Trapped Between Loyalty and Lies

EPISODE 11: Ever since my friend advised me not to reveal my location to Aunty’s husband, I stopped taking her counsel seriously. I decided to invite him over myself. When he arrived, I made him swear he wouldn’t tell Aunty where I was and warned that if he did, he would never set eyes on me again. He swore. My friend was deeply disappointed in me. She had strongly warned me not to call him, insisting these people could kill me if they found out. During his visit, he swore that thunder would strike him dead if he ever revealed my whereabouts. He even admitted that he wasn't comfortable with the way he had been sleeping with me, acknowledging that the age gap was too wide, considering I just turned 20 and he’s 35. As he prepared to leave, he pleaded with me to return home, saying Aunty would be worried sick. That made me furious. I looked him in the eye and said, “Oh, now you suddenly care about the same woman who can’t bear children for you more than me?” He was stunned and asked, “Who’s feeding you all this?” Then he added that the child I was carrying belonged to his wife. I told him flat out, “Let me give birth first, we’ll run a DNA test, and then know who the real mother is.” Without a word, he stormed out. A few days later, both he and Aunty came back with the police. At the station, they accused me of helping them with surrogacy. I wasn’t allowed to say a word. They pulled out a document they claimed I had signed, with my signature on it and forced me to sign another undertaking, declaring that I’d carry the pregnancy to full term and never lay claim to the child. They said my friend also needed to sign, but Aunty’s husband insisted it wasn’t necessary. I was taken back to their house. This time, they seized both phones and locked me in again. Every morning, they would drop food and fruits for me, then lock the door as usual. Aunty completely stopped speaking to me, her husband continued on the otherhand would talk only about the antenatal care. When the scan date arrived, I wasn’t allowed to go to a proper hospital, they insisted I deliver the baby at home like the first time. On the day of delivery, the doctor came, same one who handled my first childbirth. As the pain tore through me, I begged God to take my life. The suffering they put me through was unbearable, but God did not. The doctor told me to pray for mercy, that I was too young to die and besides I was doing these people a favor. Angry, I said to him, “Imagine it was your own younger sister, would you have prayed she go through this?” He simply responded, “God will see you through.” Minutes later, they took the baby again without even letting me hold him or her. Aunty began her usual routine, calling people and pretending she had just given birth. Usually, she waits two days after my delivery before announcing her ‘miracle baby’ to the world. During those two days, they’d give me drugs, food before she would move me back to the suite hotel 'a room and parlor'. They rehired the same woman who cared for me after my first delivery. I begged her for days, nearly five to lend me her phone so I could contact my friend before she finally did since my phones were seized. They never checked on me. Then one day, they took the baby to the hospital and decided to stop by, that was their only visit. I stayed an extra month in that place, completely ignored. Two months later, Aunty’s husband returned and told me we were going back home. But Aunty had already instructed the old woman at the suite not to let him take me. Regardless, I followed him. The moment I arrived their apartment, I laid on my bed, deep in thought, while Aunty walked in and started shouting. She said she would pay me the remaining balance and that I must leave her house. Yes, I should’ve left. But it’s not that easy for me. She told me to either go back to the one-room self-contain I had rented or return to the village. I calmly responded that if anything ever made me step outside her house, as God lives, those children will die. To be continued…