“I can’t believe this. Each moment of the engagement ceremony, I was praying for you to creep out of the shadows and rescue me.”
“I would if I could have. I would have given my life for you.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “A lot is going on that you don’t know about. I’ll need you to come and see me tomorrow.”
“Can’t you stay a little longer?”
“I can’t, at least, not now. Remember the guards. I have timed my exit to avoid an encounter. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow; everything that has transpired since I left. Wait until tomorrow.”
“Well, now I won’t be able to sleep. Can you tell me the most important part now?”
“It’s a long story. Come to the Palisir hotel around five.” He was whispering again. “I’ll explain everything then. Come alone, please. Not even with Amah. I’ll be waiting for you in my room. I can’t meet you at the lobby to avoid being seen together, but one of my men will be there to make sure no one bothers you. Come to room 765, and please do all you can to disguise yourself. I hope you understand what I mean.”
He slowly released my hands and stood up to leave, his words lingering, leaving me in a panic.
“Don’t hesitate, please. Our lives may depend on it.”
“Our lives?”
He nodded, pursing his lips.
“You need to tell me what I’m up against,” I shrieked.
He placed a finger on my lips before bending to kiss them.
“You will be fine. I’ll explain everything tomorrow, okay?” he concluded before sneaking out the door.
The moment he left, all the questions I wanted to ask him tumbled around in my head: where he’d been all these years, how he had fared, and what gave him the courage to return considering the state of things in Ntebe and its environs? None of that mattered anymore. All that mattered now was that he was back and that he still loved me. I cried from joy and relief. I continued crying even when I saw Ifedi at the door.
“Everything okay?” she asked, a bewildered look on her face.
I nodded.
“Everything is okay.”
“I just saw Okem leaving. What did he want? Where has he been?”
“I don’t know. He was in such a hurry to leave, so we didn’t get the chance to discuss at all.”
“Why did you let him in after all this while?”
“I didn’t. He just appeared—”
“He can’t just appear. You must have known he was coming.” She stuttered.
“What’s your problem, Ifedi?” I said, hoping to calm her down.
She sighed and clapped her hands in derision. “My problem? How can you ask me that, Ona? Don’t you know you shouldn’t ever be alone with him? It could jeopardize your new status. You need to understand that things can’t go back to the way they were. You’re about to be married.”
I was too excited about Okem’s return to risk getting into an argument with Ifedi. Judging from his tone, it was important to maintain absolute discretion at this point, so I ignored her, hoping she'd walk away.
“Ona, answer me,” Ifedi continued in a raised tone.
My heart skipped a beat. I feared that if I didn’t offer a substantial apology, she might get hysterical and wake my grandmother up.
“I’m sorry, Ifedi,” I said, pressing my hands together and flashing a wan smile. “I apologize for letting Okem in and creating the wrong impression.”
“Please be careful from now on. Do you hear me? I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“I will. Have a good night. Please shut the door behind you.”
“Good night,” she muttered and crept behind the door.
I hardly heard her. My head was filled with Okem, my soul mate, my angel, my everything. I sat up on my bed and held my cheeks with both hands as the sounds of her footsteps faded in the hallway. An hour later, my heart still beat uncontrollably as I remembered Okem’s strong arms, beautiful eyes, and the shock waves that swept through my body when he held me close to him. And the kiss? Phew! I said a prayer and did something my grandfather always cautioned me against—praying for sunrise to come. According to him, it was an inefficient prayer that robbed souls of a good night’s sleep. In the meantime, there was nothing I could do. There was to be no sleep henceforth. My heart was filled with joy from seeing Okem. It was as though the past year had gone backwards to reset things to how it used to be between us. I wished I could call Amah so I could tell her that something had happened to my heart. I shuddered when I recalled I had to see Albert in the morning. He was traveling to Ghana in the afternoon. My meeting with Okem was scheduled for later in the afternoon. I needed to be careful. The tone of Okem’s voice when he said, “our lives may depend on it,” was not to be taken lightly.
Chapter Seventeen
A FEW HOURS before I was scheduled to see Okem at the Palisir hotel, Albert sent his driver to pick me up from home. We had planned to catch an early lunch to discuss our wedding plans before he left for Ghana. Filled with dread at the thought of seeing him, not to mention the possibility of getting stuck at the palace, I opened the window to take in the fresh April breeze during the hour-long ride to Ide. It was the rainy season, but the first rain was yet to fall. Observing the sky, with the clouds of dust hovering beneath, and the leaves on the trees rising and falling like the flap of a wing, I closed my eyes and said a little prayer. I was tired of the dryness, so I asked for rain. At first, it was a slight drizzle; the faint scent of new rain met my nostrils. In the twinkling of an eye, it was falling in droves. I wasn’t sure what the right sequence of events
