登入Samuel’s phone trembled violently in his hand as soon as he answered the call.“Soufia, please… what you’re saying right now, is it true?”On the other end, Soufia’s voice cracked beneath heavy sobs.“Samuel, I know I never truly loved you during our relationship. I know I hurt you. I cheated on you with different boys, and I’ve apologized for it before. But is this your punishment for me? Is this why your girlfriend sent men after me?”Samuel froze.“What are you talking about?”“You heard me!” she cried. “Those boys said they were sent by your girlfriend. They hurt me so badly, Samuel. My whole body is in pain. One of them even told me, ‘From Samuel’s girlfriend — the message has been delivered.’”A pounding headache struck Samuel instantly.“No… no, Soufia, listen to me carefully,” he said, his voice shaking. “Mariam would never do something like that. She doesn’t even know you exist. I swear to you, I never mentioned you to her.”Soufia laughed bitterly through tears.“You think I
The morning of my engagement party should have been a symphony of joy, the culmination of every dream I’d ever harbored. Instead, I woke to a silence that felt heavy, deafening in its intensity. A single, nagging question pulsed in my mind like a rhythmic ache: Does he have a first love?I had tried to bury my instincts for months, but the ghost of his reaction haunted me. I could never quite forget the way he had simply walked out—his silhouette retreating into the night—all because I had dared to ask a simple question: "Am I your first love?"Today, I was supposed to stand before the world and pledge myself to him. But the doubt was a poison. If he was truly over her, as Bella claimed, why the secrecy? Why did the mere mention of a past life turn his heart to stone? I needed to hear the truth, not for the sake of the past, but for the sake of our future. I reached for my phone to text him, my fingers trembling, but the door creaked open before I could type a single word."Hi, baby,"
The steady, rhythmic beep-beep-beep of the heart monitor was the first thing that pulled Gbemisola from the darkness. Her head throbbed with a dull, rhythmic ache, and her eyelids felt as though they had been sealed shut with lead. Slowly, the world began to bleed in—a sterilized white ceiling, the scent of antiseptic, and the mechanical pulse of the machine that proved she was still breathing.For one blissful moment, she let herself believe it had all been a fever dream. The arrest, the handcuffs, the cold metal of the interrogation room—surely it was just a nightmare born of anesthetic and the trauma of her surgery. She let out a long, shaky sigh of relief.But then, as her vision cleared, the relief died in her throat.Moturanyo and Kingseley were there, standing at the foot of her bed like twin specters of her ruin. The Moturanyo she had looked at with love for twenty years was gone, replaced by the woman she now hated with every fiber of her being."Who let the two of you in?" G
The air in the interrogation room was thick and stale, vibrating with the low hum of a single fluorescent light. Gbemisola sat huddled in the metal chair, every breath a battle against the searing pain in her abdomen."Madam, you don’t want to talk at all?" the officer asked, his voice a low, rhythmic thrum against her frayed nerves."Officer, I swear to the God who made me, I know nothing about her death," Gbemisola pleaded, her voice cracking. She clutched her side, the phantom pull of her stitches a constant reminder of her vulnerability. "Please, release me. I am not well. I had surgery just this month—I haven't even recovered yet. Have mercy on me, please."The officer remained unmoved, his eyes fixed on the small gold band resting on the table between them. "So, Mrs. Ajayi, are you saying this ring is not yours?""It is mine," she whispered, her gaze dropping to the floor. "I’ve been looking for it for a long time. I couldn't find it, so I... I just tried to forget about it.""A
The sterile scent of the hospital still seemed to cling to Gbemisola’s skin, a lingering reminder of the days she had spent waiting for a sign that never came. She clutched her phone until her knuckles turned white, staring at the blank screen that refused to light up with the one name she craved."Moturanyo, he hasn’t called," Gbemisola whispered, her voice cracking under the weight of a growing, desperate realization. "Not once. Since the moment I was discharged, since I came back from that hospital bed, he hasn't even checked if I’m breathing. Did he ever love me? Or was I just a temporary fixture in his life?"She looked up at her friend, her eyes swimming with a mixture of agony and betrayal. "The way he’s acting... it’s like I never existed. I’m certain he’s left me for someone else. How can someone turn their heart off so quickly? It’s so painful, Moturanyo. It’s like a physical wound."Moturanyo leaned in, her expression softening with a mixture of pity and pragmatism. "Gbemis
The weight of the gold band in Mariam’s pocket felt like a leaden anchor, pulling her toward the pavement. She had never known a nightmare quite like the one that had haunted her since the ring came into her possession. Now, standing before the weathered concrete of the police station, her breath came in shallow, jagged hitches. Her mind was a storm of indecision—stay or flee?She hadn't forgotten the sight of Amaka. The world called it a suicide, a tragedy of a girl who gave up, but Mariam couldn't swallow the lie. Amaka had never worn rings. Not once. And yet, at the scene where Amaka’s life had ended, the ring hadn't just been lying there—it had found her. It was a silent, metallic plea for justice.Mariam, please, have the courage to walk through those doors, she whispered to herself, her hands trembling. I know you’re scared. I know they’ll ask why it took so long. I know you missed school just to stand here like a coward.She had been so determined that morning, fueled by the me
The morning sun felt warmer, the air sweeter than it ever had before. Mariam stood in front of her mirror, a radiant smile fixed on her face as she smoothed her school uniform. I have my sister back, she thought, her heart swelling with a profound sense of relief. The terror of Bella’s reaction had
For thirty minutes, the sitting room was a tomb. The only sounds were the soft clink of silverware that no one was using and the heavy, ragged breathing of three people whose lives had just collided in the worst possible way. Samuel and Bella sat frozen, their gazes averted, while Mariam felt the w
"Dad? Dad, where are you?" Samuel’s voice echoed through the high-vaulted ceilings of the mansion. Receiving no response, he began to climb the stairs, his footsteps muffled by the thick, plush carpeting. "Dad, I’m home!"Inside the master suite, the air was still heavy with the scent of sweat and
The air in the room was thick with a heavy, sweet heat as Samuel and Mariam’s kisses deepened, growing more desperate with every passing second. Their breath hitched in a rhythmic, hungry cadence, the sound of their lips meeting echoing in the quiet space. Samuel’s hand, trembling slightly with a m







