Hey guys!        

If you've read this chapter,  you might want to reread it. It's amusing but I misplaced the names of one of characters. A comment alerted me of this error and I practically laughed at myself. It's no biggy, I think some of us got the idea of who it was meant to be ❤️
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"You'd be surprised Obanma, my younger sisters, the two girls out of the quad once threw a fit when our father told them about producing eggs" Chukwuemeka began stocking a handful of popcorn into his mouth. His twin brother who had been previously enthralled by Kelechi's stack of novels staggered back to where Chukwuemeka sat and plopped down beside him.

Obanma seemed absentminded, her eyes staring into space while simultaneously tapping her finger on her bed. Kelechi had gone for another makeover job leaving her behind with the twins.

She had gone to the village the previous day against her uncle's wish and had met her brother  in the clinic still weak but very much alive. She had been drawn to tears immediately, knowing how close she had been to losing her only surviving brother. Her mother hadn't helped matters and seemed to cry along with her.

Adaugo had thrown a fit over the phone, insisting that Chijioke returns to Lagos where he had been working before but her brother vehemently disagreed when Nnamdi voiced out the suggestion . She had also met Onyedikachi briefly at the village where he had been summoned by his brother. They had communicated very well and even shared few kisses after he confessed that Arinze had returned home.

Obanma had been skeptical about mentioning the incident with Chijioke but it seemed he had read her mind. She was pretty preoccupied with smoothening the invisible creases on the edges of her gown, an error that completely gave her conflicted thoughts away.

Onyedikachi assessed her demeanor and gently reached down to capture her hands stopping them from their useless sojourn.

"What is it? Did.... did something else happen to Chijioke?" he enquired, albeit reluctantly and quite uncertain yet terrified as to what her answer would be.

Obanma shook her head violently probably to convince him further that she seemed quite unperturbed. They continued their journey while she foiled her own attempt at pretending.

" No... Nothing else happened. He's weak but receiving and responding well to treatment. The surgery should have given me a scare but considering I met him after that.." She chuckled nervously, tucking strands of the wig she wore behind her ear, the wind had caused them to dance recklessly before her eyes and even he was tempted to capture them. They had wandered up to the junction where they had previously met on certain occasions . Nnamdi's instructions were for her to leave the village immediately and he saw to it that she left with promises of caring for her brother.

Onyedikachi still preferred her naturally curly and almost silky hair to the straight haired wig she wore but had kept it to himself. She always appeared beautiful in whatever found it's way to her body, that was a fact that he couldn't dispute.

She stopped walking abruptly then turned to really look up at him.

"That piece of land......" The words had barely left her lips before a huge scowl appeared on his face. It seemed he had dreaded what he assumed she was going to ask and interrupted her.

"You think Arinze stabbed your brother don't you?". For as long as she could remember, it seemed as if a myriad of emotions ran through his face in a crisscross manner before finally settling on anger.

"Arinze is not a murderer! My brother is not a murderer atleast not like some people I know " He thundered, startling even a little girl hopping excitedly on her way. She stared briefly at the couple an continued on her voyage.

"I didn't say..."

"Obanma that was what you implied! The stupid land they fought over was the land your murderer of a father gifted my father! The same land Chijioke is forcefully trying to take! Every damn time something happens between our families it's my family that gets to suffer! "

Obanma seemed shocked at first, her rage too overwhelming to let her speak. She recovered momentarily slowly shutting her mouth that had appeared to be agape for long. Her legs knew the right thing was to withdraw and she did. She never glanced back at him while she stepped away, hollering at an Okada man who quickly drove her to the bus park. She could hear his voice calling out to her but soon the humming of the vehicle drowned it

Obanma had gone to bed angry and even Kelechi's jokes couldn't douse the ravaging flames Onyedikachi had lit. She seldom checked her phone the next day, hoping to see messages of heart felt apology from him but was only faced with endless messages from the network provider MTN.

When the twins had called and insisted on visiting she had gladly encouraged their coming hoping the room would be thrown into such camaraderie that her mind would be distracted from her anger. She only seemed angrier by the minute, the mindless tapping proved it all. She could see Chukwuemeka's lips moving but couldn't hear the words he spoke.

