage. It was as if she was under pressure to get married and finally on November I promised to make her my wife if first she would agree to declare her assets without hiding anything from me.

‘’no man will marry a lady he knows little about her financial status. I can’t just marry a lady I can’t defend in public. You know all my assets but you find it difficult to reveal yours to me. For us to get married you will need to hide nothing from me. You will need to declare your assets’’ I softly demanded as she brought up the marriage topic again.

She just couldn’t believe her ears when I made the demand and never failed to hide her anger while I smiled to push down my demand.

I was very confident that she was going to open up.

Episode 47

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’what!!!!, you can’t be serious?, are you?’’ Jessica breathed furiously as she backed away from me. I nodded in affirmative while her eyes boiled with anger.

‘’my God!!! , what are you feeling like?. Do you think you are doing me a favor by marrying me?. You are now giving me conditions huh’’ she fired, holding her head angrily. I tried to hold her hands but she quickly avoided my touch.

‘’my love I’m just trying to be open with you. No man will willingly marry a woman he doesn’t know much about. I can’t even say much about you or defend you comfortably if someone tries questioning me about you’’ I slowly defended myself but she refused to listen to my reason.

‘’I think we should just go our separate ways. It’s over between us Kelvin. You can leave my house now’’ she suddenly muttered, leaving me totally surprised.

‘’come on my love what are you saying?’’ I breathed with disbelief.

‘’yes you heard me right. It’s over between us. Please leave my house now’’ she fired angrily again before heading to her kitchen.
I couldn’t believe myself. I couldn’t believe she could get so angry over my simple request. Perhaps I really wasn’t sensitive or matured with the way I made the demand but that shouldn’t have made her overly furious.

I nervously went after her, joining her in the kitchen.

‘’I’m sorry about my demand. Just forget it’’ I pleaded.

‘’just leave my house, I beg of you. You won’t want me to stab you, would you?’’ she muttered coldly while I backed away cautiously. Of course I knew she was very much capable of stabbing me.

‘’okay I’m leaving but I pray you calm down and think over your decision’’ I advised softly.

‘’I can survive without you Kelvin but the question you should ask yourself is, can you survive without me?’’ she barked. I breathed deeply, shook my head, returned to her room, fetched my things and left her apartment without another word.

———————————————

I silently drove back to my house as my mind pondered over the events of the past few months. There wasn’t any doubt my life was being controlled by Jessica and that she was way smarter than I imagined.
I still was unable to get to the root of what really led to my uncle’s death or how much she stole from him but on the contrary I was being held hostage by her charms without realizing it.

‘’ What kind of marriage was I even expecting to get?’’. I wondered.

As I slowly approached a small bar, close to the street leading to my house, my phone rang and I thought it was Jessica calling to apologize. I grabbed my phone with my right hand, taking my eyes off the road for a second to check out the caller but to my extreme surprise the number I saw on my screen was Cynthia’s phone number.
I quickly pulled up my car at the corner of the road and stopped to check if the number was really hers because after the last scare I had some time back when I tried the dead girl’s number, Jessica had suggested I delete the number from my phone which I did even though it was still saved in my head.

I nervously answered the call but unfortunately the line went dead as soon as I pressed the receive button. Quickly I dialed back the number but to my surprise an automated voice response told me that the number was switched off. I tried again and again, getting the same response.

It was just like a dream. I was totally confused. I didn’t know what to make out of it.
I slowly left my car and went into the bar few steps away to drink and calm my nerves. I couldn’t help but imagine who was playing the nasty trick on me.

Could it be Jessica?, because she was the person that burnt Cynthia’s phone and probably saved the sim card or could it be that Cynthia is still alive and have retrieved her line?’’ I wondered miserably as I drank myself to stupor.
—————————————-

I left the bar an hour later, totally drunk and it really was by God’s grace that I got home safely. However another shock was at home waiting for me.

The moment I parked my car and was about entering my house, my gateman came rushing towards me with a piece of paper.

‘’oga, some policemen were here an hour ago looking for you’’ he stammered in Pidgin English. I froze with fear as the word police hit my ears.

‘’they said you should call this number as soon as you can’’ he added, offering the paper to me. I grabbed the paper and stared at it with great fear.

Deep down, I felt my end was near.

Episode 48

Jude’s side of the story continues from the evening of the previous episode

‘’so how do you feel about me?’’ I asked Tracy as we took a stroll down the street. She looked up at me with a smile, holding my hand tightly.

—

(That very day was her birthday and her parents really spared no cost in throwing a house party earlier in the day for her. The party equally doubled as a thanksgiving celebration for the accident she survived months ago and equally for her successful industrial training which was ending in two weeks time.

Of course I was at the house to celebrate with her as her one and only boyfriend. The day equally was a special moment to me because the last time I was with her was months ago when her injured legs were yet to heal and I couldn’t even stay two days with her because of Pamela who finally left the country with my child.

The past few months had really been a bit uneventful to me because I spent all my time either doing dirty jobs with Kelvin or busy with my industrial training.
Yes I was now far richer than I ever dreamt to be but unfortunately I wasn’t yet at peace with my spirit because I was yet to unravel the mystery behind my father’s death nor able to confront Jessica the way I wanted. Secondly I was unable to spend the money I made through Kelvin the way I wanted, most especially by spoiling Tracy with it because I wasn’t ready to answer any prying question from her.
)

‘’you are my life, my breath, my happiness. You have never given me a reason to regret falling in love with you. And to wrap it up, you still allowed me to keep my virginity’’ she breathed solemnly, stopping to look into my eyes as the evening breeze fell upon us.

‘’you know I should start getting your papers ready. Perhaps by next Easter we could take a vacation in US’’ I suddenly offered. Her eyes glittered with joy but died as quickly as it lit up.

‘’you always say the nicest things but come on you know that is impossible. You don’t have the means for such trip’’ she muttered with a smile while I breathed deeply, saying nothing. Of course telling her how much I was now worth could give her a heart attack. I simply kept my peace.

‘’I always come to this place whenever I feel like being alone. The surrounding hills, the breeze and stars makes this place a wonderful place to be in the evening’’ she added, looking up to the stars. I couldn’t help but fall in love more with her. She was just so romantic and natural.

Tracy wasn’t like most female Nigerian students. Perhaps it was all because of her background. She wasn’t from a poor home and had never lacked anything in life.
I felt like proposing to her that moment but we still had a long full year to graduate before thinking of marriage.

‘’I love you Trey’’ I breathed. She smiled and threw her hands around my neck.

‘’I love you too dearest’’ she replied. Just that moment, my phone rang.

I pulled out my phone from my trouser pocket to see an unknown number calling. I took a quick breathe before answering.

‘’hello, it’s Tony. Your neighbor in US’’ I heard a male voice introduce himself. My face instantly lit up with a smile as I recognized the voice.

‘’Uncle Tony’’ I screamed.

‘’yes I’m in Nigeria. I just got your number from one of your uncles. Try and meet me at the village tomorrow. I hope you still know my house?’’ he asked seriously. I couldn’t believe my ears.

Uncle Tony was a man from my community who happened to be our neighbor in the states after he bought a three bedroom apartment, close to our small house a year before I returned to Nigeria. He wasn’t really close to my late father but they kind of enjoyed a cordial relationship, since they hailed from the same community.

‘’it’s my dad’s neighbor in US. He is in Nigeria. He wants me to meet him tomorrow’’ I informed Tracy with excitement after the phone call. Her eyes lit up once again.

‘’anytime we are together, something happens to spoil the fun. But I’m happy for you, I feel his presence will help out a lot’’ she muttered with a smile, hugging me tightly.

‘’let’s go to my village tomorrow. Let’s do this together’’ I suddenly asked of her.

——————————————–

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the previous episode

I nervously dialed the number written on the paper my gateman gave to me, my heart pounding with great fear. I just didn’t know what to think.

‘’hello’’ I soon heard a male voice greet over the phone.

‘’ehh good evening, my name is Kelvin. I heard you came looking for me’’ I asked faintly.

‘’oh yes, it’s good you called. You just saved yourself the embarrassment of having to deal with my team tomorrow morning. So I advice you kindly report to the state police headquarters tomorrow morning before 8am. Call me once you get there’’ he replied and hung up, giving me no chance to ask questions.

Chai, my heart almost exploded with panic.

‘’it’s over’’ I breathed.

Episode 49

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

I was in great panic after listening to the rude police officer. I just didn’t know the next step to take. I nervously called all my contacts I was I currently doing business with, thinking it was a fraud related issue but none of them were having issues with the police which left me confused.

‘’I hope Jessica isn’t trying to play a fast one on you because none of our friends has been harassed by the police recently. You have to check your end very well’’ Joe had advised when I contacted him that same evening.

I couldn’t help but buy his idea. I had no choice than to suspect Jessica even though I knew she had no reason to put the police on my way. I tried relaxing that evening but couldn’t.
By 10pm I found myself driving back to her house like a terrified child.

————-

Jessica was extremely surprised to see me by that hour. She couldn’t hide her surprise as she let me into her sitting room, with a mockery smile on her face.

‘’so what pursued you from your house by this hour?. Don’t tell me you are here to apologize’’ she asked coldly.

‘’is it because of our simple misunderstanding that you sent your police friends to harass me?’’ I asked seriously. This time around, my question left her jaw dropping. There wasn’t any doubt she was very much surprised.

‘’what do you mean?. I don’t understand’’ she stammered.

‘’I returned home this evening to hear that the police paid me a visit. They dropped a phone number which I called and a very rude officer asked me to show up at the station early tomorrow’’ I explained quickly.

‘’and you think I’m behind it?’’ she asked with disbelief.

‘’you are good at playing stunts’’ I fired back.

‘’ I can never send the police to disturb you. What will I gain out of it?’’ she asked with a raised tone while I looked down, saying nothing.

‘’haven’t you reasoned towards the direction that maybe Cynthia’s body has been found?’’ she suddenly asked, lightening up my face with the question. It never for a moment crossed my troubled mind.

‘’yes you could be right. I’m finished’’ I breathed with great fear. She drew close, hugged me and rested her head on my chest.

‘’don’t be scared my love. We are in this together. Tomorrow, I will ask one of my lawyers to accompany you to the police station. He is one of the best criminal lawyers in the state. You have nothing to fear’’ she muttered sweetly, settling my fears with her offer.

‘’let’s go to the room and sleep. I’m so tired’’ she breathed, dragging me to her bedroom.

——————————————————————————-

I never slept that night, I simply laid awake thinking of my life and future. What if there’s a concrete evidence against me?, can Jessica’s lawyer save me?. Can I be able to spend a day in prison?. How will my parents feel when such news gets to them?’’ I wondered miserably.

Early the next morning, I headed to my house to prepare for the trip ahead. By 7:45am I was back at Jessica’s house where a middle aged man was patiently waiting for me.

‘’My love, meet barrister Solomon Maxwell. He is one of the best in town’’ Jessica introduced him as we shook hands.

‘’he will go with you to the police station. Simply do all he says’’ she added while I nodded like a little child.

‘’I will be here waiting for you guys. I’m really nervous’’ she breathed.

——————————-

Minutes later, the lawyer and I arrived at the state police headquarters. I called the annoying officer again and was directed to an office where an ugly looking policeman with three stars on his shoulder was waiting for me.

‘’good morning sir, I’m Mr. Kelvin. I’m the person that just called on phone’’ I introduced myself nervously. He nodded and threw a quick look at my lawyer.

‘’so who is he?’’ he asked.

‘’my lawyer’’ I replied, leaving the officer totally surprised.

‘’did I ask you to bring any lawyer’’ he asked quickly.

‘’you invited my client to your office for questioning and yes I have every right to be with him so that you don’t trample on his rights. If you have any question for him, simply direct them to me. We have the right to answer or kept mute.’’ My lawyer quickly cut in while I nodded at his clever response.

The officer couldn’t say a word for some seconds. I bet he never expected to have any confrontation with a lawyer.

Being a criminal is one thing, and knowing how to defend and play with the law is a necessary bonus.

For the first time I realized the importance of lawyers. I realized why our corrupt politicians and people like Jessica never got caught.

Episode 50

kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’so what exactly do you do for a living?’’ the police officer asked me, ignoring my lawyer.

‘’I’m into transport and real estate ‘’ I answered quickly.

‘’and what exactly gave you the capital for such business?’’ he asked, unsettling me with question but luckily my lawyer quickly came to my defense.

‘’why exactly are we here?. If my client is under investigation you better open up to us. He won’t answer any more questions unless you tell us the reason we are here?’’ he quickly broke in while the officer smiled coldly. Of course I knew my lawyer’s interruption made him angry but he had no choice than to maintain his calmness.

‘’your client is under investigation by the EFCC. I’m working with them to break up a very robust crime syndicate. Your client’s name and profile came up as a person of interest. For now we have nothing strong against him but I have every power to question him and please don’t interrupt me again’’ he said to my lawyer who scoffed.

‘’yes you have every right to question my client and that should be on his own terms since you have nothing particular to nail him with, so if you wish to question him again, you have to ask politely and he has every right to accept or reject speaking with you until at least you come up with a petition or something that can warrant us being here against our wish. For now we have to leave because my client is a very busy man and he isn’t ready to talk about his financial status to anyone. I advice you go on with your investigations and only disturb us when you have strong evidence linking him to any crime’’ my lawyer said and stood up while I shrugged and stood up with him.
Of course I was very impressed with his defense. I really wasn’t ready to speak with the policeman concerning my financial status because I wasn’t prepared for it.

‘’don’t let your lawyer deceive you Mr. Kelvin. He is only buying time. We both know that you are a criminal. It’s just a matter of time. You can go for now but know that you just made my work very difficult and it won’t end well for you’’ the officer threatened, leaving me totally scared with his words but I maintained a defiant look and left his office with my lawyer.

———————————————

‘’I really don’t know how deep you are into crime but I advice you leave the country with the little time you still have. Once a case gets to the EFCC, it’s always very hard to face them in court. You could be remanded in prison throughout the duration of the case/hearing. As a lawyer I can defend and get you out in the end but it’s a fifty-fifty chance thing’’ my lawyer advised as we headed back to Jessica’s house while I tried to figure where my deal went wrong to have attracted the EFCC and police.
I very much was good at my scams and i always made sure not to leave loopholes unless of course someone snitched on me.

Leaving the country really was the last thing on my mind but with the way things were happening, I had no choice than to start looking towards that direction , unfortunately the big question was, ‘’how long would I be on the run and how long would I survive over there?’’.

————————————————————–

Jessica hugged me as soon as we got back to her house. The expression on her face showed how anxious she was.

‘’so how did it go?’’ she quickly asked the lawyer, who shrugged, breathing deeply.

‘’the EFCC and the police are building something against him. They have nothing concrete for now but it’s just a matter of time. This kind of case always drags for too long and most probably ends badly for the victim. I think he should consider leaving the country for now till the case dies down’’ he muttered slowly.

‘’don’t worry. Thanks for your time. I will handle it’’ she replied while the lawyer shrugged and left without another word.

‘’I know you are so scared?’’ she asked me. I nodded, saying nothing. I just was so stunned over the whole thing. I just wasn’t myself.

‘’we have to act now. You need me more than ever. We have to get married as quickly as possible. As your wife I stand a bigger chance of pulling strings for you. You can’t imagine how easy it was for me to get into your bank records and transactions, talk more of the EFCC. You need a front to cover your shady deals and no one is in a better position to stand in for you more than my very self. We have to do this together as one. I will also have to take charge of your accounts to prevent this sort of issue from happening again. You are a very good scam artist but you aren’t good at covering your tracks. Leaving the country isn’t even an option unless you plan staying out forever. Secondly you are not in this alone. Your friends and even your cousin Jude could be jailed. I know you won’t want that for them. You have a decision to make. You have little time my love’’ she breathed quickly.

I couldn’t believe it was all happening. Once again it was as if my life was in Jessica’s hands. It was as if fate had a way of always leaving me under her control. I couldn’t imagine leaving my finances under her care. She could end up killing me like she probably did Jude’s father but then her actions and body language were that of a woman in love.

What do I do know?.

To be continued

[Edoman]

Episode 51

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’I see you are still indecisive. Just forget about it’’ Jessica breathed, breaking away from me. I quickly reached forward and grabbed her hand.

‘’we are getting married. Yes we are’’ I muttered, drawing a smile from her with my words. I swallowed hard as I thought over what I just said.

‘’I hope I’m not forcing you into getting married?. The last thing I want is having a husband who won’t appreciate me’’ she breathed softly, studying me keenly. I smiled and kissed her affectionately.

‘’we will get married my dear but give me a week to surprise you with a very stunning engagement party’’ I promised, leaving her blushing over my words.
Yes things were really happening very fast in my life and that exact moment I just couldn’t tell if I was doing the right thing or not. The only big thing that was making me a bit scared of settling down with Jessica was her past with Jude’s father which I was yet to unravel.

‘’my love you have nothing to worry about. Left for me I wouldn’t want you spending money for any party or engagement celebration. I don’t even want a high society extravagant wedding. What matters to me is being by your side forever and together we will face any obstacle on our path’’ she breathed sweetly, bringing up her lips to kiss me over and over.

Slowly my thoughts wandered to my family and Jude. He was the first in my family I had to tell about my decision to marry Jessica. Of course I had failed him in many ways but at least I also made him a millionaire. That was enough to earn me his forgiveness.

————————————————

Jude’s side of the story continues from that same day
2pm, Ibeme Village

Tracy waited for me in my car while I made my way into Uncle Tony’s vast compound. The compound was undergoing a big renovation and I really had a hard time locating the old man who was extremely pleased to see me.

‘’wow look at how big you have grown, let’s go inside the house. We have a lot to talk’’ he muttered as he hugged me strongly. I felt some kind of peace as he hugged me. It was as if I was being hugged by my late dad.

‘’you know I’m really disappointed with you. I won’t mince words, you are an adult’’ he breathed as soon as we settled down in his sitting room.

‘’when I heard of your father’s death, I had expected you to return to the US to check out his things and talk with his lawyer. But you did none of it and there wasn’t any way I could reach out to you without having to come back to Nigeria. Tell me, what happened?. Why didn’t you return?’’ he asked quickly. I shook my head, so very much overcome with emotions.

‘’my dad’s death was so unexpected. I was so devastated and broke. I just wasn’t myself and the worst was that he never told me much about his plans or deals. He just shut me out of everything because he wanted me to focus on my studies here in Nigeria. I just had no one to run to. I’m still yet to come to terms with his death’’ I opened up solemnly.

‘’well I really don’t blame you. I believe you made the decision you felt was okay at that time. Anyway your dad’s lawyer is now in charge of his laundry shop and small house. The best help I can offer is to take you with me when returning to the states by January. So you have to start making preparations. You don’t have to worry about anything. I will help as much as I can. I believe your dad’s lawyer will be able to brief you of his finances and equally tell you if he left a will or not. Please my son stop avoiding people or behaving as if you are alone in this world. Your late father did it very well, see where it got him. You can’t imagine he never told me he was coming back to Nigeria even though we were neighbors. That’s really bad’’ he narrated while I looked down, unable to say a word.

Of course I never expected Uncle Tony to be so concerned about my welfare. He was the last person I expected to help me.

Tears of appreciation slowly fell from my eyes.

Episode 52

Jude’s side of the story continues

‘’how did it go?’’ Tracy asked anxiously as soon as I joined her in my car minutes after my little discussion with Uncle Tony.

‘’well it went well. He wants me to go back to the states with him on January. He wants to assist me in meeting my dad’s lawyer who is in a better position to tell me the real situation of things concerning my late dad’s will, if he had any’’ I replied, breathing deeply. She smiled and reached for my hand.

‘’I believe things will only get better from now on. Uncle Tony could be the angel you have been waiting for all along’’ she added softly.

‘’I really hope so my dear. But I still have to meet Kelvin. We have some things to discuss’’ I muttered, switching on my car engine.

——————–

Later in the evening we arrived at Kelvin’s house but unfortunately he wasn’t around. I called him on phone, telling him of my presence. He quickly begged me to wait for him.

‘’please just give me fifteen minutes, I will be there’’ he pleaded, leaving me with no choice than to wait for him.

Kelvin arrived at his house twenty minutes later, sweating profusely. I stared at him with surprise because I knew his car had a functioning A.C.

‘’I’m just coming from the village. I met with Uncle Tony’’ I explained quickly while he nodded, throwing a quick smile at Tracy who politely greeted him.

‘’yes I heard he’s back in the country. I never knew you guys were close’’ he replied. I shrugged silently.

‘’let’s talk in my room. I have something important to tell you’’ he added, leading the way to his room. I slowly followed him.

On getting to his room, he stopped and faced me with a serious look.

‘’I have some shocking news for you Jude’’ he muttered, looking down like a frightened man. My heart leapt.

‘’The police and EFCC are closing in on me. I don’t know who snitched on me. I’m in trouble and I just have two options available right now. The first is leaving the country, but you know I can’t survive for long out of the country without any means of livelihood; moreover my friends could still end up in jail, Including you Jude’’ he poured out, almost giving me a heart attack with his words.

‘’the second option is to marry Jessica and have her deal with my case. She has the power, friends and means to back me up. Moreover she used to be a banker and knows all the tricks involved in the banking sector’’ he added softly, while his eyes watched my reaction.

I was deeply shaken by all I just heard but I really wasn’t surprised about the second option he just told me. Jessica was definitely a smart lady and somehow I felt she was behind the present predicament. I felt she would rather throw my cousin in jail than see him survive without her.

‘’I’m going to marry Jessica and our marriage could happen anytime from now. I’m looking towards the last week of December though. I know I have failed you but you have to understand our situation. I can’t watch my friends and I rot in jail after all we have achieved. Just make good use of the money you have already and try as much as possible to live a low life for now because I really don’t know where what’s happening to me is coming from’’ he breathed solemnly.

I really was supposed to be angry with him but somehow I placed myself in his position and saw how much he really was suffering, though he probably caused it all by making the mistake of allowing his lust get over his head.

‘’you know I won’t be at your wedding but I wish you luck’’ I softly muttered. He nodded, drew back and fetched my late father’s suitcase.

‘’please keep it safe. You can’t trust such vital thing in my care anymore. I believe Jessica knows a lot about your dad’s death but I still have no strong evidence to back up my claim. You have to go now because my house could still be under surveillance by the police’’ he advised. I nodded, gave him one last look and left his room.
I returned to the sitting room to meet Tracy who gave me a surprised look as soon as her eyes feel on the suitcase.

‘’let’s get out of here’’ I managed to mutter. She asked no questions, instead quickly followed me to my car.

‘’my cousin is getting married to Jessica’’ I announced as soon we were alone in my car.

‘’what!!!!!’’ she screamed.

‘’I pray he doesn’t end up dead like my dad. He really was good to me, no matter his shortcomings’’ I said to Tracy who couldn’t believe her ears.

However the new problem I had was where to keep my suitcase safe.

Episode 53

Jude’s side of the story continues

‘’so what do you plan doing with the suitcase?’’ Tracy asked as if she was reading my thoughts. I shrugged and looked into her eyes.

‘’I want to leave it in your care Trey. You are the only person I can trust with it at the moment. Please help me keep it safe in your family house till I’m ready to take it back’’ I begged. She shrugged, breathing deeply.

‘’very well then. I will keep it safe for you’’ she accepted, leaving a smile of satisfaction on my face.

—————————————-

I couldn’t take Tracy back to Enugu that very day, instead we decided to spend the night in our hostel and yes it really was a wonderful moment. We played, joked and romanced each other till late in the evening when Tracy threw me into panic with very shocking information.

We were about settling down to sleep around 10:44pm when she suddenly offered her phone to me.

‘’A lady added me on facebook yesterday and this morning she sent me a message that she’s your old friend in America. She said she added me through you and wants us to be friends. I really don’t know what to make of it because you haven’t mentioned any such friend to me and I kind of feel that this is the work of a scammer. Just look at her profile’’ she complained innocently while I scrolled through the facebook profile of the lady she showed me and just like I feared the lady was no other person than Pamela.
For some seconds I couldn’t say a word. I was completely dazed. I just couldn’t fathom the reason she was trying to be friends with Tracy on facebook. Yes she could easily have added her by going through my facebook friends list since she already knew her first name.

‘’da.mn’’ I breathed inwardly.

‘’do you know her?’’ Tracy asked curiously.

‘’she is a scammer. You won’t be surprised that the dude pulling this stunt is living in the same hostel with us’’ I added with a smile while she burst into laughter.

‘’you are funny dear but the person must be very stupid to think that I will even bother to reply the messages he or she left’’ she breathed.

‘’simply block the profile’’ I cunningly chipped in.

‘’no I won’t block it. Let her just keep fooling herself’’ she muttered, surprising me but I said nothing.

I couldn’t sleep that night. All my thoughts were on Pamela. I thought she was already very comfortable where she was. What’s her motive in trying to be friends with Tracy?’’ I wondered, resolving to call her the next day to know what her plans were.

By 9am the next day, Tracy left for her room to get some of her clothes while I took my bath and freshened up, ready to take her back home.
As I was putting on my shoes, I heard a soft knock on my door. At first I thought it was Tracy but the pattern of the knock really wasn’t hers.
I slowly opened the door to get the shock of my life. Standing before me was no other person than Jessica. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe myself. She simply was the last person I ever expected to pay me a visit.

‘’hi, I see you aren’t too pleased to see me. May I come in?’’ she asked with a polite smile. I stared at her indecisively for a while before backing in, giving her the space to walk into my room. of course I had a lot to say to her. I had many scores to settle with her.

Her eyes quickly fell on the suitcase I carelessly left under my reading table while I instantly regretted letting her in but surprisingly her face gave no expression as her eyes briefly fell on the suitcase.

‘’you already know that I’m getting married to your cousin and I have heard rumors that you have grudges with me. I’m here for us to talk like adults. You can ask me anything you want’’ she said confidently, slowly sitting on a plastic chair beside my reading table.

‘’how did you get here?’’ I managed to stammer.

‘’your cousin gave me the help I needed to locate your room’’ she answered quickly.

‘’why did you kill my father?. I know you killed him’’ I asked, clenching my fists.

‘’I have no reason to kill your dad. He was a good friend and benefactor. I had no reason to kill him. The evening before he died, I was with him in his hometown to check out his building which was under construction. he wanted me to get a new contractor for him. Yes I know I did wrong by not showing for his burial and all that stuff. I was only trying to protect myself. Moreover supposing he was murdered, he wouldn’t have been buried so fast without the police getting involved’’ she answered calmly. But unfortunately she failed convince me.

‘’you killed my dad and succeeded in getting my cousin to your side. Yes you are good at deception but you have to watch your back. We can never be friends and If I fail to get justice over my dad’s death, I will take justice with my own hands’’ I threatened, shocking her with my words. She quickly got up, perhaps out of fear.

‘’very well then, my conscience is clear. I tried to be open with you but your mind is already clouded with hatred. I will leave now but be careful over the kind of decision you make with anger. You are too young.’’ She breathed and left, leaving me totally shaken and enraged.

I couldn’t believe she really had the guts to pay me a visit. To make me believe she was innocent.

Episode 54

Jude’s side of the story continues

I was still thinking of Jessica’s unexpected visit when a call came into my phone. I slowly grabbed my phone and hissed as I saw Pamela’s new number on its screen.

‘’hi dear” she greeted.

‘’I’m not fine’’ I answered coldly.

‘’what’s the matter?. What happened?’’ she asked with concern.

‘’I thought we had an agreement?. Why are you trying to establish contact with Tracy?’’ I quickly asked. She kept quiet for a while.

‘’I was only trying to be friends with her, nothing else’’ she breathed.

‘’just keep away from her. I won’t warn you again’’ I threatened.

‘’don’t use that voice on me again. What are you even going to do about it? You always behave like a little kid’’ she hissed, leaving me extremely angry with her words. She really was fond of calling me a kid whenever she was angry with me and I hated being addressed in such manner.

‘’stay away from Tracy you old hag’’ I barked and hung up, breathing furiously. I just felt like smashing my phone out of anger.
Tracy walked into my room that moment, without knocking, taking me totally unawares.

‘’I heard you scream my name right?, what‘s wrong?’’ she asked with concern.

‘’nothing, I was just talking with my cousin on phone. Can you imagine he sent Jessica here to talk to me? She just left minutes ago’’ I answered guardedly.

‘’for real!’’ she exclaimed.

‘’hmmmm seems like your cousin has finally lost it’’ she added while I shook my head, trying hard to appear calm as I thought of how to deal with Pamela..

‘’are you ready?’’ I asked, grabbing my car keys.

‘’yes let’s start going’’ she replied with a smile, bent and grabbed my father’s suitcase, together we headed out of my room, joking and laughing.

Yes for the moment, things seemed so cool between Tracy and I but my greatest fear was how long it would last. The poor girl had been so gullible to believe everything about me and I knew the day of reckoning just wasn’t far away any longer.

———————————————————–
Kelvin’s side of the story continues
—

Joe’s Gym

‘’so my brother that’s it. Jessica and I will be getting married this December and you will be my best man for the occasion’’ I informed Joe as he escorted me to my car after spending some time with him at his gym.

‘’are you really sure about what you are doing?’’ he asked seriously. I shrugged, shaking my head at the same time.

‘’I just don’t know brother. I just don’t know but I’m not getting any younger’’ I answered.

‘’how about your parents?, won’t your dad recognize her as the lady your uncle brought home before his death?. How are you going to explain it?’’ he asked intelligently.

‘’I’m yet to tell my parents but I will be travelling to the village tomorrow to see them. I don’t think my dad will recognize her but if he does, then she won’t have any choice than to deny knowing my uncle before my old man’’ I answered faintly.

