Ada's POV:
Lost in an unfamiliar desert, Ada tried to remain composed, holding Sarah's hand tightly amidst the passengers who formed a small circle around the pilot. "I know we are all panicking," the pilot said. "But we all need to calm down and think of a way out.""Do you know where we are?" someone asked."Before landing, I was able to get the location of this place. We are in the Borno state desert, very close to the Chad borders.""How do we leave here? This is a very far distance from Abuja," another person inquired."I already made a distress call; we just have to wait," the pilot replied."I hope they will come for us," Ada whispered to Sarah."They will," Sarah reassured her.Four hours later, they heard a sound in the air and rushed out to see a black helicopter landing in the desert. A man in his late 30s emerged. "Listen," the man named Bola said. "My name is Bola, I am the head of the information division of the DSS. Help is on the way, but I am here to pick up Mrs. Joy Nnenna."This announcement sparked anger among the passengers. Ada asked Sarah about Mrs. Joy Nnenna amid the commotion. "She is the wife of the House of Reps speaker," Sarah explained."Lucky her," Ada thought. "Is she here? Have you met her before?""Yes, I've met her. I've been on the plane attending to her several times," Sarah said, looking around. "I can't see her anywhere here.""Oh, my God," she said. "What?""Now that I think of it, you look exactly like her," Sarah revealed.Ada, a light-skinned lady in her late twenties, was of average height with a glass hour shape. "You look exactly like her," Sarah repeated. "Her skin glows more than yours, but who will notice after what we have been through here?" she added, smiling suspiciously."What are you talking about?" Ada asked, confused."Mr. Bola, she is right here," Sarah shouted, pointing to Ada."What are you doing?" a confused Ada whispered."Can't you see? You look exactly like her. I know you don't want to go back to your family, so why don't you live as Joy for now?""I don't like this, but I will only agree to do this because I don't want to go back home," Ada concluded. "I will only spend the night there; tomorrow I am leaving.""Suit yourself.""Mrs. Nnenna," Bola said as he approached Ada. "Your husband is very worried about you; you will have to come with me. I will take you home, but let me first call your husband."Ike's POV:Ike rushed downstairs, relieved that his wife was waiting in the living room. He pushed away the thought of her being dead after receiving a call from Bola. Despite her arrogance, she was still his wife, and he loved her. He hoped to make her change her perspective on people. As he entered the living room, his heart stopped when he came face to face with a seemingly changed Joy. After staring at each other, he decided to break the ice. "How are you?" he asked. "Hope you are not hurt?""No, I'm okay," she answered.She seemed a little different, but she looked the same, apart from her skin appearing a bit rough. Given what she had gone through, it was understandable. Waving away the thought, he asked again, "How are you feeling?""I am okay. All I want to do right now is to sleep. I’m tired; can we talk tomorrow?""Okay," he replied. "Olu!" he called."Yes, sir," Olu came running. "Help her to her room.""Okay, sir," Olu replied. Ike watched as she weakly walked upstairs. "When are you going to come back to our room? Are you planning to have me sleep alone for the rest of my life?" he found himself asking but was surprised to see her panic."I just escaped a plane crash; maybe you could help me out by letting me be for now," she replied."If you say so, good night then," he said. Ike sat on a chair lost in his thoughts. His mind flashed back to the afternoon he came home and saw Joy packing her clothes into a bag. "You are home early," she said. "I thought you would still be in your office looking through files with a cup of coffee in your hand.""Well, those are the things feeding you and funding your lifestyle," he said. "What are you doing with those clothes, Joy? I just changed your wardrobe last week."She laughed before saying, "I am taking these clothes to my new room, where I can be out of your reach or, should I say, touch.""Why are you doing this? Don’t you want children?""What? Do you want to know why I am doing this? Is it not obvious? It’s because I hate you, and I certainly don’t want to have kids with you.""But I love you. Does that not mean anything to you?" Ike asked with a shaky voice. He was so heartbroken to hear the words coming out of her mouth.Ike could feel the tears on his cheeks as he remembered the pain of that afternoon. He sighed and walked upstairs to his bedroom, pulling off his clothes. Stepping into the shower, he thought about Joy's odd behavior that day. He came out of the bathroom, went to his drawer, and pulled out his nightwear. Laying down on the bed, he remembered the last time he had a conversation about love making with his wife—it was on their wedding night, and that day she wouldn’t let him touch her. She was not like this when he first met her; she was innocent and had several conversations with him. She had only changed after they got married, he shockingly discovered that she only married him for his money; she told him that out of her mouth. All those times she said she loved him were all lies; they started a relationship based on lies. He wept on his bed and wished that she could become nice like the way she pretended to be before. Finally, sleep found him, and only his soft snores were heard.Ike’s PovConfusion and shock washed over Ike as he witnessed Ade and some guys being handcuffed, emerging from the building where Ada had been held captive. He rushed toward them, eager to unravel the unfolding situation.“Hey, why are you handcuffing my friend? Shouldn't you be going after the kidnappers?” he asked, bewildered.Linda looked at him with pity. “He is the kidnapper.”“I don't understand,” Ike said, glancing at Ade. “He is my best friend; he can't do that to me. Would you?”Ade did not answer; he only stared at Ike with intense hatred before being taken away. Ike remained in shock, grappling with the betrayal of his best friend. Hurt and on the verge of tears, he held himself together. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Ada walking up to him. They locked eyes for a few moments before he grabbed her and kissed her, feeling her respond to the kiss.“I love you,” he said after their kiss. “I mean those three words and eight letters.”“Are you sure? What about your
