The Prison Of Love (2)

(Continued from last Saturday)

INSTANTLY, he stretched his hand towards a big bowl and consuming fire erupted from it to the shock and consternation of his visitors.

“What is his full name? I have to call his spirit now,” the evil spiritualist asked Rita.

“Emmanuel Harry Achibong,” she replied. The weird-looking spiritualist spread his arm again and started chanting: “Kobuda! Kobuda!! Kobuda!!! The messenger of the evil god. I call on the spirit and soul of Emmanuel Harry Achibong today.

“He should accept willingly whatever Rita tells him as from today. He should believe that the pregnancy is his. The frog cannot reject the call of the stream; the bird will never reject the call of the trees.

“Kobuda! Take his soul and mind. Make him believe he actually impregnated Rita. Kobuda!!!”

As the spiritualist continued chanting and calling the spirit and soul of Emmanuel, the blazing fire in his front glowed more and more.

That eventful day, when they were back home, Rita went to Emmanuel and told him he was responsible for her pregnancy. Emmanuel accepted it without objection.

“A couple of months later, they did a high society wedding that was the talk-of-the-town for several months.

“Emmanuel’s family spent millions on the marriage ceremony, because he was their first son. The newly wedded couple spent their the honeymoon in Canada and Florida, United States (US).

Emmanuel didn’t realise he was under the magical spell of Rita, as he accepted the pregnancy. Nine months later, Rita was delivered of a baby girl in a London hospital. The baby girl was named Precious.

Emmanuel and Rita lived in a tastefully furnished duplex in highbrow Ikoyi, where the super-rich resides. Rita’s mother had never had it so good. She lived like the queen’s mother. The opulence and razzmatazz of a queen radiated all over her. She was chauffeur-driven in the best cars and had money in abundance.

However, Rita didn’t have another baby for Emmanuel six years into the marriage. Rita tried all she could to get pregnant again as the years rolled by, but it was a fruitless desire and didn’t work out.

Exactly seven years later, the evil spiritualist called The Thunder Father suddenly died of a terrible heart attack. He was busy preparing an evil concoction for one of his customers when he collapsed and died instantly.

Then miraculously and surprisingly, the magical spell that had captured the soul, spirit and mind of Emmanuel left him. He sat down on a couch in his living room and started reflecting on his life. He could recall that Rita was one of the girls he was dating some years ago.

It dawned on him that throughout their relationship at that time, he made love to her with the condom and that most times when alone, they would just chat and gist.

Somehow, he knew he must have been charmed and got married to Rita against his will. He realised that the young girl sitting beside him (Precious) wasn’t his daughter. He was very something was wrong from the beginning. Rita had gone out that eventful Saturday afternoon to shop for her daughter.

When Rita sauntered happily into the living room that evening, expecting Emmanuel to hug her endearingly as usual, she met the shock of her life.

“Don’t you ever call me your darling again,” Emmanuel uttered angrily, “your evil plans and tricks are over. The truth will come out very soon, you serpent.”

Rita was dumbfounded and bewildered. Emmanuel took Precious to a reputable hospital and paid for a DNA test to know her paternity that very day. When the result came out, it was discovered that he wasn’t the real dad of Precious.

The following week, Emmanuel filed for a divorce against Rita. At the end, the Judge separated the couple.

Rita was covered in shame as she walked away from the court premises that day in tears. She and her mother cried and cried over the sad development.

About three years later, Rita and her mother were back to square one; as poor as a church rat.