‘’I hope you know what you are doing bro’’ he breathed, shaking hands with me.

‘’I pray I do’’ I muttered with a faint smile.

9pm, Jessica’s bedroom

‘’I tried talking to your cousin Jude. I tried everything to make him believe and listen to me but the kid was just too arrogant and obnoxious’’ Jessica complained to me as I was busy mapping out plans on how to meet my parents the next day.

‘’didn’t you hear what I just said’’ she asked, shaking me roughly.

‘’oh I’m sorry, I was just thinking of other things. Remember I asked you not to try meeting the boy but you insisted. He has every reason not to trust you. You are even yet to convince me on what exactly happened between you and his father. I won’t be surprised if you actually killed the man, at least I witnessed how you erased Cynthia so easily’’ I breathed, leaving her staring at me angrily.
If looks could kill, her eyes would have suffocated me that moment.

‘’is that what you really think about me?’’ she asked. I simply ignored her question.

‘’I plan meeting my parents tomorrow to brief them about our marriage’’ I softly informed her, changing the topic. Her eyes instantly beamed with delight.

‘’I think its better I go with you. At least they can see me at the same time, do their assessment and ask questions’’ she softly chipped in as the anger in her quickly died down.

‘’what if my dad recognizes you huh?. Remember he saw you once?’’ I asked.

‘’leave that to me’’ she breathed confidently, leaving me stunned.
It was very obvious she already had thought about it. It equally was very obvious that she was so much in a hurry to get married to me.

‘’I hope you know without my parents consent we may not be able to get married?’’ I intelligently warned her. She left her eyes on me, saying absolutely nothing.

Episode 55

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’do you feel your parents won’t give their approval?’’ Jessica asked after few minutes of silence. I shrugged.

‘’you never can tell’’ I muttered. She stared at me for a while, fell back on the bed and backed me. I equally said nothing to her, instead closed my eyes and buried myself with my thoughts. I really had a whole lot to think and yes I was about stepping into something that could cost me my happiness and probably my life.

The next day, I woke up to see her staring hard at me.

‘’good morning’’ she greeted pleasantly.

‘’hi dear’’ I breathed, yawning lazily.

‘’by what time of the day are we heading to your village?’’ she asked softly.

‘’I think by 11am we should be on our way. But I have to first go to my house, pick up few things, head to the bank for a little transaction before coming back to pick you up’’ I answered.

‘’that’s cool. I will be here waiting then’’ she muttered with a smile. I couldn’t help but notice that she was full of excitement. Somehow my thoughts wandered towards my late uncle and what probably must have transpired between them that led to his death.
On the outside Jessica looked very beautiful and innocent but deep inside she was vicious and deadly. Perhaps If not that I witnessed how she dealt with Cynthia, I would have still been fooled by her outside character.

Yes I guess I look stupid by planning to marry a lady with such scandalous past. But to me that moment, it looked like the only way out of jail term, poverty and uncertain future.

I left for my house minutes later, where I arranged some stuffs before heading to the bank for a quick transaction, but unfortunately there wasn’t any network at the bank which kind of delayed my transaction.
I finally showed up at Jessica’s house by 12:15pm.
——————————–

‘’jeez you really frightened me. What happened?’’ Jessica asked as soon as I walked into her sitting room. I couldn’t help but notice how agitated she was.

‘’I got delayed at the bank and I couldn’t answer your calls there’’ I answered truthfully.

‘’I was worried, I couldn’t help but feel that you changed your mind’’ she confessed.

‘’anyway let’s go to the backyard, I want to show you some things I got this morning for your parents’’ she quickly added, smiling happily. I gasped with disbelief.
She quickly reached forward, grabbed my hand and led me to the backyard where a bag of rice, a gallon of groundnut oil, ten tubers of yam, three pieces of wrapper and a small bag packed with dry fish was lying at a corner. I froze with shock.

‘’what in the world!’’ I exclaimed.

‘’they are all for your parents. I guess first impression matters a lot and I want to create a very good impression to them’’ she added, signaling to her house keeper who quickly came forward and began taking the foodstuffs to my car. I couldn’t utter a word for a full minute.

‘’why are you suddenly dumb?’’ I soon heard her ask.

‘’nothing’’ I managed to stammer.

——————————————-

The trip to my house was really a silent one. We just were preoccupied with our thoughts to chat with each other.
‘’what if my dad recognizes her as the girl my late uncle brought home earlier in the year?. What sort of explanation do I give by wanting to marry her?’’ I wondered over and over.
I couldn’t believe that an innocent investigation to find out how my uncle died, ended up dragging me into wanting to marry the prime suspect. From every angle I viewed myself; I saw the image of a very stupid man.

By 2pm we arrived at my village home, where my mum and dad came out to welcome me. Of course they all rushed out to welcome me due to the fact that I was coming home with a woman for the first time in my life. And as I brought out all the foodstuffs Jessica bought, they couldn’t help but gasp with great surprise. My mother even did a little dance for us while my dad kept staring at Jessica as if he recognized her, something that made my heart skip very much.

‘’my daughter, you look very much like someone that I have seen before but I know it isn’t possible, maybe it’s just the joy of seeing you with my son that made you look so familiar to me’’ my dad said to Jessica as soon as we settled in the sitting room. I quickly changed the topic.

‘’dad you can’t believe she was the one that bought all the foodstuffs. I was really surprised when I went to pick her up this morning and she brought out everything’’ I quickly narrated, expertly changing the topic. My mum drew close and hugged her again while my dad smiled, throwing her another quick look.

We stayed about three hours with my parents before getting ready to leave. My dad expertly dragged me to his room to have a quick word with me. My mum equally joined after some minutes.

‘’she looks a bit advanced in age and equally level headed. I bet she looks like someone I have seen before but I’m not sure where’’ my old man breathed seriously.

‘’maybe you sure her in your dreams ‘’ my mum chipped in smiling.

‘’silly woman’’ my dad cursed her.

‘’old man, you are not happy I’m still managing to leave with you’’ my mum fired back.

‘’and where will you go if you leave me?’’ my dad asked, laughing at her.

‘’please dad, do you like her or not?’’ I breathed seriously. My parents exchanged glances.

‘’if she will make you happy, then yes we will support and bless your union’’ my dad muttered, leaving a smile on my face.

I returned to the sitting room with my parents to see Jessica’s eyes searching me seriously. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her mind at the moment. Yes I was happy in getting my parents approval but deep down I was still nervous about spending the rest of my life with Jessica.

Do you think the marriage will hold?



Episode 56

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’my parents gave their approval’’ I softly said to Jessica as we headed back to the city. She smiled happily, rubbing her face with her palms.

‘’you can’t believe how happy and relieved I’m right now. My prayers are about coming to past. Thank you Jesus’’ she breathed happily.
I threw her a quick look, smiling faintly.

‘’I want us to have a get together tomorrow at your house’’ I slowly added while she stared at me curiously.

‘’you will invite all your friends and I will equally bring my friends along. It will be an opportunity to introduce you to my friends while you do the same. It will be in shape of a house party’’ I explained. She nodded in agreement.

‘’that’s so cool. By what time are we looking at?’’ she asked.

‘’4pm is okay’’ I replied. She nodded once again.

———————–

‘’Kelvin dear you are about making me a full woman. I truly do appreciate’’ she breathed solemnly, surprising me with a kiss when we got to her house. I noticed tears quickly form in her eyes.

‘’really?’’ I asked. She shook her head, looking down.

‘’you won’t understand, I’m just shedding tears of joy’’ she muttered.

‘’but I’m yet to propose remember?’’ I stammered softly.

‘’I know, I know but thank you for everything’’ she breathed softly, touching my heart with her sudden calmness. I just couldn’t help but wonder what she was feeling inside. I couldn’t help but wonder how it felt to be single at her age even though she wasn’t anything more than thirty three or thirty four years old.

——————————————————————

Joe’s gym, 8pm same day

‘’so you are serious about proposing to your Jessica tomorrow?’’ Joe asked with surprise after I told him of my current plans and the result of my trip to the village.

‘’yes and I want you and all my guys to be present when I propose to her tomorrow. You guys will have to back me up’’ I added with a smile.

‘’sure we will back you up. What’s the plan?’’ he asked curiously.

‘’we all meet at my house by 3:30pm tomorrow, from there we head to Jessica’s house in a convoy’’ I explained.

‘’that’s fine by me. Tomorrow then’’ he accepted, shaking hands with me.

————————————————————————–

Early the next day, I headed out for a small shopping, where i ended up buying a very expensive engagement ring for Jessica. Yes I was excited and nervous at the same time because I was about doing something that I had never done in my entire life.

By 3:45pm, about twelve of my friends ( scam partners) were already at my house, making noise and hailing me. By 4pm we all headed to Jessica’s house in a convoy of exotic cars. Supposing the EFCC or the police were ready and serious in fighting crime, it would have been a big catch for them if they had swooped in on us that moment.

We arrived at Jessica’s house to meet a very lively house filled with big, matured ladies whose eyes opened with admiration as i walked into the spacious compound with my friends.
Jessica quickly rushed forward and pounced on me, kissing me strongly while her friends screamed and laughed. I quickly drew her down on a couch, brought out the ring and surprised her with it. She gasped with disbelief.

‘’will you marry me?’’ I asked softly. Of course I already knew what her answer would be. All we were doing was nothing but a little show.

‘’’yes yes yes’’ she breathed with tears of joy. Her friends clapped and screamed while my guys emptied the champagnes they brought along on me.

—————————–

An hour later, after I freshened up and changed my clothes, the house party started. Yes Jessica was a good organizer and she perfectly made the whole thing a memorable experience. However one peculiar thing happened that evening that was to change the course of everything. It was something I really can’t explain what exactly led to it but it just happened.

There was this lady that kept staring at me from the moment I walked into Jessica’s compound with my friends. Her eyes really made me uncomfortable but of course I never showed it nor took any special interest in her until when Jessica introduced her to me hours later. She was exactly the same age as Jessica even though Jessica looked more attractive than her. She equally was a bit fatter than Jessica.

It wasn’t really love or lust or something similar that I felt before her. It was a strange kind of connection and the lady just left her eyes on me as if she felt something like pity or should I say she had something she desperately wanted to say but was holding back.

‘’meet my friend Emmanuella and Emmanuella dear, meet my fiancée Kelvin’’ Jessica introduced innocently.
Unfortunately supposing she had the ability to see the future, she wouldn’t have invited Emmanuella to her party.

Just like I said earlier, it wasn’t love, it wasn’t lust. It was something different that I felt.

What exactly would that be??

Episode 57

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

11:20pm, Jessica’s bedroom

‘’ahhhhhhh you are the man’’ Jessica breathed with satisfaction after a very hot love making. The drinks and fun we had earlier in the evening was so much in our system that we had to ease out the tension immediately after our friends left by fuc.king the hell out of each other.

‘’you always bring up new moves’’ she whispered, bit my right ear and climbed out of the bed. She headed to the bathroom, where I joined her minutes later.

‘’so what’s your plan for the future?’’ she asked as we showered together.

‘’in few days, we will go see your people. By second or third week of December we should be getting married’’ I answered softly. She smiled, squatted and grabbed my joyst.ick for another super blow job. There wasn’t any doubt that she was extremely happy with everything.

———————————————–
Jude’s side of the story continues from the next day
7:30am, Tracy’s house

As I was getting ready to head back to Owerri after spending the previous day in Tracy’s house, I got a call from Uncle Tony.

‘’hey Jude, how are you son?’’ he greeted with his half American accent.

‘’I’m fine sir, good morning’’ I greeted happily.

‘’there is a little development my boy; I will be heading back to the states on December 20th instead of January I earlier planned. So please I hope you still have your travelling documents with you?. Get yourself ready, by 17th of December you will join me in Lagos. I’m sorry for changing your plans’’ he said calmly.

‘’thanks very much sir. I will start getting ready’’ I answered while he hung up. Tracy walked into the room that moment with a smile on her face.

‘’good morning dear. You just woke up?”’ she asked.

‘’no I have been up for About thirty minutes’’ I replied. She drew close and hugged me.

‘’uncle Tony just called to tell me that we will be travelling out by 20th December which should be about three weeks from now’’ I said to her softly. She quickly frowned.

‘’I really will miss you’’ she sulked.

‘’me too’’ I breathed.

‘’something just came into my mind. How about we check your dad’s suitcase, perhaps we can find something that will be useful when you travel out to meet his lawyer’’ she suddenly suggested. I nodded in agreement as the idea settled in my head.

‘’but I think I have checked out that suitcase before’’ I murmured.

‘’are you sure?’’ she asked. I kept quiet.

‘’let me go get it’’ she whispered to me, winked and let the room with a smile. I smiled back at her. Seriously she was the only valuable family I had in my life at the moment.

She returned a minute later with the bag, sat on the bed and emptied the contents of the suitcase on the bed. A diary instantly got our attention and I couldn’t recollect ever seeing it in the suitcase. I nervously grabbed the diary and opened it but the first few pages were empty. I stared at Tracy with surprise. She reached forward, grabbed the diary and slowly went throw the pages until she got to a page, stopped and stared at me with open mouth. I quickly grabbed the diary from her and read out the words written on the page.

‘’January 17

I finally secured a red bungalow today at Worldbank housing New Owerri. I can’t wait to furnish the property ’’

I read out the words aloud while Tracy shook her head with disbelief.

‘’I can’t believe this ‘’ I screamed.

‘’this suitcase has been with your cousin all these while, do you want to tell me that he didn’t see this diary?. Something isn’t right. Yes I think he knows much about your father’s wealth but probably kept quiet for a reason best known to him. If not that he voluntarily gave back this suitcase to you, I would have thought he’s the criminal behind the whole saga’’ Tracy breathed intelligently while I shook with disbelief.

‘’I think the best thing to do is to take this suitcase back to America and present it to your dad’s attorney. I think he will be in the best position to advise you’’ she slowly added, while I stared at her, unable to say a word.

There wasn’t any doubt Kelvin knew a lot he failed to tell me and probably gave me back the suitcase for me to find out things for myself.

‘’I think I need to have a long chat with Kelvin’’ I slowly muttered.

‘’my love I don’t think that is necessary. Simply present the suitcase to your dad’s lawyer or better still to Uncle Tony. Your cousin Kelvin isn’t the man to trust. Everything about him is so weird’’ Tracy argued with great energy. I looked into her eyes, unable to say another word.

My cousin Kelvin gave me money, shelter and a new life but then he held back something I badly wanted which was nothing but the truth. He kept the truth away from me. For what gain?

Episode 58

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

Two days later, Jessica took me to her village to see her family. I was warmly received and I couldn’t help but notice how relived and happy they were after I stated my mission. We had a long talk and I ended up promising to return in two days for the traditional marriage list.

Two days later, just like I promised, I showed up at Jessica’s hometown once again, this time with my parents to collect the marriage list.

‘’you can pay the sum of two hundred thousand naira for the two lists if you can’t afford going to the market to buy every single item in the list. The items in the women’s list could be settled with a hundred and twenty thousand naira while the men’s list can be settled with eighty thousand naira’’ A member of Jessica’s family advised me.

Everyone just seemed in a hurry for us to get married and it really was with a strong mind that I left with my parents, promising to return in a later date to settle all the demanded rites.

—————————————–

‘’you know I thought you would have simply given them the money yesterday evening instead of trying to prolong this stuff by promising to return in a later date’’ Jessica complained the next day when she showed up at my house.

‘’in my place, everything is done in stages. Collection of marriage list and payment is never done on the same day. We have to wait till our wedding date is close before going back to your village to settle your people.’’ I replied while she frowned, obviously unmoved by my explanation..

‘’what’s the need in waiting and prolonging things. We are in love with each other. Nothing will stop us from getting married and you have the money. So why not settle my family and get over with it’’ she pushed on breathlessly. I said nothing to her, of course I had nothing else to explain.

‘’concerning our church wedding, do you have any particular church in mind?’’ she finally asked, when it was clear that I wasn’t going to change my stand concerning her bride-price.

‘’hmmmmm not really but I will figure something out ‘’ I replied uneasily.

‘’don’t worry about that, we will get married in my church and I will handle every part of that’’ she promised with a smile.

———————————–

Finally on the 19th of December, I settled Jessica’s family, by providing all they demanded, which made her my wife traditionally. We however planned having our traditional marriage ceremony on the first of January while our church wedding was fixed on December 22nd. Yes things were happening pretty fast and yes Jessica just couldn’t wait for the whole ceremony to be over. She was really acting as if she was sacred that something could pop up and stop us from getting married. However after 19th of December when I settled her family, she traditionally became my wife but knowing the society we live in, our marriage was yet to be fully recognized until the church wedding was done.

On the 20th of December, just two days to my church wedding, I saw Cynthia in my dream chasing me with a blood stained kitchen knife and the weird part of it was that she was putting on a wedding gown. The dream looked so real and it unsettled me so much that I was scared to sleep for the remaining two days leading to my church wedding.

Can dreams actually turn out to be real?? I wondered over and over.

———————-

Jude’s side of the story continues
On the 17th of December, I travelled to Lagos to join Uncle Tony in readiness for my trip back to America. Yes leaving Tracy behind was such a painful parting. The poor girl just cried as if we had never been away from each other before. She cried as if I was leaving the planet and never coming back.

‘’I will be back by January Trey. You know the last thing I would do is to abandon you here in Nigeria. I will come back for you my dear. Nigeria is my home and I will be back to avenge my dad’s death, finish school and get married to you. Our love story will have a happy ending. The story of us is something our kids will grow up listening to’’ I promised her with all my soul and energy as she bid me Farwell at Enugu airport.

‘’I will be here waiting for you. Don’t ever let me down. Don’t ever do something that will make me feel like taking my life’’ she begged of me while my conscience instantly hurt as I remembered Pamela who was anxiously waiting for me in the states. Yes I told Pamela I was coming over to the states for a little business and her reaction and comments really gave me a hint of what to expect. Moreover she was equally carrying my baby and I knew we had a lot to settle.

Tears slowly dropped out of my eyes as i thought about how to deal with her while Tracy felt her words were making me cry without knowing that it was my conscience that brought the tears.

‘’it’s okay my love. A man isn’t supposed to cry before a woman. I know you will come back for me and I will be here waiting with my life’’ she breathed, hugging me strongly.

Only if she knew the secrets I had deep inside.

Only if she knew.

Episode 59

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

22nd of December,

I woke up feeling very nervous and excited at the same time. The previous evening was my bachelor night party which really held all through the night and my friends almost drowned me with alcohol.

As I quickly dressed up for my wedding ceremony, my head slowly played back the fun I had the previous evening with my friends. I smiled as every part of the event played back in my mind.

‘’this is your last night as a bachelor. You got to drink and get drunk for the last time’’ my friends had encouraged me as we took one drink after another. Slowly my mind drifted to a familiar looking lady who wanted to talk to me as I staggered into my room after getting drunk. Unfortunately I was unable to talk to her because I was drunk and I equally couldn’t recollect how I discharged her.
With great effort I tried to picture the lady’s face and after few minutes of deep thinking, I was able to remember who she was. Yes the lady was Emmanuella, Jessica’s friend but just as I remembered who she was I equally got a bit worried over what she came to my party to tell me. Of course she was supposed to be at Jessica’s house that evening and not mine.

———————————-
By 9am, I was at the church with my family and friends waiting for Jessica to show up with her entourage. I kept staring at my watch as if she was taking eternity to show up while my best man Joe, smiled confidently, calming me with his smile.

‘’they should be here any minute from now, just chill’’ he said softly while my heart pounded as fast as ever. The dream I had some nights back about Cynthia, slowly popped up in my head, putting great fear into my heart.

‘’dear Lord please allow this wedding to go very smoothly. Don’t embarrass me before my friends. Even if I must pay for my crimes, let it be another day’’ I prayed nervously.

As soon as I finished the prayer, Cynthia and her entourage showed up, putting smiles on everyone’s faces. Her entrance really was a colorful moment. I breathed deeply in relief while Joe tapped my shoulder. But suddenly something unexpected happened to spoil the fun like I had feared all along.

Three police trucks which came with Cynthia’s entourage surprisingly pulled up at the entrance of the church instead of stopping at the car park and as Jessica’s friends and family led her towards where I stood with my friends, about twenty policemen pounced in on everyone, disrupting the ceremony by arresting everyone. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked like a dream. It looked so unreal.

Shouts and screams soon rented the air while I almost pissed on my trouser as a policeman quickly handcuffed me. But the most painful part of it was seeing a policeman drag my poor father to one of the waiting vans. Tears of pain slowly fell from the eyes.

‘’you guys will pay for this. I will sue the inspector general of police. I will make sure you all lose your jobs’’ Jessica screamed while the whole church premises instantly got rowdy as onlookers and concerned citizens mobilized instantly to stop the police. I just couldn’t protest because I knew my hands were far from clean but what I didn’t know was the crime I was being arrested for.
I didn’t have to wait long before knowing what led to my arrest.

A black SUV soon pulled up and two good looking ladies jumped down smartly. The first lady was a high ranking uniformed police officer while the second lady putting on a black gown with dark sunglasses was no other person than Cynthia. I couldn’t believe it.
Sweat quickly drenched me as my eyes fell on her. Not only was I not expecting to see her alive, I equally never expected to see her so transformed and different. She just looked like a modern version of her old self. Though she was a bit thinner than she used to be but then she looked so elegant and sophisticated that I had a hard time believing it was really her .

She walked towards me and slapped me with great force.

‘’Yes you murdered me but I conquered death. I’m back to make you pay. I hope you enjoyed the party you had last night?, because you won’t be having any in a long time’’ she breathed, signaling to an officer who roughly grabbed and disgracefully threw me at the back of a waiting truck while Jessica who was too shocked and stunned to see Cynthia, collapsed and fainted.

I never my wedding day would only give me a straight ticket to hell.

The End of season one.

How much will Kelvin pay for his sins?

Will Jessica fight back?

Do you think Cynthia is capable of putting Jessica permanently in jail?

What of the mystery lady Emmanuella, what really is she up to?

Yes and how about Jude, Pamela and Tracy, how will it all end?

Who will be the last man standing??



Watch out for SHADES OF LUST-season 2

[Edoman]

 Episode 21-59

Episode 21

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’hi what’s up?’’ Jessica greeted as soon as I picked up her phone call.

‘’I’m cool and you?’’ I replied with a soft tone, wondering the reason she called by that hour.

‘’you asked for another date with me and I promised to give you a reply today. That’s the reason I’m calling now’’ she quickly added as if she knew what I was thinking.

‘’oh cool’’ I stammered, not really sure of what to say to her words.

‘’I will be free for another date this evening, but it’s going to take the form of an outing’’ she said softly, leaving me silent for some seconds.

‘’outing?, I really don’t get what you mean by outing’’ I muttered, expecting her to explain in details because what I wanted was to have a quiet date with her in a restaurant or someplace private but the way she mentioned the word outing looked as if she was suggesting a road trip or something similar which really looked out of ordinary considering the level of our relationship..

‘’never mind, hope you can come over to my house by 4pm?’’ she asked quickly.

‘’Yes of course ‘’ I answered .

‘’Good. Here is my address ‘’ she added softly, calling out her house address which I already knew.

After the call, I faced Joe with a smile.
‘’it’s Jessica. She called to accept another date request I made the previous day but she wants a road trip which I really don’t understand. She asked me to come over to her house by 4pm’’ I explained to my friend, who laughed.

‘’maybe she wants you to take her to Nekede zoo or maybe Oguta lake’’ he joked, laughing hard.

‘’this isn’t a laughing matter brother’’ I said seriously, stopping his laughter with my words.

‘’well I really don’t have any advice to give. You already know she was involved with your late uncle and could probably be behind the attack you had last night. So you just have to be very careful. I hope she isn’t taking you out of town to kill you?’’ he said with a very serious tone while I shrugged.

‘’I really think she is very bad but then there is this feeling of calmness, this feeling of openness I always have whenever I’m with her. She acts like an innocent angel and I don’t just know what to believe anymore’’ I confessed .

‘’you just have to be careful. Only time will tell what she really is’’ he breathed with an air of certainty.

‘’I will meet her by 4pm. Life is all about taking risk. Whatever will be will be’’ I said with a forced smile.

Jude’s side of the story continues

I left Pamela at the hotel by 6am with my head high like someone who just graduated with first class result. Pamela never uttered a word to me nor tried to stop me from leaving after the little talk we had that early morning. I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking by wanting me to leave the country with her. I couldn’t imagine what she could be planning or what exactly was going on with her life.
Leaving the relationship was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life but deep down I was still nervous, I was still scared that somehow she was going to pop up in my life again.

I returned to my hostel, very restless and nervous. I badly needed something to calm my nerves but unfortunately a long weekend was still ahead and Tracy wasn’t around anymore to keep me company. Without thinking twice, I did the unimaginable by calling her on phone with the news that I was coming over to her house that very day.

She couldn’t believe her ears when I broke the news. She kept quiet for some seconds before speaking.

‘’you are joking right?’’ she asked.

‘’I’m already on my way’’ I informed her.

‘’but why?. What made you change your mind?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’because I miss you very much. I can’t survive the weekend without you. I have seen how important you are to me’’ I confessed, leaving her silent for few seconds.

‘’you just made me cry now. I also do miss you over here’’ she confessed.

‘’I will be there in few hours. I promise’’ I breathed, hung up and got my things ready for a trip to Enugu.

——————————–

It really was my first time of visiting a female friend in her family house and of course I was extremely nervous. I prayed for her parents to be kind and accommodative.

‘’I hope your dad won’t get mad at me’’ I asked her over and over as we chatted on my way to her house.

On getting to Enugu, Tracy was already at the bus station waiting for me with a chartered taxi. She cried out with joy as soon as she saw me alight from the bus.

‘’finally you made it’’ she broke out, hugging me tightly and drawing the attention of everyone at the bus station. I felt on top of the world, having such a pretty girl who cared so much for my well being, for my happiness, for my future all to myself. And that is what true love is all about.

But did I really deserve Tracy’s love??

To be Continued 

Episode 22

Jude’s side of the story continues

As Tracy and I headed to her house minutes later, she held my hand and looked up at me with a worried look.

‘’please bear in mind that my dad is a medical doctor who also lectures in UNN. Do answer all his questions honestly, don’t lie about anything. He knows much about school stuffs and he is a very understanding man’’ she begged softly while I nodded like a child.
When we got to her house, she quickly led me to the sitting room where her dad and mother were seated, probably waiting for me even though it looked as if they were just busy watching a TV show.

They politely smiled as Tracy led me in.

‘’oh my dear you never told us you were bringing in a half caste’’ Tracy’s mother muttered jokingly. I greeted politely.

‘’you are welcome my son, Tracy told us a lot about you and one thing I do admire in my children is that they always bring their friends home for us to see and access. So do relax and feel at home’’ the old lady said to me sweetly, stood up and playfully dragged Tracy to one of the rooms, leaving me all alone with her husband.
Tears melted in my eyes as I remembered my mother. Tracy’s family really was the type of family I wanted for myself. I never played with my mother. I never saw my mum and dad together as a happy couple. It was just so painful seeing the kind of family I wanted, playing before my eyes.

The old man soon cleared his throat after feeding his eyes on me for some seconds.
‘’I’m not good with words but you should know that my daughter took a lot of risk by bringing you before us. Your presence in this house means that my daughter trusts and believes in you and I hope it will remain that way. You are the first man she is bringing home and I hope you won’t hurt her in the end?. I know what students are capable of and left for me, my daughter is still too young to have a male friend but I have no choice than to accept you. So feel free in my house’’ he said with a smile while I nervously nodded like a kid who just got luckily adopted by a rich family.

‘’thank you sir’’ I muttered softly.

———————-
The rest of the evening really was a bit uneventful. I had my shower, rested for a while at the guest room before joining the family for dinner. Yes I was overly nervous being with them and I had a hard time finishing my own share of the meal.
However after dinner, as I stood up to leave the dining room, Tracy’s mother asked me to wait for her in the sitting room.

‘’we have much to talk this evening. I hope you are not too tired?’’ she asked as I sat up.

‘’mum come on, he just got here’’ Tracy protested.

‘’I’m ready to talk anytime’’ I replied with a smile.

‘’good’’ the old woman smiled with satisfaction.

———————–

Minutes later in the sitting room, I sat alone with Tracy’s mother who took her time in asking me prying questions about my life, my fears and plans for the future. Yes she already knew a lot about me from her daughter and that really made our talk flow easily.

‘’you know during my days, most of my friends that ended up being successful in life were the ones with a very difficult background. I can vividly remember a friend back then in UNN. She lost her parents, five days before our first year first semester examination. And she was the first daughter of the family. All her siblings were very little back then and all her uncle’s could come up with was that she should return home, plan her parents burial, get married and care for her siblings. The whole department virtually had to force her to stay back and try her best in the coming exam which probably was going to be her last exam in the school since it was very clear to everyone that was going to drop out from school. She stayed behind, did her best, bade us farewell and left the school for an uncertain future. Could you believe that when the results came out, she turned out to be the best first year student in the whole faculty, which earned her a scholarship. She had to come back to school but it still wasn’t an easy ride for her. She turned herself to a student trader, and the proceeds were enough to cater for her siblings at home. Today she is a senior lecturer in U.N.N. So my dear what am I trying to say is that you should make good use of every situation you find yourself and never give up on life. God has a way of helping everyone. Sometimes it might look as if God isn’t on your side but the truth is that you fail to look beyond what your eyes are seeing that moment. At least you are lucky your dad left you a little thing to fall back on before he died. So what you should be thinking now is how to better your life and expand the family name. You look like a level headed boy to me and my daughter speaks very highly of you which left me and her father very curious to see you. Anyway we still have a lot to talk about’’ she summarized with a smile while I breathed deeply.
It really was the first time a woman sat me down and spoke to me like a mother and it just looked as if a new spirit fell upon me.

