Hi! We are here again with yet another banger, and I am so excited for this one. Are you?

Last chapter was a tear jerker. Our baby Sean. Let's pray for him because unfortunately things only get even worse. I know what I am doing and I know why I am letting you guys see this side of Sean. By the end of book one, I really hope that you will still stand by his side... because Omoh.

I hate that updates this year came very slow, I have barely updated five chapters this year, but e go be. We are close to the end, and I trust that it will be a banger. By the end of November, TMBT Book One should be wrapped up, nd we should start the second book on the birthday of TMBT Next Year (February 10th). What do you think about this???

Without much talk, let us move to the chapter now.

~ACHA~

Right then, in my moment of confliction, wind whooshed through me as a group of people passed by me, their urgency evident with the speed they used to zoom past me. And it was only with a careful look that I was able to pick them out before they became mere retreating figures...

It was first Chika Chioma. Then, Somadina Best. With one of the twins that I couldn't tell apart. All three girls zooming off with a suspicious urgency, and an occasionally back-glancing Casper Bassey, with them.

Questions raised in my head...

The last I knew, I lured Dabeluchi into their hands.

However,

All of them had stepped out of that now quiet, decrepit guest room, with no trace of my girlfriend in their midst.

One thing was for sure,

Dabeluchi was no longer in that room.

I felt it, I knew it.

And as I watched behind them as they walked, I felt an unhealthy rage building up in me. A rage that was so toxic that it triggered this burning scorch in the ins of my bloodstreams, to the point that it felt like the cruor was blinding me, like all I could see its red.

Its blood red.

Have you ever been so angry that your vision got blurry? You couldn't see anymore and when you managed to, everything was a bright tint of scarlet. A blinding red.

I couldn't even tell if this was just anger, or if there was something else going wrong with me. What kind of anger made your body break like this? Made you burn within, from every bone in your body to the veins in your pounding heart? Like you were at the verge of a physical body breakdown?

Could it be that I was angry at them, worried about Dabeluchi too, anxious about all that had just happened with Sean, or just generally overwhelmed by all that I had got to face within the span of a few hours to the point that my body was at the line of collapsing? Dropping unconscious to the ground?

Whatever it was, the last thing on my mind was dueling on my nausea or my shaky hand or my blurred vision or even trembling legs that could barely hold up my entire body with balance; no, that was not the priority, right now.

"Chika Chioma."

She ignored me.

All of them ignored me.

Now, for clarity, I knew my house in and out. The hallways were usually quiet, so eerie quiet that if I dropped a strand of hair, you could fucking hear it. My mum could stand at the end of the hallway and whisper my name and I would pick up her voice, clearly. And, by now, the music that had been blasting downstairs in the living room was gone and replaced by the low-key buzzing noise of our classmates in other distant guest rooms in the house who would rather stay up to today, gossiping and fraternizing in the thick of midnight instead of sleeping, and my fucking point was...

There was absolutely no way that Chika Chioma, the rest of the Igbo Sisters, and Casper could beat their chests that they did not hear me.

So, I knew they deliberately ignored me.

It boiled my blood even more, making me even angrier at them, so I was unsure why my response was a light chuckle.

All I knew was that I felt the urge to laugh, even though I felt the heat rising further up my head in pure lividness. How they just continued walking, snubbing me, trying to convince themselves that they actually successfully deceived me into believing my call towards them was just was not heard. It amused me as much as it infuriated me.

Quietly, for what seemed like a brooding eternity, I watched behind them like an evil spirit.

And, it was right at that moment that I saw them reaching the top of the stairway, their forms becoming nothing more than flaky shadows in my vision, that I felt myself detonating, setting off like the ticking time bomb that I was all along, and exploding out from me the rage from within that they were triggering all along.

"CHIKA CHIOMA!"

The echoing back of my own voice as it reverberated through the walls of the empty hallway refused to deter me. It was like thunder pounding in the midst of a deadly silent graveyard, but I sincerely did not give a damn. Even when that growl, as ferocious and primal as it was, had caused the Igbo Sisters and Casper to freeze up, halting with shock on their tracks, I cared not still. They were not moving and I was not even interested in having them do so, and that was why my next action set instant alarms in their heads.

"Ewo!"

I was not sure who said it amongst the girls, but again, I didn't care.

With quickening steps, fast and furious, I marched down the halls. It became even clearer to me that as a matter of fact, they were on a deliberate bid to run away from me as their own steps started to increase in pace too.

"Stupid idiots," I huffed, as I pounded my feet against the tiled grounds in my chasing walk behind them.

These people did not understand the kind of human being I was when I had made up my mind. When I was determined, nothing would stop me, and I did not care how far I had to go. Especially if it had to do with my Aurora. I was ready to run after them if I had to, all over this damn house and into the streets if they continued trying to get away from me, instead of cooperating.

I got closer.

Their steps got faster, more frantic.

"Don't be daft, guys," I called out to them, anger laced into my mocking tone as my steps never slowed. "Come on na, you are playing cat and mice with me right in my father's house. How are you confident that this would turn out in your favor?"

They dashed off to the stairs, ignoring me still, and their stomping feet indicated to me they were now running.

"Just see the nonsense I see in my life," I muttered in facepalming frustration as I watched them set themselves up.

I took the next action, breeze whooshing past me as I sprinted with light speed towards the other end of the hallway in order to meet them probably still scurrying like lizards through the shortcut.

Needless to say, they had not even completed their racing down on that particular stairway when I appeared in front of them from the connecting door beside the foot of the stairs, blocking their path and throwing them into an absolute discombobulated state.

"Jesus!—"

I ignored Somadina's cry of shock, she could have a stroke for all I cared. One simple question was my utmost priority at that moment.

"Where is she?"

They all looked at me with unreadable expressions on their faces; whether they were still recovering from the shock of me meeting them here or they were looking for the words to answer me with, I couldn't tell.

"Tell me," I insisted, as I climbed up the stairs with eagerness, aiming to get closer to them and have this conversation face to face, "Where the fuck is she?"

Chika somehow remained composed, compared to the others. Even though I could see the subtle hints of agitation lingering in her eyes, she rather took a neutral outlook. My eye contact remained directly on her, nonetheless, as I knew that all these was orchestrated by her, and the others just followed. She was the mastermind in the deceit and now, disappearance of my girlfriend.

She stood there and watched me with a blankness in her eyes that was almost uncomfortable to watch; she was like an unfeeling ghost or a fucking AI without basic human emotions, just standing there and observing me with an expression as restful as a soul detached from a living body.

And, with the calmest tone accompanying her voice, Chika asked me a simple, unbothered question;

"Where is who?"

That response triggered the shit out of me.

It was like a lightening zap that came shooting from the root of my spine to the top of my cerebrum; I felt my teeth cracking as they grind against each other in fury.

"Look, I swear to God, Chika, if you make me ask again!—"

Casper jumped in immediately, sensing the danger in my warning.

"Hey, hey!" He stood in front of Chika and the other two girls, serving as an obstruction, "Calm down, Acha. Just chill—"

"— Get your filthy hands off me!" I growled, slapping his hands off me the second they tried to reach my shoulders.

He backed off, looking like he was carefully weighing in the potential consequences of his next action.

"If you touch me again, man, I'll break your fucking fingers!" I warned him, rage filled.

"I'm sorry," he said, hands raising in a gesture of surrender, "I won't touch you, bro. Sorry. Just please try to understand that we are not Dabeluchi's enemies."

"My guy, that's not what I fucking asked," I was seething as I spoke, my step forward was daunting and fists, shaking, on the verge of throwing a knock out uppercut that could fucking kill Casper as I squared him down. "Where the fuck is my girlfriend, man?"

He looked mildly conflicted, how he glanced back at the Sisters like he was stuck on what to do next. Although, he was professional about not showing his wary, but in the subtle things like the tapping of his fingers, anxiously, against the stairway protector and the occasional jaw clenches, I could tell he was more uncomfortable than his composed demeanor showed.

Casper was not afraid of me, he was afraid of how I could frustrate whatever sick plans they had concerning Dabeluchi.

And as he wasted my time, not giving an answer, my patience was growing thinner. I waited for him to speak with tight fists balled at my sides, a shaking fury in my body.

