Ami’s POVIt took seven days before I finally received an apology from Osagie. I don’t want to talk about how he apologized. Just a few sentences and he walked away. What had he been thinking all that time? That I would come crawling to him, begging for what he had done to me? I had never hated anyone the way I hated Osagie after what he did. Maybe he thought I would poison him. Why else would he insist that only his wife prepare and serve his meals? He didn’t even feel comfortable when she called me while he was around. I noticed two things: either he sent his wife to speak to me instead, or he simply walked away.For seven days, it was a silent and complicated battle. I was hurting, deep in my soul, but even more so because I couldn’t speak about it. There was pressure everywhere, inside me, around me, and especially from my mother.“Ami, when are you traveling?” she kept asking. But what could I tell her? I always gave the same answer, that I was in the final stage of processing my
Ami's POVWhen Mrs. Osagie said the word pregnant, I thought she had lost her mind. The first thing that came to me was that my body must be reacting to all the sugary food I had started eating since I arrived. My thoughts immediately went to the candies I had been taking from the store, something I had never tasted back in the village."Pregnant? How can I be pregnant? I’m not pregnant!" I snapped respectfully."Pregnancy doesn’t just happen by accident. Have you urinated this morning?" she asked, and I noticed her lips trembling slightly."Hmm… no." I answered without even thinking."Go back. In fact, I’ll follow you. Come," she said, taking my hand and leading me to the toilet. Then, pointing to a container, she added, "I need your urine here. I knew those calls you’ve been making would lead to this.""Ma, I am not pregnant."I never expected her to actually ask for my urine. I had just said no, but with her pressing me, I forced myself to pee in the container she had pointed to.W
Ami's POV"When I told you to stop talking to men on the phone, you thought I didn’t know what I was saying," Mrs. Osagie burst into my room, holding a pregnancy strip in her hand. She raised it in front of me."Look! These lines show you're pregnant."She kept moving towards me, her face filled with anger, an anger I had never seen before. She had never hit me before, but the first thing I felt was a slap. I turned to look at the lines she was showing me, but before I could react, another slap landed, snapping my face to the side."You are pregnant. Look at your life! You keep sleeping with men. Does that mean you bring them into this house? My house?" She clutched her chest. "Or do you meet them somewhere else?""No, ma, I didn’t bring any man here," I struggled to say those words."Then how did you get pregnant? Pregnancy is not something you eat with your meals! If you didn’t bring a man here, then explain how this happened!"She was growing more impatient. Her hands flew at me, h
Mrs. Osagie's POV“Am I the one to do it?” I asked as we stood in my room, having spent over an hour crafting our plan.“You can't,” Mrs. Esewe replied firmly. “I’ll do it myself.”“In that case, I’ll hide in one of the guest rooms downstairs and watch how it goes.”She shrugged. “No problem. But first, go wash your face.”Without hesitation, I turned and went into the bathroom. As I splashed water on my face, I caught my reflection in the mirror, my eyes were red. Taking a deep breath, I composed myself and stepped out.Together, we made our way downstairs. I slipped into one of the guest rooms while Mrs. Esewe headed to Ami’s room. Moments later, I heard her knock on Ami’s room. A few minutes passed before Ami emerged.“Ami,” Mrs. Esewe greeted warmly. “Can we talk in the sitting room?”I couldn't hear Ami’s response, but she must have agreed because, within seconds, they both entered the sitting room. From my hidden spot, I had a clear view of them, though Ami had no idea I was wat
Mr. Osagie’s POVIt was my usual time to return home from the office. After parking my car in the compound, I stepped out and headed inside. Most evenings, my wife would be in the sitting room, waiting for me. But today, as I pushed open the front door, an eerie silence greeted me."Where have they gone?" I muttered, barely thinking. I assumed Ami was in the kitchen.“Darling!” I called out, walking toward the staircase. Deciding to go to my room first, I dropped my suitcase and then headed to my wife’s room. I tried opening her door and it was locked. That was unusual. The only time I didn’t receive a warm hug from her was when she wasn’t at home. Frowning, I went downstairs and checked the kitchen. No one was there, and the quietness felt unsettling.“Ami!” I called, making my way to her room. Knocking firmly, I repeated, “Ami?” No answer. Was she ignoring me? Pushing the door open, I stepped inside, only to find the room empty."Where could they have gone this evening?" Reaching in
Ami's POVCold water crashed over me, shocking my body awake. My nerves jolted, and I gasped, turning instinctively as my senses returned."I told you, she's not dead!" A voice rang out, triumphant, as if proving a point and different touch lights were on me. First, I heard footsteps and then rough hands grabbed me, pulling me up. My eyes fluttered open, and all I saw was darkness aside the touchlights. Then, the roar of passing vehicles hit me, big ones, small ones. I was lying by a busy express road. Panic seized me. "What am I doing here?" My own voice sounded strange, shaky. No one answered. A small crowd had gathered near the roadside, staring at me. The glow of an approaching vehicle cast long shadows, illuminating their curious faces. A man reached for my hand. "Come, let's get you away from the road." His grip was firm but careful."Be gentle," someone murmured.I let them guide me across the street, my legs weak beneath me. On the other side, someone handed me a chair."Do yo