‘’you should go to your room and rest. We have church service to attend tomorrow. I hope you do go to church?’’ she asked with a smile. I nodded, smiled back at her and headed to the guest room, feeling very much at home.

——————————-

The old woman’s words really touched me a great deal and even when I got to my room, I sat up on my bed and played back all she preached on my head. Tracy soon sneaked in, smiling like a little kid. She threw herself on me, resting her head on my laps.

‘’I told you my parents are good and accommodative. It’s just a pity you didn’t meet my siblings. Dad locked up the younger ones at the dormitory’’ she said with a smile, caressing my hands.

‘’Thank you for bringing me here. You really don’t know how much I feel right now’’ I confessed. She sat up, brought her face forward and stared into my eyes.

‘’I did it because I love you. I will do much more for you. I just pray you won’t disappoint or embarrass me before my family in future’’ she breathed solemnly.

‘’I love you too Tracy and I promise to be you forever’’ I promised, kissing her softly. She held me tightly, moaning under my soft kisses and wriggling as if an evil genie flew into her night wear. In no time we were passionately kissing on the bed, throwing caution to the wind. The urge in me was so strong and I knew she felt the same way.

‘’I’m willing to give you my virginity but it will be when we get back to our hostel’’ she suddenly promised, breaking away from my kisses.

‘’no I won’t need it till our wedding night. Just keep it safe for me’’ I replied with all sincerity because he just was my precious and the last thing I wanted was breaking into her vineyard so prematurely.

‘’I know you are not a virgin and I don’t want to be cheated on. So how do you satisfy your sexual urge since you don’t want it with me for the moment?’’ she suddenly asked, throwing off balance with such prying but valid question.

Episode 23

Jude’s side of the story continues

‘’and what gave you the impression that guys can’t survive without s-x?’’ I asked, smiling faintly. She said nothing.

‘’what matters the most is what we feel for each other. I respect you. I adore you. I love you and that’s more than enough reason for me to abstain from s-x till we get married’’ I answered, kissing her forehead. Her eyes brightened with tears of joy.

‘’that’s so sweet of you. You are such a gentleman. I really do pray nothing comes between us’’ she muttered softly, getting up from the bed.

‘’good night my love’’ she added, smiled and left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts and conscience as Pamela’s image flashed through my mind.

I left Pamela in a rough condition and deep down I knew I was yet to see the end of her even though I did the best thing by ending our relationship before it got out hand.

Kelvin’s side of the story continues **
10am, Saturday

With the help of Joe, I got some laborers who fixed my fence while I busied myself tidying up my house, especially my kitchen that was tampered with by the hoodlums. I equally used the opportunity to hide the briefcase I got from my late uncle’s apartment because it really was the only new thing I had in my apartment that could probably be the reason I was attacked in such daring manner.

Later in the day, Joe brought a young Fulani guy to my house.

‘’you need someone to watch over your property and this guy here is the man’’ he said to me with a smile as I assessed the innocent looking guy with my eyes.

‘’you have nothing to worry about him. I know him very well’’ he added with a smile while I nodded in gratitude.

‘’thanks Joe; you have shown what a great friend you are. I will be at your gym tomorrow morning to brief you on my date with Jessica’’ I said to him with a smile. He laughed and shook his head.

‘’of course if you come back alive’’ he joked, shook hands with me and left.

———————

The rest of the afternoon was a bit uneventful. All I did was rehearse and reshape the plans I had for Jessica and prepare for the date ahead. Of course as a human being I was a bit nervous and scared.
Just like my friend Joe insinuated, she could be behind the attack I had the previous night. She could be a wolf disguised as a sheep.
She could be luring me to my death and I had to be prepared for anything.

————————-

By 4:15pm, I was in front of Jessica’s house all nervous and vigilant. She soon appeared at her gate, smiling nicely like a beauty queen.

‘’thanks for coming on time’’ she muttered happily, drew close and surprised me with a hug which calmed my nerves.

‘’I guess you must be wondering what I’m up to?’’ she asked, smiling.

‘’yes of course’’ I replied, returning her gaze.

‘’you see every once in a while, I do take out my time to visit some orphanages and contribute my quota to their survival. It’s also something I always introduce my friends to. Something just struck me to involve you today. We can also use the opportunity to discuss and know each other very well as we drive round the town’’ she explained, smiling deeply and leaving me totally surprised, relived and stunned. Yes I was totally relieved in one hand and a bit stunned by the reason she just gave.
To me she was a high class lady, very charming and probably deceptive. I was all out to get her down but so far her behavior, her character and her heart showed nothing but innocence and purity. I honored her invitation, scared of what she was planning for me only to discover that all she wanted was for me to accompany her on a charity work.

‘’I hope you are not angry at me?’’ I heard her ask curiously.

‘’no of course not’’ I quickly replied. She smiled with relief and signaled to her gateman who quickly came out with some cartons of Indomie noodles, children clothes, provisions and toiletries. My car boot was soon filled up and all I could do was just to stare at her with great admiration. I used the moment to examine my life as I realized that I was yet to give out a single penny to the needy which really was totally bad of me.

‘’you know nothing sets the heart more at peace than helping people in need. Have you ever visited an orphanage before?’’ she asked as we headed to the first orphanage located at Aladinma.

‘’no it has never crossed my mind’’ I answered truthfully.

‘’God blessed you for a reason and the least you can do is to help the needy, to touch someone’s life with your help. You can’t believe the number of kids I’m paying school fees for.’’ She added with a smile while I kept quiet.

——————

The evening turned out to be a very long and interesting one for me. I got to experience firsthand how an orphanage looked like and how the kids living there were treated. We visited about five of such homes and I ended up donating five thousand naira to each of them which really was nothing, compared to what Jessica gave out.

When we got back to her house, late in the evening, she invited me inside for the first time.

‘’I’m really proud of you Kelvin. Not many guys would be happy on what I did. I took you to where you never planned visiting and yet you contributed your quota. So you now have the right to pick out the time and place of our next date’’ she said to me with a happy smile after showing round her impressive residence. I couldn’t believe my ears.

‘’wow that’s so good to hear, but really you taught me a very wonderful lesson today’’ I confessed. She drew close, breathed deeply, hugged and pecked me affectionately.

‘’you are such a wonderful guy Kelvin and I really enjoyed my evening with you’’ she whispered, melting my heart with her action and I kind of trembled before her as I tried so hard to control my emotions.
I so badly wanted to grab and kiss her that moment but luckily I was able to hold back myself.

I never planned falling in love with Jessica because she was still my main suspect over my uncle’s death but somehow my emotions were getting on the way and she looked so pure, open minded and honest.

It looked as if I was gradually falling in love for the first time. Or could it be lust??

Episode 24

Jude’s side of the story continues

Early Sunday morning, we all headed to a catholic church down the street for a Sunday Church service. The kindness and love shown to me by Tracy’s parents was something I never dreamt of having. I really felt so much at peace being with them.

However on our way to the church, Tracy took my phone for no just reason and since I had nothing to hide (Apart from Pamela’s phone numbers which were saved in my phone with her real name, everything other thing like our chats and messages were always deleted after each chat session). I allowed Tracy to have my phone. But unfortunately, that very Sunday was the day the devil remembered me.

Later in the day, just minutes after we got back from church service, Tracy ran into my room, all colored up and angry. She threw my phone at me with great rage, while I stared at her with great confusion.

‘’I can’t believe you were with another girl, the night before you came here. What an insult to me. I cheapened myself so much for you. I blame myself for this’’ she burst out with such a loud voice that left me very scared.

‘’you have to reduce your voice and talk me. Do you want your parents to hear your voice?. I don’t understand what you are saying’’ I tried my best to calm her but instead of calming down, she drew forward to slap me but I caught her hand on time and firmly dragged her down on the bed while she struggled to free herself.

I really couldn’t figure out how she discovered I spent the night with Pamela since I had nothing incriminating on my phone. I equally was very sure that the last thing Pamela would do was to share our little secret to anyone because she was so conscious of herself and dignity.

‘’you still don’t understand right?. Get your phone, read the message you just got. Yes I read it. Yes I invaded your privacy but I did it for a genuine reason’’ she breathed as she struggled with me.
I slowly grabbed my phone, opened the message box and read the first message I saw. Of course the message was from no other person than Pamela. I froze as I read the text message she left me.

‘’I can’t still believe you had the mind to do what you did after the risk I took in coming down to spend Friday night with you. Things don’t always go the way we plan, but just know that we are in this together. I won’t bother you again but you will come looking for me’’

I read the message over and over without really knowing what to make of it or the explanation to give to Tracy. I was simply unprepared and clueless on how to tackle the situation. I couldn’t even think properly.

‘’why would you be with another woman on Friday and then the next day, you pretend and come over to my house like a saint?. What kind of man are you?’’ she asked with tears on her eyes and I really felt so bad. She was a woman before anything and I knew she would never understand if I try giving an honest explanation.
There wasn’t any doubt she was already disgusted by me. To her, I greatly dishonored her love and all she felt for me by taking advantage of her feelings. I was now nothing but a good pretender before her eyes.

‘’I just don’t know you Jude’’ she sobbed deeply.

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’so how about you come over to my house tomorrow afternoon for a date?. I’m a good cook and it really will be an honor cooking for such a wonderful lady like you’’ I suddenly asked Jessica as she escorted me out of her house that Saturday evening.

‘’of course you already know I can’t say no’’ she replied sweetly, rolling her eyes.
I quickly gave her my address, hugged her again and drove home in a very happy mood. There wasn’t any doubt that I was making a smooth headway to her heart and she equally was slowly gaining direct access to my heart.

————-

Early Sunday morning when everyone was heading to church, I headed to Joe’s gym to exercise and chat with my friend. Joe looked so happy to see me and I couldn’t help but wonder if he really thought I was going to die the previous evening.

‘’I’m so glad to see you my friend. Since you survived yesterday, I guess you aren’t dying anytime soon’’ he joked while I laughed.
In no time I told him everything that happened between Jessica and I the previous evening, hiding nothing from him.

‘’I hope you are not going to end up having kids with her?. With the way you guys are going, I won’t be surprised if that happens’’ he joked when I was done with my story.

‘’seriously bro, I always feel different whenever I’m with Jessica. I really haven’t achieved much with her other than stupidly getting romantically attached to her and I can’t stop myself or control what I’m feeling’’ I confessed.

‘’hmmm you have to take it easy’’ he advised with a smile.

—————————–

An hour later, I returned to my house and busied myself with preparing a delicious meal of fried rice and salad for Jessica. Growing up in the village taught me a whole lot of things and I could boast of being one of the best male cooks around. Though lately, Cynthia had always been around to help me out.

The spirit and energy I used in cooking for Jessica was something I really didn’t know where it came from and by 1pm, the food, table, wine and flowers were all ready. I just felt like a bachelor who was expecting his fiancée from abroad.

2pm, Jessica arrived my house, looking so gorgeous and charming. My heart pounded loud as I welcomed her into my house.

‘’wow, you have such a nice house. You are doing too well for yourself’’ she complemented my great taste. I smiled nervously.

Thirty five minutes later, we were done with lunch and the look of admiration on her face was clearly visible.

‘’you know when you said you were going to cook for me, I thought maybe you were just trying to impress me but seriously after eating and listening to your story on how you learnt to cook and the method you used to prepare this wonderful meal, you totally won a great deal of me. I like guys who know how to cook and I adore guys who know how to cook excellently well. I score you 99%’’ she said with great admiration while my head swelled with pride.

‘’so what now?’’ she asked as we got up to leave the table. I smiled, drew close and did what I never wanted to do.
I kissed her and surprisingly, she kissed back, opening a new chapter in my life.

Will I end up regretting or did I make the right decision???

Hmmmmmm

Episode 25

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene

We kissed passionately for a while before Jessica got hold of her body and broke away from me.

‘’stop this. I beg of you’’ she breathed, looking down. I slowly brought up her face with my hands and looked into her eyes with great desire. The urge to make love to her was so much in me. I just felt hot and hor.ny like a guy who hasn’t been with a woman for many years.

‘’I don’t know why I’m feeling this way. I hardly have feelings for women but with you things are different. I can’t control my body. I can’t even hold back what I’m feeling inside. I’m sorry for ruining our date’’ I stammered softly. She shook her head and breathed deeply.

‘’you didn’t ruin anything Kelvin. I feel the same way’’ she confessed, leaving me a bit stunned and happy at the same time. Without another word, I drew closer and kissed her again, this time around, putting more fire and energy into it.

‘’oh easy’’ she moaned, holding me tightly as if she was scared of standing on her feet. I just was on top of the world that moment. It was as if we were the only couple on earth. I never knew when or how I got the energy to carry her to my room without breaking our kiss and oh yes she was quite a great kisser.

In no time, my mouth was on her left nipp.le which I managed to squeeze out of her bra and just like that we were soon unclad on my bed, ready to take our passion to the next level.

‘’what are you doing?’’ she asked weakly as I slowly dug into her. Her body was so warm and welcoming.

Thirty five minutes later, we fell apart, totally spent and tired. It really was one hell of a love making.

‘’I can’t believe we just did it’’ I heard her mutter to herself as she buried her face on my pillow while I slowly regained my senses as the consequences of what we just did slowly dawned on me.
Making love to her was never part of the plan and with the way I still felt about her, I was very clueless on the direction my life and plans were heading.

———————————-

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene
‘’you have to listen to me Tracy, even if it’s for the last time’’ I begged, trying hard to get the broken girl to listen to me.

‘’what is there to lie huh? What is there to say?’’ she breathed solemnly.

‘’and what gave you the impression that I want to lie. I only wanted to protect you by keeping this away from you but since it has come to this level, I have no choice than to tell you what actually happened on Friday night and the reason I came over to your house yesterday’’ I stammered, trying so hard to come up with an explanation.

I never planned telling her the truth but I equally knew I had to at least come up with something close to the truth to get her trust back. I really wasn’t a good liar but my business with Kelvin taught me a whole lot of things, including turning a lie into a believable truth.
Coolval once wrote that ‘sometimes a well told lie is better than a painful truth’ and that was the option I had no choice than to take. I had to come up with a well constructed lie.

‘’I was with Pamela on Friday night. The silly girl just showed up to spend the weekend with me, without even notifying me that she was coming over. It was hell spending the night with her because all I could think about was you. And early the next day, I had to lie to her that I was travelling. I couldn’t bear spending Saturday and Sunday with her and the only way to kick her out was to make her believe I was travelling. It was the reason I had to start coming down to your house yesterday, instead of Monday we agreed on. I did it all for you. Okay why will a guy spend a night with a girl on Friday and abandon her to visit another girl on Saturday?’’ I explained nervously.
For the first time, Tracy kept calm and searched me with her eyes. It was obvious she was buying all I just poured out.

‘’but who is she?’’ she asked, leaving me a bit uncomfortable with the question. Of course the last thing I would do was telling her that Pamela was a married woman. That she’s a senator’s wife.

‘’Pamela is a student. I used to have fun with her before the death of my dad’’ I lied. She looked down, saying nothing.

‘’I know you still don’t believe me but do know that I have genuine feelings and intentions for you. I will leave your house this evening because I don’t want you to embarrass me before your parents. I never came here to take advantage of you. Please simply pretend as if all Is still well between us, till I leave in few hours’’ I begged her softly.

‘’who told you I didn’t believe you?. I know you have no reason to lie to me and the explanation you gave is more than convincing. You have no reason to be here yesterday but you surprised me by coming over instead of being with her. Not many guys would do it. I’m sorry for doubting you. It’s just that her text message shocked me. I’m fine now and I believe you’’ she suddenly opened up with eyes filled with tears.

I swallowed hard with guilt as I stared back at her. Tears slowly showed up in my eyes. She never deserved being lied to but I had no choice.

To be continued

Episode 26

Jude’s side of the story continues

I ended up spending seven cool days at Tracy’s house and I really had a very great time with the lovely family. They showed me great love and I couldn’t help but pray to God, begging him to give me such type of happy home in future.
I really felt at peace being them.

Tracy and i headed back to school at the end of the week to face a very tough examination. I started the semester very badly and so really wasn’t hoping for a good result. Nevertheless I tried my best with Tracy’s assistance which was more than enough for me.

The exam week really was very uneventful and nothing much happened in my life apart from the regular routine of leaving the hostel early and returning late throughout the duration.

However precisely one week after the exams, just as I was making plans for my industrial training, something happened that shook my entire being. It was something I never expected in any way and yes it did happen in a very shocking manner.

On that fateful evening, I was lazily going through my bbm chats when something or should I say curiosity made me check Pamela’s profile. As I clicked on her profile, the bbm status she uploaded kind of left me speechless for a while.

’’I’ll soon be a mother. Can’t wait’’ were the exact words I saw on her status. And after few minutes of reading the status over and over, I sent her a message.

’’congrats on the baby you are expecting. God is wonderful’’ I sent to her with an open heart.
It really was the first time I was sending her a message after breaking up with her weeks ago and deep down I equally was very surprised that she could stay a week or two without bothering to chat me up.

Yes I know i shouldn’t have sent her the message. I should have deleted her contact long ago, but I failed to do so for no just reason.

In two minutes, my bbm beeped and on checking it, I saw that she replied my message.

‘’ yes I’m having your baby for my husband’’ was the reply she sent me, leaving me so cold with shock and disbelief. My head just went hollow that moment. I really didn’t know what to think or what to reply.

’’really?’’ I managed to type and send.

’’yep’’ she replied instantly.
I switched off my phone and fell back on my bed to calm down as the reality of what she just informed me did wonders on my body.

‘’maybe she’s trying to play a fast one on me. I have to relax. I have to keep calm before Tracy walks in and catches me in this state’’ I said to myself as sweat soaked my body and no matter how hard I tried to calm down, I just couldn’t keep my mind at rest.

In few minutes, I was down with severe headache which slowly heated up every part of my body, making it look as if I was down with malaria. Tracy soon walked in to see me looking so sick. Feeling my pulse, she concluded that I was down with malaria and rushed out to get some malaria drugs for me, which I took without hesitation because I had no strength to argue with her.

The next day, I woke up without any headache or fever. But my problems and fear were still there to solve. I lazily grabbed my phone, checked my bbm and read the short chat I had with Pamela the previous day. I read it over and over to be sure of myself before deleting it.

‘’I can’t solve this on my own. I have to open up to Kelvin. He is older and more experienced. He will figure out something for me’’ I decided without any other choice.

———————————

After having breakfast with Tracy that fateful morning, I headed to Kelvin’s house ignoring Tracy’s pleas to stay back and rest. Of course she was far from knowing what really was wrong with me and all her concerns were on my health without knowing that something stronger was killing me inside.

I arrived at Kelvin’s house around 9:45am and headed straight to his bedroom since I couldn’t find him in the sitting room. But on getting to his bedroom, I heard voices coming out from inside which told me that he’s with someone.
The voices I heard were that of two adults discussing and not that of two adults making love. I tapped on the door to make my presence known before peeping into the room to know if I was free to enter but as soon as I peeped in, a sight struck me that shattered the remaining sanity I had left.

Kelvin sat on his bed, carrying a lady on his body and the lady was no other person than the lady he showed me on his computer sometime back. The lady he introduced to me as Jessica Simon. The lady he told me could be behind my father’s death.

Yes her image stuck in my head from that day he showed me her picture and she was the same lady I just saw him playing with.

I staggered back, surprised, shocked and confused.

Episode 27

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

I returned to the sitting room, feeling so cold and miserable. I really didn’t know how to react over the scene I just witnessed. What I saw was nothing but two adults in love and I couldn’t help but reason that Kelvin could be working for both sides. He was a scammer for crying out loud and so was capable of anything.

Yes he told me about the lady quite alright. He equally told me about his plans for her but what I just saw really wasn’t part of the plan and I was no fool not to know when being played.

‘’Jude I’m so glad you came’’ I soon heard Kelvin say to me with a smile as he showed up in the sitting room. It was possible he saw me when I peeped into his room, minutes ago.

‘’please let’s talk outside’’ he added, winking at me. I breathed deeply and followed him to the front veranda where he stopped and searched me with his eyes, expecting me to say something but I didn’t. I simply kept my feelings to myself and made no attempt to ask him about what I just witnessed.

‘’I’m with Jessica’’ he whispered with a smile, trying hard to be open with me. I simply shrugged, saying nothing.

‘’things are going on well between us and by God’s grace in no time I will uncover all she’s hiding’’ he added with a smile of accomplishment, expecting me to leave a positive response but I said nothing, instead smiled and shook my head. The last thing in my mind was to believe him. I simply pretended and smiled like an innocent kid.

‘’you don’t look too well to me. What’s up?’’ he asked, searching me with his eyes once again.

‘’I have been down with fever. The exam stress was just too much’’ I answered softly, keeping the main reason I came to visit him to myself. Of course I couldn’t get myself to tell him my problem and secret after what I just witnessed. I kind of decided to tackle my problem without involving him.

‘’oh I see. No wonder’’ he breathed.

‘’I just felt like saying hello to you today, that’s the reason I stopped by. Anyway I have to go. You are busy’’ I said, forcing out a smile while he shrugged, his eyes still on me. It was very obvious he sensed something wasn’t right with me.

‘’okay but I will be expecting you soon again because we have a new deal to push through’’ he muttered softly. I smiled, nodded and left his apartment without another word.

Yes I really felt bitter seeing him with that woman and supposing I was stronger and older than him, I would have dealt with the lady in his presence without minding what it would lead to but unfortunately all I could do that moment was just to pretend and walk away with a heart full of hatred.

———————————————-

On getting to my car, I dialed Pamela’s number. She soon picked my call without greeting or saying hi to me.

‘’we have to talk’’’ I said coldly.

‘’I can’t speak to you on phone. If you are serious about settling with me then you should come over to Abuja’’ she replied and hung up rudely, leaving me speechless and totally confused.

‘’is she really serious?’’ I reasoned as I dialed her number again.

‘’please if you are really serious about speaking with me, just find a way to come over to Abuja’’ she said again, hanging up rudely.

I just can’t describe how I felt that moment. My head was just filled with confusion and indecisiveness. I had Kelvin’s games on one hand to deal with, Jessica’s involvement on my father’s death to unravel, Pamela before me to subdue and innocent Tracy at the corner, totally unaware of anything or the dangers I could be putting her to.

‘’Should I go to Abuja or not?’’ I reasoned over and over.

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

I returned to my room with great guilt. Of course I noticed the suspicion on Jude’s face as we talked seconds ago. I equally knew he visited for a reason but had to go back without opening up to me.
I knew I went over the line in my dealings with Jessica. I knew what I was doing with her was totally wrong but the problem was how to stop and get my act together.
From the first day I tasted her honeypot, my feelings and plans totally changed to something I just couldn’t describe. I couldn’t even stay a day without being with the pretty lady and she was now influencing my life a great deal.
I was just like a hunter who got caught in his own trap and about to be devoured by the animal the trap was meant for.

‘’who was the guy that peeped at us?’’ Jessica asked as I walked into my room.

‘’oh he’s my cousin Jude’’ I answered with a smile. Her eyes instantly widened with excitement.

‘’your cousin Jude?. Where is he now?. I can’t wait to be introduced to him’’ she asked with a smile while I stared at her suspiciously, trying hard to keep my feelings in check.

Episode 28

Jude’s side of the story continues

I returned to my hostel with a very troubled spirit. I just didn’t know the direction to think. I knew I had to do something to stop Pamela’s plans but what exactly do I do was a question I couldn’t answer.

‘’dear lord I hope she isn’t pregnant for me’’ I prayed as my mind flashed back to the fun I had with her. Of course I was so stupid to sleep with her without any form of protection. I was so carried away by her beauty and personality without knowing that she had sinister plans for me. I just felt like a big fool. Oh yes I was a very big idiot.

Keeping my fears and feelings away from Tracy was another tough battle I fought so hard to win but in the end the caring girl soon noticed that something else was eating me up.
Tracy was just so sharp in noticing things and it really was one of the qualities I admired in her.

‘’you know yesterday, I thought it was only malaria that was bothering you but I feel something else is eating you up. You have been acting so withdrawn and strange since yesterday. What is bothering you?’’ she asked curiously when we were alone in her room. I breathed deeply, wondering if it was okay to tell her the truth or not.

‘’yesterday I was down with fever but today I’m okay, only that I’m still weak’’ I answered, smiling convincingly.

‘’Jude I have known you for a long time and I know when you lie. At least I know ninety five percent of the times you lie. You just lied now’’ she pushed on.

‘’okay fine, my cousin Kelvin invited me to his house just to tell me that an uncle in Abuja wants to see me and I think its relating to my dad’s death. Moreover I’m yet to travel to the states to meet my dad’s attorney. I just have a lot going on in my head right now and I’m still indecisive on whether to head to Abuja tomorrow or not’’ I lied fluently. She breathed deeply and held my hand.

‘’now I understand how you feel. I think it’s best you meet your uncle. You have a lot to gain. But first you have to be strong’’ she said with a smile. I swallowed hard with guilt as I returned her gaze. Each time I lied to the innocent girl, my conscience always pinched me. She never deserved a guy like me but unfortunately love pushed her to me.

‘’Tomorrow I will head to Abuja then ‘’ I muttered with a smile.

———————————————–

Later in the night as I was about falling asleep, my phone rang and it was Pamela calling me for the first time since I broke up with her. I stared at the ringing phone for a while before answering the call.
Luckily the night was one of those nights Tracy insisted on sleeping in her room and I really was grateful for it because I still had a lot to talk with Pamela.

‘’listen Jude, I really don’t want to be hard on you. No matter what happened in the past, I still love you and you are going to be the father of my child. I think you should keep aside your pride and come over to Abuja for us to talk. I didn’t get pregnant to punish you or to force myself on you. I got pregnant for a reason. I got pregnant because I’m obliged to have a baby at all cost and I couldn’t help but allow a man I love the most to father the child for me. We really have a lot to talk. Just come over to Abuja. You have nothing to fear’’ she preached softly.

‘’fine, I will be there tomorrow evening. I will take a flight to Abuja tomorrow’’ I agreed softly.

‘’ Just alert me when you touch down at the airport. I will come pick you up’’ she added and hung up, leaving me with my thoughts.

Abuja , Nigeria
By 6:23pm the next evening, I was in a black Hilux truck Pamela sent to pick me from the airport. At first I was nervous when the driver walked up to me but his friendly smile and Igbo language made me loosen up.
In no time we arrived at Pamela’s house. A very cute bungalow built with high taste.
Of course I was scared as I alighted from the truck. I never expected to find myself there. I thought we were meeting at a hotel or guest house.

Pamela soon appeared, smiling happily.

‘’welcome to my house Jude’’ she greeted proudly while I stared at her suspiciously. But I said nothing nor made any protest until we were all alone in the sitting room.

‘’why bring me here?. This is your matrimonial house right?’’ I asked nervously.

‘’oh come on Jude! Does this lonely house look like the house a serving senator resides in?’’ she asked, leaving me silent.

‘’I live here all alone with my security and driver. I already told you there are many things about me you are yet to know’’ she explained with a smile, leaving me to wonder if she’s actually a senator’s wife or a senator’s mistress. Moreover she revealed the previous night that she needed a child at all cost.

‘’what really is she up to?. I pray I don’t burn in hell with her’’ I pondered as I prayed silently.

Episode 29

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

‘’I prepared something delicious for you. Let’s go to the dining table or do you want to first freshen up?’’ Pamela asked, trying hard to make me feel at home but unfortunately my mind was far from being at ease. All I wanted was to reach a good compromise with her. I just couldn’t bear the idea of her having my first child.

‘’I didn’t come here to freshen up or to eat. I came for something serious. You are not having my child, are you?’’ I asked coldly. She laughed and shook her head.

‘’you know most times guys always like playing the victim when it comes to issues concerning unwanted pregnancy. I really don’t understand why you are trying to look innocent. You very well knew my marital status, yet you had the mind to approach and make countless love to me without protection. The result of our action pops up and you finally remember that I’m not worthy of you. We really have a lot to talk Jude. I advice you calm down, let’s go to the dining room. We will talk after dinner’’ she said softly, flashing an annoying smile while I slowly calmed down.
Of course she was very right with what we just said. She wasn’t to be blamed for what we did together.

@the dining table

I nervously ate the fried rice she served me halfheartedly. My mind was just so occupied with many thoughts. I couldn’t help but realize that moment that my journey to Abuja was nothing but useless. Pamela had her plans already figured out and my visit was never going to change a thing.
‘’dear lord I’m just being more stupid with each passing moment. What is wrong with me?. Why can’t I think things before acting?’’ I prayed and pondered in my mind.
I really was so pathetic and silly. I couldn’t believe it was all happening. It looked more of a dream to me than reality.

Pamela soon reached out to hold my left hand.

‘’Jude you shouldn’t look so worried. I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess. The last thing I would do is to hurt you. Nevertheless you have to listen to what I have to say and support me’’ she breathed softly. I stared at her, saying nothing.

