The story you are about to read is a true life story taken from Motunrayo Omonoteje's new novel titled:

"CAGED: The Touching Personal Diary Of A Die-Hard Repentant Prostitute, The 3 Witches, A Wicked Uncle And An Evil Stepmother"

The book chronicles the life of the African Nigerian family of Jerry Demundu.

This novel is scheduled for publication on 24th September,2023 and promises to be a bestseller

Once published, this novel will be available for sale on Amazon at the cover price of $14.99 (paper back).

That is over 13,000 naira.

This is the first time you will see this anywhere on the internet.

So, my congratulations for being a part of the blessed Nairaland family with the privilege to be the first to see this!

Alright, here we go.
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Chapter 23, CAGED: The Touching Personal Diary Of A Die-Hard Repentant Prostitute, The 3 Witches, A Wicked Uncle And An Evil Stepmother by Motunrayo Omonoteje

Maurice, Sandra & Dorothy

After interacting with her for some time, Maurice felt it was time to make his intentions known to Sandra. They had been faithfully going out at least once every week for the past 3 months.

During that time, Maurice had come to know a lot about Sandra. And he felt there was nothing more he needed to know before shooting his shot.

What he already knew was sufficient enough for him to want to date her. So, he decided to open up to her and see how her reaction would be.

As they sat facing each other at his favorite bar in town, “Nobody’s Looking”, he said: “Listen, Sandra. How long have we been seeing each other now?”

Sandra looked at him wondering what was going through his mind. This was the first time he was asking this question in their 3 months of going out.

She thought about it for a while and answered: “I think about 10 weeks now.”

“Yes, that’s right. And I know you must be wondering where all this is headed.”

“I have often wondered,” she replied. “But, I have not had the liberty to ponder over it.”

It was true that she had often wondered about the purpose of their going out and his intentions. She had even brought up the subject one time when she asked him: “What are we, Maurice? Friends? Partners? Or, dating?”

To which he had responded: “Not sure yet.” And she had left it at that. Now that he brought it up on his own, she was glad he did.

“Alright, I feel it is time to take our meeting beyond this level.” Maurice paused to look at his drink. Sandra allowed him to take his time.

She rested back on the plastic chair, her hands resting on the table as she waited for him to continue.

“I have been fascinated by your story.” He carefully marshalled out his thoughts into words. “I have also been interested in you. But, I did not want it to seem that I was taking advantage of you.”

She wanted to ask “Why would you think that you are taking advantage of me?” But, she kept mute and waited.

At this point, she knew where the conversation was headed. However, she was the kind of woman who waited to hear everything before responding to it.

“So, Sandra.” He decided to stop beating about the bush and go straight to the point. “What I am trying to say is: I have fallen in love with you and I would like you to be my girlfriend.”

There! He thought in his mind. It was out at last. Now, let’s see how baby girl was going to respond to that.

Sandra looked at his fine freckled baby boy face and was hooked. She had been wanting him to say this so much in a long time that she did not know how she had been able to prevent herself from helping him do so. And now that he had finally said it, she was overjoyed that she was almost angry with him.

So, she got up and slapped him playfully on the side of the head. “Look at you, innocentee! So, it took you 3 whole months to tell me your mind and how you feel about me. Imagine the cheek, bringing me here religiously every week and picking my brains like someone who was studying for his PHD in the university.”

People around the bar looked at them puzzled. If they felt that was all, they were grossly mistaken. Bending slightly, she gave him a full kiss on the lips. More curious eyes turned to look at them from various tables of the bar wondering what was going on. But Sandra could not be bothered.

She held him by his right hand and commanded him: “Finish your drink and let’s go home. Let me show you my appreciation and how grateful Sandra can be.”

Maurice was temporarily taken aback by her bold and audacious response. But, he could not refuse such a tempting offer. It was time to consummate their relationship and he was visibly excited.

So, he did as she commanded and got up. After paying for the drinks, he took her home. A few hours after their vigorous lovemaking, they laid rested in each other’s arms for some minutes.

Sandra was happy and satisfied that she finally had what her heart had been longing for all these months.

That was how the love relationship between them begun. What initially started as casual friendship had finally metamorphosed into a full-blown relationship. And, before one could say Jack Robinson, Sandra became pregnant.

From all indication, it seemed that she was in her ovulation when Maurice popped the big question at the bar that day. He did not know how to react when he became aware of it.

On one hand, he was shocked that the pregnancy did not give them any breathing space. On the other hand, he was glad that he was going to become a father at long last.

His shock and happiness gradually changed to anxiety and apprehensiveness. Sandra’s pregnancy meant that she was going to have a baby for him. And a baby now meant additional responsibility to take care of. Whereas he was just a poor salary earner at Norture Suites with a take-home of about a hundred thousand naira.

That had been part of the reason which made him hesitate to make his move with Sandra these past couple of months. How were they going to cope with that meager amount which he was paid as salary every month?

That money was not enough to take care of his own needs and bills, let alone take on additional responsibilities. Sandra, on her part, was neither working nor doing any form of business.

So, she would not be able to contribute financially to the upkeep of their household. Besides, she was also coming into the relationship with two grownup children. And by the time she put to bed the child in her womb, they would be 5 persons or even more in their household.

How were they going to cope on his meager salary of hundred thousand naira?

