Every night, I sneaked out of my husband’s room to go and sleep with Alhaji Mentus, the famous madman in our street.

Every night, I sneaked out of my husband’s room to go and meet Alhaji Mentus, the famous madman in our street.

With only a red towel wrapped around my chest, I quietly stepped out of the house after everyone had gone to bed. Another terrible night of sacrificing my body to the stinking Alhaji Mentus had begun.

When I arrived at the abandoned uncompleted building, he was already waiting impatiently for me.

The moment he saw me, he grabbed my waist tightly.

I closed my eyes as he held me through the cold silent night.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I surrendered myself for the sake of my husband’s life.

While Ebuka slept peacefully at home, I carried a burden nobody would ever understand.

Later that night, when I returned home, the door was locked.

Fear gripped my chest immediately.

I didn’t even know where to begin explaining if Ebuka caught me outside at that hour.

Suddenly, NEPA took the light.

Within seconds, darkness swallowed the entire compound, and somehow, it made the night feel even more terrifying.

I quickly checked where we usually kept the spare key, but it was nowhere to be found.

My heartbeat accelerated with panic.

I was standing outside in nothing but a red towel.

How was I supposed to explain this?

Helplessly, I sat inside the kitchen, praying Ebuka would eventually wake up to urinate like he usually did at night.

Luckily, just as sleep began to drag my eyes shut, I heard the sound of the door opening.

Without wasting time, I quietly sneaked back into the house before he noticed me.

I didn’t go straight to bed.

I knew he would suspect something.

So I rushed into the bathroom and pretended to be bathing.

About fifteen minutes later, I came out and saw Ebuka sitting quietly on the bed. He looked worried.

“I was looking for you,” he said softly. “You made me scared.”

Relief washed across his face the moment he saw me.

“I started my menstrual period,” I lied quickly. “I didn’t want the smell to disturb you.”

He nodded slowly.

This was the painful life I was living.

Ebuka had no idea what I was doing just to keep him alive.

That entire night, sleep completely abandoned me.

Guilt flooded my mind endlessly.

I was sharing what belonged to my husband with another man.

Not just another man…

but a mentally unstable man feared by the entire street.

“Why aren’t you sleeping, babe?” Ebuka asked after noticing my restlessness.

“Nothing,” I replied weakly. “It’s just menstrual cramps.”

“Sorry about that,” he whispered, gently rubbing my stomach. “You’ll be fine.”

His kindness pierced my heart deeply.

At that moment, I felt like the most deceitful woman alive.

But I was only obeying the rules meant to keep him safe.

I lay beside him staring at the cracked ceiling while the old woman’s warning echoed repeatedly inside my head:

> “If you stop going to Alhaji Mentus… your husband will die.”

A cold shiver ran through my body.

Beside me, Ebuka turned slowly and wrapped his hand around my waist.

“Are you awake?” he whispered softly.

My heartbeat quickened immediately.

“Mmm,” I answered weakly.

He pulled me slightly closer, but fear tightened around my chest.

For weeks, I had avoided him without explanation.

Whenever he reached for me at night, I pretended to be asleep.

But tonight felt different.

Tonight, I could sense suspicion hiding inside his silence.

“Amaka…” he called softly. “Did I do something wrong?”

Tears gathered instantly in my eyes.

If only he knew that loving him the way a wife should… could become the very thing that killed him.

Suddenly, a strange wind pushed through the window.

The kerosene lamp flickered violently.

Then, from outside the house, I heard a familiar voice laughing in the darkness.

Alhaji Mentus.

Before I could react, Ebuka sat upright immediately.

Then the madman’s voice echoed again from outside:

“Amaka…come let’s go and do it. I missed your soft and succulent body.”

To be continued…