Mrs. Osagie's POV“What am I seeing?” I gasped, staring at the pregnancy test strip in my hand. My heart pounded as I tried to process the result. It was still early morning when I ran out of my room, barely dressed, and banged on my husband's door.“Darling, wake up! Wake up! Our prayers have been answered!” I kept knocking frantically. Within seconds, the door swung open. My husband stood there, eyes still heavy with sleep.“Look!” I held the strip up to his eyes.His gaze sharpened. “Are you pregnant?” he asked, his voice filled with disbelief.“I can’t say for sure. Come with me, I have another testing strip. You do it yourself,” I said, grabbing his hand. My excitement was stronger than his balance, making him stumble as he followed me into my room. I hurried to my wardrobe, pulled out a new test strip, and handed it to him. He tore it open, and I led him to the bathroom.“Here,” I said, pointing to the container of my urine. He stepped forward and dipped the strip inside and we
Ami's POVI didn’t understand why the man sitting next to me and the driver took so long to return. I thought they would be back in a few minutes, but as time passed and it reached thirty minutes, I started feeling uncomfortable. Finally, the two men came out of the building, got into the car, and closed the door.“Are you sure you're really pregnant?” the man beside me asked again.“Yes, I am. You have asked me before,” I replied.The driver turned to look at me and asked, “Do you know who the father is?”Before I could answer, the man next to me quickly said, “It’s better if you say you don’t know when we get inside.”There was a short silence before he continued. “We’re leaving you here, but to make sure they take good care of you, tell the woman in charge that you don’t know who the father is.”“Or say that the father denied responsibility, and you have nowhere to go because your parents threw you out,” the driver suggested.“Yes, yes, that’s better,” the other man agreed. “Say yo
As I approached the gate, the first person I saw was a stranger instead of the usual gatekeeper, who was always serious about his job. His eyes would dart left and right before opening the gate for anyone. As I got closer, I noticed two men in black shirts walking out and circling the fence. The nearer I got, the more noise I heard coming from inside the compound. This was unusual and my only concern was to get to my baby boy. He must be hungry and tired by now. Just as I was about to push open the gate, the man standing there stopped me.“Where are you going?” he asked. “To see my baby,” I replied. “Baby?” He looked at me as if I were speaking nonsense. “Your baby is with you. Which baby are you talking about?” “Odion, my boy,” I said immediately, feeling a strange feeling that made my heart race. The man stood blocking the gate, but without thinking, I pushed it open forcefully. It caught him off guard, and he stumbled back, not expecting my sudden move. That’s when I saw al
Ami's POV:I can’t explain it, it was beyond words. From the moment I left my baby boy at home with Jovita, my heart wouldn’t stop racing. It was an awful, gnawing feeling, like a storm Looming in my chest. Every time my breast milk began to flow, my mind spiraled: Is Odion crying right now? Are they feeding him? Or are they just leaving him alone, helpless and forgotten? The questions clawed at me, relentless and unanswerable.I felt like I was losing my mind, muttering to myself as I balanced a large bowl of drinks and water on my head, my little girl strapped tightly to my back. If only I could find a way to scrape together the nearly seven hundred thousand naira I owed, I would have handed it over in a heartbeat. But how? The amount was staggering, and I didn’t even know how "Madam All-Whether" had conjured it up. I was too scared to ask, too afraid of her icy glare and the way her lips curled when she spoke of my debt. It wasn’t just the money she’d given to the two men I had onc
Ami's PovI couldn’t understand what Madam All-Whether and Jovita were thinking. Did they really believe I would give away any of my babies, even if I had quadruplets? Never. Each child was a part of me, a piece of my soul. I would never let any of them go.When I refused their offer, Madam All-Whether was furious. She lashed out at me, saying, “This is why people don’t help others anymore. Is this how you repay us? How long will it take you to pay back all the money you owe me? I don’t even want to see you here after you give birth!”Her words felt like a storm of curses. Then, while we were still in the backyard, she turned to Jovita and said, “Take her to the room and shave off all the hair in her private parts. She’ll start selling water and drinks now.”Jovita grabbed my hand and dragged me inside. She scolded me, “You’re so strange! I thought you wanted a baby. Now you have two, can’t you give one away and save yourself all this stress? You’re not just stressing yourself; you’re