He was still pondering over this dilemma when something happened. At that time, they were just two weeks into their relationship and a few days before the inauguration of a new government in the country.

Aside from his own personal concerns about survival, the situation in the country was not helping matters. Things were so bad that people were losing hope everywhere one turned. Inflation was at an all-time high with prices of goods and commodities skyrocketing beyond the reach of the common man.

The political situation too was tense and filled with uncertainties as things took a turn from bad to worse. Insecurity was also a major concern for everyone.

People could not move freely in the country without fear of being kidnapped. But, with the elections over, people were hoping that the country would get it right and life would become better for the common man.

It was in the midst of all these chaos, uncertainties and confusion when it seemed that there was very little hope left that a beacon of hope arrived for his beloved Sandra. Dorothy, her only biological sister, remembered her and sent her an invitation to come over and join her in Europe.

That evening, Sandra was lying down on his three-seater chair relaxing with her Samsung Galaxy phone in her hand. She was watching the BGT, a program which she loved so much, on the phone.

As a matter of fact, she loved the program so much that she could watch it all day. Then her phone rang. She looked at it and saw that it was her sister Dorothy that was calling.

Sandra picked the call and said into the mouthpiece of the phone: “Hello sister.”

“Hi Sandra. How are you doing and how are your children?” Dorothy said boisterously in her ear.

“We are all doing fine, sister.”

“Listen, Sandra.” Dorothy continued. “I am sending an invitation to you to come over to Europe. I have completed all arrangements and I am paying for everything – visa, passport, flight ticket, everything. All you need to do is simply pack your bags and get on the plane. So, make yourself available. You are expected to be at the Spanish embassy for an interview by Wednesday next week.”

“Sister! But why me?” Alerted by the tone of voice, Maurice raised his head to look at her from where he was seated on one of the single chairs adjacent to hers.

“Why what?”

“I mean there are other people that you can invite over.” And she began naming her other siblings. “There is Michael. There is Victory, Stephen, William, Daniel and even James. So, why me?”

“Why you?” Maurice could tell from her voice that she felt pained. “Did I not see all those people before I decided to choose you?”

“No! No! No, sister. I am not ready. Please take Michael, Stephen or William. In fact, why not take Victory, your twin? Please, not me. Not now. I am not ready.”

Jesus! Maurice stared at her, shocked. His Adams apple rose and he swallowed hard. This was unbelievable. Here was a golden opportunity that many people would gladly give their right hand to get but would never get all their lives.

Yet, here was someone who appeared to be in her sane mind rejecting such a juicy and mouth-watering offer. Honestly, if someone had told him that any Nigerian who lived through and survived the last 3 years of the outgoing government would reject such a juicy offer as this one, he would not have believed it. But, here it was happening before his very eyes.

Maurice knew how Dorothy must be feeling at that time. He could just picture the look of disbelief and pain on the face of her sister at the other end of the line. It was as if she had done something terribly wrong and she must be asking herself who sent her to even try it.

Just look at her thinking that she wanted to render a lifeline to her sister to show her how to fish instead of constantly giving her fish in terms of the peanuts that she was sending them every month. But, no thanks or any words of appreciation and gratitude from the person she was supposedly helping, only complain and rejection.

Sandra’s behavior at that point was similar to that of the husband of a woman who went to great lengths to prepare a delicious pot of soup with her own money to impress and satisfy her husband only for the man to come back and tell her that she should not have bothered. It was disheartening and discouraging, to say the least.

He could hear Sandra continuing to argue with her sister, giving her a thousand reasons why she could not accept the offer. She went further to make a strong case for James as her preferred choice of all her brothers.

If it was possible for someone to kneel down and be seen at the other end of the line, Sandra would have knelt down as she begged and begged and begged.... for Dorothy to take James in her place.

Maurice simply continued to watch with keen interest and fascination, his mouth agape where he was seated on the chair, everything he had been doing with his phone forgotten.

Eventually tired of arguing with her, Dorothy agreed to take James.

“Nor be JUJU be dat?” Maurice remarked as she ended the call.

“What?”

“Your rejection of your sister’s offer.”

“I don’t want to travel now. I want to get married first before embarking on any journey abroad.”

“You want to get married first before travelling? And who told you that you cannot…” Sandra held up her hand as she was in the process of making another call.

Maurice continued to watch her as she tried and tried to make the call without success.

“Who are you calling?” He asked her as he saw that she was visibly disturbed and upset.

“I am trying to get my brother James.”

(c) 2023 Motunrayo Omonoteje
All rights reserved worldwide

To be continued

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Curious to find out how the story ended?

Then watch out for the part 2 of this chapter which I will publish in this section hopefully by Wednesday, next week.

P.S.

Did you enjoy the above story?

You will also enjoy other stories in this series.

Click any of the links below to access them on Nairaland.

True Life Story: The Boy Princewill And His One-word Command
https://www.nairaland.com/7116742/true-life-story-boy-princewill

[MUST READ] Oh Angela, Why? Why, Angela, Why? (A Short Story)
https://www.nairaland.com/7414129/must-read-oh-angela-why

[MUST READ] Beautiful Ami, The Three Friends And The Greedy Business Man
https://www.nairaland.com/7364158/must-read-beautiful-ami-three

Read This If You Love Real African Stories
https://www.nairaland.com/7127428/read-love-real-african-stories