"Acha, please don't be angry..." he appealed.

God, give me self control.

"You are just worried about your girl, and anyone can understand that..."

God, please, please self control.

Because he was still on cock and bull.

Casper was still yarning me cock and bull stories, in the name of 'reasoning with me'.

And, I was strongly wrestling against my own reflexes, that urge to lift my balled iron fist and punch a crater into the center of his fucking face.

"So, I understand your frustration," he was still talking, almost sounding desperate, "But, as much as we can't stand here and talk about this right now, you have to try to understand that we are only trying to help her. Everything that we are doing is to help Dabeluchi—"

He was cut off by my bitter chuckle. I shook my head, appalled by the arrant rubbish that was actually coming out of his mouth.

"You're mad, Cas," I said to him, a solidity in my tone. I was fucking assured of that fact. "You're mad. She's mad. All of you are mad." I threw my accusations, respectively, from him to Chika, and finally to Soma and the twin.

"You don't understand—"

"— And, how am I supposed to understand this kind of betrayal, Cas?!" I fired back at him in anger, my tone rising with it, "How the fuck am I supposed to see things from the point of view of people who had to lie to her for years?! All through the while Dabeluchi was crying and suffering because of the harm that exposing her family secrets had caused her, you all kept quiet, and watched her? The decency to not leave her in the dark at least, you couldn't have! I don't give a fuck why you did that. I don't care if it was for the greater good or whatever the fuck you would use as an excuse, but that was fucking messed up. You all are messed up!"

"We are messed up?" Casper said, a brow lifting in subtle offense, "Acha, look, I understand that lying is never acceptable and us, swearing to you that we had no other choice won't make a damn difference, but we are messed up, bro? Acha, are you going to stand here and tell me to my face that you have never withheld the truth from someone you genuinely cared about for their own good?"

I wanted to fire back with my own points of argument, but Casper's words hit me like a bullet.

It took all the strength in my body to stay up on my feet.

"It's not the same— No, you— I did not—"

Shit.

It was crazy how fast the right words could tame you, if only they struck the right nerves hard enough.

His words were like a painful slap of realization that not only sent the most unsettling chills spreading from the marrow of my spines to the rest of my body, shutting me down in an instant like water against fire, but they came back around at me like a boomerang, slamming back all the anger and resentment I once felt against the back to me, leaving me with nothing but a sickening feeling of hypocrisy.

I was one to talk against betraying others and hiding secrets.

The thought of all that had gone down with Sean came down to bite me in the ass, reminding me how, as a matter of fact, I could understand how severe things could get to make you want to evade saying the truth, even when you should. It was not the right thing to do, but I was guilty of it, and I felt like an asshole for trying to make someone else feel like shit over something that I was very much capable of too.

Something that I was even still doing to Sean.

And, frankly, I had the same excuse as them for lying...

Maybe, just maybe, I was just was messed up as the Igbo Sisters and Casper too.

Fuck.

"We will tell you where Dabeluchi is," Casper said when he noticed I was calm, "Eventually."

There was a frown on my face when I looked back at him as I tried to understand what he was trying to tell me.

"Eventually," I repeated his words.

"Eventually," he repeated, confirming.

"We are sorry, Acha, but this is a matter that's gotten too complicated to involve you or anyone else for that matter in it..."

I looked at who spoke to me by Casper's side: Somadina Best.

"And, respectfully, some things are not just your business, Acha," another spoke, and reflexively, my head turned to the hard, cold voice of the twin whom it belonged to. "You want to know where Dabi is so you can do what? Have her exposed to all the dangers we want to keep her away from? See, you have no idea how many evil people want our blood on their hands because of what we are doing. Because of how we are protecting her. I understand you love Dabi, but this, this is too much for you to get yourself involved."

"So, for now," Casper took over, speaking, "Acha, you will be doing your girlfriend more harm than good if you try to intrude. Don't try to be stubborn, I don't think that will get you anywhere."

I watched back at him, analyzing how stone cold his eyes were after he said that, how his hard gaze never seemed to falter as it pierced me. And maybe it was all in my head, but this all sounded like a dare. Like he was actually challenging me.

"Are you threatening me?" I had to ask him.

"No, I am begging you," he rather insisted, "I'm begging you, Acha, because you don't know what the fuck you are getting yourself into if you insist on being stubborn."

"So what are we talking that's making this situation so 'scary'?" I said with a sick, mocking laughter, "Ritualism? Witchcraft? Blood Money?—"

His eyes grew wide for a moment, an evident shock flashing through those brown irises for a second, but I ignored it.

"Nigga, put a fucking gun to my head and I will still get to the bottom of all of these."

I made it clear to him. To all of them.

"And, really though, bold of you to assume that I would pick my life over Dabeluchi's safety," I said to them, "Fuck. You all underestimate me when I say this:

I can do anything for Dabeluchi Aurora Orji.

Hold me by my words any day, any time. Mark them with me."

Silence ensured between us. All of us. Until someone broke it.

"Okay. Cute."

I looked behind Casper's shoulder to spot a robot-faced Chika, staring at me with the emptiest eyes that I had ever seen on a human being.

"Unfortunately, we have to go now," she said, and her efforts to wrap this all up was weird because she gave zero emotion towards it, "So? Can you leave now, Marcus Acha?"

Something did sound off, and it was not just Chika and the 'human' leaving her, it was also the abrupt way she came in. The stale look in her eyes were also very uncomfortable, like I could not trust her and turn my back around to leave just like she had asked me to. Sort of the feeling when an attacker stands at the edge of a door and calmly tells you to walk through it, telling you that nothing would happen to you as you were trying to.

She stared at me and I could not read her at all, she was like a body with no soul.

As much as I was repulsed by her, inevitably, I wondered if everything was alright with Chika at all.

Most especially, I knew to watch my back. Carefully.

Or maybe, I was overthinking things.

Chika was a tough girl, but I doubted she could do much damage to me. It was just a male ego instinct. I refused to believe she was capable of doing so.

Also, I hoped that she was many things, but a psychopath. I sincerely hoped not. Having that I had ruled Sean out for the poisoning of Ghadafi — an act I learnt was meant to harm Dabeluchi — I was unsure what to think. How far to trust Chika. I hoped she was sane, and it was not that the moment I turned around to leave, she would actually do something wild like throwing an elbow strike into the back of my neck and knocking me out for twelve hours.

"Go ahead," she said, her voice calm and collected, "Go."

I wanted to, all the more because I was actually done with this conversation. Frankly, I had more pressing things to do than arguing semantics with them. I needed to find Dabeluchi instead, but something about Chika's calmness creeped me out.

"I don't know what the fuck this is all about," I said to Chika, Casper, Soma and the twin. All of them. "I don't know what scheme you guys are hatching right now, but it won't stop me..."

They didn't even argue with me.

"And, I will find Dabeluchi wherever she is," I made it clear to them, "And, when I do, I will take her with me. Together, we will get to the bottom of this. All of this. Unlike you all, I don't need to be shady or deceitful to do that."

They still didn't utter me a word, their silence was thought provoking and unsettling.

Scoffing bitterly, I gave them l one last look of farewell and mock saluted.

"Good fucking night."

With that, I turned my back around.

Big fucking mistake.

It was as though the second that I did, I regretted it; I made a big mistake.

Never would one take the risk of turning their back and setting themselves up, showcasing their vulnerability, in the face of people who could take advantage of it and fuck you up...

But, it was too late. I only realized my mistake after I had turned around.

And, surprisingly...

Nothing.

Nothing happened.

No elbow to the head. No kick to the shin. No left hook to the back of my neck. No knee to my back. Nothing.

It scared me even more, to be honest, having that I had voiced out my plans and neither of them stopped me. Especially after I was starting to suspect Chika's sanity. But she did nothing. They did nothing. Just stood there at the foot of the stairs and watched me in eerie quietness.

"I'm done with psychopaths this night."

That was the last thing I said before I disappeared through the same shortcut that I came from.

***

It felt like hours since I had been walking round all the known hallways and checking all the rooms in this house, but there was no trace of Dabeluchi.

