House Of Secrets🏘️
Episode 5
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‘Now we’re back to our cage’ Rose sighed as her father drove int
the compound.
‘Not to worry love, we’ll have another time to hang out’ he ru-bbe
her hands gently as she brou-ght the car to a halt. He’d left his
driver behind on purpose, he didn’t want any suspicion of his
affair with Rose, they nee-ded to hide behind the curtains.
‘What’s going on there’? Rose watched her mother’s face, the
woman looked shocked and confused and argued with her son.
‘We’re home, let’s find out’ the pastor fetched his brief case and
they both reached the gathering.
‘Mark! Long time, how have you been’ she rushed into her
brother’s arms, she had not seen her brother for a month.
‘Been waiting for you dear, how are you’? he as-sessed his sister.
‘I’m fine and you’? She eyed him all over, he seemed happier tha
his usual self, maybe Mark thought is a secret but she had found
out he was having an affair with Grace though she didn’t confron
him, her demise brou-ght his much pain and he was the only
member of the family that was oblivious of the fact that she was
actually dead and not missing.
‘What’s going on here darling’? Pastor Ita noticed his wife wasn’t
p@rticularly plea-sed to see him.
‘Welcome sir’ I bent my knee while the other guy, who had
brou-ght the picture of the man greeted him and left immediately.
‘What is it Helen? Why the frown’? the man ignored me and face
his wife. This was going to be tough, I really nee-ded money and
couldn’t return home empty handed so I was re-ady to endure
anything, I nee-ded to survive.
‘Where were you’? Helen eyed her husband suspiciously.
‘Mum? plea-se don’t tell me you believe that, how could you pay
mind to those hungry bloggers looking for attention’? Mark wasn’
plea-sed with his mother.
‘What’s going on mum and who is this’? Rose paused as she too
a glance at the girl. She calmed herself, maybe she wasn’t seeing
well, what was she doing there? With a little box?
‘Okay then Mark, I’ll leave your father alone, meanwhile, let’s talk
about our new maid’ Helen decided to heed her son’s advice, it
didn’t make s-en-se actually, what those bloggers wrote was a pur
lie, her husband was a very faithful man, she was sure of that.
‘Grace? No, mum? Is this real’? Rose swallowed ha-rd , what was a
dead girl doing before her?
‘Grace’? the pastor turned and face the girl he’d ignored minutes
ago, he’d thought it a figment of his imagination, but this was no
fantasy, it was real.
‘Why are you all acting so scared? This isn’t Grace, I took a closer
look at her, it’s just a strong resemblance and nothing more, look
at her forehead, she doesn’t have that scar of Grace, so just relax,
I guess Grace is still missing’ Mark explained. His family members
were acting funny, first it was his mother and now Rose and his
father, something wasn’t right.
‘Yes my husband and daughter, Mark is right, I thought she was
Grace too, but I took a closer look at her’ Helen tried to control th
situation and prayed her daughter wouldn’t cause a scene. Mark
couldn’t be let in on their secret, it would change a lot of things.
‘If you say so’ the pastor replied quietly, still not convinced, he ha
a lot to discuss with his wife and Rose.
‘So what is your name’? Rose asked as she walked closer to the
girl who looked so much like the maid she’d killed.
‘Ajunwa, my friend Joy, referred me here’ I explained. This was
getting out of hand, I was curious, who was this Grace?
‘Oh, Joy’? the Pastor seemed interested in my explanation.
‘Yes sir, she brou-ght me to Calabar but she left to attend to
something important’ I replied.
‘Mark is right, she isn’t Grace’ Rose exhaled gently as she took a
closer look at the girl, but she wouldn’t last long, she nee-ded to
speak with her father urgently, she couldn’t have that girl living
here, it would make her so uncomfortable.
‘Very well then, let’s all go inside’ the Pastor said.
I was hesitant as Helen’s eyes scanned me like I had done
something very bad.
‘Go in Ajunwa, speak to my daughter, she would show me to
your room’ Helen said and I followed the rest in.
‘Thank you Madam’ I replied.
‘This would be very tough’ Helen sighed, leaving with a look alike
of Grace, but she couldn’t s£nd the girl away, she noticed her so
Mark had taken a liking to her and s£nding her away could raise
his suspicion. She ru-bbe-d her chin thoughtfully, as she
remembered the picture Nelson had showed her, she didn’t kno
why, but she felt restless, what if her husband wasn’t as innocen
as she thought he was?
She decided to cast the matter aside, she was only being
suspicious because she was the guilty one, maybe it was time to
end things with Nelson and focus on her marriage before her
infidelity would do something worse to her husband’s reputation
***
She didn’t say a word to me after I’d relayed her mother’s
message, I decided she was unfriendly hence I preferred her
brother Mark, who was the sole reason I was allowed to stay
there. Without his insistence, I would’ve been on my way back t
my village, all because I bore a strong semblance to a girl named
‘Grace’.
‘Thank you’ I replied gently as she showed me my room.