‘’I grew up in the worst kind of family a child would ever have. My Nigerian father so much abused my mum, to the extent of strangling her before my eyes. He ended up with a life sentence in the states and I had to grow up in three different homes. I won’t bore you with my childhood tales but you have to know that I did anything to survive back then until I met my husband the senator. A friend actually introduced me to him for a one night stand but he ended up falling in love with me. He got me a new apartment, brushed me up and changed my life. He finally had to ask me to convert to his religion and marry him. My friends all encouraged me to go on with him but I never loved him. The only attraction he had was his money. I was advised to marry him, have a child for him and get a divorce after some months. Unfortunately it was all easier said than done. After the quiet marriage, he tried making me part of his household but his wife and children were far from being accommodative. They tried every trick to get me out of the house until the old man had no choice than to get me this house. He couldn’t even get me pregnant and that’s my only ticket to freedom and equally the main reason I needed you. You have all the features I want my son’s father to have.
What’s left for me to do now is to convince the senator that I’m pregnant for him. He still loves me and I already have made good use of the opportunity to milk him very much. I will have my child in the states and I will never come back to Nigeria. The old man will only learn the truth when I decide. So nothing you will ever say to me will make me to lose your child. The best you can do is to leave the country with me. We can start all over. I have more than enough money for that. Of course I know you won’t allow your child to grow up without knowing you’’ she slowly opened up, leaving me feeling so sick and nauseous. I just didn’t know what to say or how to react.

‘’so you are using my child for a dangerous game. You just don’t know what you are getting yourself into. You can’t play a politician and live to tell the story’’ I muttered, dropping my eyes.

‘’moreover I still find it hard to believe your story’’ I added, frowning deeply.

‘’tomorrow is my birthday. I will be twenty seven tomorrow. How about we make plans’’ she suddenly changed the topic as if we were done with the current situation. I sprang up furiously.

‘’I will never be part of your games. Not anymore. I’m leaving’’ I shouted at her.

‘’you can’t be serious’’ she replied, smiling and licking her lips.

‘’I have enough money. I can lodge in any hotel’’ I barked seriously, heading out of the dining room.

‘’there is someone I will like you to meet. She told me something strange when I asked her to check you out. Your life could be in danger Jude’’ she suddenly muttered, stopping me with her words. I turned and faced her seriously.

‘’are you trying to play another trick on me?’’ I asked. She scoffed and shrugged.

‘’I’m not begging you to stay back. You can leave if you want to’’ she breathed and stood up with a drawn face. I stared at her suspiciously, not knowing the right decision to take.

‘’The lady told me that the same wind that blew your father away is now dangerously hovering above you’’ she added, eyed me and headed out of the dining room while I stood still like a palm tree.
I felt she was trying to get in my head. I felt she was trying to use my weak point against me. I felt she was playing a mind game on me but still I was very curious to know the meaning of what she just said. I couldn’t just leave after what she said about my life being in danger.
———————————

Kelvin’s side of the story continues (same evening)

I was driving out of Joe’s gym when my phone rang and it was Jessica calling. I smiled as I answered her call.

‘’Hi dear. Guess where I’m?’’ she said sweetly,

‘’hmmm tell me’’ I begged.

‘’I’m in front of your house’’ she answered.

‘’oh dear me, I will be home in few minutes’’ I replied, smiling broadly.

‘’I’m waiting, better hurry’’ she added and hung up.
I smiled to myself as I sped up. Jessica was nothing but a she devil. I just couldn’t have enough of her.

On getting to my house, she came forward and hugged me, softening my heart tremendously.

‘’I prepared a special bean-cake (moi moi) at home and I had to bring it over here for us to eat together. It actually took me all evening to prepare but the stress is worth it’’ she said happily, pecking me. I swallowed hard with great eagerness. I couldn’t wait to have the delicious meal. The last time I ate such food was two years ago in the village.

In no time we were enjoying the super delicious bean-cake with pap mixed with milk. I really felt like proposing to her that moment. Of course the fastest way to most men’s heart is through the stomach.

‘’I have something to ask of you?’’ she suddenly breathed when we were done with the meal.

‘’what is it you want?’’ I asked curiously.

‘’I want you to introduce me to your cousin Jude’’ she demanded, leaving me totally stunned.

I almost choked with surprise.

Episode 30

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
——————————————–

‘’what’s up with your interest in my cousin Jude?. Do you know his late father?. Is there anything you are not telling me?’’ I asked Jessica, searching her reaction. She smiled and shrugged.

‘’I feel that you don’t want your family to know about me. You don’t tell me anything about them and your body language is not like that of a guy who wants to take our relationship to the next level’’ she answered softly while I breathed deeply.
I really wasn’t expecting such reply from her. I had expected my question to throw her off balance but she answered it quickly and innocently as if she had nothing else in mind. If actually she wanted to meet Jude for another motive, it never showed on her.

‘’how do you think, introducing you to my cousin will change my body language?’’ I asked.

‘’At least knowing one person from your family will assure me that you are not a ghost’’ she answered with a smile.

‘’fine, by next weekend, Jude and I will have dinner at your place. Hope you are cool with it?’’ I offered, leaving a very satisfying smile on her face.
If really she was planning something bad for my cousin, it failed to show on her.

—————————–

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

—————————–

‘’what exactly did the lady tell you about my life?. I hope you are not trying to play with my head?’’ I asked Pamela as I followed her to the kitchen. She scoffed, turned and faced me.

‘’what will I gain by playing with head. You are free to leave. You act like a little kid and I feel so sick being with you sometimes’’ she answered coldly, eyed me and faced the dishes she was about washing.
I silently watched her for a while, uncertain of what to do next. She really seemed very serious with the information she gave me but then it equally looked like a ploy to stop me from leaving.

‘’can you tell me about the lady?’’ I demanded but she kept quiet, saying nothing to me.

‘’please I beg of you. Who is the lady and how did she know me?’’ I begged breathlessly. She turned, stared at me for a while and smiled.

‘’don’t get so colored up. You are not dying tonight. I will tell you everything you need to know later in the night’’ she said softly. I shrugged with resignation.

——————

I ended up spending the night at her place and it really was a very long and memorable one for me. Pamela and I had a lot to discuss and yes we had a very long talk.

‘’so tell me about your new girlfriend?’’ she asked as she settled down beside me on her bed. I smiled to myself as Tracy’s image appeared in my head.

‘’her name is Tracy. She has everything I need in a woman. She is beautiful, intelligent and down to earth’’ I answered softly. Pamela breathed deeply, drew closer and placed her head on my chest.

‘’we have been through a lot together and she trusts me so much’’ I added proudly.

‘’do you have her picture on your phone?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’yes’’ I answered, reached for my phone and opened the picture gallery. Together we went through Tracy’s pictures.

‘’she is very beautiful’’ she confessed.

‘’yes and I’m very proud of her’’ I answered proudly.

‘’so are you going to tell her about us?’’ she suddenly asked, shocking me with the question.

‘’no I can’t’’ I breathed quickly.

‘’but you have to. Sooner or later she’s bound to find out and if you are really serious about her, I think the best thing to do is to open up to her yourself’’ she softly advised while I eyed her angrily.

‘’you are a lady and you know a young girl like her will break up with me on learning of our illicit affair. The great love and trust she has for me won’t stop her from walking away.’’ I replied with a slightly raised tone.

‘’okay fine, just do your thing the way you want’’ she muttered with resignation.

‘’right now, I feel like strangling you. I feel like resetting my life. You came into my life to ruin me. I’m really far from happy with you’’ I confessed.

‘’so do you still want to hear about the lady I told you about or not?’’ she suddenly asked, changing the topic.

‘’so tell me about her. That’s the main reason I stayed back’’ I muttered. She smiled and sat up.

‘’she is a very powerful spiritualist. She has been giving me spiritual guidance ever since I came to this country and never for once has she failed me. She sees the future and sometimes can manipulate one’s destiny. A friend actually introduced her to me and you can’t believe her clientele ranges from young girls, politicians, government contractors, and even pastors. She has a special way of offering prayers’’ she slowly explained while I laughed.

‘’I really don’t believe in that stuff. There are a lot of them in my area’’ I said, smiling with disbelief.

‘’before we had the first s-x, I scanned your picture and gave to her to check if we were compatible. After her prayers, she told me you are going to be my child’s father but may end up not seeing the child.’’ She narrated softly.

‘’when I pressed her further, she told me that an evil wind is circling round you, the same wind that took away your father.’’ She added, putting a little fear in my heart with her words. I swallowed hard, unable to say anything.
Of course I knew most spiritualists were nothing but fraudsters but then I equally knew that most of them were good at predicting ugly events.

‘’if you still doubt me, tomorrow I will take you to her. Perhaps she will have something new to tell you’’ she added and smiled reassuringly, leaving me deep in thought whether to go with her to see the woman or not.

‘’Jude there is no doubt your life is in danger. Trust me. The last thing I will do is to hurt you because I so much wish for my child’s father to live a very long life’’ she pressed further, totally convincing me.

To be continued

Episode 31

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————————–

‘’how about we make love?’’ Pamela suddenly demanded, pulled up her night wear and climbed over me seductively. I swallowed hard as I stared at her tempting body. I never suspected she was unclad underneath, until she pulled up her night wear that very moment.

‘’I’m not in the mood. I want to sleep’’ I lied, trying hard to look responsible while deep down my body was already responding to the sight of her seductive body.

‘’I’m already pregnant. So there is nothing to lose. Relax’’ she pushed, slowly went for my d—k, drew down my shorts and suc.ked it with great energy. Her mouth and tongue were just made for the stuff J .

We ended up making love once again. I had no one but myself to blame for having s-x with Pamela that fateful night. I just couldn’t hold myself from doing it with her not minding the problems ahead. Perhaps I easily got in the mood because the last time I had s-x was weeks ago and it was already telling on me.
Yes I enjoyed every bit of it as it lasted but immediately after the deed my conscience flogged me. I began feeling regret and nauseous.

————————–

The next morning, I woke up to see Pamela smiling with her eyes on me. I yawned and sat up, returning her gaze.

‘’you know my greatest prayer is for us to have a happy family. I can’t imagine how it would feel, waking up every morning in your arms. I never believed in love until I met you and now it’s making me look stupid’’ she breathed softly. I kept quiet. Of course I couldn’t figure out what to say.

‘’you can’t even wish me a happy birthday’’ she suddenly complained with a sigh. I smiled, drew close and gave her a surprising kiss.

‘’happy birthday dear’’ I muttered sweetly, leaving her blushing with delight.

‘’so what are your plans for today?. Do you still wish to see the woman I told you about or should we plan something for my birthday?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’I’m going back to where I came from today. I think I will first like to see the woman before heading back to my state’’ I answered.

‘’okay cool. I guess I will have to sacrifice my birthday celebration for you.’’ She muttered with resignation.

——————————————

By 10am, we were on our way to Suleja to meet the overhyped spiritualist. I really never believed in such stuff but sometimes that are things that could lead one into doing something out of curiosity. I had nothing to lose seeing the lady and so had to accept going with Pamela to see her.
Pamela equally insisted we go in the morning in order to be attended to on time. According to her, the place was always filled up with people searching for answers to their problems.

11am, we arrived at the big house where the spiritualist resided. The house really looked like every other house in the neighborhood, though bigger in shape and size.
Just like Pamela said, there were lots of people, especially young girls waiting to be attended to. And I couldn’t help but wonder the kind of problem they were all having.

‘’I have to go book our presence’’ Pamela whispered to me as I settled down on an empty chair. She left seconds after to speak with a lady who was holding something like a register in one of the open rooms.

She returned minutes later with a smile on her face.
‘’we will have to wait some minutes for our turn’’ she said, sitting beside me.

We ended up spending close to an hour before being invited into the main room, where an old woman dressed like a devoted Muslim was seated on a mat. Pamela graciously sat before her and I equally did the same.

‘’Zainab what brings you here today?’’ the old woman asked Pamela who smiled and nodded at me.

‘’I brought my friend to see you. He wants answers’’ she replied softly. The old lady left her eyes on me for some seconds before giving me an ointment to rub on my eyes.

‘’now hold my hands and close your eyes’’ she said, offering her hands. I silently obeyed and did like she demanded. She soon started speaking in a foreign language.

In few seconds, I felt as if I was drowning. I felt as if someone was trying to rip my heart off. I really didn’t know how the woman did the trick. Perhaps it was the ointment I rubbed on my eyes that made me feel that way.

‘’your future is very much clouded, but you can still change it for good. Trust no one but her. Trust no one but her’’ the old woman breathed with a slightly raised tone, releasing my hands with great energy.
I opened my eyes to see Pamela smiling with satisfaction while the old woman’s words played back in my head.

‘’Trust no one but her. Unfortunately I couldn’t comprehend because i had two women in my life. Tracy and Pamela,

To be continued

[Edoman]

 Episode 21-59

Episode 21

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’hi what’s up?’’ Jessica greeted as soon as I picked up her phone call.

‘’I’m cool and you?’’ I replied with a soft tone, wondering the reason she called by that hour.

‘’you asked for another date with me and I promised to give you a reply today. That’s the reason I’m calling now’’ she quickly added as if she knew what I was thinking.

‘’oh cool’’ I stammered, not really sure of what to say to her words.

‘’I will be free for another date this evening, but it’s going to take the form of an outing’’ she said softly, leaving me silent for some seconds.

‘’outing?, I really don’t get what you mean by outing’’ I muttered, expecting her to explain in details because what I wanted was to have a quiet date with her in a restaurant or someplace private but the way she mentioned the word outing looked as if she was suggesting a road trip or something similar which really looked out of ordinary considering the level of our relationship..

‘’never mind, hope you can come over to my house by 4pm?’’ she asked quickly.

‘’Yes of course ‘’ I answered .

‘’Good. Here is my address ‘’ she added softly, calling out her house address which I already knew.

After the call, I faced Joe with a smile.
‘’it’s Jessica. She called to accept another date request I made the previous day but she wants a road trip which I really don’t understand. She asked me to come over to her house by 4pm’’ I explained to my friend, who laughed.

‘’maybe she wants you to take her to Nekede zoo or maybe Oguta lake’’ he joked, laughing hard.

‘’this isn’t a laughing matter brother’’ I said seriously, stopping his laughter with my words.

‘’well I really don’t have any advice to give. You already know she was involved with your late uncle and could probably be behind the attack you had last night. So you just have to be very careful. I hope she isn’t taking you out of town to kill you?’’ he said with a very serious tone while I shrugged.

‘’I really think she is very bad but then there is this feeling of calmness, this feeling of openness I always have whenever I’m with her. She acts like an innocent angel and I don’t just know what to believe anymore’’ I confessed .

‘’you just have to be careful. Only time will tell what she really is’’ he breathed with an air of certainty.

‘’I will meet her by 4pm. Life is all about taking risk. Whatever will be will be’’ I said with a forced smile.

Jude’s side of the story continues

I left Pamela at the hotel by 6am with my head high like someone who just graduated with first class result. Pamela never uttered a word to me nor tried to stop me from leaving after the little talk we had that early morning. I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking by wanting me to leave the country with her. I couldn’t imagine what she could be planning or what exactly was going on with her life.
Leaving the relationship was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life but deep down I was still nervous, I was still scared that somehow she was going to pop up in my life again.

I returned to my hostel, very restless and nervous. I badly needed something to calm my nerves but unfortunately a long weekend was still ahead and Tracy wasn’t around anymore to keep me company. Without thinking twice, I did the unimaginable by calling her on phone with the news that I was coming over to her house that very day.

She couldn’t believe her ears when I broke the news. She kept quiet for some seconds before speaking.

‘’you are joking right?’’ she asked.

‘’I’m already on my way’’ I informed her.

‘’but why?. What made you change your mind?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’because I miss you very much. I can’t survive the weekend without you. I have seen how important you are to me’’ I confessed, leaving her silent for few seconds.

‘’you just made me cry now. I also do miss you over here’’ she confessed.

‘’I will be there in few hours. I promise’’ I breathed, hung up and got my things ready for a trip to Enugu.

——————————–

It really was my first time of visiting a female friend in her family house and of course I was extremely nervous. I prayed for her parents to be kind and accommodative.

‘’I hope your dad won’t get mad at me’’ I asked her over and over as we chatted on my way to her house.

On getting to Enugu, Tracy was already at the bus station waiting for me with a chartered taxi. She cried out with joy as soon as she saw me alight from the bus.

‘’finally you made it’’ she broke out, hugging me tightly and drawing the attention of everyone at the bus station. I felt on top of the world, having such a pretty girl who cared so much for my well being, for my happiness, for my future all to myself. And that is what true love is all about.

But did I really deserve Tracy’s love??

Episode 22

Jude’s side of the story continues

As Tracy and I headed to her house minutes later, she held my hand and looked up at me with a worried look.

‘’please bear in mind that my dad is a medical doctor who also lectures in UNN. Do answer all his questions honestly, don’t lie about anything. He knows much about school stuffs and he is a very understanding man’’ she begged softly while I nodded like a child.
When we got to her house, she quickly led me to the sitting room where her dad and mother were seated, probably waiting for me even though it looked as if they were just busy watching a TV show.

They politely smiled as Tracy led me in.

‘’oh my dear you never told us you were bringing in a half caste’’ Tracy’s mother muttered jokingly. I greeted politely.

‘’you are welcome my son, Tracy told us a lot about you and one thing I do admire in my children is that they always bring their friends home for us to see and access. So do relax and feel at home’’ the old lady said to me sweetly, stood up and playfully dragged Tracy to one of the rooms, leaving me all alone with her husband.
Tears melted in my eyes as I remembered my mother. Tracy’s family really was the type of family I wanted for myself. I never played with my mother. I never saw my mum and dad together as a happy couple. It was just so painful seeing the kind of family I wanted, playing before my eyes.

The old man soon cleared his throat after feeding his eyes on me for some seconds.
‘’I’m not good with words but you should know that my daughter took a lot of risk by bringing you before us. Your presence in this house means that my daughter trusts and believes in you and I hope it will remain that way. You are the first man she is bringing home and I hope you won’t hurt her in the end?. I know what students are capable of and left for me, my daughter is still too young to have a male friend but I have no choice than to accept you. So feel free in my house’’ he said with a smile while I nervously nodded like a kid who just got luckily adopted by a rich family.

‘’thank you sir’’ I muttered softly.

———————-
The rest of the evening really was a bit uneventful. I had my shower, rested for a while at the guest room before joining the family for dinner. Yes I was overly nervous being with them and I had a hard time finishing my own share of the meal.
However after dinner, as I stood up to leave the dining room, Tracy’s mother asked me to wait for her in the sitting room.

‘’we have much to talk this evening. I hope you are not too tired?’’ she asked as I sat up.

‘’mum come on, he just got here’’ Tracy protested.

‘’I’m ready to talk anytime’’ I replied with a smile.

‘’good’’ the old woman smiled with satisfaction.

———————–

Minutes later in the sitting room, I sat alone with Tracy’s mother who took her time in asking me prying questions about my life, my fears and plans for the future. Yes she already knew a lot about me from her daughter and that really made our talk flow easily.

‘’you know during my days, most of my friends that ended up being successful in life were the ones with a very difficult background. I can vividly remember a friend back then in UNN. She lost her parents, five days before our first year first semester examination. And she was the first daughter of the family. All her siblings were very little back then and all her uncle’s could come up with was that she should return home, plan her parents burial, get married and care for her siblings. The whole department virtually had to force her to stay back and try her best in the coming exam which probably was going to be her last exam in the school since it was very clear to everyone that was going to drop out from school. She stayed behind, did her best, bade us farewell and left the school for an uncertain future. Could you believe that when the results came out, she turned out to be the best first year student in the whole faculty, which earned her a scholarship. She had to come back to school but it still wasn’t an easy ride for her. She turned herself to a student trader, and the proceeds were enough to cater for her siblings at home. Today she is a senior lecturer in U.N.N. So my dear what am I trying to say is that you should make good use of every situation you find yourself and never give up on life. God has a way of helping everyone. Sometimes it might look as if God isn’t on your side but the truth is that you fail to look beyond what your eyes are seeing that moment. At least you are lucky your dad left you a little thing to fall back on before he died. So what you should be thinking now is how to better your life and expand the family name. You look like a level headed boy to me and my daughter speaks very highly of you which left me and her father very curious to see you. Anyway we still have a lot to talk about’’ she summarized with a smile while I breathed deeply.
It really was the first time a woman sat me down and spoke to me like a mother and it just looked as if a new spirit fell upon me.

‘’you should go to your room and rest. We have church service to attend tomorrow. I hope you do go to church?’’ she asked with a smile. I nodded, smiled back at her and headed to the guest room, feeling very much at home.

——————————-

The old woman’s words really touched me a great deal and even when I got to my room, I sat up on my bed and played back all she preached on my head. Tracy soon sneaked in, smiling like a little kid. She threw herself on me, resting her head on my laps.

‘’I told you my parents are good and accommodative. It’s just a pity you didn’t meet my siblings. Dad locked up the younger ones at the dormitory’’ she said with a smile, caressing my hands.

‘’Thank you for bringing me here. You really don’t know how much I feel right now’’ I confessed. She sat up, brought her face forward and stared into my eyes.

‘’I did it because I love you. I will do much more for you. I just pray you won’t disappoint or embarrass me before my family in future’’ she breathed solemnly.

‘’I love you too Tracy and I promise to be you forever’’ I promised, kissing her softly. She held me tightly, moaning under my soft kisses and wriggling as if an evil genie flew into her night wear. In no time we were passionately kissing on the bed, throwing caution to the wind. The urge in me was so strong and I knew she felt the same way.

‘’I’m willing to give you my virginity but it will be when we get back to our hostel’’ she suddenly promised, breaking away from my kisses.

‘’no I won’t need it till our wedding night. Just keep it safe for me’’ I replied with all sincerity because he just was my precious and the last thing I wanted was breaking into her vineyard so prematurely.

‘’I know you are not a virgin and I don’t want to be cheated on. So how do you satisfy your sexual urge since you don’t want it with me for the moment?’’ she suddenly asked, throwing off balance with such prying but valid question.

Episode 23

Jude’s side of the story continues

‘’and what gave you the impression that guys can’t survive without s-x?’’ I asked, smiling faintly. She said nothing.

‘’what matters the most is what we feel for each other. I respect you. I adore you. I love you and that’s more than enough reason for me to abstain from s-x till we get married’’ I answered, kissing her forehead. Her eyes brightened with tears of joy.

‘’that’s so sweet of you. You are such a gentleman. I really do pray nothing comes between us’’ she muttered softly, getting up from the bed.

‘’good night my love’’ she added, smiled and left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts and conscience as Pamela’s image flashed through my mind.

I left Pamela in a rough condition and deep down I knew I was yet to see the end of her even though I did the best thing by ending our relationship before it got out hand.

Kelvin’s side of the story continues **
10am, Saturday

With the help of Joe, I got some laborers who fixed my fence while I busied myself tidying up my house, especially my kitchen that was tampered with by the hoodlums. I equally used the opportunity to hide the briefcase I got from my late uncle’s apartment because it really was the only new thing I had in my apartment that could probably be the reason I was attacked in such daring manner.

Later in the day, Joe brought a young Fulani guy to my house.

‘’you need someone to watch over your property and this guy here is the man’’ he said to me with a smile as I assessed the innocent looking guy with my eyes.

‘’you have nothing to worry about him. I know him very well’’ he added with a smile while I nodded in gratitude.

‘’thanks Joe; you have shown what a great friend you are. I will be at your gym tomorrow morning to brief you on my date with Jessica’’ I said to him with a smile. He laughed and shook his head.

‘’of course if you come back alive’’ he joked, shook hands with me and left.

———————

The rest of the afternoon was a bit uneventful. All I did was rehearse and reshape the plans I had for Jessica and prepare for the date ahead. Of course as a human being I was a bit nervous and scared.
Just like my friend Joe insinuated, she could be behind the attack I had the previous night. She could be a wolf disguised as a sheep.
She could be luring me to my death and I had to be prepared for anything.

————————-

By 4:15pm, I was in front of Jessica’s house all nervous and vigilant. She soon appeared at her gate, smiling nicely like a beauty queen.

‘’thanks for coming on time’’ she muttered happily, drew close and surprised me with a hug which calmed my nerves.

‘’I guess you must be wondering what I’m up to?’’ she asked, smiling.

‘’yes of course’’ I replied, returning her gaze.

‘’you see every once in a while, I do take out my time to visit some orphanages and contribute my quota to their survival. It’s also something I always introduce my friends to. Something just struck me to involve you today. We can also use the opportunity to discuss and know each other very well as we drive round the town’’ she explained, smiling deeply and leaving me totally surprised, relived and stunned. Yes I was totally relieved in one hand and a bit stunned by the reason she just gave.
To me she was a high class lady, very charming and probably deceptive. I was all out to get her down but so far her behavior, her character and her heart showed nothing but innocence and purity. I honored her invitation, scared of what she was planning for me only to discover that all she wanted was for me to accompany her on a charity work.

‘’I hope you are not angry at me?’’ I heard her ask curiously.

‘’no of course not’’ I quickly replied. She smiled with relief and signaled to her gateman who quickly came out with some cartons of Indomie noodles, children clothes, provisions and toiletries. My car boot was soon filled up and all I could do was just to stare at her with great admiration. I used the moment to examine my life as I realized that I was yet to give out a single penny to the needy which really was totally bad of me.

‘’you know nothing sets the heart more at peace than helping people in need. Have you ever visited an orphanage before?’’ she asked as we headed to the first orphanage located at Aladinma.

‘’no it has never crossed my mind’’ I answered truthfully.

‘’God blessed you for a reason and the least you can do is to help the needy, to touch someone’s life with your help. You can’t believe the number of kids I’m paying school fees for.’’ She added with a smile while I kept quiet.

——————

The evening turned out to be a very long and interesting one for me. I got to experience firsthand how an orphanage looked like and how the kids living there were treated. We visited about five of such homes and I ended up donating five thousand naira to each of them which really was nothing, compared to what Jessica gave out.

When we got back to her house, late in the evening, she invited me inside for the first time.

‘’I’m really proud of you Kelvin. Not many guys would be happy on what I did. I took you to where you never planned visiting and yet you contributed your quota. So you now have the right to pick out the time and place of our next date’’ she said to me with a happy smile after showing round her impressive residence. I couldn’t believe my ears.

‘’wow that’s so good to hear, but really you taught me a very wonderful lesson today’’ I confessed. She drew close, breathed deeply, hugged and pecked me affectionately.

‘’you are such a wonderful guy Kelvin and I really enjoyed my evening with you’’ she whispered, melting my heart with her action and I kind of trembled before her as I tried so hard to control my emotions.
I so badly wanted to grab and kiss her that moment but luckily I was able to hold back myself.

I never planned falling in love with Jessica because she was still my main suspect over my uncle’s death but somehow my emotions were getting on the way and she looked so pure, open minded and honest.

It looked as if I was gradually falling in love for the first time. Or could it be lust??

Episode 24

Jude’s side of the story continues

Early Sunday morning, we all headed to a catholic church down the street for a Sunday Church service. The kindness and love shown to me by Tracy’s parents was something I never dreamt of having. I really felt so much at peace being with them.

However on our way to the church, Tracy took my phone for no just reason and since I had nothing to hide (Apart from Pamela’s phone numbers which were saved in my phone with her real name, everything other thing like our chats and messages were always deleted after each chat session). I allowed Tracy to have my phone. But unfortunately, that very Sunday was the day the devil remembered me.

Later in the day, just minutes after we got back from church service, Tracy ran into my room, all colored up and angry. She threw my phone at me with great rage, while I stared at her with great confusion.

‘’I can’t believe you were with another girl, the night before you came here. What an insult to me. I cheapened myself so much for you. I blame myself for this’’ she burst out with such a loud voice that left me very scared.

‘’you have to reduce your voice and talk me. Do you want your parents to hear your voice?. I don’t understand what you are saying’’ I tried my best to calm her but instead of calming down, she drew forward to slap me but I caught her hand on time and firmly dragged her down on the bed while she struggled to free herself.

I really couldn’t figure out how she discovered I spent the night with Pamela since I had nothing incriminating on my phone. I equally was very sure that the last thing Pamela would do was to share our little secret to anyone because she was so conscious of herself and dignity.

‘’you still don’t understand right?. Get your phone, read the message you just got. Yes I read it. Yes I invaded your privacy but I did it for a genuine reason’’ she breathed as she struggled with me.
I slowly grabbed my phone, opened the message box and read the first message I saw. Of course the message was from no other person than Pamela. I froze as I read the text message she left me.

‘’I can’t still believe you had the mind to do what you did after the risk I took in coming down to spend Friday night with you. Things don’t always go the way we plan, but just know that we are in this together. I won’t bother you again but you will come looking for me’’

I read the message over and over without really knowing what to make of it or the explanation to give to Tracy. I was simply unprepared and clueless on how to tackle the situation. I couldn’t even think properly.

‘’why would you be with another woman on Friday and then the next day, you pretend and come over to my house like a saint?. What kind of man are you?’’ she asked with tears on her eyes and I really felt so bad. She was a woman before anything and I knew she would never understand if I try giving an honest explanation.
There wasn’t any doubt she was already disgusted by me. To her, I greatly dishonored her love and all she felt for me by taking advantage of her feelings. I was now nothing but a good pretender before her eyes.

‘’I just don’t know you Jude’’ she sobbed deeply.

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’so how about you come over to my house tomorrow afternoon for a date?. I’m a good cook and it really will be an honor cooking for such a wonderful lady like you’’ I suddenly asked Jessica as she escorted me out of her house that Saturday evening.

‘’of course you already know I can’t say no’’ she replied sweetly, rolling her eyes.
I quickly gave her my address, hugged her again and drove home in a very happy mood. There wasn’t any doubt that I was making a smooth headway to her heart and she equally was slowly gaining direct access to my heart.