When I had stopped by at the guest room I knew she met the Igbo Sisters and Casper in, as expected, she was not there. I had tried her line about ten plus times since I lured her there, but after the third ring, it was unreachable. We texted every two minutes when we were apart and the fact that hours had passed and she hadn't sent a message was highly suspicious. All these were all led me to the final point that all was not well.

But where do I even start?

She was not in the room I supposed she'd be, and I was done nearly searching all the rooms in my house, and she wasn't in any either. I felt my heart beating as I feared the worst, and a part of me started to wonder if Dabeluchi was even in this household at this point.

This entire arc from last night to the early hours of this morning was just a fucking mess.

And as I searched dearly for her, I fought against the voices of Casper and the others as they came back to my head, as if they were trying to warn me against what I was trying to do. A part of me wondered if I was truly being stubborn. If it was the right thing to do to find her. As much as I hated what her friends were doing, I would hate to be the one to put Dabeluchi at risk because I was 'stubborn'.

Kelechi has warned me not to tell Dabeluchi about her friends last night, and I did. Now, this happened.

Dabeluchi disappeared.

And now, Casper was begging me to not find her, and while I was adamant on doing so, a part of me feared an even greater, more sinister consequence following.

But, how do I sit here and do nothing when my girlfriend was nowhere to be found? How do I leave this be, and trust that my girl was safe in their arms? Fuck this dilemma. Fuck all these.

*Incoming Message*

I jumped at the sound notification, frantic, anxious and a little bit excited.

However, my happiness died down when I saw that the sender was not Dabeluchi.

"What the fuck?" I said, staring at my phone screen, completely puzzled.

The last time she texted me was nearly a month ago.

So, what inspired the devil to remember me in this bloody and already treacherous moment?

SMS Message From:
Ada, Idiot and Devil's incarnate.

What the fuck is happening?😂😂
What did you do to Sean? He's gone on a rampage on his Whatssap status, talkin' about 'fake friends' and 'backstabbers'. My guy is vexed o! He's angry!😂😂😭😭

>> Sent 3:21 am.

I felt a pang in my chest and I was unsure whether it was just the resentment that came with seeing Ada's name, the fact she was 'laughing' at me and Sean's predicament or the fact that I was a bit anxious and curious to see Sean's alleged rampage on his Whatssap status.

SMS Message From:
Ada, Idiot and Devil's incarnate.

He didn't even rage like this when I sent him those videos o. He even left me on read, I thought he didn't open them.😂 Your best friend can snub sha. It's just because I'm loving this drama that I will still message him another day because normally, I no dey allow man snub me like this!😂😂😂

>>Sent 3:21 am

Why haven't I blocked Ada yet?

It just occurred to me at that moment. As much as I wanted to hit that button and seize all communication with this witch, a part of me wanted to see all of these 'rampage' on Sean's WhatsApp status that she was talking about.

So, exiting the SMS app, I reverted to WhatsApp to check Sean's status.

Only that when I searched him up, I didn't see any of his status updates. Suspicious, I went to search him up on our messages and his display picture (DP) was blank, his profile info, missing.

Fair enough. He blocked me.

WhatsApp Message from:
Ada, Idiot and Devil's incarnate.

Fine boy, what's up na?😂
Lemme guess, you didn't see his DP?😂😂
Daddy Sean don block you?😂😂😭😭😭

>> Sent 3:22 am

Even though I felt pained by her mockery, I chose to ignore her. My broken friendship was a thing of laughter for her. It hurt, but what more could I have expected from a witch like Ada?

So, I ignored her message and decided to open JJ's WhatsApp message instead, as it seemed recent too and my curiosity wouldn't let me be.

WhatsApp Message from:
JJ🙏🏿

Hey, blud. I'm sorry though... He made me do it.

>> Sent 2:57am

I frowned, confused. What was JJ talking about?

Unfortunately, I had no time to ask him more questions. Ada came in again, distracting me yet again with a baseless and useless message.

WhatsApp Message from:
Ada, Idiot and Devil's incarnate.

So, you too, you wan follow snub me?🤣
It's well o!
Anyways, should I help you beg Sean? I still get access to him! 50k if he no answer, 200k if he answer me! Oya, bargain! Let's talk price! Mumu!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

>> Sent 3:23am

I stared at my phone, frustration surging through me as I read her messages. How vile could she have been? Still awake as late as 3:23am to do the devil's work. Fuck this witch. I wondered what it was that me and Sean even saw in her in the first fucking place.

Instead of engaging her and getting riled up the way I knew she wanted me to, all I wanted to know was one thing.

So, I texted Ada back;

Me.

Sean said you sent him seven videos.
How come seven?
I thought you only had one video. How did you send him seven?

<< Sent 3:23am.

Like she was eager to hear from me, her response came immediately.

Ada, Idiot and Devil's incarnate.
Dey play!🤣🤣🤣
I had like ten, bros! I should have even charged you for all of them, but I charged for one. Later you will say I am wicked. Don't you think I am a good person now? Eh?🤣
>> Sent 3:23am

Me.
I think you're a pig.
<< Sent 3:23 am

Ada, Idiot and Devil's incarnate.
Maybe.
At least, I am not the one causing my best friend to have stroke up and down on WhatsApp status. 😭
>> Sent 3:24am

Me.
Whatever you sent Sean sha, he didn't watch it.
He didn't watch any of those videos. We had a fight not long ago and he thinks I—

"Hey, man."

My response to Ada was cut short – and never sent – when a deep voice resounded behind me, a rough hand grabbing onto my shoulder along with it.

"The fuck!" I exclaimed, swinging like a mad man as my hands attempted a blind left hook that could have dislocated the jaw of the person who snuck up on me if it connected.

If it connected.

It didn't.

"Whoa."

Casper ducked with light speed, missing the incoming punch by the quarter of a second, eye widened in shock; it was a clear reaction that he did not see it coming.

He was lucky it was a careless swing.

However, that was the least of my worries. What the fuck was Casper doing here? And was I supposed to be worried about his presence? Was this a trap? Some kind of set up? I knew it was suspicious the way that they had let me go back there. I just knew it!

"What is this?" I had to ask him, fists balling at my sides just in case I needed to prepare myself for any form of combat, "What the—Were you following me, man?"

"Yes," he answered calmly, "But, calm down for a minute before the others come."

"Others," I said, puzzled, "What others?"

"Acha, that's not important. Just listen to me first," Casper insisted.

I stepped back, lacking the faith to trust in him.

"Please," he insisted, "I am trying to compromise here—"

"—I was asked to follow you and lead you somewhere, anywhere, where I could lock you up and stop your movement till 7am.—"

"— Eh?"

He stepped up, hands in surrender.

"But, I don't want to do that," he told me, "Because I know that you are sane and if I try a little harder, I can reason with you, Acha."

"Reason with me," I said, repeating his words with a frown of confusion on my face. "Reason with me. Is this still about Dabeluchi, Casper?"

"You cannot get her outside this house," he said to me; he insisted. "Once you find her, if you manage to get her to wake up, she would be terrified. She would want to leave this place and try to find her Mum and her brother. But you cannot grant her that wish!"

"Wake up?!" I exclaimed, "She's not awake?!"

"Listen, we tried, okay? We tried to talk her out of taking matters into her hands, but she wouldn't listen," he told me, "From Last night to this morning, it's been a very sensitive and risky timeline; I deliberately had the Christmas party scheduled at this time because I wanted a distraction for Dabi and you. A distraction that was enough to get me and the Igbo Sisters busy with shit and she wouldn't suspect a thing. Neither would you. But things did not fall according to plan and somehow, Dabi found out.

Last night was worst time that Dabi could fucking find out about anything, it was too risky a night! We have managed to get her out of the way and if she can be off our backs till sun rise and let us finish what we are doing for her and my own good, then, I don't even mind spending the whole time next year begging her forgiveness, after we have been assured that she, her Mum, and her brother are safe and sound and—"

"— Casper, what the FUCK are you even talking about right now?!"

He ran his hands through the blonde highlights of his hair, clearly frustrated and showing it.

"I'm actually willing to listen right now, Cas," I told him, "So, tell me. Tell me all I need to know."

He looked at me, nodding firmly.

