Ami's POVWhen I heard the word documentation, I thought they were just going to take my name and other basic information. But at the baby care center, it meant something entirely different. I followed Jovita into a small room, much smaller than the others. The first thing that caught my attention was a large red cloth covering an entire wall. Where I came from, such a display usually meant something related to divination. There was only one chair in the room. Jovita sat down and asked, “What has Idara told you since yesterday? This is the first place you should have come before even resting your head. But since you arrived late and came from far, I decided to let you rest instead of stressing you with your pregnancy.” She paused, looked at me, then continued.“Now, back to my question. What did Idara tell you yesterday?”“Ma, she didn’t tell me anything.”“Are you sure?”“Yes.”“Okay then. In that case, I want you to take off your pants.”For a moment, I thought I had misheard her.
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
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
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 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
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
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 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
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
Ami's POVWhen I heard the word documentation, I thought they were just going to take my name and other basic information. But at the baby care center, it meant something entirely different. I followed Jovita into a small room, much smaller than the others. The first thing that caught my attention was a large red cloth covering an entire wall. Where I came from, such a display usually meant something related to divination. There was only one chair in the room. Jovita sat down and asked, “What has Idara told you since yesterday? This is the first place you should have come before even resting your head. But since you arrived late and came from far, I decided to let you rest instead of stressing you with your pregnancy.” She paused, looked at me, then continued.“Now, back to my question. What did Idara tell you yesterday?”“Ma, she didn’t tell me anything.”“Are you sure?”“Yes.”“Okay then. In that case, I want you to take off your pants.”For a moment, I thought I had misheard her.
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