————-

Early Sunday morning when everyone was heading to church, I headed to Joe’s gym to exercise and chat with my friend. Joe looked so happy to see me and I couldn’t help but wonder if he really thought I was going to die the previous evening.

‘’I’m so glad to see you my friend. Since you survived yesterday, I guess you aren’t dying anytime soon’’ he joked while I laughed.
In no time I told him everything that happened between Jessica and I the previous evening, hiding nothing from him.

‘’I hope you are not going to end up having kids with her?. With the way you guys are going, I won’t be surprised if that happens’’ he joked when I was done with my story.

‘’seriously bro, I always feel different whenever I’m with Jessica. I really haven’t achieved much with her other than stupidly getting romantically attached to her and I can’t stop myself or control what I’m feeling’’ I confessed.

‘’hmmm you have to take it easy’’ he advised with a smile.

—————————–

An hour later, I returned to my house and busied myself with preparing a delicious meal of fried rice and salad for Jessica. Growing up in the village taught me a whole lot of things and I could boast of being one of the best male cooks around. Though lately, Cynthia had always been around to help me out.

The spirit and energy I used in cooking for Jessica was something I really didn’t know where it came from and by 1pm, the food, table, wine and flowers were all ready. I just felt like a bachelor who was expecting his fiancée from abroad.

2pm, Jessica arrived my house, looking so gorgeous and charming. My heart pounded loud as I welcomed her into my house.

‘’wow, you have such a nice house. You are doing too well for yourself’’ she complemented my great taste. I smiled nervously.

Thirty five minutes later, we were done with lunch and the look of admiration on her face was clearly visible.

‘’you know when you said you were going to cook for me, I thought maybe you were just trying to impress me but seriously after eating and listening to your story on how you learnt to cook and the method you used to prepare this wonderful meal, you totally won a great deal of me. I like guys who know how to cook and I adore guys who know how to cook excellently well. I score you 99%’’ she said with great admiration while my head swelled with pride.

‘’so what now?’’ she asked as we got up to leave the table. I smiled, drew close and did what I never wanted to do.
I kissed her and surprisingly, she kissed back, opening a new chapter in my life.

Will I end up regretting or did I make the right decision???

Hmmmmmm

To be continued

Episode 25

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene

We kissed passionately for a while before Jessica got hold of her body and broke away from me.

‘’stop this. I beg of you’’ she breathed, looking down. I slowly brought up her face with my hands and looked into her eyes with great desire. The urge to make love to her was so much in me. I just felt hot and hor.ny like a guy who hasn’t been with a woman for many years.

‘’I don’t know why I’m feeling this way. I hardly have feelings for women but with you things are different. I can’t control my body. I can’t even hold back what I’m feeling inside. I’m sorry for ruining our date’’ I stammered softly. She shook her head and breathed deeply.

‘’you didn’t ruin anything Kelvin. I feel the same way’’ she confessed, leaving me a bit stunned and happy at the same time. Without another word, I drew closer and kissed her again, this time around, putting more fire and energy into it.

‘’oh easy’’ she moaned, holding me tightly as if she was scared of standing on her feet. I just was on top of the world that moment. It was as if we were the only couple on earth. I never knew when or how I got the energy to carry her to my room without breaking our kiss and oh yes she was quite a great kisser.

In no time, my mouth was on her left nipp.le which I managed to squeeze out of her bra and just like that we were soon unclad on my bed, ready to take our passion to the next level.

‘’what are you doing?’’ she asked weakly as I slowly dug into her. Her body was so warm and welcoming.

Thirty five minutes later, we fell apart, totally spent and tired. It really was one hell of a love making.

‘’I can’t believe we just did it’’ I heard her mutter to herself as she buried her face on my pillow while I slowly regained my senses as the consequences of what we just did slowly dawned on me.
Making love to her was never part of the plan and with the way I still felt about her, I was very clueless on the direction my life and plans were heading.

———————————-

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene
‘’you have to listen to me Tracy, even if it’s for the last time’’ I begged, trying hard to get the broken girl to listen to me.

‘’what is there to lie huh? What is there to say?’’ she breathed solemnly.

‘’and what gave you the impression that I want to lie. I only wanted to protect you by keeping this away from you but since it has come to this level, I have no choice than to tell you what actually happened on Friday night and the reason I came over to your house yesterday’’ I stammered, trying so hard to come up with an explanation.

I never planned telling her the truth but I equally knew I had to at least come up with something close to the truth to get her trust back. I really wasn’t a good liar but my business with Kelvin taught me a whole lot of things, including turning a lie into a believable truth.
Coolval once wrote that ‘sometimes a well told lie is better than a painful truth’ and that was the option I had no choice than to take. I had to come up with a well constructed lie.

‘’I was with Pamela on Friday night. The silly girl just showed up to spend the weekend with me, without even notifying me that she was coming over. It was hell spending the night with her because all I could think about was you. And early the next day, I had to lie to her that I was travelling. I couldn’t bear spending Saturday and Sunday with her and the only way to kick her out was to make her believe I was travelling. It was the reason I had to start coming down to your house yesterday, instead of Monday we agreed on. I did it all for you. Okay why will a guy spend a night with a girl on Friday and abandon her to visit another girl on Saturday?’’ I explained nervously.
For the first time, Tracy kept calm and searched me with her eyes. It was obvious she was buying all I just poured out.

‘’but who is she?’’ she asked, leaving me a bit uncomfortable with the question. Of course the last thing I would do was telling her that Pamela was a married woman. That she’s a senator’s wife.

‘’Pamela is a student. I used to have fun with her before the death of my dad’’ I lied. She looked down, saying nothing.

‘’I know you still don’t believe me but do know that I have genuine feelings and intentions for you. I will leave your house this evening because I don’t want you to embarrass me before your parents. I never came here to take advantage of you. Please simply pretend as if all Is still well between us, till I leave in few hours’’ I begged her softly.

‘’who told you I didn’t believe you?. I know you have no reason to lie to me and the explanation you gave is more than convincing. You have no reason to be here yesterday but you surprised me by coming over instead of being with her. Not many guys would do it. I’m sorry for doubting you. It’s just that her text message shocked me. I’m fine now and I believe you’’ she suddenly opened up with eyes filled with tears.

I swallowed hard with guilt as I stared back at her. Tears slowly showed up in my eyes. She never deserved being lied to but I had no choice.

To be continued

Episode 26

Jude’s side of the story continues

I ended up spending seven cool days at Tracy’s house and I really had a very great time with the lovely family. They showed me great love and I couldn’t help but pray to God, begging him to give me such type of happy home in future.
I really felt at peace being them.

Tracy and i headed back to school at the end of the week to face a very tough examination. I started the semester very badly and so really wasn’t hoping for a good result. Nevertheless I tried my best with Tracy’s assistance which was more than enough for me.

The exam week really was very uneventful and nothing much happened in my life apart from the regular routine of leaving the hostel early and returning late throughout the duration.

However precisely one week after the exams, just as I was making plans for my industrial training, something happened that shook my entire being. It was something I never expected in any way and yes it did happen in a very shocking manner.

On that fateful evening, I was lazily going through my bbm chats when something or should I say curiosity made me check Pamela’s profile. As I clicked on her profile, the bbm status she uploaded kind of left me speechless for a while.

’’I’ll soon be a mother. Can’t wait’’ were the exact words I saw on her status. And after few minutes of reading the status over and over, I sent her a message.

’’congrats on the baby you are expecting. God is wonderful’’ I sent to her with an open heart.
It really was the first time I was sending her a message after breaking up with her weeks ago and deep down I equally was very surprised that she could stay a week or two without bothering to chat me up.

Yes I know i shouldn’t have sent her the message. I should have deleted her contact long ago, but I failed to do so for no just reason.

In two minutes, my bbm beeped and on checking it, I saw that she replied my message.

‘’ yes I’m having your baby for my husband’’ was the reply she sent me, leaving me so cold with shock and disbelief. My head just went hollow that moment. I really didn’t know what to think or what to reply.

’’really?’’ I managed to type and send.

’’yep’’ she replied instantly.
I switched off my phone and fell back on my bed to calm down as the reality of what she just informed me did wonders on my body.

‘’maybe she’s trying to play a fast one on me. I have to relax. I have to keep calm before Tracy walks in and catches me in this state’’ I said to myself as sweat soaked my body and no matter how hard I tried to calm down, I just couldn’t keep my mind at rest.

In few minutes, I was down with severe headache which slowly heated up every part of my body, making it look as if I was down with malaria. Tracy soon walked in to see me looking so sick. Feeling my pulse, she concluded that I was down with malaria and rushed out to get some malaria drugs for me, which I took without hesitation because I had no strength to argue with her.

The next day, I woke up without any headache or fever. But my problems and fear were still there to solve. I lazily grabbed my phone, checked my bbm and read the short chat I had with Pamela the previous day. I read it over and over to be sure of myself before deleting it.

‘’I can’t solve this on my own. I have to open up to Kelvin. He is older and more experienced. He will figure out something for me’’ I decided without any other choice.

———————————

After having breakfast with Tracy that fateful morning, I headed to Kelvin’s house ignoring Tracy’s pleas to stay back and rest. Of course she was far from knowing what really was wrong with me and all her concerns were on my health without knowing that something stronger was killing me inside.

I arrived at Kelvin’s house around 9:45am and headed straight to his bedroom since I couldn’t find him in the sitting room. But on getting to his bedroom, I heard voices coming out from inside which told me that he’s with someone.
The voices I heard were that of two adults discussing and not that of two adults making love. I tapped on the door to make my presence known before peeping into the room to know if I was free to enter but as soon as I peeped in, a sight struck me that shattered the remaining sanity I had left.

Kelvin sat on his bed, carrying a lady on his body and the lady was no other person than the lady he showed me on his computer sometime back. The lady he introduced to me as Jessica Simon. The lady he told me could be behind my father’s death.

Yes her image stuck in my head from that day he showed me her picture and she was the same lady I just saw him playing with.

I staggered back, surprised, shocked and confused.

Episode 27

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

I returned to the sitting room, feeling so cold and miserable. I really didn’t know how to react over the scene I just witnessed. What I saw was nothing but two adults in love and I couldn’t help but reason that Kelvin could be working for both sides. He was a scammer for crying out loud and so was capable of anything.

Yes he told me about the lady quite alright. He equally told me about his plans for her but what I just saw really wasn’t part of the plan and I was no fool not to know when being played.

‘’Jude I’m so glad you came’’ I soon heard Kelvin say to me with a smile as he showed up in the sitting room. It was possible he saw me when I peeped into his room, minutes ago.

‘’please let’s talk outside’’ he added, winking at me. I breathed deeply and followed him to the front veranda where he stopped and searched me with his eyes, expecting me to say something but I didn’t. I simply kept my feelings to myself and made no attempt to ask him about what I just witnessed.

‘’I’m with Jessica’’ he whispered with a smile, trying hard to be open with me. I simply shrugged, saying nothing.

‘’things are going on well between us and by God’s grace in no time I will uncover all she’s hiding’’ he added with a smile of accomplishment, expecting me to leave a positive response but I said nothing, instead smiled and shook my head. The last thing in my mind was to believe him. I simply pretended and smiled like an innocent kid.

‘’you don’t look too well to me. What’s up?’’ he asked, searching me with his eyes once again.

‘’I have been down with fever. The exam stress was just too much’’ I answered softly, keeping the main reason I came to visit him to myself. Of course I couldn’t get myself to tell him my problem and secret after what I just witnessed. I kind of decided to tackle my problem without involving him.

‘’oh I see. No wonder’’ he breathed.

‘’I just felt like saying hello to you today, that’s the reason I stopped by. Anyway I have to go. You are busy’’ I said, forcing out a smile while he shrugged, his eyes still on me. It was very obvious he sensed something wasn’t right with me.

‘’okay but I will be expecting you soon again because we have a new deal to push through’’ he muttered softly. I smiled, nodded and left his apartment without another word.

Yes I really felt bitter seeing him with that woman and supposing I was stronger and older than him, I would have dealt with the lady in his presence without minding what it would lead to but unfortunately all I could do that moment was just to pretend and walk away with a heart full of hatred.

———————————————-

On getting to my car, I dialed Pamela’s number. She soon picked my call without greeting or saying hi to me.

‘’we have to talk’’’ I said coldly.

‘’I can’t speak to you on phone. If you are serious about settling with me then you should come over to Abuja’’ she replied and hung up rudely, leaving me speechless and totally confused.

‘’is she really serious?’’ I reasoned as I dialed her number again.

‘’please if you are really serious about speaking with me, just find a way to come over to Abuja’’ she said again, hanging up rudely.

I just can’t describe how I felt that moment. My head was just filled with confusion and indecisiveness. I had Kelvin’s games on one hand to deal with, Jessica’s involvement on my father’s death to unravel, Pamela before me to subdue and innocent Tracy at the corner, totally unaware of anything or the dangers I could be putting her to.

‘’Should I go to Abuja or not?’’ I reasoned over and over.

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

I returned to my room with great guilt. Of course I noticed the suspicion on Jude’s face as we talked seconds ago. I equally knew he visited for a reason but had to go back without opening up to me.
I knew I went over the line in my dealings with Jessica. I knew what I was doing with her was totally wrong but the problem was how to stop and get my act together.
From the first day I tasted her honeypot, my feelings and plans totally changed to something I just couldn’t describe. I couldn’t even stay a day without being with the pretty lady and she was now influencing my life a great deal.
I was just like a hunter who got caught in his own trap and about to be devoured by the animal the trap was meant for.

‘’who was the guy that peeped at us?’’ Jessica asked as I walked into my room.

‘’oh he’s my cousin Jude’’ I answered with a smile. Her eyes instantly widened with excitement.

‘’your cousin Jude?. Where is he now?. I can’t wait to be introduced to him’’ she asked with a smile while I stared at her suspiciously, trying hard to keep my feelings in check.

Episode 28

Jude’s side of the story continues

I returned to my hostel with a very troubled spirit. I just didn’t know the direction to think. I knew I had to do something to stop Pamela’s plans but what exactly do I do was a question I couldn’t answer.

‘’dear lord I hope she isn’t pregnant for me’’ I prayed as my mind flashed back to the fun I had with her. Of course I was so stupid to sleep with her without any form of protection. I was so carried away by her beauty and personality without knowing that she had sinister plans for me. I just felt like a big fool. Oh yes I was a very big idiot.

Keeping my fears and feelings away from Tracy was another tough battle I fought so hard to win but in the end the caring girl soon noticed that something else was eating me up.
Tracy was just so sharp in noticing things and it really was one of the qualities I admired in her.

‘’you know yesterday, I thought it was only malaria that was bothering you but I feel something else is eating you up. You have been acting so withdrawn and strange since yesterday. What is bothering you?’’ she asked curiously when we were alone in her room. I breathed deeply, wondering if it was okay to tell her the truth or not.

‘’yesterday I was down with fever but today I’m okay, only that I’m still weak’’ I answered, smiling convincingly.

‘’Jude I have known you for a long time and I know when you lie. At least I know ninety five percent of the times you lie. You just lied now’’ she pushed on.

‘’okay fine, my cousin Kelvin invited me to his house just to tell me that an uncle in Abuja wants to see me and I think its relating to my dad’s death. Moreover I’m yet to travel to the states to meet my dad’s attorney. I just have a lot going on in my head right now and I’m still indecisive on whether to head to Abuja tomorrow or not’’ I lied fluently. She breathed deeply and held my hand.

‘’now I understand how you feel. I think it’s best you meet your uncle. You have a lot to gain. But first you have to be strong’’ she said with a smile. I swallowed hard with guilt as I returned her gaze. Each time I lied to the innocent girl, my conscience always pinched me. She never deserved a guy like me but unfortunately love pushed her to me.

‘’Tomorrow I will head to Abuja then ‘’ I muttered with a smile.

———————————————–

Later in the night as I was about falling asleep, my phone rang and it was Pamela calling me for the first time since I broke up with her. I stared at the ringing phone for a while before answering the call.
Luckily the night was one of those nights Tracy insisted on sleeping in her room and I really was grateful for it because I still had a lot to talk with Pamela.

‘’listen Jude, I really don’t want to be hard on you. No matter what happened in the past, I still love you and you are going to be the father of my child. I think you should keep aside your pride and come over to Abuja for us to talk. I didn’t get pregnant to punish you or to force myself on you. I got pregnant for a reason. I got pregnant because I’m obliged to have a baby at all cost and I couldn’t help but allow a man I love the most to father the child for me. We really have a lot to talk. Just come over to Abuja. You have nothing to fear’’ she preached softly.

‘’fine, I will be there tomorrow evening. I will take a flight to Abuja tomorrow’’ I agreed softly.

‘’ Just alert me when you touch down at the airport. I will come pick you up’’ she added and hung up, leaving me with my thoughts.

Abuja , Nigeria
By 6:23pm the next evening, I was in a black Hilux truck Pamela sent to pick me from the airport. At first I was nervous when the driver walked up to me but his friendly smile and Igbo language made me loosen up.
In no time we arrived at Pamela’s house. A very cute bungalow built with high taste.
Of course I was scared as I alighted from the truck. I never expected to find myself there. I thought we were meeting at a hotel or guest house.

Pamela soon appeared, smiling happily.

‘’welcome to my house Jude’’ she greeted proudly while I stared at her suspiciously. But I said nothing nor made any protest until we were all alone in the sitting room.

‘’why bring me here?. This is your matrimonial house right?’’ I asked nervously.

‘’oh come on Jude! Does this lonely house look like the house a serving senator resides in?’’ she asked, leaving me silent.

‘’I live here all alone with my security and driver. I already told you there are many things about me you are yet to know’’ she explained with a smile, leaving me to wonder if she’s actually a senator’s wife or a senator’s mistress. Moreover she revealed the previous night that she needed a child at all cost.

‘’what really is she up to?. I pray I don’t burn in hell with her’’ I pondered as I prayed silently.

Episode 29

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

‘’I prepared something delicious for you. Let’s go to the dining table or do you want to first freshen up?’’ Pamela asked, trying hard to make me feel at home but unfortunately my mind was far from being at ease. All I wanted was to reach a good compromise with her. I just couldn’t bear the idea of her having my first child.

‘’I didn’t come here to freshen up or to eat. I came for something serious. You are not having my child, are you?’’ I asked coldly. She laughed and shook her head.

‘’you know most times guys always like playing the victim when it comes to issues concerning unwanted pregnancy. I really don’t understand why you are trying to look innocent. You very well knew my marital status, yet you had the mind to approach and make countless love to me without protection. The result of our action pops up and you finally remember that I’m not worthy of you. We really have a lot to talk Jude. I advice you calm down, let’s go to the dining room. We will talk after dinner’’ she said softly, flashing an annoying smile while I slowly calmed down.
Of course she was very right with what we just said. She wasn’t to be blamed for what we did together.

@the dining table

I nervously ate the fried rice she served me halfheartedly. My mind was just so occupied with many thoughts. I couldn’t help but realize that moment that my journey to Abuja was nothing but useless. Pamela had her plans already figured out and my visit was never going to change a thing.
‘’dear lord I’m just being more stupid with each passing moment. What is wrong with me?. Why can’t I think things before acting?’’ I prayed and pondered in my mind.
I really was so pathetic and silly. I couldn’t believe it was all happening. It looked more of a dream to me than reality.

Pamela soon reached out to hold my left hand.

‘’Jude you shouldn’t look so worried. I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess. The last thing I would do is to hurt you. Nevertheless you have to listen to what I have to say and support me’’ she breathed softly. I stared at her, saying nothing.

‘’I grew up in the worst kind of family a child would ever have. My Nigerian father so much abused my mum, to the extent of strangling her before my eyes. He ended up with a life sentence in the states and I had to grow up in three different homes. I won’t bore you with my childhood tales but you have to know that I did anything to survive back then until I met my husband the senator. A friend actually introduced me to him for a one night stand but he ended up falling in love with me. He got me a new apartment, brushed me up and changed my life. He finally had to ask me to convert to his religion and marry him. My friends all encouraged me to go on with him but I never loved him. The only attraction he had was his money. I was advised to marry him, have a child for him and get a divorce after some months. Unfortunately it was all easier said than done. After the quiet marriage, he tried making me part of his household but his wife and children were far from being accommodative. They tried every trick to get me out of the house until the old man had no choice than to get me this house. He couldn’t even get me pregnant and that’s my only ticket to freedom and equally the main reason I needed you. You have all the features I want my son’s father to have.
What’s left for me to do now is to convince the senator that I’m pregnant for him. He still loves me and I already have made good use of the opportunity to milk him very much. I will have my child in the states and I will never come back to Nigeria. The old man will only learn the truth when I decide. So nothing you will ever say to me will make me to lose your child. The best you can do is to leave the country with me. We can start all over. I have more than enough money for that. Of course I know you won’t allow your child to grow up without knowing you’’ she slowly opened up, leaving me feeling so sick and nauseous. I just didn’t know what to say or how to react.

‘’so you are using my child for a dangerous game. You just don’t know what you are getting yourself into. You can’t play a politician and live to tell the story’’ I muttered, dropping my eyes.

‘’moreover I still find it hard to believe your story’’ I added, frowning deeply.

‘’tomorrow is my birthday. I will be twenty seven tomorrow. How about we make plans’’ she suddenly changed the topic as if we were done with the current situation. I sprang up furiously.

‘’I will never be part of your games. Not anymore. I’m leaving’’ I shouted at her.

‘’you can’t be serious’’ she replied, smiling and licking her lips.

‘’I have enough money. I can lodge in any hotel’’ I barked seriously, heading out of the dining room.

‘’there is someone I will like you to meet. She told me something strange when I asked her to check you out. Your life could be in danger Jude’’ she suddenly muttered, stopping me with her words. I turned and faced her seriously.

‘’are you trying to play another trick on me?’’ I asked. She scoffed and shrugged.

‘’I’m not begging you to stay back. You can leave if you want to’’ she breathed and stood up with a drawn face. I stared at her suspiciously, not knowing the right decision to take.

‘’The lady told me that the same wind that blew your father away is now dangerously hovering above you’’ she added, eyed me and headed out of the dining room while I stood still like a palm tree.
I felt she was trying to get in my head. I felt she was trying to use my weak point against me. I felt she was playing a mind game on me but still I was very curious to know the meaning of what she just said. I couldn’t just leave after what she said about my life being in danger.
———————————

Kelvin’s side of the story continues (same evening)

I was driving out of Joe’s gym when my phone rang and it was Jessica calling. I smiled as I answered her call.

‘’Hi dear. Guess where I’m?’’ she said sweetly,

‘’hmmm tell me’’ I begged.

‘’I’m in front of your house’’ she answered.

‘’oh dear me, I will be home in few minutes’’ I replied, smiling broadly.

‘’I’m waiting, better hurry’’ she added and hung up.
I smiled to myself as I sped up. Jessica was nothing but a she devil. I just couldn’t have enough of her.

On getting to my house, she came forward and hugged me, softening my heart tremendously.

‘’I prepared a special bean-cake (moi moi) at home and I had to bring it over here for us to eat together. It actually took me all evening to prepare but the stress is worth it’’ she said happily, pecking me. I swallowed hard with great eagerness. I couldn’t wait to have the delicious meal. The last time I ate such food was two years ago in the village.

In no time we were enjoying the super delicious bean-cake with pap mixed with milk. I really felt like proposing to her that moment. Of course the fastest way to most men’s heart is through the stomach.

‘’I have something to ask of you?’’ she suddenly breathed when we were done with the meal.

‘’what is it you want?’’ I asked curiously.

‘’I want you to introduce me to your cousin Jude’’ she demanded, leaving me totally stunned.

I almost choked with surprise.

Episode 30

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
——————————————–

‘’what’s up with your interest in my cousin Jude?. Do you know his late father?. Is there anything you are not telling me?’’ I asked Jessica, searching her reaction. She smiled and shrugged.

‘’I feel that you don’t want your family to know about me. You don’t tell me anything about them and your body language is not like that of a guy who wants to take our relationship to the next level’’ she answered softly while I breathed deeply.
I really wasn’t expecting such reply from her. I had expected my question to throw her off balance but she answered it quickly and innocently as if she had nothing else in mind. If actually she wanted to meet Jude for another motive, it never showed on her.

‘’how do you think, introducing you to my cousin will change my body language?’’ I asked.

‘’At least knowing one person from your family will assure me that you are not a ghost’’ she answered with a smile.

‘’fine, by next weekend, Jude and I will have dinner at your place. Hope you are cool with it?’’ I offered, leaving a very satisfying smile on her face.
If really she was planning something bad for my cousin, it failed to show on her.

—————————–

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

—————————–

‘’what exactly did the lady tell you about my life?. I hope you are not trying to play with my head?’’ I asked Pamela as I followed her to the kitchen. She scoffed, turned and faced me.

‘’what will I gain by playing with head. You are free to leave. You act like a little kid and I feel so sick being with you sometimes’’ she answered coldly, eyed me and faced the dishes she was about washing.
I silently watched her for a while, uncertain of what to do next. She really seemed very serious with the information she gave me but then it equally looked like a ploy to stop me from leaving.

‘’can you tell me about the lady?’’ I demanded but she kept quiet, saying nothing to me.

‘’please I beg of you. Who is the lady and how did she know me?’’ I begged breathlessly. She turned, stared at me for a while and smiled.

‘’don’t get so colored up. You are not dying tonight. I will tell you everything you need to know later in the night’’ she said softly. I shrugged with resignation.

——————

I ended up spending the night at her place and it really was a very long and memorable one for me. Pamela and I had a lot to discuss and yes we had a very long talk.

‘’so tell me about your new girlfriend?’’ she asked as she settled down beside me on her bed. I smiled to myself as Tracy’s image appeared in my head.

‘’her name is Tracy. She has everything I need in a woman. She is beautiful, intelligent and down to earth’’ I answered softly. Pamela breathed deeply, drew closer and placed her head on my chest.

‘’we have been through a lot together and she trusts me so much’’ I added proudly.

‘’do you have her picture on your phone?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’yes’’ I answered, reached for my phone and opened the picture gallery. Together we went through Tracy’s pictures.

‘’she is very beautiful’’ she confessed.

‘’yes and I’m very proud of her’’ I answered proudly.

‘’so are you going to tell her about us?’’ she suddenly asked, shocking me with the question.

‘’no I can’t’’ I breathed quickly.

‘’but you have to. Sooner or later she’s bound to find out and if you are really serious about her, I think the best thing to do is to open up to her yourself’’ she softly advised while I eyed her angrily.

‘’you are a lady and you know a young girl like her will break up with me on learning of our illicit affair. The great love and trust she has for me won’t stop her from walking away.’’ I replied with a slightly raised tone.

‘’okay fine, just do your thing the way you want’’ she muttered with resignation.

‘’right now, I feel like strangling you. I feel like resetting my life. You came into my life to ruin me. I’m really far from happy with you’’ I confessed.

‘’so do you still want to hear about the lady I told you about or not?’’ she suddenly asked, changing the topic.

‘’so tell me about her. That’s the main reason I stayed back’’ I muttered. She smiled and sat up.

‘’she is a very powerful spiritualist. She has been giving me spiritual guidance ever since I came to this country and never for once has she failed me. She sees the future and sometimes can manipulate one’s destiny. A friend actually introduced her to me and you can’t believe her clientele ranges from young girls, politicians, government contractors, and even pastors. She has a special way of offering prayers’’ she slowly explained while I laughed.

‘’I really don’t believe in that stuff. There are a lot of them in my area’’ I said, smiling with disbelief.

‘’before we had the first s-x, I scanned your picture and gave to her to check if we were compatible. After her prayers, she told me you are going to be my child’s father but may end up not seeing the child.’’ She narrated softly.

‘’when I pressed her further, she told me that an evil wind is circling round you, the same wind that took away your father.’’ She added, putting a little fear in my heart with her words. I swallowed hard, unable to say anything.
Of course I knew most spiritualists were nothing but fraudsters but then I equally knew that most of them were good at predicting ugly events.

‘’if you still doubt me, tomorrow I will take you to her. Perhaps she will have something new to tell you’’ she added and smiled reassuringly, leaving me deep in thought whether to go with her to see the woman or not.

‘’Jude there is no doubt your life is in danger. Trust me. The last thing I will do is to hurt you because I so much wish for my child’s father to live a very long life’’ she pressed further, totally convincing me.

To be continued

Episode 31

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————————–

‘’how about we make love?’’ Pamela suddenly demanded, pulled up her night wear and climbed over me seductively. I swallowed hard as I stared at her tempting body. I never suspected she was unclad underneath, until she pulled up her night wear that very moment.

‘’I’m not in the mood. I want to sleep’’ I lied, trying hard to look responsible while deep down my body was already responding to the sight of her seductive body.

‘’I’m already pregnant. So there is nothing to lose. Relax’’ she pushed, slowly went for my d—k, drew down my shorts and suc.ked it with great energy. Her mouth and tongue were just made for the stuff J .

We ended up making love once again. I had no one but myself to blame for having s-x with Pamela that fateful night. I just couldn’t hold myself from doing it with her not minding the problems ahead. Perhaps I easily got in the mood because the last time I had s-x was weeks ago and it was already telling on me.
Yes I enjoyed every bit of it as it lasted but immediately after the deed my conscience flogged me. I began feeling regret and nauseous.

————————–

The next morning, I woke up to see Pamela smiling with her eyes on me. I yawned and sat up, returning her gaze.

‘’you know my greatest prayer is for us to have a happy family. I can’t imagine how it would feel, waking up every morning in your arms. I never believed in love until I met you and now it’s making me look stupid’’ she breathed softly. I kept quiet. Of course I couldn’t figure out what to say.

