All Chapters of LOOM OF THORNS : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

68 Chapters

CHAPTER 49: SERIAL KILLER???

THIRD PERSON POV The morning air at Queen Amina Hostel didn't break with the usual sound of alarm clocks or the distant clatter of buckets. It broke with a sound that felt like glass shattering inside a ribcage—a high, thin scream that curdled the chilly dawn. It began in Room 98. A quiet 200-level Sociology student who spent more time with her nose in textbooks than in the campus drama or relating with people. She had always minded her business, and her roommate was the only friend she had— Titi had been a ghost, even while alive. When her roommate returned from an all night study at the school library, she didn't find Titi sleeping like she would normally do, after reading through the night. She found a scene that looked like a gothic art installation. Titi was slumped over their wooden reading desk, her cheek resting against an open textbook as if she had simply grown tired of studying. But the dark crimson, sluggish pool spreading across the white pages of Introduction to Socia

CHAPTER 50: OBSESSED

THIRD PERSON POVThe living room was a den of shadows, lit only by the expensive, amber glow of the chandeliers. Josh stood by the window, his silhouette rigid, watching the distant, orange haze of the clouds, which took funny shapes in the sky. He looked like a man standing on the edge of a cliff, waiting for the wind or someone to push him.The click of heels against the marble was the only warning he got."They're saying the university will be shut down by tomorrow morning," Ada’s voice purred, closer than he expected. She smelled of expensive jasmine and a tint of vanilla and citrus. "A tragedy, isn't it? All that chaos just because some people don't know how to stay... quiet."Josh didn't turn. "Is that what you call it? A tragedy?... that was a murder of a girl, our agemate or probably younger. Then you say it's a tragedy with no sympathy in your voice!?." Ada moved into his line of sight, her mesh dress sleeve sliding provocatively off one shoulder. She reached out, her finge

CHAPTER 51: THE VOID

THIRD PERSON POV Josh leaned against the door of the study, his chest heaving. The echo of Ada’s hysterics still vibrated in the hallway and in his head, but it was the silence of the house that felt heavier.He pulled his phone from his pocket. No new messages. No 'signal' from the contact he’d paid at the police station, through one of his father's guards.“She’s still there,” he told himself, his knuckles almost white as he gripped the device. In his mind, he saw Becca on a concrete floor, her floral dress which he had gotten from a thrift store on the morning, where their hopes had been dashed, was probably stained with the filth of the police cell, her spirit breaking under the weight of a crime she didn't commit. He thought he was the only one holding the key to her release—the pen he had to use to sign the annulment today. This morning as a matter of fact.He had no idea that three miles away, at St. Jude’s, a ventilator was currently doing the work his wife’s lungs couldn't.

CHAPTER 52: THE SLIP

THIRD PERSON POV The morning sun filtering in the dining room through the window was very bright, reflecting off the silver cutlery and polished marble table top with a sharp glare. Chief Adeyemi strode in, his heavy footsteps announcing his arrival before he even spoke. He looked like a man who had not sleep in days,his eyes were sleepy,red rimmed and had bags under them. "Comfort! Tina!" he barked, calling for the housemaids. "Bring me some bread and eggs. And make sure the tea is hot—the wind at the club last night was bone-chilling." He settled into the head of the table, sighing as he loosened his silk tie that cost a arm and a leg. "The stress of this country will be the death of me. Between the port contracts and the nonsense happening at the office, a man can barely find peace. That's why I love staying in the States. The moment I step my foot in Nigeria, it's as if they all want me everywhere at the same time." Ada appeared from the hallway, looking remarkably composed fo

CHAPTER 53: HOSTAGE HEART

JOSH’S POV"What did you do to her?"My voice didn't even sound like mine. It was a raw, pathetic sound that ripped through the expensive silence of the dining room. I slammed my hands onto the table, and for a split second, I took a sick pleasure in watching the fine china rattle. I wanted to break it. I wanted to break everything in this house until I found the truth."What happened to Becca? She was supposed to be in a cell! Dad, tell me!"My father didn't even stop chewing. He just pointed a fork dripping of oil from fried eggs at my chair, his eyes cold, almost unfeeling and bored. "Sit down, Joshua. Your hysterics are ruining my appetite."I looked at Ada. She wasn't even pretending to be the victim anymore. She had took off the silly, sugary, fake smile off her face. She leaned back in her chair, a small, triumphant smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. That look confirmed everything.They’re going to do anything to stop her from being an obstruction, to their sick plans.