Solomon’s POVIf Ami knew what her disappearance had done to me, she wouldn’t have thought of leaving. How am I supposed to pay off my huge debt? A debt I got myself into by investing people’s money in a new crypto coin that eventually crashed. This was an unexpected but golden opportunity to free myself from the burden I was too ashamed to talk about. I felt like crying, this was worse than anything I had ever faced. The only thing giving me hope was the thought of Ami finding her way into Osagie’s house. But my heart pounded with fear.As I sat on the stool in my small one-bedroom apartment, a place I had never shown Ami because I feared she might tell her mother how miserable my life in Lagos was, my phone rang. My first thought was that it was one of the investors calling to ask about their money. The call ended, but a few seconds later, my phone rang again. This time, I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Ami’s mother. My heart skipped a beat. She must have been waiting for my cal
Ami’s POV It felt like they were secretly plotting to destroy my integrity. Madam All-Whether, Jovita, and the other pregnant women saw no value in me as long as I was pregnant and living with them. To them, I was just proud and useless. Yet, even though they considered me worthless, Madam All-Whether refused to let me leave the house. She believed I needed to repay everything I had received, especially the food and shelter. At first, she made me wash all the dishes, but since that chore didn’t bring her any money, she quickly decided it wasn’t worth it. She was desperate for cash, and seeing me as a burden only made her angrier. How could she expect me to sell my own child and just walk away as if nothing happened? For me, that would be a decision that would haunt me for the rest of my life.A month after Raphael stopped paying my debts, Madam All-Whether called me into her room again. Every time she summoned me, I knew exactly what was coming. “How do you plan to keep going like
Ami’s POV“Ami, it’s been four months now, and you still won’t sleep with me. What more do you need? I’ve paid almost a hundred thousand naira of your debt. I even stopped sleeping with the other pregnant women two months ago, you can see that for yourself. In case you don’t know, I pay Madam All-Weather for your daily meals. What else do you want from me? I love you. I’ve never met anyone like you, you’ve changed the way I think. Please, let’s be together. I don’t even mind marrying you, even with another man’s child.”Those were Raphael’s words every evening as he pulled me aside whenever he came. Apart from Raphael’s persisting words, there was also a significant change in the house we were living in. The house has been fully fenced, and a gateman controlled who came and went. Life here had completely changed in the past four months, a kind of life I had never imagined. A life where young women willingly sold their own babies for money. Every week, at least one pregnant woman arri
Mr. Osagie’s POVIt has been days now, and still, there’s no word on Ami’s whereabouts. Her phone hasn’t gone through even once. Each passing day, I felt more exhausted, noticing her absence more than her presence. Maybe I should have shown her more care, not because I wanted to sleep with her again, but because she truly deserved kindness. A part of me knows she left this house with anger in her heart. If she had told me she was leaving, I would have given her a large sum of money to at least help her.But where could she have gone? Had she returned to the village, back to the fiancé she once mentioned? If so, why did Solomon receive word that she was not there? The thought of her out in the world, alone and possibly in trouble, gnaws at me. What is happening to her right now?Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice my wife's soft footsteps descending the stairs.“Honey…?” Her voice pulled me back to the present, and I turned to face her.She walked closer, a small frown on her face. “A
Ami’s POVIdara’s words cut deep, like thorns pressing into my skin. Without thinking, I stepped away from her. She didn’t just see the hurt on my face, she understood it in the way I pulled away from her embrace. My heart felt crushed. Seeing her a few minutes ago used to be a comfort. Now, it wasn’t. I said nothing and walked out of the room, determined not to cry in front of her again. It was frustrating how easily doubt crept into my mind, making me question everything.As I stepped outside and headed to the back of the house, I noticed something I hadn’t before, a fence, and a small gate. The back of the house was quiet and everyone was inside. I stared at the small gate, my chest tightening with the urge to run. Run far away. Away from Idara. Away from this place. Away from someone I had thought wanted to help me. But where would I go? This wasn’t my home. I didn’t know this state, these people. I had no money to return to my village. And Lagos? That was no longer an option. Mrs
Ami’s POVIt happened in an instant. I didn’t know where my strength came from, but the sight of a man trying to force himself on me filled me with rage. Without thinking, I shoved him with all my might. He stumbled backward, crashing against the door with a loud thud. My heart pounded. I expected him to get up and slap me. He wouldn’t have fallen so hard if his trousers hadn’t stopped him from steadying his feet.“What’s going on in there?”Madam All-Weather’s voice rang from outside the room. The noise must have echoed through the house.“Oh, thank God. She’s coming to save me,” I whispered as I felt relieved.But she wasn’t the only one who had heard the commotion. Other pregnant women, including Jovita, rushed into the room. Raphael scrambled to pull up his trousers as the door swung open, his movements frantic and obvious. Madam All-Weather stepped in, her sharp eyes scanning the scene. “What is happening here?” she demanded. Tears burned my eyes as I pointed at him. “Ma, he tri