CHAPTER 25

“Emm—

Ikedi paused as if he had remembered something vital

“Get it straight. I did not deceive you and peculated the Ofor, I can’t do that to you, I never will, I swear by the grave of my dead father.”

“Who did it then? You are the only one I ever told about the Ofor.” Ada’s voiced cracked. The yellow fire which sat some distance was becoming a blur as the tears threatened to surface. Why is he lying? She trusted him with her life, why is he making the matter so complex?

“I never came back to the palace after we parted that evening.”

“That’s not true. You came back to my room like always, I held hands with you. I placed my head on your warm chest and was lost to the sweet rhyme of your heartbeat. I kissed you” Ada whispered. She couldn’t believe he was denying it.

“I was at home until I heard the news that my sister and mother had been kidnapped by people of Ndiocha.”

“Oh, that’s when you returned to the palace?”