"There's no time," he said to me, "So, I am going to spend the next two minutes downloading you with a lot of information that will shock you to shits, and you have to try to keep up. Are you ready?"

I wasn't sure.

Nonetheless, I gulped, and asked Casper to carry on.

He wasted not a single second.

"As I a standing here and talking to you, Chief Ugochukwu Elliot Orji — Dabeluchi's father — is out there, lurking around in the darkness and in a vengeful quest to find Dabeluchi's mother, and in turn, Dabeluchi and her brother as well..."

I swallowed. Hard. Taking in all the information that he was dumping on me, unsure of how exactly to react to it.

"I am telling you, Acha, if she makes one careless move in these few hours. Just one. If you allow her to make one careless mistake. Just one," he continued, a shaking terror in his voice as she spoke, "It may be the last time you ever see Dabeluchi again."

"The bastard, her father," I said, responding, "He wouldn't be on this quest if you guys respected yourself and avoided stepping on his toes, Casper."

He shook his head, I could see the patience he was mustering coming off him with that unsettling laugh.

"I don't think you understand what's going on here, man," he said.

"Then, make me," I insisted. "Because, to me, if you refrained from exposing their family secrets, he would not be on any vengeance quest in the first place."

"Then, how does it make sense that his vengeance quest is against his family and not the people who intruded and exposed his secrets?" He fired back with a question, "They are not his enemies, right? So, if he was triggered to take out revenge, why would it be on his wife and kids, and not us?"

"I don't know how to answer these questions you are asking me—"

"No, you think about it," he cut me off, his brows raising in question, "If all of these was triggered by some revenge quest, you'd think his smartest plot would be to come at his family and stain his already tarnished name by harming them? The whole country knows he is a terrible man and authorities are out to get him, and you think Chief Ugochukwu Elliot Orji's big brainbending scheme is to make things worse for himself by doing something so stupid like that, on the ground of a revenge quest?"

Well...

"Oh, you didn't think that far, bro?" he asked me.

"What are you trying to say?" I asked him, getting frustrated.

"That man has bigger and more devious motives than foaming in the mouth over a bunch of teenage children and attacking his family for that cause, Acha! He's out for his family for a much more devious reason and you are underestimating the sinisterness that comes with a man like him!" Casper nearly snapped at me, "He is out for his family, but not just because we exposed him to the world. This man has been carefully mapping out plans against his family since the beginning of time..."

I stared at Casper, my brain unhinging itself as confusion slapped me.

"Chika started off befriending Dabi because she felt like she needed to save her, like they were alike in some way, had the same struggles, suffered the same triggers, drowned in the same kind of unfortunate circumstances, right?"

He started to elaborate, and carefully, I listened.

"Continue," I urged him.

"Dabeluchi was a girl who kept Chika thinking all night," he did, "Chika could not sleep for days, I read this all in her virtual diary. There were pages and pages dated down years ago, from when we were in Jss3, before she got to know Dabi; all of them were cries and frustrations about how she couldn't stand to look at Dabi, how the sight of her tore to shreds, how she could swear she saw herself when she looked at Dabi – a girl she had never even spoken to in her life..."

That... hit me.

Especially because I understood the feeling of not being able to get a girl like Dabeluchi out of your mind when you managed to see past the deadness of her demeanor, when you saw the broken pieces in her eyes, the saddened glow in her irises.

It was hard to give a second glance at Dabeluchi Orji. But when you did, fuck.

When you gave her a second chance of your attention, a second glance, everything about her screamed broken. Too many broken things. All wrapped in one rusted and damaged diamond.

"So, yes, she gave in," Casper told me, "Her heart was constantly crying and going back to Dabeluchi, even when she refused to involve herself with her; it was inevitable. Chika gave in to that savior complex, she felt like she needed to be some kind of sanctuary, a dwelling place for Dabi. To show her love. To protect her. To heal her."

I swallowed, hating how much I could relate to this. How many times I had felt like it was my obligation too, to serve as a protector, a knight in shining armor to Dabeluchi too.

"So, she befriended Dabi," he told me, "There was no way that she could get a girl as closeted and shadowed like Dabi to open up to her, unless she earned her trust..."

Right.

Dabeluchi could swear to me that she loved me, and I knew she did. Yet, there were so many things that she kept away from me. Things she didn't love me enough to tell me, I guessed.

The constant reminder that I, of all people, had to find out about her family problems and her father's abuse through social media gutted me enough. I never pressured her. I love her enough to know that she would need as much time to be able to unwrap such a dark part of herself, even if with me.

Indeed, it was very difficult to get a girl like Dabeluchi to open up to you.

Insanely difficult.

"It was a lot harder than Chika thought it would be," Casper told me, "Getting Dabeluchi to open up..."

Of course.

"So, she went into digging," he continued, "She decided she would take matters into her own hands, and figure out what the fuck it was that was damaging Dabi the way it was. To confirm if her suspicions were right..."

I listened.

"And, she was right apparently," he said with a nod, "She figured they had the same plight. As suspected. Just like Chika's late mother, Dabi's mum was suffering in the hands of an abusive man. A terrible father, too. This was something that opened up wounds in Chika that she thought she had forced herself to heal—"

"— Chika's father killed her mother?" I cut Casper off, shock waves moving through me as I comprehended what he was telling me.

"Beat her to death," he told me, confirming it, "Right in front of them, man. The man ended up nearly bashing her brains out in front of Chika and her siblings, and they had to be the ones to carry their Mum's lifeless body to the hospital – with the help of some kind neighbors – even though they knew she was dead on the scene. Chika was just nine years old, my guy. Her sister, eight. Her little brother was barely four months old."

"Jesus Christ ," I cursed, shuddering.

"Yeah," he said with a downcast sigh, "So, apparently, Chika felt so much anger coming back, anger that she thought she had grown past. She felt the urge to protect Dabi growing even stronger. She said she couldn't bare to watch someone else, especially Dabi, go through the same trauma she went through. To let things continue until it gets to its worst, until it leaves her in a more damaging state than she was in. Chika is one girl that amazes me, how she is able to dive into fire without thinking of consequences; she swore that it was her place, some kind of calling, to do something..."

There was a weight in my throat as I listened to Casper, and inevitably, I felt something inside of me tearing like fabric and breaking like glass as he spoke. It was all so painful. So fucking painful.

"Many times, she had tried to talk Dabi into opening up about some things. To try to get her to open about some people she found out existed in Dabi's life, I suppose," he told me, "But, Dabi always seemed to avoid some topics, avoid some names. It was almost like she lived her life, pretending they weren't there..."

I frowned, confused.

"It's not normal, man," he said, "Shit's weird as fuck. The way Chika described it, it was almost like she was living in this altered version of reality of some sort. But Chika was never direct when she tried to get Dabi to open up, only because she knew many issues in her life were too sensitive. She asked certain types of questions to Dabi, indirect questions that hovered around the people in her life, just to codedly get some information off her. But Dabi gave the most bizarre answers.  Sometimes, even aloof. Almost like everything in Chika's findings were the total opposite to Dabi's quirky narrative. So, after a while, she insisted that Dabi was in denial, right? She decided it was best to uncover more truths to her life, without her. As it proved to be futile, involving her.

It wasn't until Dabi confronted us last night, feeling betrayed, that we were surprised that she had a solid awareness of the abuse that even went on in her home. With the way she coined things to avoid reality, we were scared she would act like the abuse was nonexistent too. But we were confused. Dabi is well aware of the abuse going on in her house from her father to her mother, so then, why is she refusing to acknowledge the rest of everything else?"

I wanted to speak, but I felt like my tongue was twisted. How the fuck did I even intend to respond to this?

"We still aren't sure if Dabi was doing this deliberately or if she genuinely believes that half the things going on in her home are nonexistent," he told me, "I have suspected that she may just be damaged by something. Something that we even haven't even discovered yet. But what on earth could it be that could make Dabeluchi decide in her mind that living in a distorted reality – where she firmly was still aware that her father beats her mother everyday –  was a much better and preferable life?"

"I don't understand too," I answered, puzzled.

"One of the reasons we exposed her family secrets to the world is to get a chase on that man, and in turn, maybe everyone would see what was really going on," he told me, "But, man, that was not even the main thing that triggered us to expose Chief Orji and you won't even believe this part."