‘Hey, look, I don’t know you but I don’t like you, and you
wouldn’t last long here, I promise’ she hissed loudly and walked
away.
I was dumfounded, I don’t know why Rose had this strong
aversion for me, I hadn’t met her or her family before, why did
they hate me so much?
I sighed, I wouldn’t turn back now, I was determined to save
some money. I scanned the room and smiled, it was beautiful,
too beautiful for a maid, these people were extremely rich like Joy
had said.
I put down my box gently and toured the room, there was a
bathroom and a cu-pboard, I wondered why they placed a
cu-pboard in my room. I was a bit curious, so I walked towards i
and pu-ll-ed it ap@rt.
‘Sorry I don’t have teacu-ps’ I checked it out. The cu-pboard was
really beautiful, but it was useless to me. I was about to leave
when I discovered my hands had t©uçhed something.
‘Paint’ I hissed, as I wiped my hands on the be-d sheet, a dark red
paint covered it. I sighed and undressed, I had a long day and I
nee-ded to rest, and I was curious about the old maid. Who was
she? And what had she done?
I sli-pped on my old nightgo-wn and l@yon the be-d re-ady to sleep
when I felt something fall from the cu-pboard, I was reluctant to
check it out but I later did, what I found surprised me.
***
The family had dinner and everyone was asleep except for Helen
and her husband, they had a lot of trashing out to do.
‘Did Rose ever explain her reason for fighting with Grace? I think
we should start there, we don’t know much about that’ Helen
asked, she felt her daughter wasn’t being honest with her.
Something must have led to that fight but her daughter had
waved it aside.
‘I don’t know, you’re supposed to know that, you’re her mother’
he replied, his heart pounded nervously against his che-st. Why
was Helen suddenly so curious? why wasn’t she satisfied with
Rose’s explanation? That didn’t sit well with him, if she found out
that Grace had known about his affair with Rose, then his life
would be over because he knew the stigma that would cause for
him.
‘Were you slee-ping with her’? Helen asked. She knew her husban
was faithful but no man could be trusted, that line of thought
dropped in her mind and she decided to confront him, it made
s-en-se then.
Ita must have been slee-ping with Grace, maybe Rose had found
out and didn’t want her getting hurt, that was why she had a figh
with the maid.
‘Excuse me? What are you saying’? he was stunned, why would
his wife ask him such?
‘Well, I nee-d an explanation, and why did she want to leave our
house just like that? It doesn’t make s-en-se, I wasn’t mean to her,
something was going on behind my back and I nee-d to know th
truth, do not lie to me’ Helen raised her voice at him.
‘I think you’re being crazy, if I wanted cheating on you, I wouldn’
do it right un-der your nose, maybe you should search elsewhere
he hissed angrily and turned his back against her.
‘Really?’ she arched her brow, that was all she nee-ded, her
husband was cheating on her, she was now sure of it. She
nee-ded to speak with her daughter. She wasn’t supposed to feel
bad, cause she was equally cheating but she felt her heart skip
slightly as she imagined her husband with another woman. She
took one look at him and decided she had to end her affair with
Nelson the following day.
‘I will be back for you’ she hissed as she stormed out of the roo
‘Knock Knock’ Helen ra-pped on her daughter’s door.
‘Who’s there’? Rose listened eagerly, she prayed it was her father,
she missed him dearly and nee-ded to spend more time with him
‘It’s your dear mother’ Helen smiled.
‘Oh, come on in, door’s open’ Rose was quite disappointed.
‘So how was your day honey’? Helen sat on her daughter’s be-d.
‘Fine mum, a bit stressful’ Rose yawned. Why had her mother
come to her? Something wasn’t right, she felt it.
‘I don’t like the way you acted today when you saw Ajunwa, try
and gain control of yourself, remember Mark doesn’t know abou
our secret, but if you shake like a little piece of leaf whenever you
see a person who looks like Grace, you wouldn’t be doing us any
good. Okay’? he mother advised.
‘Yes mother, thanks, I have to sleep now, I have a long day at
school tomorrow’ she said, eager to get rid of her mother. She
nee-ded to see her father, she was alre-ady hor-nyand she nee-ded
him inside of her.
‘I’m not done, I nee-d you to tell me the truth’ Helen inhaled de-epl
‘The truth? I don’t un-derstand’ Rose raised her brows, had her
mother gotten wind of her affair with her dad?
‘About Grace, why did you fight with her? Tell me, I am your
mother, don’t hide anything from me’ Helen asked.
‘Oh, mum, I alre-ady told you, she insulted me and I had to teach
her a lesson, I’m sorry I dragged you all into that mess. plea-se
forgive me’ Rose sobbe-d in order to distract her mother.
Why had her mother asked her about Grace, six months after sh
was buried?
‘It’s okay honey, I believe you, now go to sleep’Helen k!$$£d her
head lightly and stepped out of the room.
Her daughter was lying, she was sure of it, and she had to find
out, she hated being pla-yed, so she had to find out and the pawn
in her game would be the new maid, Ajunwa
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TBC…..