Rita laid in her bed restless, for a moment she thought she heard her daughter Elizabeth crying but she went to her room and found that she was sound asleep. She watched her sleep peacefully and with a smile on her face she kissed her daughter’s forehead; Rita was happy, she was very happy with her life now that Bishop Chukwu was gone and her greatest fear was over. She was scared that Elizabeth was going to grow up in an abusive home.
It was 3:am and the sky was as dark as ever, a storm was coming; she thought about waking Blessing up to close the windows but she decided to do it herself. After closing the windows in the bedrooms, she proceeded to the living room and just she entered and switched on the lights; she screamed.
“Jesus Christ, you scared me” it was Madam Lucy, sitting in the middle of the living room like a possessed girl
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t stay in that house and I didn’t want to wake you up” she looked distraught; it had been weeks since she found out that John Bull had another wife and three sons who didn’t even live far from them.
“What am I going to do about John Bull?” her voice sounded like she had been screaming for a hundred years straight. “He lied to me, he told me the biggest lie anyone can ever tell. Rita, can I ever forgive him?”
Rita sad down beside her shattered friend and looked at her carefully “no. No you can never forgive him” on hearing those words Madam Lucy began another round of tears. She knew Rita was right; there was no way in hell she was ever going to forgive John Bull for pulling this on her but for now all she could do was cry.
It was 4: am and the tears were over, all they did was sip wine in silence; Rita thought about the night her and Bishop Chukwu went to visit the President, the night that changed it all. While Madam Lucy could only think bad things for the three sons John Bull had kept a secret from her for years. A knock interjected their thoughts. It was to their very surprise Abel Egwurube.
Rita only opened the door half way but he pushed it open all the way and let himself in; she had a feeling that this was not a good visit and she was right.
“What are you doing here? How did you get past my security?” Abel laughed at her question. Madam Lucy, delirious with her pain ignored Abel’s presence and went to the kitchen to get another bottle of wine.
“Didn’t you hear my question? How the hell did you go past my security?” Rita asked again with a firm look in her eyes. “Did you not hear about the things that happened to me?” silence, no answer “so you didn’t hear that I was stabbed and Ene was killed” silence, no answer “oh I see, you heard but you just didn’t care enough about me to come and check on me” “What do you want from me Abel? The church? My life? What do you want that you will not let me rest in this town?”
A big argument ensued between them; Abel told her how he gave up everything for her and she still didn’t appreciate him “I didn’t ask you to give up anything for me. You felt that you couldn’t run the church and you gave it up” her words hit him like a moving truck “Rita, you told me that we could be together if I gave up the church and my wife for you; I gave up those things for you and your mouth has changed”
“What does that even mean? You gave up your wife for me… she was shot, did you shoot her?” Abel was taken aback by her question “no I didn’t” “then what are we saying?” Abel was quiet, he wanted to be careful of his next words.
“You need to go, my daughter is asleep and I don’t want to wake her up” “this is not over Rita” he announced as he walked towards the door and left. “What just happened?” Madam Lucy was finally out of the kitchen with another bottle of wine “Lucy, I don buy market”.
Abel was very angry and couldn’t believe what had just happened; all he ever wanted was to live happily ever after with Rita but that dream was looking like a fantasy movie that was impossible in real life. He thought that all he had to do was take Ene out of the way and he and Rita would be together; overseeing the church together.
He was so upset that he didn’t notice the car behind him; the car had been following him all day and it followed him when he went back to the lake to dig up the knife he buried. The knife he stabbed himself with. The person in the car was Rebecca Amodu.