I gulped. "Try me."

"Chika had eventually told the other Igbo Sisters the real reason they befriended Dabi, right? They decided to work together, to get to the bottom of Dabi's story and do something to get her out of the shackles of such her toxic home," he said, "But, they never had a solid plan. Not until I came in. This was roughly around the beginning of the Ss3 term. They persuaded me at first, but I wasn't comfortable joining. But after some things that had gone down at home with my Mum – and Dabi's brother – I decided to give them some information and that created deeper grounds for investigation. The kind of investigation that led us to discover something dark, a sinister plan against Dabi's family orchestrated by Chief Orji himself."

Something dropped in my heart, the beating was intense. Nearly health triggering at this point.

I had to ask Casper the question.

"What was Chief Orji planning against his family?"

Casper sucked in a deep breath, like this was going to be a lot to take in.

"I am only telling you this for one reason," he said to me, "Only because I need you to understand the gravity of what you will be doing if you do anything you shouldn't do anytime from now."

"I'm listening," I insisted.

"Dabi's father and my father are best friends," he told me, and that didn't start off a shocker since Kelechi had already filled me in on some information concerning this.

How there was something off about The Valley — The West Wing of the Falade Realties Estate. How the only inhabitants were Dabeluchi and Casper's families. How the place gave the same energy of a graveyard: quiet, eerie, sinister, odd, and lacking of life. A pungent stench of death that loomed over its face.

I remembered, how Kelechi told me about they had no visitors, except the dark Honda cars with hooded monochrome windows that drove in and out of The Valley, delivering unspoken things in dark, black bags into the household of the Orjis' and the Basseys'. It had sparked my curiously and anxiety, to the point that I wanted to come into the matter and crack the code. Figure out what all these was really about.

"See," Casper told me, "Those men– their line of work, it's something that I can't even tell you about. It's deadly. And they have their hands stained, more times than you would want to imagine..."

I swallowed again, and even harder this time.

"Apparently, not long after my family moved in, multiple investigations had been launched against the owner of the Estate, Tunde Falade, as there has been rumors going round by an unnamed spokesperson about the things that go on in The Valley, but every time that Tunde organized an inspection team, Chief Orji and my father were found to be innocent of the claims against them. And obviously, that's cap. Bullshit. I am not crazy and neither is my household. We know my dad has his hands stained and same for Chief Orji, yet they managed to clear their name every time. Just to elaborate how clever they could be."

Wow.

"They presented themselves as clean men of the society, reputable men who were full of integrity. Absolute bullshit, man," he was saying, "And apparently, it was easier for my Dad to stand on these claims in front of the investigators eyes; he is a good husband to my Mum. He adores her and he treats her well, she was obsessed with him. That's why I suppose most of the rumors were targeting Chief Orji more than my Dad.

It was crazy how he still always managed to clear his name though. This man beat his wife, treated her like a rag doll, spat on her,  disrespected her in her presence – cheating on her and turning her into a fucking maid, tormenting his family and leaving them to eat off scraps and shit, yet somehow, he still got away with them thinking he was a fucking saint. He somehow made them believe he cared about his family, and the fact that one of his kids is attending a prestigious school like Castron High and his other kid was treated by specialized and expensive doctors from outside the country, he was able to win the stupid investigators over. No matter what happened, they always won."

Damn...

"Well, until Chika came into the matter," he told me, I held the urge to smile. "She says it started not long after I confided in them at the beginning of the Ss3 term, and while she went deeper into digging, she was confronted one day online by an anonymous rumor monger who offered to give her free information about The Valley. Of course, she took it, and she figured whoever this person was soliciting suspicion and spreading rumors about The Valley, it was someone who knew Dabi's father on a personal level. Because they came unfiltered and furious. And, that was how Chika found out about Chief Orji's plans against his family."

I listened, my heart in my fucking hands.

"She showed us the messages," he told me, I could tell the anxiousness in his demeanor as he stepped closer, looking around us and over his shoulders, as though to make sure we weren't being listened on, "This deadly business between my dad and Dabi's dad started long before my family moved into The Valley. And, this anonymous rumor monger had actually been threatening him for years, saying they would expose him if he didn't start treating his family right. After we moved in, they started to carry out their threats by releasing information in bits and pieces – in which Chief Orji always countered – but that triggered him enough to make up his mind on one thing.

Chief Orji knows that nothing stays hidden under the sun. And soon, with the way things were going, he would not be able to hide the truth for so long. He noticed that every bit of information this anonymous rumor monger had was in some way, connected to his family, so he planned that the best thing to do was cut himself off from his family and disappear without warning..."

I stared at him, waiting for him to finish what he was trying to tell me.

"We found out that Chief Orji planned to erase his family from existence."

His words slammed me in the face, I did a double take.

"His plan was simple, yet devious," he continued telling me, "If he erased the members of his family, there would be no source for the anonymous rumor monger to get more information. He was going to fake his own death along with them, disappear for good, and leave the only people aware of his existence being the underdogs in cahoot with him. That way, he would still be able to inherit his insane amount of wealth while being a ghost."

What the fuck...

"He knew he couldn't end harm them just like that because it would arouse suspicion, so he insisted he would make it look like an accident," Casper told me, "And, he would make it look like one unfortunate family disaster. Dabeluchi, her brother, and her mother were not supposed to see the 1st of January NewYears."

Chills ran through me, an unnerving feeling lingering in my back.

God.

Heaven Forbid.

How would I have survived a news like that?

"To Chief Orji, it was like killing multiple birds with one stone," Casper told me, "He wipes out his family, makes it look like an accident, lives as a ghost, keeps his wealth and business, and gets away from the Investigators' eyes."

"Jesus."

"Exactly."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was this fucking real? Was I in a movie? Or some kind of messed up book?

"Chika came ruining everything for him like bad fucking karma," Casper told me, shaking his head with a humorless laugh, "It was mad risky, man. You cannot even imagine."

I didn't even want to...

"It all started the day Dabi ran away from home, right?" He said, "You took her into your house."

"Yeah..."

"Well," he said, "A lot went down that day, Acha."

"I heard he tried to burn down the house with his family still inside," I told Casper.

He nodded.

"It was bad, bro," he told me, "Stephen's arm was nearly gone, burnt badly. And it was a miracle that Dabi's mother had even survived that night. And once again, Chika had relived trauma, watching the woman all night in the ward, until she was sent away. That, along side the info we had gotten about Dabi's father's plans were the major catalysts in our reaction.

My mum took Dabi's mum and her be other away after the incident, but we still had to do something; That man would not give up, no matter what. He had a plan, and even with suspicions on him, he was still adamant on it. Now, do you understand why we felt like our hands were tied and we needed to find a way to make the entire country see the kind of human being that Chief Elliot Ugochukwu Orji is? Do you now understand the gravity of things?"

I inhaled, then exhaled.

"Kind of."

"Right now, as I speak to you, my mother's care centre is as heavy and busy as a crime scene," he told me, "The place is filled up with security and authorities, who want to get to the bottom of what the fuck is going on. Chief Orji is still heavily working behind the scenes to keep a clear and clean name. There are people vouching for him and they have come with fake evidence; the building has been under scrutiny for the past week. His motive to keep his clean record would only end up implicating my Mum, and does it get any better? No.
It could also put Dabeluchi and her family's safety, if they are won over back to their father, on the line."

Panic gripped me, anxiety choking me with it.

"There are other witnesses in our favor, but it is not enough," he told me, "Not when there are people who are speaking against Dabi and trying to pin all the chaos that has happened in their household, like the fire, to her deranged behavior. Making it seem that was why she ran away from home. Like she was the one putting her family in danger and not Chief Orji."

"What the fuck—"

"— It gets worse," he insisted, "They have proof against Dabi and her alleged violent streak that they claim they have all been victims of. They want to pin all these on her being mentally ill. All of them, so many, from Leticia to Therese to Quinn to Hannah to Geraldine to Nancy and finally, to —"

"Nancy?" I said, cutting him off.

That name rang a bell.

"Nancy," I repeated again as it started coming to me.

