Eno: “What in God’s name are you doing to my food?”
Dozie: “What in the devil’s name does it look like I am doing?”

Eno ran to him and attempted to grab the pot of noodles from his hands but he shoved her aside and emptied all of its contents into the trash can.

Eno: “You are wicked! How can you throw my noodles away? What did I ever do to offend you in this world?”

Dozie ignored her and walked out of the kitchen leaving her sobbing behind.

Eno: “God will punish you, wicked man. You threw away the noodles I made to eat, that is sheer wickedness, nothing more”.

Dozie, untouched by her reaction walked away to the sitting room and began to watch his favourite television show. Few minutes later, Eno walked out of the house to an eatery without saying a word to Dozie in the sitting room.

After a month, Samantha made steady recovery in the hospital. She was however preoccupied with the thoughts of the betrayal from two people she trusted a lot. The doctor told her mother that she was holding on to some grudges which was affecting her psychologically and that was slowing down her recuperation. Most times, they had to force her before she could eat and even swallow her medication. The hospital had threatened to discharge her if she refused to cooperate with them. The medical director came to her bedside to speak with her when complaints of her violent attitude were getting out of hand.

Medical director: “And how is my patient doing this morning?”
Samantha: “I don’t know, doctor”.
Medical Director: “And why is that? Any pains anywhere?”
Samantha: “I don’t give a damn about
pains. I want to die, I am tired of staying alive.”
Medical Director: “Why have you lost the zeal to live? As a medical doctor, you should know how important being hopeful is to a patient’s recovery. Anyway, I heard that you have refused to take your drugs and that you get violent and pull out drips, that is so very wrong. Even though you are a patient, you should also remember that you are a doctor and this is not the best way to behave. So, brace up and pull yourself together and you will be out of here in no time”.

Turning to her mother, he said…

Medical Doctor: “Madam, pull yourself together and encourage your daughter through this”.
Mama Samantha: “Doctor, why is she behaving like this? Is my daughter ok?”

The doctor patted her on the back and walked away. Mama Samantha touched her daughter on the hand and stared into her eyes.
Mama Samantha: “My daughter, please don’t do this to yourself, it is not the end of the world”.
Samantha: “All I know is that I will take my pound of flesh, they will never enjoy that marriage”.
Mama Samantha: “Don’t talk like that,
vengeance is the Lord and …”
Samantha: “Oh please, mum. Just hold it there. I will have my pound of flesh myself, I don’t need God to help me”.

Eno came back to the house to discover that Dozie had moved her things from his bedroom. She tried to engage Dozie in a conversation with the aim of finding out where he had moved her things to but he was adamant and she had no choice but to go looking for them herself. She found them in the guest room and she came to meet him in the sitting room.

Eno: “Why did you move my things to the guest room? We are married and we should stay in the same room together”.

Dozie ignored her and continued to press his phone.

Eno: “Answer me, I am talking to you!”

Dozie suddenly got up from his chair and charged at her. Just before he got to her, he stopped.

Dozie: “Will you allow me watch this programme in peace? Stay out of my way and out of my room, whore!”

He grabbed his phone and walked out. That night, Eno could not sleep as her mind kept pondering on Dozie’s coldness towards her. It was cold and she needed to be with her man but the fear of his reaction kept her away. She thought of calling her mother, the only confidant she had to inform her of the situation of things between her and Dozie but she thought against it because she knew that her mother was good at blowing things out of proportion. “Mum will just come here and make trouble now and I am not sure that will be the solution”, she thought aloud. Immersed in her thoughts, she remembered that she had lied to Dozie and his family that she was already pregnant and her heart sank. “How will I keep up with this lie? Very soon his mother will be expecting my stomach to swell. What will I tell them? I thought we would start making love immediately after marriage so that I can take in. What should I do. o?” She paused for some minutes and let out a sigh. “Okay, I know just what to do”, she said. She got up from the bed, changed the long sleeve and long trousers pyjamas that she had on and wore a see through transparent nightie that enhanced her curves.

She went to where she kept her cosmetics and smeared on a pepper red lipstick; her Ferrari perfume was handy and she sprayed it generously. She was going to seduce her husband in her matrimonial home and she needed all the charm she had to do that. She stood before the standing mirror and the face that smiled back at her impressed her. Her ebony skin shone under the reflection of the bright bulb and her sparkling red lips appeared irresistible. “Lets see how he will resist all these good things”, she said turning around and catching a side view of her bum in the picture. Confident of her irresistible charm, she walked towards the direction of Dozie’s bedroom. When she approached the door, she stopped for a while to catch her breath because her heart was beating furiously. She tried to calm her nerves but the harder she tried, the more disorganized she became. Back in her room, she had been so confident that her charm was enough to sweep Dozie off his feet but standing close to him with just the door and the walls separating them, she felt uncomfortable. She thought she was bold but there was something about Dozie and his cold looks that discomfited her. Anytime he stared at her, she felt his eyes penetrating her souls and laying bare the innermost secrets of her heart and she couldn’t stand it. She raised her hand to knock the door but her strength failed her. She felt drained and couldn’t bring herself to turn the door knob either. She stood there for five minutes and she could hear his deep baritone voice humming West Life’s Soledad. She heard him move and she felt her legs quiver; she ran back to her room and collapsed on the bed in tears.

Mama Samantha decided to leave Samantha’s bedside to go and shower in the general bathroom. All day, she had been afraid of leaving her daughter’s bedside because she had been behaving violently and being a private ward, she was alone with her daughter in the room. She peeped at Samantha and saw that she was sleeping peacefully or so she thought. As soon as her mother went out, Samantha got up from the bed, removed the drip she had on and tip toed out of the room. “I am coming for them, let me see how they will live to enjoy that marriage”, she smiled mischievously grabbing her mother’s veil, she disguised herself, picked up the knife her mother used in cutting oranges for her, wrapped it in the veil and walked out of the hospital gate.

Eno sat in her room all day. She was mad at Dozie for throwing her love back at her without any consideration for how she felt. She thought of her supposed pregnancy and she knew she had to do something fast as that was the only thing she could use to hold Dozie ransom. She picked her phone and dialed her mother’s handset.

Eno: “Hi, mum”.
Mama Eno: “Hi, baby. How are you and your husband”.
Eno: “Mum, just forget about that one. I am as good as a widow”.
Mama Eno: “What is the matter this time around?”
Eno: “Let’s leave that for another day. I called for something more important”.
Mama Eno: “Okay, bring it on”.

Eno quietly opened the door and checked around to make sure that Dozie was not eavesdropping on their conversation. Assured that he was nowhere around, she close the door and continued talking. “The pregnancy mum, how do I keep up with that lie?” She said.

What happens next?

*This story’s author is unknown.
