The Enemy Within - S01 E04

Story 2 months ago

The Enemy Within - S01 E04

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 4

The Enemy Within, Episode Four

It's daybreak and what a beautiful bright

morning it was.

The time was 6:30am and the

sun was already glowing in its morning glory.

Uche stepped out from Chizi's room and was

going back to his room as discreetly as

possible. The main building is far away from

the boys' quarters, so no one has ever caught

him coming out of Chizi's room.

The secret is

that he puts on sports wears before coming out

from the room each morning. He has always

told his parents that he goes for early morning

walk to keep fit. It was a lie he coined and which

he uses to cover up the fact that he passes so

many nights with Chizi, the love of his life. But

unfortunately for him, Clara who is more

inquisitive has entered the compound. She was

at the balcony and sighted Uche when he was

coming into the main building.

"Where did you sleep last night? Don't lie to me. "Clara asked when Uche met her at the first floor of the three storey building. She was not looking happy. She was disappointed by the fact that she looked for Uche and met his absence during the night. She was suspecting something but she does not have the complete facts yet, but she knew something was not right.

"I checked your room yesterday's night and you were nowhere to be found. Where were you? Remember I said you must not lie to me. If you lie to me, I will still find out the truth. Where did you sleep? Tell me at once." Clara shouted as if she was talking to a kindergarten kid who failed to return home from school on time.

"I slept with a friend. I was with my friend. What's the matter? Why are you jittery?" Uche asked, sounding as honest as possible.

"Why didn't you tell me you were not going to sleep at home? Don't I have the right to know your movement? We are supposed to get married and I think the least you should have done was to let me know where you were going to pass the night. You just disappeared after the ceremony and no one could account for your whereabouts. I think that's rude and I will not take that kind of behavior from you the next time you try it." Clara was talking loudly and her voice attracted the attention of Uche's mother who rushed to the scene. When she arrived, Clara stormed out as if she did not see the old woman.

"Why is she angry? Why is she shouting that loud? Did you offend her or did anything wrong happen?" Mrs Oko, Uche's mother asked with apprehension in her voice.

"I think you should ask her. She would be in the best position to tell everyone what is eating her up. By the way mother, I don't know the kind of woman you brought into this house to be my wife. She is rude, irreverent and can't stand her. She talks to me as if I'm a child. Can you please ask her what her problem is?" Uche said. His voice was loud.

"Why don't ask her yourself? I mean, she is your fiancée and the two of you can talk things out romantically like lovers." Uche's mother asked.

"She doesn't listen to anyone and she also does not allow me to talk. She just shouts like a lunatic. Can you believe she slapped the househelp? Honestly mum, if I'm getting married to that woman, it is going to be out of respect for you and dad. Because if you ask me, that is not the kind of monster I want to spend the rest of my life with." Uche said to his mother. He made to leave the scene when his mother called him back.

"Uche my son, we carefully picked this girl for you because like we have already told you, we have to preserve our wealthy family ties. Do you know who that lady is? Her father is the senate president. Her father and your father are friends and we are using the marriage as the opportunity to cement our relationship and preserve wealth from generation to generation. If you get married to a poor woman, she will have nothing to contribute to our linage. A poor woman will be a liability to you and the family." Uche's mother said with a smile that didn't go beyond her lips.

"Mum, do you love me? Tell me the truth. Do you love me?" Uche asked his mother while looking directly into her eyes.

"Of course I do. I love you with all my heart. I carried you in my womb for nine whole months and nurtured you to become a man. I love you with my whole heart son." His mother said, touching his cheeks gentily.

"No mum, you don't love me. Because if you love me, you won't be pushing me to fall into a deadly trap. If you love me, you won't be pushing me to marry that woman. The truth is that since she stepped into this compound, my happiness disappeared. As a matter of fact, I don't love her. I feel nothing for her." Uche lamented tearfully. He never knew he could one day challenge the authority of his parents.

"Shut up your mouth. Do you know what love means? Love means money. And let me tell you, your father says he will strip you of all inheritance if you reject the woman we chose for you. That means you will inherit nothing from him. Now tell me, are you ready to walk away from all the wealth in this family? I will advise you to make your choice carefully. Clara is the best woman for you. I will not allow you to marry a riff raff." His mother said as she adjusted her eyeglasses and walked back into the building.

"What am I going to do?" Uche asked himself. He has become more confused than ever. He decided he was going to try showing some more love to Clara to know if he was really the one at fault or if there was something inherently wrong with the young lady. That afternoon, he decided to take Clara to a restaurant where he formally proposed marriage to her in a romantic way using a very expensive ring. The result was disastrous.

Watch out for episode 5