"Our dear father had been too descriptive with how the whole menstrual cycle ran and had included formation of eggs(ovum). They cried throughout the day, none wanted to lay eggs like hens. Our mother did remedy the situation, she knows how to swoop in and save the day"

A playful frown suddenly appeared on his face whilst he glared at Obanma. The intensity of his gaze pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Usually hosts entertain visitors and not the other way" He seemed momentarily distracted while retrieving what remained of the box of popcorn his brother had been stealing, then continued with his query.

"What's the problem?"

"Problem?" Obanma enquired warily, her nervous chuckle devoid of a sense of conviction.

"Ehe nu! Chukwuemeka has been the one talking since and not even a word has come from you." Chukwuebuka chipped in as he reached out to capture more of his brother's snacks.

Obanma heaved a long sigh, surrendering to the fact that she often needed to share her problems to get better. But what would the teenage boys know?.It was times like this that she missed Oluchi, Eberechukwu and Joshua.

The trio had always been steadfast with advice whenever she needed it. Oluchi and Eberechukwu's promises of intending visits were never met and she's never held it against them because she understood how demanding school could be.

"I had a fight with him?" She blurted out, genuinely seeking solace in the words the boys would utter.

The boys exchanged a clueless look between each other and sighed. "We're definitely not the right ones to hear this" Chukwuemeka began wearing a look of defeat.

"Affirmative brother! We do not know how to handle fights between couples. Our father told us that a man should always take the blame if he wants to live long. He says it saves him from the endless harpings of our dear mother when she gets pissed. He says it's the best advice he received from his own father "

A little smile crept onto Obanma's face as she likened their father to her uncle Nnamdi. It seemed so much like something he'd also say. From the way he sounded over the phone with her aunt, she was certain they had fixed their issues or atleast made attempts to.

"Your father sounds reasonable" It made her think of how disappointed she had been when Onyedikachi spoke to her. He had jumped into silly conclusions and outrightly called her father a murderer without letting her finish her statement. She wasn't wrong to have suspicions after all Arinze had openly threatened her brother while they fought according to the villagers. She didn't know why it hurt so much even if it was the truth, but coming from him made him appear insensitive and stupid. She had hated him at that instant. Trusting Arinze wasn't the luxury she could afford, no matter how shallow Onyedikachi termed it.

"The truth is if someone loves you, they wouldn't bear to see you sad or angry. That's what our father was trying to tell us I believe. He loves our mother so much that he condones most of her misdeeds but they share an understanding that we find quite amazing. Our father says it took years of fighting, heartbreak and stubbornness to get there. He often jokes about heartbreak being an integral part of loving "

Obanma didn't know why she found solace in the words of a man she didn't know.

" I'd definitely like to meet your father someday "

The boys chuckled together and she felt clueless as to their source of amusement. Until she realized that Chukwuebuka had been stealing from the box of popcorns which he had brought her. She relinquished her box to him and he gleefully dove in.

" Your man will come around" Chukwuemeka uttered with a soothing smile. The boys were very handsome she could tell. She believed girls in their department would be swooning over the twins.

"You don't even know what happened"

"The right people often make terrible mistakes but the good thing is they often correct those errors or atleast die trying. Our parents are the perfect examples. It doesn't matter what happened, you guys would fix it. Except he wants you to be the latest Mrs Ukaegbu. As you can see we're quite eligible bachelors "

Obanma couldn't hold back her laughter as he offered what he termed a seductive smolder. They had eventually made her feel better and quite curious to meet their parents.

" My family is so complicated you know " She heaved a heavy sigh as she thought of the word murderer. It made her wonder what Adaugo must have faced when her in laws found out about their father. That was one topic she had swept under the carpet.

"Complicated you say?" This time it was Chukwuebuka who laughed hysterically.

"The quads are not just our siblings but also our second cousins"

Obanma's expression drew them to laughter and they almost fell on each other while laughing.

"I don't understand" She voiced out gently but also partially amused. "Did any of your parents... You know... With a relative"

The boys were rolling on the floor at this point and she felt very awkward. Their laughter was quelled by her silence and they finally opened up to her.