‘’you can’t even wish me a happy birthday’’ she suddenly complained with a sigh. I smiled, drew close and gave her a surprising kiss.

‘’happy birthday dear’’ I muttered sweetly, leaving her blushing with delight.

‘’so what are your plans for today?. Do you still wish to see the woman I told you about or should we plan something for my birthday?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’I’m going back to where I came from today. I think I will first like to see the woman before heading back to my state’’ I answered.

‘’okay cool. I guess I will have to sacrifice my birthday celebration for you.’’ She muttered with resignation.

——————————————

By 10am, we were on our way to Suleja to meet the overhyped spiritualist. I really never believed in such stuff but sometimes that are things that could lead one into doing something out of curiosity. I had nothing to lose seeing the lady and so had to accept going with Pamela to see her.
Pamela equally insisted we go in the morning in order to be attended to on time. According to her, the place was always filled up with people searching for answers to their problems.

11am, we arrived at the big house where the spiritualist resided. The house really looked like every other house in the neighborhood, though bigger in shape and size.
Just like Pamela said, there were lots of people, especially young girls waiting to be attended to. And I couldn’t help but wonder the kind of problem they were all having.

‘’I have to go book our presence’’ Pamela whispered to me as I settled down on an empty chair. She left seconds after to speak with a lady who was holding something like a register in one of the open rooms.

She returned minutes later with a smile on her face.
‘’we will have to wait some minutes for our turn’’ she said, sitting beside me.

We ended up spending close to an hour before being invited into the main room, where an old woman dressed like a devoted Muslim was seated on a mat. Pamela graciously sat before her and I equally did the same.

‘’Zainab what brings you here today?’’ the old woman asked Pamela who smiled and nodded at me.

‘’I brought my friend to see you. He wants answers’’ she replied softly. The old lady left her eyes on me for some seconds before giving me an ointment to rub on my eyes.

‘’now hold my hands and close your eyes’’ she said, offering her hands. I silently obeyed and did like she demanded. She soon started speaking in a foreign language.

In few seconds, I felt as if I was drowning. I felt as if someone was trying to rip my heart off. I really didn’t know how the woman did the trick. Perhaps it was the ointment I rubbed on my eyes that made me feel that way.

‘’your future is very much clouded, but you can still change it for good. Trust no one but her. Trust no one but her’’ the old woman breathed with a slightly raised tone, releasing my hands with great energy.
I opened my eyes to see Pamela smiling with satisfaction while the old woman’s words played back in my head.

‘’Trust no one but her. Unfortunately I couldn’t comprehend because i had two women in my life. Tracy and Pamela,

To be continued

[Edoman]

Episode 31

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————————–

‘’how about we make love?’’ Pamela suddenly demanded, pulled up her night wear and climbed over me seductively. I swallowed hard as I stared at her tempting body. I never suspected she was unclad underneath, until she pulled up her night wear that very moment.

‘’I’m not in the mood. I want to sleep’’ I lied, trying hard to look responsible while deep down my body was already responding to the sight of her seductive body.

‘’I’m already pregnant. So there is nothing to lose. Relax’’ she pushed, slowly went for my d—k, drew down my shorts and suc.ked it with great energy. Her mouth and tongue were just made for the stuff J .

We ended up making love once again. I had no one but myself to blame for having s-x with Pamela that fateful night. I just couldn’t hold myself from doing it with her not minding the problems ahead. Perhaps I easily got in the mood because the last time I had s-x was weeks ago and it was already telling on me.
Yes I enjoyed every bit of it as it lasted but immediately after the deed my conscience flogged me. I began feeling regret and nauseous.

————————–

The next morning, I woke up to see Pamela smiling with her eyes on me. I yawned and sat up, returning her gaze.

‘’you know my greatest prayer is for us to have a happy family. I can’t imagine how it would feel, waking up every morning in your arms. I never believed in love until I met you and now it’s making me look stupid’’ she breathed softly. I kept quiet. Of course I couldn’t figure out what to say.

‘’you can’t even wish me a happy birthday’’ she suddenly complained with a sigh. I smiled, drew close and gave her a surprising kiss.

‘’happy birthday dear’’ I muttered sweetly, leaving her blushing with delight.

‘’so what are your plans for today?. Do you still wish to see the woman I told you about or should we plan something for my birthday?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’I’m going back to where I came from today. I think I will first like to see the woman before heading back to my state’’ I answered.

‘’okay cool. I guess I will have to sacrifice my birthday celebration for you.’’ She muttered with resignation.

——————————————

By 10am, we were on our way to Suleja to meet the overhyped spiritualist. I really never believed in such stuff but sometimes that are things that could lead one into doing something out of curiosity. I had nothing to lose seeing the lady and so had to accept going with Pamela to see her.
Pamela equally insisted we go in the morning in order to be attended to on time. According to her, the place was always filled up with people searching for answers to their problems.

11am, we arrived at the big house where the spiritualist resided. The house really looked like every other house in the neighborhood, though bigger in shape and size.
Just like Pamela said, there were lots of people, especially young girls waiting to be attended to. And I couldn’t help but wonder the kind of problem they were all having.

‘’I have to go book our presence’’ Pamela whispered to me as I settled down on an empty chair. She left seconds after to speak with a lady who was holding something like a register in one of the open rooms.

She returned minutes later with a smile on her face.
‘’we will have to wait some minutes for our turn’’ she said, sitting beside me.

We ended up spending close to an hour before being invited into the main room, where an old woman dressed like a devoted Muslim was seated on a mat. Pamela graciously sat before her and I equally did the same.

‘’Zainab what brings you here today?’’ the old woman asked Pamela who smiled and nodded at me.

‘’I brought my friend to see you. He wants answers’’ she replied softly. The old lady left her eyes on me for some seconds before giving me an ointment to rub on my eyes.

‘’now hold my hands and close your eyes’’ she said, offering her hands. I silently obeyed and did like she demanded. She soon started speaking in a foreign language.

In few seconds, I felt as if I was drowning. I felt as if someone was trying to rip my heart off. I really didn’t know how the woman did the trick. Perhaps it was the ointment I rubbed on my eyes that made me feel that way.

‘’your future is very much clouded, but you can still change it for good. Trust no one but her. Trust no one but her’’ the old woman breathed with a slightly raised tone, releasing my hands with great energy.
I opened my eyes to see Pamela smiling with satisfaction while the old woman’s words played back in my head.

‘’Trust no one but her. Unfortunately I couldn’t comprehend because i had two women in my life. Tracy and Pamela,

Episode 32

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————————–

‘’so what now?’’ Pamela asked as we headed back to her house minutes later. I shook my head and shrugged silently. The events of the past few days were really getting on me. I never imagined my life would be so dramatic. I just had a lot to resolve and the funniest thing was that I had no idea on how to tackle them.

‘’I will take a night bus back to my school. I never planned staying this long. I have a lot to do in school’’ I replied softly.

‘’that means you won’t be staying for my birthday celebration tonight?’’ she asked after few minutes of silent. I gave her a very long searching look.

‘’you have a husband and I think he is in the best position to celebrate with you. Moreover I still find it a bit odd on how you courageously brought me to your home without minding that your husband or any of his aides could show up at the house’’ I muttered searchingly. She kept quiet and never said another word until we got to her house later in the day.

—————————-

I took a night bus back to Owerri that fateful evening. My head, my conscience, everything was in complete disarray. I had no solid plans for my future and I couldn’t help but wonder how my life would turn out in the coming years.
Tracy was the only good thing I had. The only good thing I could boast of having, but then I knew our relationship could end any moment. I knew my affair with Pamela would burst out fairly soon and I knew Tracy would never forgive or continue with our relationship once that happens. Everything has its boundary, including love.
It really was my entire fault. I was too stupid to be carried away by lust and the price was about costing me my future, my happiness.

‘’God help me’’ I prayed as the bus sped into the night.

————————

I got to my hostel by 6:05am the next morning and first headed to Tracy’s room to check on her. I met my girl depressed and moody. At first my heart jumped out of guilt but I carefully controlled my nerves.

‘’you don’t look too happy to see me. What’s wrong?’’ I asked breathlessly.

‘’my mother called yesterday night to inform me that the manager of the company I applied for my industrial training in Enugu wants me to resume in two days. And I have no choice than to travel home today. We may end up not seeing each other for three months or more’’ she muttered solemnly, relieving the tension in me with her words. I breathed deeply, smiled and hugged her.

‘’I can be visiting every weekend. Enugu isn’t very far from here’’ I reassured her softly.

‘’I know but secondly I keep having this nightmares, especially whenever I sleep alone. I just can’t explain it but I have this fear that our relationship will not last long. Maybe my head is just playing tricks on me or something. But the fear is so strong. I don’t know why I feel this way’’ she complained while I closed my eyes, held her and kissed her forehead.

‘’ I already know everything about you and I don’t think there is anything that can break us up. I don’t just know. Maybe I’m going crazy or maybe I feel this way because it’s my first relationship’’ she continued like a terrified child. I softly caressed her back, bent and kissed her neck.

Deep down I was scared as well. I had many secrets. My life of crime with Kelvin and my unwanted child with Pamela were one hell of a secret that could blow up any moment and my poor Tracy was just in the middle of it.

‘’nothing will ever break us apart my love. We have just one year to graduate and another year for our youth service. We will get married and head over to the states to start a family. There is nothing to fear. Nothing could possibly happen to break us up in two years’’ I reassured her softly. She looked up at me with eyes filled with love, care and hope. I swallowed hard and looked away with guilt.

‘’dear lord, I don’t want to lose her’’ I prayed.

————————————————-

Kelvin’s side of the story continues
4pm, same day.
—————–

I was busy with my computer, arranging and setting up formats for a new deal I planned pulling with Jude when Jessica walked into my sitting room with a very serious look. I wasn’t expecting her because she never told me she was coming over and the frown on her face gave a bad signal to me.

‘’please who are you exactly?. Why did you show up in my life?’’ she asked, throwing me off balance with the question. I stood up and searched her with my eyes. I just couldn’t say a word because I really didn’t know from which angle she was coming with the questions.

‘’cut the innocent look my friend. I told you when we met for the first time that I worked in a bank, a big bank for that matter. I equally told you I knew many people. Do you think I won’t check up on you or on your source of wealth?. I now know for a fact that you are not into any transport business but the curious thing is that your bank accounts keep growing from suspicious transactions and deposits. I did a lot of digging up. I even know the bank officials that approve your transactions. So my question remains, why me?. Why did you appear in my life?. I want answers now?’’ she demanded furiously. I shook my head with disbelief.

‘’how the hell did you get my bank details?. Are you sure you know what you are talking about?’’ I stammered, visibly shaken. She scoffed and eyed me.

‘’I guess you underestimated me?. You better talk now my friend. I never got to this level in my life by being a dunce. Everyone has a skeleton to hide but yours is way too much Kelvin. Why are you into my life?’’ she demanded furiously, waiting for answers I wasn’t ready to give.

However one thing was certain, Jessica was much more than what I thought her to be and I couldn’t help but feel that she was getting ahead of me in the game. She could end up roping me to a corner and sending me to the gallows.

Episode 33

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————–

‘’I don’t know the basis of your suspicion. Is it a crime to fall in love with you?. Have I ever done anything that suggests that I could be into you for another reason?’’ I asked with a bold outburst. Jessica scoffed and eyed me.

‘’yes I did one or two deals in the past to get rich but that was in the past. I really don’t feel comfortable with you right now. Perhaps I got it all wrong by thinking I could start a new life with you’’ I added with energy. She kept quiet, keenly studying me.
My heart throbbed loud as I desperately thought of the next words to say. I never expected such confrontation from her and I knew I was in a tight fix.
I badly needed to turn things around with my words but unfortunately Jessica did her homework very well and a little miscalculation on my part could make things worse.

‘’you just said everyone has a skeleton hidden somewhere. If I should start digging into your past, I know I will dig out something nasty. But the past always belongs to the past. Nigeria is a very tough country to survive in and without extreme measures you can’t survive or live a fulfilled life. What matters is how we atone for our sins. Believe me It isn’t easy for me. I came to your life to seek happiness, to seek peace, to start all over. I will never do anything to hurt you. Believe me’’ I poured out solemnly. She took a step closer and smiled for the first time.

‘’I feel at ease now. I believe you. Let’s just forget about the past but if in any way I discover that you are using me for a devilish agenda, I won’t hesitate turning you to the police or to the EFCC.’’ She muttered with a soft voice, but her words to me sounded more like a threat. I nodded in agreement, breathing deeply.
She surprisingly drew closer and hugged me.

‘’I’m sorry for being a bit aggressive. I was only protecting my interest’’ she apologized softly.

‘’I guess you are still coming over with Jude on Saturday?’’ she asked.

‘’yes I’m’’ I answered softly.

—————————————

Jessica left minutes after, leaving shaken and a bit scared. Of course I knew she was capable of reporting me to the cops. I equally knew she could still be spying on me. I had to come up with another plan. I had to dig into her past as well. It really was so unfortunate that I deviated from my main purpose of approaching her all because of love or perhaps lust.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I battled with my thoughts as I weighed every possible means of digging into Jessica’s past. She really was very good at hiding things and I was slowly realizing that behind her cheerful smile and acts, she equally was a very ruthless lady, capable of doing anything to protect her interest.

‘’jeez, how which direction do I take?’’ I wondered miserably.

———————————–

Early the next day, I headed to Joe’s gym to open my fears to my friend who listened patiently as I narrated the events of the previous day to him.

‘’hmmmm Jessica is very smart. The lady was into you the moment you stepped foot into her life but you thought you had the game all figured out, giving her ample time to dig around you. I really don’t fancy your position right now because she has already dug around you. Any step you take might end up getting you in a pit’’ he muttered carefully.

‘’so what do you think?’’ I asked nervously.

‘’I think she knows more than she told you yesterday. She probably knows about your possible plan with your cousin and I believe she stayed back to use you to achieve her aim or maybe she also is in love with you and can’t afford losing you no matter what’’ he added seriously.

‘’so what now?’’ I asked.

‘’simply keep calm and wait’’ he suggested.

————————————————————–

Jude’s side of the story continues
Same day
———–

I woke up feeling so bored and a bit angry. I wasn’t prepared for Tracy’s departure the previous day and I had no choice than to start making my own plans.

‘’I have to see Kelvin today. He once promised to link me up with a drug manufacturing company for my industrial training. I have no choice than to stick with him now’’ I reasoned as the scene I witnessed weeks ago in his house annoyingly played back in my head.

‘’I must find a way to confront Jessica on my own. I can’t keep waiting for Kelvin to act on it’’ I made up my mind.

By 12noon, My phone rang and it was Kelvin calling.

‘’hey bro, can you come over to my house right now?’’ he asked.

‘’yes I will be there in an hour’’ I answered softly.

————————
An hour later, @kelvin’s house

I walked into Kelvin’s sitting room, to see him busy with his computer. He instantly smiled on seeing me.

‘’thank God you are here. We have a new million dollar deal on the way’’ he announced happily. I forced out a smile as I settled beside him.

‘’so what’s up with you and school work?’’ he asked with concern.

‘’I’m still looking for a placement for my I.T’’ I answered.

‘’that shouldn’t be a problem. I will link you up with the guy I promised you sometime back. The only problem is that his company is located at Aba’’ he offered seriously.

‘’oh thanks, the location doesn’t matter’’ I thanked him with a smile.

‘’Jessica wants us to have dinner at her place. I don’t know how you feel about it but I think we are going to make progress with it’’ he softly mentioned, studying me keenly.

‘’that’s cool. I can’t wait to share the same table with her’’ I plainly answered without wasting any time, leaving my cousin totally surprised.
I bet he wasn’t expecting such quick answer from me and I knew he must be wondering what I really was up to.

I just couldn’t wait to be close to the lady who knew a lot about my father’s dead.

Episode 34

Jude’s side of the story continues
——————

Yes I was totally excited over the news Kelvin broke to me. I just couldn’t wait to have a one on one conversation with Jessica. My head was just filled with many ideas and thoughts.

‘’please I won’t want you to act arrogantly before Jessica. Just be civil with her. I already have things planned out and I still want you to leave the questions and investigation for me to handle’’ Kelvin begged after breaking the news to me.

Of course I accepted all his terms to put his mind at rest but I wasn’t ready to continue trusting him over Jessica’s issue. I had to make my own plans and get my own act together.

Early the next day, I headed to Aba to meet Kelvin’s friend for my I.T placement. I almost spent all day at the noisy city but it was worth the effort at the end. I returned later in the evening very happy to have settled that part of my life.

I returned to my hostel to continue with my plans for Jessica. I planned confronting her with a whole lot of questions. I planned throwing to her face that I knew she was with my father the day he died. I planned giving her opportunity to spill out the truth or have me and the law to deal with.
I already had wasted enough time waiting for Kelvin to act and her body language on Saturday was going to determine for me whether to press charges on her or not.
I had enough money to get the police to my side, I had enough money to take my case to court and if possible get a search warrant to go through her things.

Yes I knew my plans were quiet ambitious for a boy of my age and it could lead to a fierce quarrel between Kelvin and I but I was a very desperate boy who wanted nothing but closure on his father’s death and I knew I could end up losing the little money I had over it. I could end up running to Pamela for financial aid but I felt it was worth the sacrifice to get to the root of my father’s death.

————————

Friday evening, I called my Tracy to speak with her like I always did everyday but to my surprise her mother answered her phone, leaving me a bit shocked as I heard her voice.

‘’Tracy was involved in a car accident hours ago. She can’t speak to you right now’’ the old woman informed me. I couldn’t believe my ears. I couldn’t even talk for some seconds.

‘’what??’’ I shouted.

‘’there is nothing to worry about. She is in a stable condition. I believe by tomorrow you will be able to speak with her’’ she muttered to calm me down.

‘’so where is she right now?’’ I asked.

‘’we are at the national orthopedic hospital. Her left leg got fractured a little’’ she answered, leaving me so scared.

‘’I will be there tomorrow morning’’ I promised after few seconds of silence.

‘’is it necessary?’’ she asked.

‘’of course it is. I will be there first thing tomorrow’’ I breathed strongly.

‘’very well then, when you get to Enugu, put a call through. I will send someone to pick you up’’ she promised and hung up, leaving me with my thoughts.

‘’dear lord, I hope her leg injury won’t be a permanent one’’ I prayed solemnly.

———————————-

Very early the next day, which was Saturday, I headed straight to Enugu to see my Tracy. I couldn’t sleep the previous night and I couldn’t even get myself to eat before embarking on the long journey. All that was in my mind was to see my girl.

By 12noon, I was already at the hospital, holding Tracy’s hand with great concern. The poor girl never believed her eyes when she saw me.

‘’my mum is very wicked. She never told me you were coming’’ she breathed with great happiness while her mum who was watching us from a distance smiled to herself. I couldn’t get myself to smile. I just was so concerned over her state of health.

‘’a fast moving bus collided with a taxi I took yesterday. I was in the front seat and I got the impact of the collision on my legs. It’s just a minor fracture but mum won’t let me go home yet. She wants the best specialist to give my legs a hundred percent before we go home’’ she explained softly.

‘’when I called yesterday and mum told me you were involved in an accident, I almost fainted with fear’’ I said calmly. She laughed.

‘’hmmmm I never knew you cared so much’’ She breathed with great love while I stared into her eyes. My phone rang that moment, taking away my attention. It was Kelvin calling and as soon as I saw his name on my phone screen, I instantly remembered our date with Jessica.

‘’how far where are you?’’ he asked.

‘’I’m sorry bro, I can’t make it again today. I’m currently in Enugu,. My friend had an accident yesterday and I’m there to be with her’’ I informed him. He kept silent for a while.

‘’you could have told me and saved me the worry’’ he breathed and hung up.

———————————

Kelvin’s side of the story continues
I really didn’t know whether to feel relived or disappointed when Jude told me he wasn’t going to show up again. In fact I just was in the middle of the two emotions.
I really was never comfortable with the plan of showing up at Jessica’s house with him. Moreover the way he acted when I told him about Jessica’s request gave me a lot to worry about. So hearing that he wasn’t going to make it after all, really set my heart temporarily at rest.

————–

I got to Jessica house at exactly 6:15pm that fateful Saturday a bit nervous. I planned using the opportunity Jude’s absence created to directly confront her for the first time without mincing words.

Jessica wasn’t really happy to see me all alone. She searched me with her eyes the moment I walked into her sitting room.

‘’how about your cousin?. I thought you were bringing him along?’’ she asked curiously. I shrugged.

‘’he had an emergency and had to travel to Enugu this morning’’ I answered.

‘’hmmmmm. Should I believe that?’’ she asked arrogantly.

‘’I really don’t care what you believe my dear. I have passed the stage of lying over such a trivial matter. However I have some questions for you’’ I said with a soft smile while she drew back with surprise over my boldness.

‘’my cousin, told me something that I still find hard to believe. He said before his father died, that he told him about a lady known as Jessica Simon, who was handling many of his projects. According to him, his father planned making the lady his step mother and even shared one of her pictures with him’’ I said softly, studying her reaction..

‘’the day he walked in on us, he told me you looked very much like the lady in question. I don’t know why he was so sure but now you are my woman and your life and happiness matters a lot to me. You told me days ago that you ran a background check on me and I feel you equally did the same on my family. And if that’s the case, I believe you equally know a lot about my cousin Jude. So tell me, have you dealt with the boy’s father before?’’ I asked calmly but seriously, giving her room to trust me and open up with a clear conscience. She surprisingly colored up, breathed deeply and nodded.

‘’yes I knew Jude’s father’’ she finally admitted.

Episode 35

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

‘’The first time you told me your surname and village, I was scared you were after me. I thought you knew a lot about me and I decided to play along to know how much you knew about me. But now I don’t just know how to act anymore’’ Jessica breathed, turned and backed. I breathed deeply, drew close and held her by the waist.

‘’you have to tell me everything. There isn’t any need hiding such an open secret’’ I urged her softly.

‘’I met Jude’s father during my early years as a banker. He really trusted me with a whole lot of things and I never failed him. I virtually took charge of his account, till I left the banking sector to start my own business. We still maintained the cordial business relationship and I ran numerous errands for him with my establishment. When he returned to the country earlier in the year, he asked me to get a new contractor for his building project in the village because the old contractor wasn’t delivering like he wanted. I had to go down to the village with him and after seeing the house, he asked me to wait for him to see his brothers and I obliged for some hours but had to leave when it was getting late. The next day I heard he was dead and I just couldn’t get myself to show up at his burial even though it hurt my conscience’’ she narrated convincingly. However I couldn’t help but notice some loopholes in her story.

‘’so you never had an affair with him?’’ I asked. She turned and faced me with a deeply colored face.

‘’of course not. We just were friends and nothing more. I was surprised when you said he showed my picture to his son’’ she answered softly. I breathed deeply.

‘’Jude is planning to start up a formal investigation on his father’s dead. I hope you can tell the police all you just told me because it looks as if you were the last person seen with him before his death?’’ I asked. She nodded slowly

‘’yes I won’t mind telling the police all I know but I don’t want to be involved in the case. Just find a way to keep me off it. I beg of you. Now is time to prove that you really love me’’ she suddenly demanded, taking me aback with her demand.

‘’Yes I really don’t want to be involved in any of it. Remember I kept quiet and believed you after finding out the kind of life you have been living?. I believed you because I love you. I hope you will reciprocate by protecting me?’’ she asked, leaving me stunned and a bit uncomfortable.

‘’since you are innocent, you have nothing to fear’’ I muttered weakly.

‘’you don’t understand how this country works. I’m a very wealthy young lady. The police can easily bring up a theory and rope me in with motive. I want none of it and you have to protect me. I didn’t kill the man. I have no reason to’’ she pushed on, leaving me totally confused and speechless..

‘’I will see what I can do’’ I weakly promised.

————————-

I headed back to my house after a quiet dinner with Jessica. Of course I had a lot to figure out. I had a decision to make. She sounded so convincing and innocent but then deep down I felt she was still hiding something. I felt she didn’t tell me all she knew about my uncle. Perhaps she wasn’t directly responsible but could know what really led to the man’s death. Unfortunately I knew I had no choice than to find a way to conclude my investigation without involving the police or telling Jude everything I knew.

It was something I had to do, not because of my strong feelings towards Jessica but as a leverage to protect myself.
Yes she knew a lot about my criminal life and if things go wrongly could drag me down with her.

There wasn’t any doubt Jude’s father was murdered but supposing Jessica was actually telling the truth, it then meant that my uncle’s murderer was still free out there.

——

I returned to my house around 8pm, to see Cynthia waiting for me. I was so surprised to see her in my house by that hour. I equally haven’t seen her in a long while and her presence kind of left me totally shocked.

‘’What the hell!’’ I exclaimed as my eyes fell on her abdomen which really was bigger than it used to be. I could help but have silly ideas in my head as I faced her.

‘’aren’t you happy to see me?’’ she asked with a calm disgusting smile.

To be continued

 


Episode 36

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

—-

‘’what the hell are you doing here by this hour?’’ I managed to ask as my eyes fell on her abdomen. She shrugged and smiled.

‘’I guess you aren’t happy to see me after such a long while?’’ she breathed, drawing closer to me. I took a step backwards as if I was scared of her touching me.

‘’I can’t believe you had to mind to avoid me for almost a month. You never bothered to call or even to leave a text message’’ she complained softly.

‘’I have been very busy lately. As you can see I just came back from a very tight schedule and please you can come over tomorrow. I’m tired’’ I breathed a bit coldly. She shook her head bitterly.

‘’I’m pregnant. Three months pregnant’’ she suddenly muttered, leaving me speechless for a while. I couldn’t believe my ears. I felt like killing her that moment but as a cool guy, I held my temper and smiled.

‘’congrats. When the baby is out, kindly inform me’’ I replied and took a step towards my room. She quickly grabbed my left hand, stopping me.

‘’so that’s all you have to say huh?. You are so despicable. You have no atom of human feeling in you’’ she breathed fiercely, getting me angrier.

‘’we never planned a baby together. You made the decision yourself. So if you feel like you can tie me down or make me marry you with this scam of yours then you need to have a brain check. This is the era of baby mamas and it really will fit you’’ I said coldly.

‘’how dare you?’’ she shouted, slapping me with great force. I staggered back with surprise while she pounced on me like a wild cat she was, hitting my chest with great fury.

‘’I’m not going anywhere. We did this together and we have to stick with each other. If you think you can dump me for a corporate w—e then you must high on weed. I have been with you all through these while, helping you build your life and keeping your secrets. I can’t allow another woman to enjoy my sweat. I rather die’’ she poured out angrily as she hit me.

I just didn’t know what to do that moment. Cynthia wasn’t like every other girl in the street. She was a wild cat capable of doing anything to survive. And I knew I was in for a tough ride with her.
The silly girl waited for some months before breaking the pregnancy news to me because she knew having an abortion in that stage was practically impossible. I was lost, confused and totally hopeless. The last thing I wanted was her being the mother of my child. She had none of the qualities every decent man would want in a wife. I could help but wonder the kind of gene our child was going to have.

‘’you should please go home, tomorrow we will talk things through’’ I finally begged calmly but she simply refused. She was just so adamant on spending the night in my house.

‘’I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere’’ she breathed furiously.

‘’then I will have to drag you out’’ I threatened, grasped her hand tried dragging her out to the gate but she fought back. She struggled and bit my hands, almost tearing out my skin.
I lost it that moment. I lost control of my temper and lashed out a slap on her face.
The impact of my slap left her stunned for a while. She simply froze for some seconds before attacking me once again with great energy. I slapped her again and again.

This time she fell and laid still on the floor, losing consciousness.

————–

Jude’s side of the story continues
—

Tracy was discharged from the hospital later in the evening after all the necessary treatment and scans had been done. My girl was simply close to tears as she managed to walk to the car with my assistance. I couldn’t help but notice that the accident affected her leg more than I was made to believe.

‘’ Just look at me. I’m now a limping girl’’ she breathed sorrowfully. I smiled reassuringly.

‘’it’s just a matter of days before you start walking properly again. That’s what your doctor said. You just have to calm down and be strong’’ I said softly.

‘’I’m so scared. I really don’t believe what the doctor said. Maybe he said those words just to make me happy. I’m now an adult and I fear it won’t completely heal’’ she replied with tears in her eyes.

‘’you worry over nothing my dear. Just be strong. Moreover you wouldn’t have been discharged so soon supposing it was a serious injury’’ I said intelligently.

‘’I really hope so. Thanks for being by my side’’ she added softly, dropping her wondrous eyes. I swallowed hard with great pain. I kind of felt responsible for her injury without knowing the reason I felt that way..

Episode 37

Jude’s side of the story continues

We barely had arrived at Tracy’s house when a hostel neighbor called to give me very shocking news.

‘’hey guy where are you?’’ Tony asked as soon as I answered his phone call. I couldn’t help but wonder the reason he was calling by that hour. He was just nothing but a neighbor to me and even though we had each other’s phone number we never spoke on phone.

‘’I travelled to Enugu early today’’ I replied softly.

‘’I think someone broke into your room. The door is wide open and your things scattered all over the place’’ he informed me softly. I gasped.

‘’are you serious?. How did that happen?’’ I asked without thinking straight.

‘’I don’t know ooo. You just have to come back and check what was stolen. I have already informed the hostel president and gateman’’ he added and hung up while Tracy stared at me curiously.

‘’what happened?’’ she asked.

‘’my room was just ransacked. That was what Tony called to tell me’’ I informed her slowly.