I remembered the day or so after I had brought Dabi into my house, she had a conversation with her Mum over the phone and that name was mentioned.

However, Dabeluchi denied it flatly.

It was like she didn't know who Nancy was.

And every time I pressed on it, she always changed the topic back to this other woman she called Delilah.

This went on for a short while until I gave up.

"Who's Nancy?" I asked Casper.

He answered me;

"She occasionally visits their home," he told me.

I frowned, lost.

"But only people who has connections to Chief Orji and your father can visit the Valley," I said, "And isn't it weird? The only person Dabeluchi has only ever mentioned that was present in their house, asides from her father, mother, and brother is Delilah."

It was Casper's turn to frown, but with a subtle realization in his eyes as he gazed at me.

"Delilah," he repeated the name.

"But, wait," I spoke, before he could say more, "If you guys are fighting for her cause, why is Dabeluchi trying so hard to fight against you?"

"That's what I don't fully understand," he confided in me, "And that's why I have been begging you to not support any rash decisions she makes at this sensitive moment. Me and the Igbo Sisters are defending that Dabi is nothing like the accusations, and our word may hold grounds since we are minors and her friends. Or were, at least.

The care center has been packed 247 for the past one week and we hope that our word can clear Dabi's name and avoid implication on my mother. But, if you let her go after her mother and brother, she may find her way to the care center.  They are already trying to make her a villain based on the grounds that she is mentally ill. Imagine how much their claims against her would be corroborated and solidified if Dabeluchi walks into that place and starts to cause a scene."

Fuck.

"I am still trying to understand your babe, Acha," he told me sincerely, "At first, I thought she was just angry that her friends lied to her and did so much behind her back and I could see reason to that point of view. She had a valid reason to be angry on those grounds; anyone would be..."

Yeah...

"But after we tried to explain, I noticed a pattern..."

"Yeah?"

"Dabi kept averting anything and everything else we were saying that went outside the abuse in her home," he told me, "She only highlighted and deliberated on what she wanted to. Sometimes when we said some things, it was almost like we were being tuned out."

I hates I bought this, but Dabeluchi had done something similar to me too. Those times I brought up Nancy too.

"But, I don't feel she was doing it on purpose anymore," he told me, "It'd make no sense if she was. You dig?"

I nodded in understanding.

"Something feels off somewhere and I cannot put my finger on it," Casper told me, "I feel there is something that has traumatized Dabeluchi so hard to the point that she would rather take her version of what's going on as it is. Something deeper than her father's promiscuity and abuse. Much, much deeper—"

His words were interrupted by the sudden trodding taps of someone's footsteps.

Instantly, he looked alarmed.

"I have to go," he insisted, "I think they're here, and I have wasted too much time.—"

"— Wait," I stopped him before he could turn around and leave me, even though the footsteps sounded like they were getting closer, "Where is she though? Dabeluchi. I won't do anything. I just want to know. I'm really worried, man."

"Upstairs," he told me, "On the balcony of the top floor.  You know the way around here na. You said it yourself, na your papa house."

"For sure," I nodded, taking notes.

"She's knocked out and should be awake on her own in the middle of the afternoon," he told me, "But, if you sprinkle some cold water on her enough, she would wake up. But be careful man. Don't make me feel like I have made a mistake. I don't want to regret this."

"I got you," I assured Casper.

Casper fist bumped me.

"Stay safe," he said.

And with that, he sprinted away from my presence, urging me to go ahead and go somewhere else with a wave of his hands, as he ran off into the shadows, disappearing into gloom of the of the dim lighted ends of the Hallway.

The first thing I did was to leave this arena, as it was clear that it was smart to be anywhere but here, and besides, the last thing I wanted to do is complicate anything. However, it did not cut out that weird feeling lingering in the depths of my chest, as though something seem right.

Did it have to do with the fact that I felt within me like I was making wrong decisions? Like I should just leave this and go to bed, trusting every word that Casper had said and hoping that when it was afternoon, Dabeluchi would be safe and sound, in my arms.

Was it really the best idea to leave her knocked out till afternoon?

Sincerely, each time I considered the thought, I felt uncomfortable.

Casper told me she was in the top floor, a place that I would not have even suspected that their minds could go as far as to hide her. My girlfriend's unconscious body. Fuck, it sounded psychotic to say even. This didn't feel right. Not one bit.

I grabbed a paper cup from one of the nearby rooms and filled it halfway with water from the dispensers, before squeezing the cup tightly in my hands as I headed into the top Hallway, my steps light but daunting.

"So damn tired," I cursed under my breath; my eyes were burning due to my lack of sleep, my body, heavy, and my head, pounding on the inside like a fucking bitch.

Breeze whooshed past me as me soon as I stepped into the balcony, and I wasn't sure if it was just the damned weather – the dry, chilling air that came with Harmattan – or, if it was the fact that, subconsciously, even if I had not seen her yet, I knew that my girlfriend was inside this space with me.

"Fuck."

It was not even difficult to spot her.

Right there, at the corner end of the porch, with a blanket carefully draped over her body, there lay Dabeluchi Orji.

Seeing her in this state broke me.

'Broke' is a tragic understatement, because the moment that I walked in here and my eyes caught hers into my line of vision, I felt a part of me rupture. Like the life and soul had been snatched, no ripped out of me.

And it wasn't even in any way violent. This was the softest heartbreak ever, nothing but a dull and hollow pain in the pit of my stomach.

"Aurora..."

My voice disappeared in the thickness of the breeze, its shakiness and frailness becoming lost into the ferocious air that was stronger than me.

There wasn't a thing right now in the world that was not stronger than me, with how the sight of her was able to break me down, defeat all the strength I thought I had, turn me into a powerless, broken being at the verge of tears.

A weak man.

No, a weak boy.

"Aurora..."

With the heat of everything that had been happening, it was hard to remember that she was the most affected in all of this. How much this girl had to endure, to end up being broken like this, with all that was now left of her being a half empty soul, a near lifeless body that laid unresponsive on the cold, hard ground.

Dabeluchi looked so vulnerable.

So fucking fragile.

How could a girl so easily brittle and breakable could be at the unmerciful mercy of this cold, wicked world?

It broke me to pieces.

"My Aurora..."

I could taste saltiness on my tongue, and I forced myself to clean off the tears that were now drenching against my face. The last thing I wanted to do was show her how much she made me weak, how easily my body broke into frailty, impotency, when I weighed in the unfortunate situation of her life.

But, no. I needed to be that strong standing tower for her, a protector. Her knight in shining armor.

Even if I was nothing but a weak boy.

"You don't deserve any of this, my love..."

I kneeled beside her, gently picking up one of her hands, her lean, fragile hand.

"You don't deserve this, Aurora," I spoke, my voice shaking with the tears that streamed down my face, "But, I will protect you. I will fight for you, Aurora. I would lay down my life, if I had to."

My heart tore more as her body swayed against my hold, lifeless, and I swallowed the thickness in my throat.

"I won't stop, until I break the cycle," I said to her, caressing her pale, flushed face, brushing my thumb against her white, dry lips, "Until I show you how hell can turn to heaven on earth. How to love you, the way I love you..."

Her face was staining my tears, they came harder the more I tried to stop them.

I sniffed, wipes my face, and turned back to reach for the glass of water I had dropped beside me...

Only to be shocked to the core when I felt Dabeluchi's hands wrap around my shirt.

"What—"

Caught off guard, I whipped my head back to her, only to be surprised at the strong grip her hand had, squeezing the hem of my shirt like her life depended on it.

Like her life depended on me.

"Are you awake?" I asked.

She still looked very unconscious, her body still and lifeless as her head laid against my chest. Yet, her hands managed to hold onto a part of me, my shirt, as though it was a desperate plea from her body, her subconscious, for me to not let go.

"I won't leave you, Aurora," I assured her. "Never."

Without much further ado, I proceeded to get her to wakeness, gently sprinkling the water over her face, watching the void of expression in her face as I tried to get her to wake up.

"Come on," I whispered softly, "I need you awake..."

One more little splash and Dabeluchi gasped, attempting to jump up from my arms in a frantic show of panic and anxiety.