Ada PovAwakening in what appeared to be a dimly lit room, she realized she was securely tied to a chair. It took no time for her to comprehend that she had been kidnapped. Ada struggled to free herself from the chair, attempting to calm down and focus all her thoughts on devising an escape plan.She examined the room, hoping to find anything that might assist her, her mind wandering to how she ended up in this predicament. If she hadn't pretended to be someone she wasn't, she was certain she wouldn't be in this mess now. Shifting her thoughts from the chaos she was in, she pondered on Ike. Oh, how she missed him. Sitting there, she yearned to see him again, even if it were the last time. Knowing in her heart that he might never forgive her for what she did, whether she emerged from this ordeal alive or not, she was determined to confess her feelings and true identity to him. She believed that if he discovered she was the Ada from his secondary school who once dated him, he might un
Ike’s POVIke brushed past his wife and went upstairs to his room. He went to his bathroom and had his bath. While dressing up, he felt like he needed to talk to Joy and lay down some rules for her; she can’t go about talking to people in his house that way. She was very rude to his parents last night, which made him very upset. He needed to talk to her about that too; she needs to show his parents some respect. He was the man of the house, and she needs to do what he asks of her.Dressed up, he planned to go over to Ade’s house. He needed to pour out his heart to him, moved towards his wife’s room. As he was about to enter the room, he heard her having a conversation with someone. Out of curiosity, he decided to eavesdrop on her conversation, then heard her say, “That fool, he bought my story. He thought that some man rescued me from the plane incident. He does not know that I was with you, that I never went to the airport.” He heard her laugh; all this while she had a lover and she
Ada's PovAda sat at the back of the car, unable to stop herself from crying, thinking of the look in Ike’s eyes when she told him who she really was. She wished she could turn back time and do things differently. Seeing a sample blouse in a shop, she wanted to cheer up. She stopped the driver and went into the shop. She left the house without any clothes or shoes, only the purse Ike had once bought her, which had the bank ATM card tied to the account he opened for her after the plane incident. She lied to him, claiming she couldn't remember her password, and, not wanting to go to the bank, he opened another account for her. Her phone was also in the purse. After explaining everything to Linda over a call, Linda comforted her and gave her the address to her apartment, which she had just bought and never stayed in, but was willing to let Ada stay there. Ada was happy to still have a friend in Linda. She took a deep breath and walked into the shop.Benito's PovBenito saw his opportunit
Ike’s POVIke found himself in a bewildering situation, staring at two women claiming to be his wife. His mind was a whirlwind of confusion, unsure if he was experiencing some surreal illusion or if reality was playing a cruel game on him."Who are you?" he managed to utter, directing his question to the lady standing at the door."What?" Joy snapped angrily. "You don't know me again? And who the hell are you?" Joy glared at Ada, demanding an explanation.Ike turned to Ada, desperation in his eyes. "Explain this," he implored, his thoughts scrambled and emotions in turmoil."Who is that?" Joy demanded, seeking clarity."What is happening here?" Mma voiced her confusion."You really are dull," Joy scoffed at Ike's mother. "This girl," she pointed at Ada, "is impersonating me."Ike, still grappling with the surreal scene, looked at Ada, anticipating an explanation for this bizarre situation."I am sorry," Ada uttered tearfully. "I am not Joy. My name is Ada Okoli. I sneaked onto
Linda's PovLinda returned to the office after spending some time with Ada. It was still weird to know Joy as Ada, but she really did not care who Ada was; that’s her friend, and she was going to stick with her either way. She only hopes that Ada does the right thing by telling Ike.“Ma, we found something,” Musa's voice rang inside her brain.“What? How?” she asked.“We got the numbers of people from their registration book that bought that kind of gun from the last gun shop we went to, just like we did for the rest. One of the men said he sold it to someone else, but the registration on the gun still has his name. We asked for the number of the person he sold it to, and luckily he had it. We traced the number, and it was registered under one Benito Dam. He is an ex-convict, and nobody seems to know where he lives. It looks like he has software blocking where his location is, but we managed to trace it. I think this is the guy we have been looking for.”“Put someone on him now. I