‘’that can’t be true!. Our hotel is the most secure in the vicinity. It has never been robbed before’’ she breathed with disbelief.

‘’a record always takes a day to be broken my dear. I guess our hostel isn’t as secured as we think’’ I answered faintly, slowly searched for the hostel Gateman’s number in my phone and dialed it. He picked up after three attempts,

‘’hey bro. how far na?’’ he greeted.

‘’please I heard my room was just robbed, is it true??’’ I asked calmly.

‘’yes ooo my oga’’ he answered quickly.

‘’please kindly help me shut my door. I will be there tomorrow’’ I informed him weakly.

‘’no worry. I dey your room already. I’m very surprised oooo. Only your room was robbed and no much visitors came into the hostel today’’ he replied, mixing English with pidgin. I simply hung up, without saying any other thing to him. My greatest fear was losing my school documents which unfortunately were all in the room.

‘’I just pray thief didn’t tamper with my school stuff’’ I opened up to Tracy.

‘’I don’t think so. Moreover it’s of no use to anyone’’ she answered with a smile.

‘’but dear, I think it will be better you bring over your school documents here for safe keeping. My mum is good at it. All my documents plus that of my siblings are with her’’ she suggested softly while my thoughts wandered off again. I couldn’t help but wonder if my room was ransacked by students who probably were looking for some money and electronics to steal or by the same set of thieves that ransacked my father’s house in the village. But then I knew a stranger couldn’t pull up such stunt in the day time without being noticed, leaving me with the conclusion that my room was ransacked by either a neighbor who had been waiting for an opportunity to rob me or perhaps someone paid him to do the job.

‘’I will return to the hostel early tomorrow to see things for myself’’ I informed my girl with a sad look. She frowned and looked down.

‘’I really was hoping we would spend the weekend together. It isn’t your fault though. You have to go check your things’’ she muttered with understanding.

—————————————–

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
I slowly squatted beside the unconscious girl, shaking her softly. My heart pounded furiously with great fear.
‘’dear lord I hope she’s fine?’’ I prayed. Cynthia sneezed, opened her eyes and quickly sat up, holding her head.

‘’you want to kill me right?. You better finish it up because that’s the only way I’m leaving you’’ she threatened seriously. I knew I had to keep myself in check and act wisely.

‘’I’m sorry dear. You just got on my nerves with your behavior. Kindly go to one of the rooms and sleep. Tomorrow we will figure things out’’ I begged. She breathed deeply, stared at me suspiciously for a while, shrugged, got up and headed to the toilet without another word. I fell back on the floor and swallowed hard.
I needed no telling that I was in for a tough ride with her.

‘’Dear Lord. I don’t want to marry this lady; I equally don’t want her to be the mother of my child. Help me. This is too much a punishment’’ I prayed sadly.

I couldn’t sleep that very night. My head was just filled with many impossible ideas and silly thoughts. Yet I couldn’t come up with a solution and the next day I woke up with a terrible headache.
I managed to take some pills before slowly heading to my sitting room to see if I could find an interesting program on TV.
—————————

On getting to my sitting room, I was shocked to see Cynthia calmly seated and watching a movie like a happy housewife. She was tying only a wrapper as if she was in her matrimonial home. I lost it again.

‘’Cynthia what is wrong with you?’’ I barked furiously, but before she could turn and answer, Jessica stormed into my apartment, carrying a big food flask.
The shock that befell her was really killing as her eyes fell on Cynthia and I.

I couldn’t believe the id.i-t guarding my gate let her in without notifying me.

Episode 38

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

I just didn’t know what to say as I faced Jessica, who quickly regained her composure, ignored Cynthia and walked towards me with a cold smile.
Her face was simply plain and expressionless as she walked towards me. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her head that moment.

Cynthia equally was stunned by Jessica’s presence. She couldn’t say a word as she watched her walk up to me.

‘’I made this breakfast for you. I never knew you had a guest. I just got back from church and rushed over to bring it over. Happy Sunday dear’’ she breathed calmly, offered the flask to me, smiled, turned and left my house without another word.
I couldn’t even make a move or say anything to her. My head, my tongue, my speech all were frozen with tension. However I thanked God for the calm and matured way she acted. I never expected such calmness from her.

Cynthia soon sprang to my side, snatching the flask from me.
‘’I knew it. Yes I knew it. That w.hore, she even had the nerves to offer you food in my presence. You guys have enjoyed enough romance already. I’m here to stop it. Enough is enough’’ she breathed fiercely and headed to the kitchen like an angry cow. I cursed inwardly as I followed her.
I felt like smashing her head to the wall but I knew it would do me more harm than good. She really was tempting me, knowing full well that I could lose my head any moment.

On getting to the kitchen, she opened the food flask and threw the contents into the dustbin while I bit my lips in anger.

‘’I can’t tolerate this nonsense anymore. She has bewitched you’’ she muttered furiously.

‘’listen Cynthia. You are not my wife and I will never marry you. Simply get your things and leave my house. I don’t want to kill you but you are tempting me’’ I shouted angrily.

‘’you can’t do anything to me. You can’t’’ she dared me.

‘’I won’t lay my hands on you again. You are sick. You are looking for someone to kill you but I won’t give you the pleasure. I will get the police to throw you out of my house. You don’t know what I’m capable of’’ I shouted, left the kitchen and headed to my room to freshen up.
I left my apartment minutes later without saying a word to her. I had to leave my house in order to cool down my temper.

As I drove out of my house that morning with a heart full of anger and confusion, I totally was at lost on how to deal with Cynthia. She just was a wild lady capable of withstanding anything and she had no atom of shame in her.

‘’how did it all get to this level’’ I asked myself over and over as I headed to Joe’s gym.
After a short drive, I stopped, turned my car and headed towards Jessica’s house. Of course I had a lot of explanations to make and I knew I had to come up with a good one.
———————–

Jessica frowned on seeing me walk into her sitting room. She first searched me with her eyes before shaking her head.

‘’I’m sorry for what happened this morning. It was totally unexpected’’ I apologized softly.

‘’of course you weren’t expecting me to show up by that hour. So what’s your excuse or lie?’’ she demanded.

‘’I have no excuse. I have no lie. I’m totally responsible for everything. The young lady was a girl I used to have fun with in the past. A girl I always used to cure my sexual hunger before I got to know you. I haven’t seen her for almost a month and when I got home from your house yesterday, I saw her waiting for me. She is claiming to be three months pregnant for me. I tried forcing her out of my house yesterday and she almost fainted in the process. I will have to get the police to help me out’’ I explained weakly.

‘’so should I believe you?’’ she asked with a strange smile.

‘’no you don’t have to’’ I replied honestly.

‘’but I do believe you’’ she muttered, surprising me with her words.

‘’you saw a cheap girl and started enjoying her without reservation. Your stupid head never told you she had her own plans. Why are guys always good at cheap things?’’ she asked while I kept quiet like a spoilt kid.

‘’just give me her phone number, I will talk to her and see what she wants’’ she suddenly offered, leaving me with no choice than to oblige even though I was very suspicious of her motive. I knew Cynthia would never listen to her.

———————————————–

I headed to Joe’s gym after spending some minutes with Jessica. I must confess Jessica’s calmness and understanding was a welcomed development but equally extremely suspicious. I never expected her to be so understanding and calm. Could it be that her love for me is so strong to make her this understanding?’’ I wondered as I drove to Joe’s gym.

————-
Joe and I had a long very long talk when I got to his place but unfortunately he couldn’t offer any solid advice to me.

‘’my brother your situation is a very difficult one. Supposing you are dealing with young school girls I would have known what to advice. But the two ladies are big time adults with their own plans. Only God will help you out of this. If I’m in your shoes, I will simply forget about Jessica and deal with Cynthia before things gets out of hand’’ he advised, leaving me deep with thoughts but unfortunately i couldn’t accept his suggestion because I was already way deep into Jessica to back away. My main priority was getting rid of Cynthia.

————

I returned to my house, uncertain on how to push out Cynthia from my life. I threatened earlier to call the police on her but failed to do it. I went into my house with prayers in my lips.
I really didn’t want things to get messy with her but the d–n girl was daring me. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing inside.

As I walked into my sitting room, I was surprised to see her well dressed up, holding her big handbag. I stared at her curiously, wondering what she was up to.

‘’I’m leaving but I will be back later. So don’t celebrate yet’’ she muttered coldly, eyed me and left my house without another word.
She simply left without any fight and I couldn’t believe myself.

My phone however rang a minute later and it was Jessica calling.

‘’so how far?’’ she asked as if she was seeing me from somewhere. I breathed deeply, unable to find my voice.

‘’meet me at my house by 5pm’’ she said and hung up.

Episode 39

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

By 5:15pm that fateful Sunday, I slowly arrived at Jessica’s house. I couldn’t help but wonder why she asked me to come over.
As I approached the door leading to her sitting room, I heard two female voices arguing with great energy. I easily made out Jessica’s voice but couldn’t make out the second voice even though it sounded very much like Cynthia’s voice. I knew she had no reason to be there and so it never crossed my mind that it could be her.

As I walked into the sitting room, I was confronted with the greatest shock of my life. I couldn’t believe myself as my eyes fell on Cynthia and Jessica exchanging words. Cynthia was standing with both hands on her waist while Jessica was sitting a distance away, facing her.
I froze for some seconds as I quickly thought of how to face the unexpected situation.

‘’thank God you are here’’ Cynthia quickly said as soon as she saw me while Jessica stood up with her eyes on me.

‘’I invited her over to see if we could reach a good compromise but I just realized I made a very terrible mistake. She has been threatening me ever since she got here’’ Jessica softly explained.

‘’of course you deserve everything that I have been throwing at you. Why can’t you go and find your own man?. Why can’t you struggle to build your own man?. Aren’t you ashamed that at your age and with all your acclaimed accomplishments, you stooped to low to steal another person’s man’’ Cynthia fired violently at her while I shook my head, uncertain of what exactly to say.

I never expected to confront such scene and it just looked like a dream. I never expected Jessica to be so stupid as to invite Cynthia to her house unless perhaps she had another hidden motive.

‘’Jessica I never asked you to invite her to your place. I never asked you to help me with my problem’’ I scolded Jessica before facing Cynthia with a cold smile.

‘’let’s get out of here please. You shouldn’t be here in the first place’’ I said softly.

‘’you are just a retired prostitute who’s looking for young blood to settle down with. Sorry my man isn’t available’’ Cynthia mocked, drawing out Jessica’s temper.

‘’what did you just call me?’’ she asked, closing in on Cynthia who quickly pushed her backwards. Before I could even blink, Jessica pounced on Cynthia like an angry lion, pushed her to the floor and hit her head severally on the tiles before choking her by grasping her throat. I quickly pounced on Jessica, pushing her away from Cynthia’s body but unfortunately I intervened too late.

Yes Cynthia was a very strong lady who could easily beat Jessica in any fight but she never expected Jessica to go extreme by attacking her in such manner. Moreover she was pregnant and wasn’t as strong as she used to be, giving Jessica an upper hand in the fight.

As I pulled out Jessica from Cynthia’s body, I noticed that Cynthia wasn’t breathing nor moving. I nervously shook her with great force but she still failed to move.

‘’what have you done Jessica?’’ I asked with fear.

‘’she deserves to die’’ she replied without any atom of remorse. I couldn’t believe I was in such a nasty mess.

‘’I think you have killed her’’ I breathed nervously as I felt Cynthia’s pulse over and over without getting any sign of life.

————————————————–

Jude’s side of the story continues

I returned to my hostel at exactly 4:45pm that fateful Sunday. My room was totally ransacked just like I was told but none of my electronics was taken. I quickly arranged my school documents which I found scattered all over my bed.

‘’I guess it wasn’t robbery after all. I guess the person that broke in was searching for some other thing possibly the suitcase in Kelvin’s care’’ I reasoned as I dialed my cousin’s phone number but surprisingly he rejected my call.
I shrugged, went down to meet the hostel gateman, paid him for another key and lock before heading over to Kelvin’s house.
Of course i had a lot to talk with him. I equally was curious to know how things went with Jessica the previous day.

But on getting to his house, I was told that he left minutes ago. I dialed his number again and for the second time he rejected my call, something he has never done before.

Episode 40

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’let’s take her to the hospital’’ I breathed, holding up Cynthia’s head as I threw a look at Jessica who shrugged, bent and felt the poor girl’s pulse.

‘’ please give chance’’ she said softly, pushed me aside and did a little push up on Cynthia’s chest but unfortunately the poor girl made no sign of coming back to life.

‘’she’s dead’’ Jessica suddenly announced, wiping out sweat from her forehead. I gasped with great fear.

‘’let’s stop wasting time and take her to the hospital. We can’t let her die here’’ I muttered, shaking with fright.

‘’she is dead already. There is nothing you can do about it’’ she replied softly, shook her head and looked away. I couldn’t believe it was all happening. I couldn’t believe it was all real.

‘’but let’s take her to the hospital to be sure’’ I muttered faintly.

‘’what will be your explanation to the doctor or her family or even the police when they start asking questions?’’ she suddenly asked, putting more fear into me with the question.

‘’my friend you are going to jail and there is no two ways about it. This is Nigeria in case you have forgotten’’ she said a bit coldly.

‘’what kind of woman are you?. Don’t you have any human feelings inside?. I’m so disappointed in you. I can’t believe you have the mind to talk this way after killing her in your house. Now tell me, what you want me to do?’’ I asked angrily.

‘’please stop playing the blame game. We are into this together. We are nothing but the same. You are also a killer just like me. Or don’t you know how many lives you have ruined with your scams?’’ she fired back. I shook my head, bit my lips and headed towards the door in desperation.

‘’Dear Lord why me. Why am I into this mess? This is so unbelievable’’ I breathed with a faint heart.

‘’you are not walking away, are you?’’ I heard her ask quietly. I turned and faced her with eyes filled with tears.

‘’my life is ruined. You have succeeded in ruining me’’ I stammered. She smiled, drew close and held my hands.

‘’I never meant for this to happen. It was all a mistake. But we still have a life to live. We have a future together. Let’s work harmoniously to set things right’’ she offered solemnly.

‘’what do we do now?’’ I asked.

‘’she took her things out of your house before coming here right?’’ she asked while I nodded.

‘’good, so that takes you out of the picture and I bet she told no one she was coming to my house today. The best thing to do right now is to find a good place to dump her body. In few days she will be found. Yes the police will come questioning you but I can be your alibi. Simply tell them we spent Sunday evening together. I have my team of lawyers and the police wont dare question me because I don’t talk to the police without my lawyers being present’’ she lectured calmly. I couldn’t help but be amazed at her articulate plan.

‘’have you done this before?’’ I asked suspiciously.

‘’no of course but I know my way around things and that’s why I’m successful in life’’ she replied with a smile.

‘’how about the people living with you?. Won’t they talk?’’ I asked.

‘’no of course not. They won’t dare snitch on me’’ she answered confidently.

‘’so what now?’’ I asked.

‘’let’s take her body to your car and find a place to dump her’’ she said quickly.

‘’no not my car. The police can easily get a warrant to search my car if her body is discovered later. DNA things, Let’s use your car instead’’ I suggested. She shrugged with resignation.

‘’fine, let’s get going’’ she breathed quickly.

————————————————–

It really was a very hard and nauseating task getting Cynthia’s body into Jessica’s car. It was the most deadly thing I have ever done in my entire life. I had no choice than to go with Jessica’s plan even though I wasn’t responsible for killing Cynthia. I knew I had to go with her plans in order to survive. There wasn’t any other way apart from the road to jail which I wasn’t ready to take. I knew the odds were all against me and I had to take the easiest way out.

In the cover of darkness we headed out with Cynthia’s body, looking for a good place to dump the poor girl. I was so totally sacred and anxious but Jessica was very relaxed. It was just as if she was cold hearted and blooded.

‘’dear lord, help me’’ I prayed over and over.

In no time we got to a very quiet refuse dump site along Portharcourt expressway. Jessica pulled over and stopped her car.

‘’let’s get it done’’ she breathed, opening her car door. Together we dumped Cynthia’s body and silently headed back to town.

How did my life get this way?

To be continued

Season 1

[Edoman]

Episode 31

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————————–

‘’how about we make love?’’ Pamela suddenly demanded, pulled up her night wear and climbed over me seductively. I swallowed hard as I stared at her tempting body. I never suspected she was unclad underneath, until she pulled up her night wear that very moment.

‘’I’m not in the mood. I want to sleep’’ I lied, trying hard to look responsible while deep down my body was already responding to the sight of her seductive body.

‘’I’m already pregnant. So there is nothing to lose. Relax’’ she pushed, slowly went for my d—k, drew down my shorts and suc.ked it with great energy. Her mouth and tongue were just made for the stuff J .

We ended up making love once again. I had no one but myself to blame for having s-x with Pamela that fateful night. I just couldn’t hold myself from doing it with her not minding the problems ahead. Perhaps I easily got in the mood because the last time I had s-x was weeks ago and it was already telling on me.
Yes I enjoyed every bit of it as it lasted but immediately after the deed my conscience flogged me. I began feeling regret and nauseous.

————————–

The next morning, I woke up to see Pamela smiling with her eyes on me. I yawned and sat up, returning her gaze.

‘’you know my greatest prayer is for us to have a happy family. I can’t imagine how it would feel, waking up every morning in your arms. I never believed in love until I met you and now it’s making me look stupid’’ she breathed softly. I kept quiet. Of course I couldn’t figure out what to say.

‘’you can’t even wish me a happy birthday’’ she suddenly complained with a sigh. I smiled, drew close and gave her a surprising kiss.

‘’happy birthday dear’’ I muttered sweetly, leaving her blushing with delight.

‘’so what are your plans for today?. Do you still wish to see the woman I told you about or should we plan something for my birthday?’’ she asked curiously.

‘’I’m going back to where I came from today. I think I will first like to see the woman before heading back to my state’’ I answered.

‘’okay cool. I guess I will have to sacrifice my birthday celebration for you.’’ She muttered with resignation.

——————————————

By 10am, we were on our way to Suleja to meet the overhyped spiritualist. I really never believed in such stuff but sometimes that are things that could lead one into doing something out of curiosity. I had nothing to lose seeing the lady and so had to accept going with Pamela to see her.
Pamela equally insisted we go in the morning in order to be attended to on time. According to her, the place was always filled up with people searching for answers to their problems.

11am, we arrived at the big house where the spiritualist resided. The house really looked like every other house in the neighborhood, though bigger in shape and size.
Just like Pamela said, there were lots of people, especially young girls waiting to be attended to. And I couldn’t help but wonder the kind of problem they were all having.

‘’I have to go book our presence’’ Pamela whispered to me as I settled down on an empty chair. She left seconds after to speak with a lady who was holding something like a register in one of the open rooms.

She returned minutes later with a smile on her face.
‘’we will have to wait some minutes for our turn’’ she said, sitting beside me.

We ended up spending close to an hour before being invited into the main room, where an old woman dressed like a devoted Muslim was seated on a mat. Pamela graciously sat before her and I equally did the same.

‘’Zainab what brings you here today?’’ the old woman asked Pamela who smiled and nodded at me.

‘’I brought my friend to see you. He wants answers’’ she replied softly. The old lady left her eyes on me for some seconds before giving me an ointment to rub on my eyes.

‘’now hold my hands and close your eyes’’ she said, offering her hands. I silently obeyed and did like she demanded. She soon started speaking in a foreign language.

In few seconds, I felt as if I was drowning. I felt as if someone was trying to rip my heart off. I really didn’t know how the woman did the trick. Perhaps it was the ointment I rubbed on my eyes that made me feel that way.

‘’your future is very much clouded, but you can still change it for good. Trust no one but her. Trust no one but her’’ the old woman breathed with a slightly raised tone, releasing my hands with great energy.
I opened my eyes to see Pamela smiling with satisfaction while the old woman’s words played back in my head.

‘’Trust no one but her. Unfortunately I couldn’t comprehend because i had two women in my life. Tracy and Pamela,
 
To be continued 

Episode 32

Jude’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————————–

‘’so what now?’’ Pamela asked as we headed back to her house minutes later. I shook my head and shrugged silently. The events of the past few days were really getting on me. I never imagined my life would be so dramatic. I just had a lot to resolve and the funniest thing was that I had no idea on how to tackle them.

‘’I will take a night bus back to my school. I never planned staying this long. I have a lot to do in school’’ I replied softly.

‘’that means you won’t be staying for my birthday celebration tonight?’’ she asked after few minutes of silent. I gave her a very long searching look.

‘’you have a husband and I think he is in the best position to celebrate with you. Moreover I still find it a bit odd on how you courageously brought me to your home without minding that your husband or any of his aides could show up at the house’’ I muttered searchingly. She kept quiet and never said another word until we got to her house later in the day.

—————————-

I took a night bus back to Owerri that fateful evening. My head, my conscience, everything was in complete disarray. I had no solid plans for my future and I couldn’t help but wonder how my life would turn out in the coming years.
Tracy was the only good thing I had. The only good thing I could boast of having, but then I knew our relationship could end any moment. I knew my affair with Pamela would burst out fairly soon and I knew Tracy would never forgive or continue with our relationship once that happens. Everything has its boundary, including love.
It really was my entire fault. I was too stupid to be carried away by lust and the price was about costing me my future, my happiness.

‘’God help me’’ I prayed as the bus sped into the night.

————————

I got to my hostel by 6:05am the next morning and first headed to Tracy’s room to check on her. I met my girl depressed and moody. At first my heart jumped out of guilt but I carefully controlled my nerves.

‘’you don’t look too happy to see me. What’s wrong?’’ I asked breathlessly.

‘’my mother called yesterday night to inform me that the manager of the company I applied for my industrial training in Enugu wants me to resume in two days. And I have no choice than to travel home today. We may end up not seeing each other for three months or more’’ she muttered solemnly, relieving the tension in me with her words. I breathed deeply, smiled and hugged her.

‘’I can be visiting every weekend. Enugu isn’t very far from here’’ I reassured her softly.

‘’I know but secondly I keep having this nightmares, especially whenever I sleep alone. I just can’t explain it but I have this fear that our relationship will not last long. Maybe my head is just playing tricks on me or something. But the fear is so strong. I don’t know why I feel this way’’ she complained while I closed my eyes, held her and kissed her forehead.

‘’ I already know everything about you and I don’t think there is anything that can break us up. I don’t just know. Maybe I’m going crazy or maybe I feel this way because it’s my first relationship’’ she continued like a terrified child. I softly caressed her back, bent and kissed her neck.

Deep down I was scared as well. I had many secrets. My life of crime with Kelvin and my unwanted child with Pamela were one hell of a secret that could blow up any moment and my poor Tracy was just in the middle of it.

‘’nothing will ever break us apart my love. We have just one year to graduate and another year for our youth service. We will get married and head over to the states to start a family. There is nothing to fear. Nothing could possibly happen to break us up in two years’’ I reassured her softly. She looked up at me with eyes filled with love, care and hope. I swallowed hard and looked away with guilt.

‘’dear lord, I don’t want to lose her’’ I prayed.

————————————————-

Kelvin’s side of the story continues
4pm, same day.
—————–

I was busy with my computer, arranging and setting up formats for a new deal I planned pulling with Jude when Jessica walked into my sitting room with a very serious look. I wasn’t expecting her because she never told me she was coming over and the frown on her face gave a bad signal to me.

‘’please who are you exactly?. Why did you show up in my life?’’ she asked, throwing me off balance with the question. I stood up and searched her with my eyes. I just couldn’t say a word because I really didn’t know from which angle she was coming with the questions.

‘’cut the innocent look my friend. I told you when we met for the first time that I worked in a bank, a big bank for that matter. I equally told you I knew many people. Do you think I won’t check up on you or on your source of wealth?. I now know for a fact that you are not into any transport business but the curious thing is that your bank accounts keep growing from suspicious transactions and deposits. I did a lot of digging up. I even know the bank officials that approve your transactions. So my question remains, why me?. Why did you appear in my life?. I want answers now?’’ she demanded furiously. I shook my head with disbelief.

‘’how the hell did you get my bank details?. Are you sure you know what you are talking about?’’ I stammered, visibly shaken. She scoffed and eyed me.

‘’I guess you underestimated me?. You better talk now my friend. I never got to this level in my life by being a dunce. Everyone has a skeleton to hide but yours is way too much Kelvin. Why are you into my life?’’ she demanded furiously, waiting for answers I wasn’t ready to give.

However one thing was certain, Jessica was much more than what I thought her to be and I couldn’t help but feel that she was getting ahead of me in the game. She could end up roping me to a corner and sending me to the gallows.

Episode 33

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
—————–

‘’I don’t know the basis of your suspicion. Is it a crime to fall in love with you?. Have I ever done anything that suggests that I could be into you for another reason?’’ I asked with a bold outburst. Jessica scoffed and eyed me.

‘’yes I did one or two deals in the past to get rich but that was in the past. I really don’t feel comfortable with you right now. Perhaps I got it all wrong by thinking I could start a new life with you’’ I added with energy. She kept quiet, keenly studying me.
My heart throbbed loud as I desperately thought of the next words to say. I never expected such confrontation from her and I knew I was in a tight fix.
I badly needed to turn things around with my words but unfortunately Jessica did her homework very well and a little miscalculation on my part could make things worse.

‘’you just said everyone has a skeleton hidden somewhere. If I should start digging into your past, I know I will dig out something nasty. But the past always belongs to the past. Nigeria is a very tough country to survive in and without extreme measures you can’t survive or live a fulfilled life. What matters is how we atone for our sins. Believe me It isn’t easy for me. I came to your life to seek happiness, to seek peace, to start all over. I will never do anything to hurt you. Believe me’’ I poured out solemnly. She took a step closer and smiled for the first time.

‘’I feel at ease now. I believe you. Let’s just forget about the past but if in any way I discover that you are using me for a devilish agenda, I won’t hesitate turning you to the police or to the EFCC.’’ She muttered with a soft voice, but her words to me sounded more like a threat. I nodded in agreement, breathing deeply.
She surprisingly drew closer and hugged me.

‘’I’m sorry for being a bit aggressive. I was only protecting my interest’’ she apologized softly.

‘’I guess you are still coming over with Jude on Saturday?’’ she asked.

‘’yes I’m’’ I answered softly.

—————————————

Jessica left minutes after, leaving shaken and a bit scared. Of course I knew she was capable of reporting me to the cops. I equally knew she could still be spying on me. I had to come up with another plan. I had to dig into her past as well. It really was so unfortunate that I deviated from my main purpose of approaching her all because of love or perhaps lust.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I battled with my thoughts as I weighed every possible means of digging into Jessica’s past. She really was very good at hiding things and I was slowly realizing that behind her cheerful smile and acts, she equally was a very ruthless lady, capable of doing anything to protect her interest.

‘’jeez, how which direction do I take?’’ I wondered miserably.

———————————–

Early the next day, I headed to Joe’s gym to open my fears to my friend who listened patiently as I narrated the events of the previous day to him.

‘’hmmmm Jessica is very smart. The lady was into you the moment you stepped foot into her life but you thought you had the game all figured out, giving her ample time to dig around you. I really don’t fancy your position right now because she has already dug around you. Any step you take might end up getting you in a pit’’ he muttered carefully.

‘’so what do you think?’’ I asked nervously.

‘’I think she knows more than she told you yesterday. She probably knows about your possible plan with your cousin and I believe she stayed back to use you to achieve her aim or maybe she also is in love with you and can’t afford losing you no matter what’’ he added seriously.

‘’so what now?’’ I asked.

‘’simply keep calm and wait’’ he suggested.

————————————————————–

Jude’s side of the story continues
Same day
———–

I woke up feeling so bored and a bit angry. I wasn’t prepared for Tracy’s departure the previous day and I had no choice than to start making my own plans.

‘’I have to see Kelvin today. He once promised to link me up with a drug manufacturing company for my industrial training. I have no choice than to stick with him now’’ I reasoned as the scene I witnessed weeks ago in his house annoyingly played back in my head.

‘’I must find a way to confront Jessica on my own. I can’t keep waiting for Kelvin to act on it’’ I made up my mind.

By 12noon, My phone rang and it was Kelvin calling.

‘’hey bro, can you come over to my house right now?’’ he asked.

‘’yes I will be there in an hour’’ I answered softly.

————————
An hour later, @kelvin’s house

I walked into Kelvin’s sitting room, to see him busy with his computer. He instantly smiled on seeing me.

‘’thank God you are here. We have a new million dollar deal on the way’’ he announced happily. I forced out a smile as I settled beside him.

‘’so what’s up with you and school work?’’ he asked with concern.

‘’I’m still looking for a placement for my I.T’’ I answered.

‘’that shouldn’t be a problem. I will link you up with the guy I promised you sometime back. The only problem is that his company is located at Aba’’ he offered seriously.

‘’oh thanks, the location doesn’t matter’’ I thanked him with a smile.

‘’Jessica wants us to have dinner at her place. I don’t know how you feel about it but I think we are going to make progress with it’’ he softly mentioned, studying me keenly.

‘’that’s cool. I can’t wait to share the same table with her’’ I plainly answered without wasting any time, leaving my cousin totally surprised.
I bet he wasn’t expecting such quick answer from me and I knew he must be wondering what I really was up to.

I just couldn’t wait to be close to the lady who knew a lot about my father’s dead.

Episode 34

Jude’s side of the story continues
——————

Yes I was totally excited over the news Kelvin broke to me. I just couldn’t wait to have a one on one conversation with Jessica. My head was just filled with many ideas and thoughts.