"Where am I?! Where am I?! Who are you?!—"

I pulled her into me and held her in my arms, holding her still as she shook and panicked, having her clung onto me until she was quiet again.

"It's okay," I said to her, kissing her softly at the top of her head, "It's okay, Aurora."

"Marc?" she called me softly, her voice like velvet.

"Yes, my love," I answered.

Aurora shook softly in my arms when she said;

"I fear something bad is going to happen."

There was a weight in my chest. I feared she'd have picked it up, with the way my heart beat inside as she rested against my chest.

"Something like?" I asked her.

"I don't trust my friends," she told me, "They tried to kill me, Marc."

"Kill," I repeated her words.

"They are out to get me," she said to me, shaking softly in my arms, "They told me they would do something bad to me if I tried to go against them..."

"Aurora,"

"They closed in on me," she said, her voice filled with sincere dread, "And tried to strangle me with their bare hands, telling me that it would be my last time in this world tonight. They called me all sorts of vile things: Wretched. Wretched. Wretched. They said I am wretched. Like my mother. Wretched old woman.—"

"Aurora,"

"And, then, Chika hit me with the heels of her red stiletto," She told me, "To kill me. I think they think I am dead, Marc..."

I didn't say anything, lest I argued with her.

For some reason, only then did my eyes start to open.

It wasn't just the fact that she was crying to me about being strangled and called names, but there were no marks on her neck. It took the softest kisses to get Dabi's neck purple red with hickeys, there should have been some signs of her being strangled.

That wasn't even the thing that made certain of the fact that something wasn't right with Dabeluchi's narrative,

It was also the fact that I had seen Chika, not just because of her confrontation, but also because I had gotten a glance of her when she came to the party and at intervals, here and there.

There was nothing red about her appearance, not even the gloss on her lips. And she definitely, most definitely, was not wearing stilettos.

"Can we go somewhere?" Dabeluchi asked me.

My heart stopped at the question.

"Where?" I asked nonetheless.

"Anywhere that's not here," she insisted, "I feel uncomfortable."

I placed a gentle kiss against her lips.

"Come."

***

Much to my relief, Dabeluchi did not ask that we should leave the house in search of her mother and brother. Which was a bit odd. Casper was sure that she would, he was certain that she was going to be adamant on taking matters into her own hands, and the fact that Dabeluchi had not brought them up yet...

It raised questions in my head.

What was going on inside Dabeluchi's head?

"I just want to be away from classmates," she told me, as she found a spot on one of the couches in my living room. "All the rooms must be so full; I can hear their noise from down here."

"But there were no classmates in the top balcony," I said.

Dabeluchi did not answer me.

Ironically, still, the living room which she preferred was full of either half drunk and passed out or heavily snoring guys and girls, laying on the floors of the now pitch quiet and fairly dark space that was busy and buzzing with music and mad dancing classmates just some hours ago.

As far as I was certain, Dabeluchi's reason for wanting to be here had absolutely nothing to do with classmates.

"Are you okay though?"

I felt like I needed to ask her. I just did.

Dabeluchi turned to look at me, the dim lighting doing little to hide the slightly draining make up on her face; the foundation and faint eye shadow, that I had not even noticed before was a hot mess of scattered colors, like a finely painted rainbow art on the corners of her face.

Even the glitter had smeared from the lids of her eyes to the bones of her cheek, contouring her features in a way that seemed unreal. Her eyes seemed to glow even more than the glitter itself, diamonds and every thing precious, glittering in them. Even if her eye bags and pale, dry lips were more prominent, something about the piercing deadness in her eyes in contrast with the allure of colors and glitter all about her were absolutely divine.

Fuck, she was so beautiful.

It was crazy how she still managed to captivate every part of me, even in what I knew she thought was her worst.

"I'm okay," she answered me.

I pressed on, "Are you sure?"

Again, she didn't answer me.

A silence ensued between the two of us, but in all the quietness of the room, I said nothing. This was the first time that I was relieved that Dabi was not opening up to me about something. At this rate, we could actually manage to lay low while her friends and Casper finished business behind the scenes.

Hopefully.

"Marc?"

"Yes, Aurora..."

"Have you ever been betrayed before?"

The question sunk the weight in my chest, the one that had been laying there, like a burden.

This was a sensitive night to talk about a topic like betrayal, especially since I was still battling the wounds that were left off with me and Sean's friendship.

"Have you?" She turned to me, asking.

"Not really," I told her.

"It sucks," she said to me, "I found out tonight that my friends have been lying to me all these while, Marc. Chika and the Sisters befriended me in Jss3 to steal my trust and stalk my life. I even saw her diary..."

She spoke so calmly. Dabeluchi spoke too calmly. And I was not sure whether to be scared or worried about that.

The worst part was that she was confiding something in me that she was unawares that I already knew... And, hid the truth from her too.

"Can you believe it," she said, eyes on me, "The Sisters were the ones that leaked my family secrets all these while. It wasn't Kelechi. It was them, and everything was planned by Chika. Marc, my own friends..."

I swallowed, the air was suddenly so hard to breathe.

"Imagine being me with all that while and acting innocent, Marc. Who the fuck does that?" She said, and for the first time yet, I could sense the edge that cut through her voice, the subtle lacing in of anger in it. "Who does that, Marc?"

Fuck...

Now, more than ever, I wished that Kelechi had not come to me that day to confide in me about Chika's diary. I wished she didn't tell me all the things the Igbo Sisters were doing; I wished she left me in the dark. Then, maybe, I wouldn't have visited Dabi's dance class those days after to lie to her fucking face that I didn't know it was her friends that exposed her family secrets, I wouldn't have dragged the lie until the Christmas party either. Only to do something as cowardice as setting her up to find out for herself.

Maybe then, I could sit here next to her and pretend I was a saint who could never tell a lie too. Be it one of omission.

"Dabeluchi..."

I said, breath shaking as I shifted against my seat in discomfort. She watched me and I could see the subtle confusion and obvious wary in them as her eyes followed my movements carefully.

"Dabeluchi..."

Trembling, my knees touched the ground, one after the other, and my shaking hands found hers intuitively as my sober eyes never left hers'.

"I think you should know something..."

I could see the fear in her eyes; they were soft, but tear triggering and tender. An innocent terror in them as she watched down on me.

"I knew about Chika's diary and your friends exposing that implicating video of your father on the Internet. I've known since the day after it happened, I—"

Immediately, her hands slapped away from mine, the soft terror in her eyes turning into a sharp look of appall.

"Jesus Christ. Marcus!" She exclaimed, folding into her chair in total shock, literally crawling on her butt on it, in a bid to get away from me. "Marcus, you– what the fuck!– You—"

"Aurora, please," I begged, "I'm sorry. I swear. I–I– See, babe. That was why I led you to that room last night. I wanted you to find out for yourself, because it gutted me to keep lying and pretending like I was oblivious when I wasn't. Dabeluchi, that was why I did that tonight. That was why I—"

My words choked me, dying painfully in my throat, as she jumped to her feet. Shaking her head adamantly, a show that I was talking bullshit and there was nothing I could say to make this better, she tried to get away from me, attempting to leave me kneeling there like a discarded piece of shit.

I stood up, quickly following her.

"Please listen to me, Dabeluchi—" I pleaded desperately.

With such a force that shocked me, she swerved around, eyes blazing with anger and lips shaking with a mix of terror, a deadly one, and hurt that could be mistaken for vile anger, with how intense it was.

"Please..." I insisted.

"Really? Marc?!" She shrieked at me, her voice a worn out screech, "Marcus, what the fuck! What the literal bloody FUCK are you telling me?! I cried in front of you that day in Dance class and you knew?! You fucking knew?! Marcus, you too?!"

"I'm so sorry, Aurora," I tried to appeal.

"Fuck your sorry!" She screamed at me, "Just leave me alone, I'm going home!"

I felt my life flash before my eyes.

"Dabeluchi, you can't go anywhere!—"

"— WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU BETRAY ME TOO, MARCUS ACHA!" She nearly ripped out her hair, shouting like a girl gone mad. "WHY! WHY! WHY! TELL ME WHY, MARCUS FUCKING ACHA!" She was ballistic, slamming her fists in rage into my chest, raving, her hair all over place as she assaulted me in her devastation.