CHAPTER 54: TASTE OF ASH

JOSH’S POVThe drive to St. Jude Hospital was a suffocating exercise in restraint.The interior of the Range Rover smelled of Ada’s jasmine-vanilla perfume—a scent that used to be familiar but now made my stomach turn like I had drank spoilt milk. She sat in the passenger seat, humming a mindless tune, occasionally reaching over to pat my arm on the steering wheel, as if we were a normal couple heading to a brunch date.Every time her skin touched mine, I felt a jolt of pure, concentrated disgust. I wanted to swerve the car into a tree or a pole, just to stop her from humming or even clinging to me. I wanted to scream at her that I knew she was a monster, but my father’s words—protective custody—echoed in my head like a rhythmic threat.When we pulled into the hospital parking lot, Ada leaned over. "You look so tense, darling," she whispered, her voice sugary, coy, sounded bitter to my ears though like bitterleaf dipped in honey. Before I could flinch away, she pressed her lips to my

CHAPTER 55: HALLWAY OF THORNS

JOSH’S POVThe heavy ICU doors swung shut with a soft hiss, sealing Becca away in that sterile, silent tomblike room. The sound felt like a guillotine dropping on the last scrap of my soul.Ada didn’t let go of my hand. Her fingers remained interlaced with mine, a grip so tight it felt like she was trying to fuse our body and soul together. She was practically skipping down the hallway of St. Jude's, her heels making a sharp, annoying click-clack against the linoleum that echoed like hammer on nails."Wasn't that lovely, Joshua?" she cooed, tilting her head to look up at me, her eyes happily childlike. "She took it so well. Much more dignified than I expected from a girl like that."I didn't answer. I couldn't. If I opened my mouth, I was afraid I’d vomit or scream, and either one would give her the satisfaction of knowing she’d broken me. Broken us. She had struck me where it actually hurt. I kept my eyes fixed on the "Exit" sign at the end of the hall, watching it blur as my vision

CHAPTER 56: REGRETS!

BECCA’S POVThe click of the ventilator was the only thing counting seconds and making me conscious of my environment. It was a mechanical rhythm, brutal, cold and indifferent, just like the world I had been dragged into.I stared at the ceiling, my body feeling like a collection of broken parts held together by white sheets of St.Jude's and betrayal. My mind, though—my mind was a theater of regret, playing the same movie on a loop.Why did I go with him?I saw myself again, standing in the university hallway at the Faculty of science, NUAT, the sun bright and full of promise. I had a degree to finish. A first class honours in view. I had a future. But then came Josh, with his 'mess,' his war with the Vice-Chancellor, and that magnetic pull that made me feel like I was the only girl in the world. I traded the education my mother had suffered to give me for a life on the run. For a man. For love. I remembered the suffocating weight of the anxiety at Elegunmefa. The future hope I had w

CHAPTER 57: UPROAR

THIRD PERSON POVChief Adeyemi leaned back in his favourite leather chair in his living room, tapping a gold ring against a crystal glass of whiskey. "It’s settled, then," he said, his voice a low rumble. "The press release goes out at midnight. By tomorrow morning, every major paper and blog from Lagos to Abuja will be carrying the headline: The Adeyemi-Williams Merger: A Union of Dynasties. Joshua and Ada’s engagement will be the only thing people talk about."VC Olayinka nodded, though his expression remained guarded. He shifted in his seat, the lamplight catching the sharp lines of his face. "It’s a strategic masterstroke, Chief. It silences the rumors about Joshua’s... disappearance... and it aligns your interests with the Williams family’s shipping empire. But..."The Chief’s eyes narrowed. "But?""But we must ensure the narrative remains controlled," Olayinka said, choosing his words with academic precision. "Joshua is... compliant for now, but he is a boy driven by sentiment.

CHAPTER 58: TASTE OF ASH

THIRD PERSON POVThe linoleum floor of St. Jude’s corridors felt like an endless labyrinth designed to punish the living. Becca moved with the tentative, dragging gait of someone who had forgotten how to walk or someone who injured her feet. Every step felt like she was walking on eggshells that were actually the shards of her own life. The hospital gown felt flimsy, a light blue paper-thin barrier between her and a world that had become hostile.She had been told to walk. "Movement is medicine," the nurse had said with a hollow cheerfulness that made Becca want to scream or hurl things at the wall. But as she wandered away from the general ward, the air began to change. The bustling sounds of clattering meal trays and hushed chatter faded, replaced by a heavy, pressurized silence.She turned a corner into a wing she hadn’t seen nor observed before. The signage was minimal, the lighting dimmed to a soft, clinical blue. This was an isolated corridor, reserved for those hovering in the

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