"My father and mother fell in love as teenagers. He left and she had to marry my father's cousin to help her family. At the time she did not know he was my father's cousin but she had been pregnant with us before the marriage. He knew she was pregnant but married her anyways, our mother was clueless about the whole thing. Fast forward to nine years later, we were born and our father returned. Turns out he didn't truly abandon her as she thought but was delayed and when he had come for her she was already married.

Well I don't want to bore you with the details but they later ended up together and she bore children for my father's cousin. We're a complicated but one big happy family.

You should really meet our parents! " A ring interrupted him and he seemed ecstatic when he ended the call. He had said" I love you aunt Chi" countless times before the call ended

" Let me guess, aunt Chioma said you should send our account numbers" Chukwuemeka enquired with a huge grin.

"Yes!" Even Obanma knew the joy associated with receiving such requests. It was every students dream to always have their bank accounts credited with cash.

"She's our father's only sister and she let's us extort from her as much as we want. She's the best aunt in the world trust me. Although there was one time she called us hope of the ballless. Our mother almost turned red out of embarrassment but we acted like we didn't know what it meant" Chukwuemeka smacked his brother and almost turned red

"Why are you the hope of the ballless?" She enquired with a quizzical look and a grin.

She never got her answer as she was interrupted by a knock. They had assumed it was Onyedikachi and she hoped it would be. Stories from the twins had doused her anger but she still held onto the hurt that came with him openly attacking her.

She took a deep breath and opened the door only to see a teary Oluchi standing in front of her room beside the King who she was also stunned to see.

The twins saw it as their cue to leave, while Obanma tried to sort out her unexpected guests. Disappointment tugged her heart when she discovered she had really been pining for Onyedikachi to come.

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Ngozi's scream woke Nnamdi up and he quickly rushed to where she sat. They had both decided to watch Chijioke at the hospital. He was conscious but wasn't strong enough to hold conversations for long. His uncle had tried to enquire about the night but was assured by Chijioke to reveal all in due time.

Ngozi trembled as Nnamdi approached, her face streaked with tears. Whatever she had dreamt about seemed so real because she looked mortified and her lips quivered.

Nnamdi rubbed her back, whisper soothing words to her but the tears didn't stop flowing.

"What did you see?" He finally enquired unable to tame his curiosity.

"He killed our son"

Nnamdi sighed, remembering how devastated his wife was when she also heard the news. Ngozi's memories were indeed coming back and she had begun to feel the loss properly. He couldn't help but envision how she would have reacted if she had been present at the burial.

"I'm so sorry about Obinna"

She stopped crying abruptly and began to stare at him.

"I'm not crying because of Obinna. That man made me lose my son!"

It took a lot of words to console Ngozi and assuage her hysteria but she left a very confused Nnamdi awake to watch over her son Chijioke. He didn't understand what Ngozi went on about, they only knew about Chijioke and Obinna, which other son did she have?

Nnamdi thought of calling his wife immediately but chose not to interrupt her sleep.

There was something strange going on with Ngozi and he had become convinced that they needed to take her to a hospital.

"Uncle" A voice called out to him, steering his thoughts away from Ngozi and the mystery surrounding her situation.

"I know who stabbed me" Chijioke began, earning Nnamdi's apt attention

"It was Osisioma... That greedy bastard right?"

Chijioke gently shook his head, disappointment washed over Nnamdi knowing his assumption was wrong.

"I saw him clearly uncle. It wasn't Arinze, it wasn't Osisioma, it was a stranger but I know who sent him. I was unconscious but I heard her clearly, it was Odd that I recognized her voice.

It seemed she had been watching and she kept asking, did you kill him? Did you kill him?

Uncle the person who is responsible for this is Chidigo "

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Hello everyone!

How are we all doing?

I'm sorry my updates were delayed by sickness, Malaria and Typhoid to be specific but I'm back babies!

I'd like to thank @maramartha for being caring enough to check up on me whilst I was away and my mom @Nkechi208 for nursing me back to health.

Nothing can stop me I'm all the way up!

Take that Malaria!

Anyways hope we enjoyed the chapter?

Who else is mad at Onyedikachi?

Wow! Chidiogo is in a lot of wahala right?