‘’please I won’t want you to act arrogantly before Jessica. Just be civil with her. I already have things planned out and I still want you to leave the questions and investigation for me to handle’’ Kelvin begged after breaking the news to me.

Of course I accepted all his terms to put his mind at rest but I wasn’t ready to continue trusting him over Jessica’s issue. I had to make my own plans and get my own act together.

Early the next day, I headed to Aba to meet Kelvin’s friend for my I.T placement. I almost spent all day at the noisy city but it was worth the effort at the end. I returned later in the evening very happy to have settled that part of my life.

I returned to my hostel to continue with my plans for Jessica. I planned confronting her with a whole lot of questions. I planned throwing to her face that I knew she was with my father the day he died. I planned giving her opportunity to spill out the truth or have me and the law to deal with.
I already had wasted enough time waiting for Kelvin to act and her body language on Saturday was going to determine for me whether to press charges on her or not.
I had enough money to get the police to my side, I had enough money to take my case to court and if possible get a search warrant to go through her things.

Yes I knew my plans were quiet ambitious for a boy of my age and it could lead to a fierce quarrel between Kelvin and I but I was a very desperate boy who wanted nothing but closure on his father’s death and I knew I could end up losing the little money I had over it. I could end up running to Pamela for financial aid but I felt it was worth the sacrifice to get to the root of my father’s death.

————————

Friday evening, I called my Tracy to speak with her like I always did everyday but to my surprise her mother answered her phone, leaving me a bit shocked as I heard her voice.

‘’Tracy was involved in a car accident hours ago. She can’t speak to you right now’’ the old woman informed me. I couldn’t believe my ears. I couldn’t even talk for some seconds.

‘’what??’’ I shouted.

‘’there is nothing to worry about. She is in a stable condition. I believe by tomorrow you will be able to speak with her’’ she muttered to calm me down.

‘’so where is she right now?’’ I asked.

‘’we are at the national orthopedic hospital. Her left leg got fractured a little’’ she answered, leaving me so scared.

‘’I will be there tomorrow morning’’ I promised after few seconds of silence.

‘’is it necessary?’’ she asked.

‘’of course it is. I will be there first thing tomorrow’’ I breathed strongly.

‘’very well then, when you get to Enugu, put a call through. I will send someone to pick you up’’ she promised and hung up, leaving me with my thoughts.

‘’dear lord, I hope her leg injury won’t be a permanent one’’ I prayed solemnly.

———————————-

Very early the next day, which was Saturday, I headed straight to Enugu to see my Tracy. I couldn’t sleep the previous night and I couldn’t even get myself to eat before embarking on the long journey. All that was in my mind was to see my girl.

By 12noon, I was already at the hospital, holding Tracy’s hand with great concern. The poor girl never believed her eyes when she saw me.

‘’my mum is very wicked. She never told me you were coming’’ she breathed with great happiness while her mum who was watching us from a distance smiled to herself. I couldn’t get myself to smile. I just was so concerned over her state of health.

‘’a fast moving bus collided with a taxi I took yesterday. I was in the front seat and I got the impact of the collision on my legs. It’s just a minor fracture but mum won’t let me go home yet. She wants the best specialist to give my legs a hundred percent before we go home’’ she explained softly.

‘’when I called yesterday and mum told me you were involved in an accident, I almost fainted with fear’’ I said calmly. She laughed.

‘’hmmmm I never knew you cared so much’’ She breathed with great love while I stared into her eyes. My phone rang that moment, taking away my attention. It was Kelvin calling and as soon as I saw his name on my phone screen, I instantly remembered our date with Jessica.

‘’how far where are you?’’ he asked.

‘’I’m sorry bro, I can’t make it again today. I’m currently in Enugu,. My friend had an accident yesterday and I’m there to be with her’’ I informed him. He kept silent for a while.

‘’you could have told me and saved me the worry’’ he breathed and hung up.

———————————

Kelvin’s side of the story continues
I really didn’t know whether to feel relived or disappointed when Jude told me he wasn’t going to show up again. In fact I just was in the middle of the two emotions.
I really was never comfortable with the plan of showing up at Jessica’s house with him. Moreover the way he acted when I told him about Jessica’s request gave me a lot to worry about. So hearing that he wasn’t going to make it after all, really set my heart temporarily at rest.

————–

I got to Jessica house at exactly 6:15pm that fateful Saturday a bit nervous. I planned using the opportunity Jude’s absence created to directly confront her for the first time without mincing words.

Jessica wasn’t really happy to see me all alone. She searched me with her eyes the moment I walked into her sitting room.

‘’how about your cousin?. I thought you were bringing him along?’’ she asked curiously. I shrugged.

‘’he had an emergency and had to travel to Enugu this morning’’ I answered.

‘’hmmmmm. Should I believe that?’’ she asked arrogantly.

‘’I really don’t care what you believe my dear. I have passed the stage of lying over such a trivial matter. However I have some questions for you’’ I said with a soft smile while she drew back with surprise over my boldness.

‘’my cousin, told me something that I still find hard to believe. He said before his father died, that he told him about a lady known as Jessica Simon, who was handling many of his projects. According to him, his father planned making the lady his step mother and even shared one of her pictures with him’’ I said softly, studying her reaction..

‘’the day he walked in on us, he told me you looked very much like the lady in question. I don’t know why he was so sure but now you are my woman and your life and happiness matters a lot to me. You told me days ago that you ran a background check on me and I feel you equally did the same on my family. And if that’s the case, I believe you equally know a lot about my cousin Jude. So tell me, have you dealt with the boy’s father before?’’ I asked calmly but seriously, giving her room to trust me and open up with a clear conscience. She surprisingly colored up, breathed deeply and nodded.

‘’yes I knew Jude’s father’’ she finally admitted.

Episode 35

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode

‘’The first time you told me your surname and village, I was scared you were after me. I thought you knew a lot about me and I decided to play along to know how much you knew about me. But now I don’t just know how to act anymore’’ Jessica breathed, turned and backed. I breathed deeply, drew close and held her by the waist.

‘’you have to tell me everything. There isn’t any need hiding such an open secret’’ I urged her softly.

‘’I met Jude’s father during my early years as a banker. He really trusted me with a whole lot of things and I never failed him. I virtually took charge of his account, till I left the banking sector to start my own business. We still maintained the cordial business relationship and I ran numerous errands for him with my establishment. When he returned to the country earlier in the year, he asked me to get a new contractor for his building project in the village because the old contractor wasn’t delivering like he wanted. I had to go down to the village with him and after seeing the house, he asked me to wait for him to see his brothers and I obliged for some hours but had to leave when it was getting late. The next day I heard he was dead and I just couldn’t get myself to show up at his burial even though it hurt my conscience’’ she narrated convincingly. However I couldn’t help but notice some loopholes in her story.

‘’so you never had an affair with him?’’ I asked. She turned and faced me with a deeply colored face.

‘’of course not. We just were friends and nothing more. I was surprised when you said he showed my picture to his son’’ she answered softly. I breathed deeply.

‘’Jude is planning to start up a formal investigation on his father’s dead. I hope you can tell the police all you just told me because it looks as if you were the last person seen with him before his death?’’ I asked. She nodded slowly

‘’yes I won’t mind telling the police all I know but I don’t want to be involved in the case. Just find a way to keep me off it. I beg of you. Now is time to prove that you really love me’’ she suddenly demanded, taking me aback with her demand.

‘’Yes I really don’t want to be involved in any of it. Remember I kept quiet and believed you after finding out the kind of life you have been living?. I believed you because I love you. I hope you will reciprocate by protecting me?’’ she asked, leaving me stunned and a bit uncomfortable.

‘’since you are innocent, you have nothing to fear’’ I muttered weakly.

‘’you don’t understand how this country works. I’m a very wealthy young lady. The police can easily bring up a theory and rope me in with motive. I want none of it and you have to protect me. I didn’t kill the man. I have no reason to’’ she pushed on, leaving me totally confused and speechless..

‘’I will see what I can do’’ I weakly promised.

————————-

I headed back to my house after a quiet dinner with Jessica. Of course I had a lot to figure out. I had a decision to make. She sounded so convincing and innocent but then deep down I felt she was still hiding something. I felt she didn’t tell me all she knew about my uncle. Perhaps she wasn’t directly responsible but could know what really led to the man’s death. Unfortunately I knew I had no choice than to find a way to conclude my investigation without involving the police or telling Jude everything I knew.

It was something I had to do, not because of my strong feelings towards Jessica but as a leverage to protect myself.
Yes she knew a lot about my criminal life and if things go wrongly could drag me down with her.

There wasn’t any doubt Jude’s father was murdered but supposing Jessica was actually telling the truth, it then meant that my uncle’s murderer was still free out there.

——

I returned to my house around 8pm, to see Cynthia waiting for me. I was so surprised to see her in my house by that hour. I equally haven’t seen her in a long while and her presence kind of left me totally shocked.

‘’What the hell!’’ I exclaimed as my eyes fell on her abdomen which really was bigger than it used to be. I could help but have silly ideas in my head as I faced her.

‘’aren’t you happy to see me?’’ she asked with a calm disgusting smile.

To be continued

 


Episode 36

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

—-

‘’what the hell are you doing here by this hour?’’ I managed to ask as my eyes fell on her abdomen. She shrugged and smiled.

‘’I guess you aren’t happy to see me after such a long while?’’ she breathed, drawing closer to me. I took a step backwards as if I was scared of her touching me.

‘’I can’t believe you had to mind to avoid me for almost a month. You never bothered to call or even to leave a text message’’ she complained softly.

‘’I have been very busy lately. As you can see I just came back from a very tight schedule and please you can come over tomorrow. I’m tired’’ I breathed a bit coldly. She shook her head bitterly.

‘’I’m pregnant. Three months pregnant’’ she suddenly muttered, leaving me speechless for a while. I couldn’t believe my ears. I felt like killing her that moment but as a cool guy, I held my temper and smiled.

‘’congrats. When the baby is out, kindly inform me’’ I replied and took a step towards my room. She quickly grabbed my left hand, stopping me.

‘’so that’s all you have to say huh?. You are so despicable. You have no atom of human feeling in you’’ she breathed fiercely, getting me angrier.

‘’we never planned a baby together. You made the decision yourself. So if you feel like you can tie me down or make me marry you with this scam of yours then you need to have a brain check. This is the era of baby mamas and it really will fit you’’ I said coldly.

‘’how dare you?’’ she shouted, slapping me with great force. I staggered back with surprise while she pounced on me like a wild cat she was, hitting my chest with great fury.

‘’I’m not going anywhere. We did this together and we have to stick with each other. If you think you can dump me for a corporate w—e then you must high on weed. I have been with you all through these while, helping you build your life and keeping your secrets. I can’t allow another woman to enjoy my sweat. I rather die’’ she poured out angrily as she hit me.

I just didn’t know what to do that moment. Cynthia wasn’t like every other girl in the street. She was a wild cat capable of doing anything to survive. And I knew I was in for a tough ride with her.
The silly girl waited for some months before breaking the pregnancy news to me because she knew having an abortion in that stage was practically impossible. I was lost, confused and totally hopeless. The last thing I wanted was her being the mother of my child. She had none of the qualities every decent man would want in a wife. I could help but wonder the kind of gene our child was going to have.

‘’you should please go home, tomorrow we will talk things through’’ I finally begged calmly but she simply refused. She was just so adamant on spending the night in my house.

‘’I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere’’ she breathed furiously.

‘’then I will have to drag you out’’ I threatened, grasped her hand tried dragging her out to the gate but she fought back. She struggled and bit my hands, almost tearing out my skin.
I lost it that moment. I lost control of my temper and lashed out a slap on her face.
The impact of my slap left her stunned for a while. She simply froze for some seconds before attacking me once again with great energy. I slapped her again and again.

This time she fell and laid still on the floor, losing consciousness.

————–

Jude’s side of the story continues
—

Tracy was discharged from the hospital later in the evening after all the necessary treatment and scans had been done. My girl was simply close to tears as she managed to walk to the car with my assistance. I couldn’t help but notice that the accident affected her leg more than I was made to believe.

‘’ Just look at me. I’m now a limping girl’’ she breathed sorrowfully. I smiled reassuringly.

‘’it’s just a matter of days before you start walking properly again. That’s what your doctor said. You just have to calm down and be strong’’ I said softly.

‘’I’m so scared. I really don’t believe what the doctor said. Maybe he said those words just to make me happy. I’m now an adult and I fear it won’t completely heal’’ she replied with tears in her eyes.

‘’you worry over nothing my dear. Just be strong. Moreover you wouldn’t have been discharged so soon supposing it was a serious injury’’ I said intelligently.

‘’I really hope so. Thanks for being by my side’’ she added softly, dropping her wondrous eyes. I swallowed hard with great pain. I kind of felt responsible for her injury without knowing the reason I felt that way..

Episode 37

Jude’s side of the story continues

We barely had arrived at Tracy’s house when a hostel neighbor called to give me very shocking news.

‘’hey guy where are you?’’ Tony asked as soon as I answered his phone call. I couldn’t help but wonder the reason he was calling by that hour. He was just nothing but a neighbor to me and even though we had each other’s phone number we never spoke on phone.

‘’I travelled to Enugu early today’’ I replied softly.

‘’I think someone broke into your room. The door is wide open and your things scattered all over the place’’ he informed me softly. I gasped.

‘’are you serious?. How did that happen?’’ I asked without thinking straight.

‘’I don’t know ooo. You just have to come back and check what was stolen. I have already informed the hostel president and gateman’’ he added and hung up while Tracy stared at me curiously.

‘’what happened?’’ she asked.

‘’my room was just ransacked. That was what Tony called to tell me’’ I informed her slowly.

‘’that can’t be true!. Our hotel is the most secure in the vicinity. It has never been robbed before’’ she breathed with disbelief.

‘’a record always takes a day to be broken my dear. I guess our hostel isn’t as secured as we think’’ I answered faintly, slowly searched for the hostel Gateman’s number in my phone and dialed it. He picked up after three attempts,

‘’hey bro. how far na?’’ he greeted.

‘’please I heard my room was just robbed, is it true??’’ I asked calmly.

‘’yes ooo my oga’’ he answered quickly.

‘’please kindly help me shut my door. I will be there tomorrow’’ I informed him weakly.

‘’no worry. I dey your room already. I’m very surprised oooo. Only your room was robbed and no much visitors came into the hostel today’’ he replied, mixing English with pidgin. I simply hung up, without saying any other thing to him. My greatest fear was losing my school documents which unfortunately were all in the room.

‘’I just pray thief didn’t tamper with my school stuff’’ I opened up to Tracy.

‘’I don’t think so. Moreover it’s of no use to anyone’’ she answered with a smile.

‘’but dear, I think it will be better you bring over your school documents here for safe keeping. My mum is good at it. All my documents plus that of my siblings are with her’’ she suggested softly while my thoughts wandered off again. I couldn’t help but wonder if my room was ransacked by students who probably were looking for some money and electronics to steal or by the same set of thieves that ransacked my father’s house in the village. But then I knew a stranger couldn’t pull up such stunt in the day time without being noticed, leaving me with the conclusion that my room was ransacked by either a neighbor who had been waiting for an opportunity to rob me or perhaps someone paid him to do the job.

‘’I will return to the hostel early tomorrow to see things for myself’’ I informed my girl with a sad look. She frowned and looked down.

‘’I really was hoping we would spend the weekend together. It isn’t your fault though. You have to go check your things’’ she muttered with understanding.

—————————————–

Kelvin’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
I slowly squatted beside the unconscious girl, shaking her softly. My heart pounded furiously with great fear.
‘’dear lord I hope she’s fine?’’ I prayed. Cynthia sneezed, opened her eyes and quickly sat up, holding her head.

‘’you want to kill me right?. You better finish it up because that’s the only way I’m leaving you’’ she threatened seriously. I knew I had to keep myself in check and act wisely.

‘’I’m sorry dear. You just got on my nerves with your behavior. Kindly go to one of the rooms and sleep. Tomorrow we will figure things out’’ I begged. She breathed deeply, stared at me suspiciously for a while, shrugged, got up and headed to the toilet without another word. I fell back on the floor and swallowed hard.
I needed no telling that I was in for a tough ride with her.

‘’Dear Lord. I don’t want to marry this lady; I equally don’t want her to be the mother of my child. Help me. This is too much a punishment’’ I prayed sadly.

I couldn’t sleep that very night. My head was just filled with many impossible ideas and silly thoughts. Yet I couldn’t come up with a solution and the next day I woke up with a terrible headache.
I managed to take some pills before slowly heading to my sitting room to see if I could find an interesting program on TV.
—————————

On getting to my sitting room, I was shocked to see Cynthia calmly seated and watching a movie like a happy housewife. She was tying only a wrapper as if she was in her matrimonial home. I lost it again.

‘’Cynthia what is wrong with you?’’ I barked furiously, but before she could turn and answer, Jessica stormed into my apartment, carrying a big food flask.
The shock that befell her was really killing as her eyes fell on Cynthia and I.

I couldn’t believe the id.i-t guarding my gate let her in without notifying me.

Episode 38

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

I just didn’t know what to say as I faced Jessica, who quickly regained her composure, ignored Cynthia and walked towards me with a cold smile.
Her face was simply plain and expressionless as she walked towards me. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her head that moment.

Cynthia equally was stunned by Jessica’s presence. She couldn’t say a word as she watched her walk up to me.

‘’I made this breakfast for you. I never knew you had a guest. I just got back from church and rushed over to bring it over. Happy Sunday dear’’ she breathed calmly, offered the flask to me, smiled, turned and left my house without another word.
I couldn’t even make a move or say anything to her. My head, my tongue, my speech all were frozen with tension. However I thanked God for the calm and matured way she acted. I never expected such calmness from her.

Cynthia soon sprang to my side, snatching the flask from me.
‘’I knew it. Yes I knew it. That w.hore, she even had the nerves to offer you food in my presence. You guys have enjoyed enough romance already. I’m here to stop it. Enough is enough’’ she breathed fiercely and headed to the kitchen like an angry cow. I cursed inwardly as I followed her.
I felt like smashing her head to the wall but I knew it would do me more harm than good. She really was tempting me, knowing full well that I could lose my head any moment.

On getting to the kitchen, she opened the food flask and threw the contents into the dustbin while I bit my lips in anger.

‘’I can’t tolerate this nonsense anymore. She has bewitched you’’ she muttered furiously.

‘’listen Cynthia. You are not my wife and I will never marry you. Simply get your things and leave my house. I don’t want to kill you but you are tempting me’’ I shouted angrily.

‘’you can’t do anything to me. You can’t’’ she dared me.

‘’I won’t lay my hands on you again. You are sick. You are looking for someone to kill you but I won’t give you the pleasure. I will get the police to throw you out of my house. You don’t know what I’m capable of’’ I shouted, left the kitchen and headed to my room to freshen up.
I left my apartment minutes later without saying a word to her. I had to leave my house in order to cool down my temper.

As I drove out of my house that morning with a heart full of anger and confusion, I totally was at lost on how to deal with Cynthia. She just was a wild lady capable of withstanding anything and she had no atom of shame in her.

‘’how did it all get to this level’’ I asked myself over and over as I headed to Joe’s gym.
After a short drive, I stopped, turned my car and headed towards Jessica’s house. Of course I had a lot of explanations to make and I knew I had to come up with a good one.
———————–

Jessica frowned on seeing me walk into her sitting room. She first searched me with her eyes before shaking her head.

‘’I’m sorry for what happened this morning. It was totally unexpected’’ I apologized softly.

‘’of course you weren’t expecting me to show up by that hour. So what’s your excuse or lie?’’ she demanded.

‘’I have no excuse. I have no lie. I’m totally responsible for everything. The young lady was a girl I used to have fun with in the past. A girl I always used to cure my sexual hunger before I got to know you. I haven’t seen her for almost a month and when I got home from your house yesterday, I saw her waiting for me. She is claiming to be three months pregnant for me. I tried forcing her out of my house yesterday and she almost fainted in the process. I will have to get the police to help me out’’ I explained weakly.

‘’so should I believe you?’’ she asked with a strange smile.

‘’no you don’t have to’’ I replied honestly.

‘’but I do believe you’’ she muttered, surprising me with her words.

‘’you saw a cheap girl and started enjoying her without reservation. Your stupid head never told you she had her own plans. Why are guys always good at cheap things?’’ she asked while I kept quiet like a spoilt kid.

‘’just give me her phone number, I will talk to her and see what she wants’’ she suddenly offered, leaving me with no choice than to oblige even though I was very suspicious of her motive. I knew Cynthia would never listen to her.

———————————————–

I headed to Joe’s gym after spending some minutes with Jessica. I must confess Jessica’s calmness and understanding was a welcomed development but equally extremely suspicious. I never expected her to be so understanding and calm. Could it be that her love for me is so strong to make her this understanding?’’ I wondered as I drove to Joe’s gym.

————-
Joe and I had a long very long talk when I got to his place but unfortunately he couldn’t offer any solid advice to me.

‘’my brother your situation is a very difficult one. Supposing you are dealing with young school girls I would have known what to advice. But the two ladies are big time adults with their own plans. Only God will help you out of this. If I’m in your shoes, I will simply forget about Jessica and deal with Cynthia before things gets out of hand’’ he advised, leaving me deep with thoughts but unfortunately i couldn’t accept his suggestion because I was already way deep into Jessica to back away. My main priority was getting rid of Cynthia.

————

I returned to my house, uncertain on how to push out Cynthia from my life. I threatened earlier to call the police on her but failed to do it. I went into my house with prayers in my lips.
I really didn’t want things to get messy with her but the d–n girl was daring me. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing inside.

As I walked into my sitting room, I was surprised to see her well dressed up, holding her big handbag. I stared at her curiously, wondering what she was up to.

‘’I’m leaving but I will be back later. So don’t celebrate yet’’ she muttered coldly, eyed me and left my house without another word.
She simply left without any fight and I couldn’t believe myself.

My phone however rang a minute later and it was Jessica calling.

‘’so how far?’’ she asked as if she was seeing me from somewhere. I breathed deeply, unable to find my voice.

‘’meet me at my house by 5pm’’ she said and hung up.

Episode 39

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

By 5:15pm that fateful Sunday, I slowly arrived at Jessica’s house. I couldn’t help but wonder why she asked me to come over.
As I approached the door leading to her sitting room, I heard two female voices arguing with great energy. I easily made out Jessica’s voice but couldn’t make out the second voice even though it sounded very much like Cynthia’s voice. I knew she had no reason to be there and so it never crossed my mind that it could be her.

As I walked into the sitting room, I was confronted with the greatest shock of my life. I couldn’t believe myself as my eyes fell on Cynthia and Jessica exchanging words. Cynthia was standing with both hands on her waist while Jessica was sitting a distance away, facing her.
I froze for some seconds as I quickly thought of how to face the unexpected situation.

‘’thank God you are here’’ Cynthia quickly said as soon as she saw me while Jessica stood up with her eyes on me.

‘’I invited her over to see if we could reach a good compromise but I just realized I made a very terrible mistake. She has been threatening me ever since she got here’’ Jessica softly explained.

‘’of course you deserve everything that I have been throwing at you. Why can’t you go and find your own man?. Why can’t you struggle to build your own man?. Aren’t you ashamed that at your age and with all your acclaimed accomplishments, you stooped to low to steal another person’s man’’ Cynthia fired violently at her while I shook my head, uncertain of what exactly to say.

I never expected to confront such scene and it just looked like a dream. I never expected Jessica to be so stupid as to invite Cynthia to her house unless perhaps she had another hidden motive.

‘’Jessica I never asked you to invite her to your place. I never asked you to help me with my problem’’ I scolded Jessica before facing Cynthia with a cold smile.

‘’let’s get out of here please. You shouldn’t be here in the first place’’ I said softly.

‘’you are just a retired prostitute who’s looking for young blood to settle down with. Sorry my man isn’t available’’ Cynthia mocked, drawing out Jessica’s temper.

‘’what did you just call me?’’ she asked, closing in on Cynthia who quickly pushed her backwards. Before I could even blink, Jessica pounced on Cynthia like an angry lion, pushed her to the floor and hit her head severally on the tiles before choking her by grasping her throat. I quickly pounced on Jessica, pushing her away from Cynthia’s body but unfortunately I intervened too late.

Yes Cynthia was a very strong lady who could easily beat Jessica in any fight but she never expected Jessica to go extreme by attacking her in such manner. Moreover she was pregnant and wasn’t as strong as she used to be, giving Jessica an upper hand in the fight.

As I pulled out Jessica from Cynthia’s body, I noticed that Cynthia wasn’t breathing nor moving. I nervously shook her with great force but she still failed to move.

‘’what have you done Jessica?’’ I asked with fear.

‘’she deserves to die’’ she replied without any atom of remorse. I couldn’t believe I was in such a nasty mess.

‘’I think you have killed her’’ I breathed nervously as I felt Cynthia’s pulse over and over without getting any sign of life.

————————————————–

Jude’s side of the story continues

I returned to my hostel at exactly 4:45pm that fateful Sunday. My room was totally ransacked just like I was told but none of my electronics was taken. I quickly arranged my school documents which I found scattered all over my bed.

‘’I guess it wasn’t robbery after all. I guess the person that broke in was searching for some other thing possibly the suitcase in Kelvin’s care’’ I reasoned as I dialed my cousin’s phone number but surprisingly he rejected my call.
I shrugged, went down to meet the hostel gateman, paid him for another key and lock before heading over to Kelvin’s house.
Of course i had a lot to talk with him. I equally was curious to know how things went with Jessica the previous day.

But on getting to his house, I was told that he left minutes ago. I dialed his number again and for the second time he rejected my call, something he has never done before.

Episode 40

Kelvin’s side of the story continues

‘’let’s take her to the hospital’’ I breathed, holding up Cynthia’s head as I threw a look at Jessica who shrugged, bent and felt the poor girl’s pulse.

‘’ please give chance’’ she said softly, pushed me aside and did a little push up on Cynthia’s chest but unfortunately the poor girl made no sign of coming back to life.

‘’she’s dead’’ Jessica suddenly announced, wiping out sweat from her forehead. I gasped with great fear.

‘’let’s stop wasting time and take her to the hospital. We can’t let her die here’’ I muttered, shaking with fright.

‘’she is dead already. There is nothing you can do about it’’ she replied softly, shook her head and looked away. I couldn’t believe it was all happening. I couldn’t believe it was all real.

‘’but let’s take her to the hospital to be sure’’ I muttered faintly.

‘’what will be your explanation to the doctor or her family or even the police when they start asking questions?’’ she suddenly asked, putting more fear into me with the question.

‘’my friend you are going to jail and there is no two ways about it. This is Nigeria in case you have forgotten’’ she said a bit coldly.

‘’what kind of woman are you?. Don’t you have any human feelings inside?. I’m so disappointed in you. I can’t believe you have the mind to talk this way after killing her in your house. Now tell me, what you want me to do?’’ I asked angrily.

‘’please stop playing the blame game. We are into this together. We are nothing but the same. You are also a killer just like me. Or don’t you know how many lives you have ruined with your scams?’’ she fired back. I shook my head, bit my lips and headed towards the door in desperation.

‘’Dear Lord why me. Why am I into this mess? This is so unbelievable’’ I breathed with a faint heart.

‘’you are not walking away, are you?’’ I heard her ask quietly. I turned and faced her with eyes filled with tears.

‘’my life is ruined. You have succeeded in ruining me’’ I stammered. She smiled, drew close and held my hands.

‘’I never meant for this to happen. It was all a mistake. But we still have a life to live. We have a future together. Let’s work harmoniously to set things right’’ she offered solemnly.

‘’what do we do now?’’ I asked.

‘’she took her things out of your house before coming here right?’’ she asked while I nodded.

‘’good, so that takes you out of the picture and I bet she told no one she was coming to my house today. The best thing to do right now is to find a good place to dump her body. In few days she will be found. Yes the police will come questioning you but I can be your alibi. Simply tell them we spent Sunday evening together. I have my team of lawyers and the police wont dare question me because I don’t talk to the police without my lawyers being present’’ she lectured calmly. I couldn’t help but be amazed at her articulate plan.

‘’have you done this before?’’ I asked suspiciously.

‘’no of course but I know my way around things and that’s why I’m successful in life’’ she replied with a smile.

‘’how about the people living with you?. Won’t they talk?’’ I asked.

‘’no of course not. They won’t dare snitch on me’’ she answered confidently.

‘’so what now?’’ I asked.

‘’let’s take her body to your car and find a place to dump her’’ she said quickly.

‘’no not my car. The police can easily get a warrant to search my car if her body is discovered later. DNA things, Let’s use your car instead’’ I suggested. She shrugged with resignation.

‘’fine, let’s get going’’ she breathed quickly.

————————————————–

It really was a very hard and nauseating task getting Cynthia’s body into Jessica’s car. It was the most deadly thing I have ever done in my entire life. I had no choice than to go with Jessica’s plan even though I wasn’t responsible for killing Cynthia. I knew I had to go with her plans in order to survive. There wasn’t any other way apart from the road to jail which I wasn’t ready to take. I knew the odds were all against me and I had to take the easiest way out.

In the cover of darkness we headed out with Cynthia’s body, looking for a good place to dump the poor girl. I was so totally sacred and anxious but Jessica was very relaxed. It was just as if she was cold hearted and blooded.

‘’dear lord, help me’’ I prayed over and over.

In no time we got to a very quiet refuse dump site along Portharcourt expressway. Jessica pulled over and stopped her car.

‘’let’s get it done’’ she breathed, opening her car door. Together we dumped Cynthia’s body and silently headed back to town.

How did my life get this way?

To be continued