Tears were in my eyes, heart burning as I watched how I had turned the girl I loved into someone possessed; I had failed her too. My heart scattered.

"Aurora, please..."

My voice shook, tears falling as I held her close as she showed me how much she hated me right now, taking all the assaults and wishing they could hurt. They didn't. I wished they did.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" She screamed at me.

"Kelechi begged me not to, Dabeluchi," I answered, overwhelmed.

It was as though that single statement managed to shut her down in an instant.

Just then, only then, had I remembered...

That Dabeluchi hated Kelechi.

I had seemed to get so carried away with everything that was happening that I forgot to weigh in the consequences of my words, enough to not say anything that could make this even worse.

But, fuck me.

"Kelechi Uwa?" Dabi said her name.

One look at her her was enough for me to see just how much I had shut her down, the rapidity in which all that ballistic energy had disappeared, along with any fucking emotion in her demeanor...

It absolutely terrified me.

"She knew about it," I continued, daring to finish my explanation, "She was coerced to join in. Chika orchestrated, Soma executed, the Onuoha twins blew it up with hashtags. The account they used to do everything is a ghost account that belongs to Kelechi Uwa."

She stared at me, her eyes losing every atom of respect for me within seconds.

Reflexively, my eyes went down, downcast.

"I'm fucking sorry, Dabeluchi."

Her eyes were heavy on me, I felt them.

"When did she tell you?" She asked me.

"The day after the news on your family went viral," I answered, "Kelechi came to my house that morning and she—"

"— Marcus, Kelechi was in your house?" She cut me off, her voice breaking slightly.

I swallowed, heart heavy.

"Nothing happened," I hated that I had to assure her, "The entire conversation lasted roughly five minutes, Dabeluchi. She told me everything, showed me everything, including Chika's diary—"

"— And you kept it away from me."

Again, my mouth shut. Guilt came through, as expected, washing over the dirt of lies over me.

"I wanted to," I swore to Dabeluchi, "I was going to."

"God forbid," she muttered, taking a step back as though the shock was hitting her all over again with a new freshness, "God forbid. God forbid. God forbid," she shook her head, filled with every form of appall as she looked at me, indignation and disappointment in her eyes, "Marcus, you even sound like them."

"No..."

"And even here in the party, Marc, you still were pretending..."

"It was killing me, I swear..."

"Is that why you were with Kelechi a lot the entire night? You were sneaking around behind my back to talk to her about this... fuck. Fuck!"

"I only talked to Kelechi two times tonight," I swore, "And all conversations were brief. I was making it clear that I could not keep withholding the truth from you—"

"— Two times," Dabeluchi blinked, shocked at me, "You talked to Kelechi two times tonight about me, Marc? Are you for real?!"

"It's a lot more complicated," I insisted, "Dabeluchi, she kept talking me out of it, saying that you finding out last night was risky. I didn't understand what she meant by that, but it scared me. Her intuition is scarily accurate, babe. I didn't want to lose you!—"

"Intuition," she said, scoffed at that bitterly, "So, now, you want me to buy it that Kelechi has psychic powers, abi?"

"Sounds fucking crazy but sometimes she knows things that nobody tells her," I insisted.

Of course, Dabeluchi looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"And you believe that!" she exclaimed.

"Dabeluchi," I still tried to reason with her, "She knew something was off with the drink..."

"What drink?" She questioned.

"The Vodka glass that got Ghadafi in the hospital," I answered.

There was a pause, a confusion etched on her face.

"Babe," I continued, "She said she felt something was wrong with the drink when she took it, shortly after she found me. She even told me this when we met. She insisted she couldn't pin down what it was and when I told her it was alcohol, she suspected that that could have been what made her feel the drink was off. Since she naturally can't detect alcohol. But that was far from it, and even after I had taken the drink away from her, she still wasn't convinced that was all that was wrong with it... And, she was right."

"Which glass of Vodka are we talking about?" Dabeluchi interrogated, arms folding carefully, as she further questioned;

"The same glass of Vodka that you told me you took from JJ?"

My shoulders slumped, a whiplash slashing against my back.

"Marcus," she said my name, her temperament getting lower, "The same glass of Vodka you told me that you took from JJ... Right?"

Fuck.

And, wrong.

How could I have forgotten?

When I came with that glass of Vodka to Dabeluchi and she asked me who I got it from, I knew that telling her it was from Kelechi would infuriate her...

So, again, I lied.

I lied that I got the glass of Vodka from JJ instead.

Frankly, I didn't even need to say anything. She pretty much got the whole picture with my hesitant and anxious behavior.

"Fuck..." she cursed under her shaky breath, body trembling as she turned her back on me. "Get the fuck away from me, man."

Again, I tried to go after her. Desperation was my middle name.

"Dabeluchi, please forgive me," I said, coming back in front of her,  eyes pleading with all sincerity, "Please. I will never lie to you ever again! I promise. Please!"

"I can't even believe anything that comes out of your mouth right now, Marcus," she said to me, and my soul broke at how tired and done she sounded,  how hurt she was,  "Not when you've proven to me that your actions speak louder than your words.—"

Our back and forth was cut short.

Immediately.

It was first the way that it seemed like the darkness in the room was closing in on us, subtly, then intensely.

When Dabeluchi had stopped talking and suddenly started to look around her, around us, I knew it was not all in my head, and inevitably, I did the same, noticing how it seemed like the figures in the shadows were getting clear as the people in them – out classmates – started to come closer, all of them wearing identical looks on confusion on their faces.

"What the fuck is going on?" I muttered under my breath, Dabeluchi looked like she had seen a ghost.

I wanted to come closer to her, to hold her, to ease the brewing anxiety in her that rose in the midst of our classmates, but I knew she wouldn't let me.

Sooner, the entire living room was packed and filled with classmates, all of them from wherever the fuck they had been, gathering in the vast space of the living room.

"Was it you?" Nomso from the crowd threw the question to me, "An anonymous number spam texted me and asked everyone to come to the Living Room..." He looked around him, to the other classmates too. "I'm guessing I wasn't the only one the anonymous number texted too."

"They texted me too," One other girl from the crowd said.

"Also me," It was a guy's voice this time.

There were different voices from all over the place, everyone having the same testimony. How apparently all of them, all the classmates in the room were texted to come down here to the Living Room.

I got scared.

Something about this looked fishy.

Why here in the Living Room?

And who was this anonymous prankster?

"Tch. I think someone was just trying to mess with all of us!" Someone shouted in frustration and he was backed up by chants of agreement from the crowd of classmates. "People get time o! Na wa!"

Just then, I saw Kelechi stepping down the stairway, a tired looking Chido who I presumed had been sleeping following her. The both of them, I supposed were also texted too, and while Chido easily found me in his line of vision and raised an eyebrow to ask me what the fuck was going on, Kelechi clung onto his arm, moping everywhere with undisguised confusion in her facial expression.

"Let's go back upstairs, abeg!" A girl had shouted, inciting the crowd, "See the time. Almost 4am and somebody wants to be doing prank!—"

Her words were cut short, muting her and the rest of the crowd in here, with the sudden bright flash of light that cast against the centre of the living room, nearly blinding everyone.

I squinted, shielding my eyes from the brightness that I was not ready for.

"What's happening?" Someone asked.

There was no way I had an answer, I was equally lost. It was only when I turned my head to the source of the light, having my gaze travel towards the wall that was brightly lit with a projector screen that I saw what was going on.

It was a projector.

A projector?

Since when did we have a projector in this house?

All my questions had no answers as everyone was confused. However, my heart sank to my stomach and my body froze over when I saw him showing on the screen of the projector.

By him,

I meant me.

It was a memory that I could roughly recall, a video of me that was being cast out in the open, and the first line of words that were coming out of my mouth made me certain that this was not going to be in my favor;

"Nothing is going on with me and Dabeluchi. I barely know her. She barely knows me. We're just two people who are never going to truly have each other..."

Lmaoooo.

First off, I have to give this chapter award for the longest chapter ever in the existence of Wattpad.😂 And then. On side now, WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING???

You tell me.

Nonetheless, we have TWO chapters to go in TMBT Book One.❤️