C10 Chapter Ten

Chidi drove us away from the police station.

First, he took Precious and my other friends back to their lodge and dropped them off. After saying goodbye to them, he drove away with me to his house.

It was my first time visiting Chidi's house. I had never seen his compound before.

The moment we arrived, I was surprised by how large and luxurious the place was.

There were two gates leading into the property. At the first gate, two security men were stationed there. As soon as they saw Chidi's car, they opened the gate and respectfully bowed to him.

Chidi drove through, and we approached the second gate, which led into the main compound.

The moment we entered, I was stunned.

There were beautiful flowers everywhere, swimming pools, and a large car park filled with different kinds of cars. I saw different models and brands, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I had known Chidi as Ebere's best friend, but I had never imagined that he was this wealthy.

When we reached the car park, Chidi stopped and parked the car. We both got out, and he signaled for me to follow him inside.

As we walked toward the house, I didn't feel like myself. I was tense and uncomfortable.

This was my first time being alone with Chidi in his home, and the truth was that I wasn't very close to him. Yes, I had known him because he was Ebere's best friend, but that was all. I didn't really know him on a personal level.

A lot of thoughts were running through my mind.

How would I be treated here?

Would they see me as a burden?

Would they feel like I was disturbing their lives?

I couldn't stop thinking about it.

We entered the sitting room, and Chidi asked me to sit down. I sat on one of the sofas.

The sitting room was beautiful and tastefully decorated. Everything looked expensive and luxurious.

Chidi sat down beside me and called for Rita.

A young woman dressed in a house-help uniform came out and greeted us.

Chidi introduced me.

“Rita, this is my friend, Chinyere. Please take care of her. Make sure she doesn't lack anything. Whatever she needs, make sure she gets it. I want her to feel at home and comfortable here.”

Then he turned to me.

“Angel, feel at home, okay?”

I nodded and forced a smile.

“Okay.”

But inside, I was still far from relaxed.

After the introduction, Rita came to me.

“Ma, please come and see your room.”

I followed her upstairs.

When she opened the door, I was stunned.

The room was beautiful. There was a large, luxurious bed, comfortable chairs, beautiful furniture, and everything I could possibly need. Even the bathroom was beautifully furnished.

I sat on the bed and looked around.

Everything was perfect.

Yet, I didn't feel happy.

I stayed inside that room for most of the day.

Even when they prepared food and asked me to come downstairs to eat, I didn't want to leave the room. Eventually, they brought the food to me.

I had no appetite.

I forced myself to eat a little and left the rest.

The next morning, before Chidi left for work, he came to my door and knocked.

“Angel, are you okay?”

“Yes, I'm fine,” I answered, pretending.

He told me he was going to work and would return in the evening.

“Okay,” I said.

He left.

I sat alone in the room, thinking about everything that had happened to me.

My mind went over everything again and again.

But what hurt me the most was what Ebere had done.

The man I had loved for three years had allowed me to be arrested for something I knew nothing about. Worse still, I had been kept in that cell and prevented from contacting anyone.

I couldn't believe it.

I started crying again.

I lost my appetite completely.

I didn't want to come outside.

I locked myself inside the room and cried.

Later that morning, the cook, Madam Mary, knocked on my door.

“Ma, please come and eat.”

“Leave it there. I'll come and eat it later,” I replied.

She left.

But I remained inside the room, still crying.

After a few hours, I heard another knock.

This time, it was Madam Mary and Rita.

“Ma, are you okay?” they asked.

“Since morning, you haven't come out, and you haven't even touched your food. Are you sure you're fine, ma?”

I didn't answer.

I guess they could hear me crying.

After a while, I heard them calling Chidi.

They told him what was happening.

Within a short time, Chidi was back home.

He came straight to my door and knocked.

“Chinyere, please open the door.”

I remained silent.

“Angel, please. Open the door and talk to me.”

I still didn't answer.

I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

Then he said something that touched me.

“Okay, fine. If you don't want to open the door and you don't want to eat, then I won't eat either. I'm not going to eat anything.”

The moment I heard that, I felt bad.

It suddenly occurred to me that none of this was Chidi's fault.

He was only trying to help me.

Why should I allow my problems to affect him too?

I felt guilty.

So I opened the door.

Chidi walked in.

At first, he looked angry and hurt.

“Why are you doing this to yourself?” he asked. “Why are you punishing yourself because of people who don't even care about you?”

I started crying again.

“They are out there living their lives, and you are here destroying yourself. Why?”

He paused.

“Do you want me to regret bringing you into my house?”

His words made me cry even harder.

“Why is it that the two people who matter most to me are the ones hurting me the most?” I asked.

“What is my offense? What have I done to deserve this kind of wickedness?”

I wiped my tears.

“Imagine Ebere and Ngozi getting me arrested and making sure the police wouldn't release me. For what? What did I do? What is actually my offense?”

Chidi looked at me.

“Angel, listen to me. Nobody deserves your tears.”

He sat down beside me.

“I think it's time you start taking care of yourself. Make yourself happy instead of punishing yourself for something you didn't do.”

He continued.

“These people don't even care about what happens to you. If anything, they want to see you broken. They want to see you suffer. And here you are, helping them achieve exactly what they want.”

He looked at me seriously.

“I want you to be happy.”

Then he said something that touched me deeply.

“Today, I'm no longer on good terms with my friend Ebere because of you.”

I looked at him.

“Ebere sees me as a betrayer. He thinks I'm taking sides with his enemy, and because of that, he no longer talks to me.”

He sighed.

“But I chose what I believe is right. I chose justice because I know you did nothing wrong. You don't deserve the way you have been treated.”

He looked directly into my eyes.

“So why are you acting as if I made a mistake by choosing to stand by you?”

I didn't know what to say.

His words touched something deep inside me.

TO BE CONTINUED.