The morning sun was hot over the village when Chidi and Emeka stepped out of their lodge, their NYSC uniforms crisp and neatly ironed. Chidi had his cap sitting perfectly on his head, while Emeka, always forgetful, had left his own inside.

“Emeka, abeg hurry up!” Chidi shouted, tapping his foot impatiently. “We’re already running late.”

Emeka dashed back inside, grabbed his cap, and came out adjusting it. “Alright, I’m ready.”

They had barely started walking when a loud, angry voice thundered from behind.

“Bịa, ndi corper!”

The two froze and turned. Chinedu was storming towards them like a raging bull, his face red, his chest heaving as though each step carried the weight of his fury. Villagers nearby paused to watch, sensing trouble.

“Thank God I met you!” Chinedu barked, his eyes burning.

Chidi and Emeka looked at each other, puzzled.

“So it’s the both of you,” Chinedu continued, pointing at them with a trembling hand. “You came to this village not to serve, but to chase after our girls! Instead of doing your work, you want to use your degrees and city life to deceive our women. But today, God will punish you!”

His voice drew the attention of passersby, who slowed down to listen.

“Which of you is Chidi?” he demanded.

“I am Chidi,” Chidi said calmly, “What’s your problem?”

“So you’re the one putting sand in my garri,” Chinedu spat.

“I don’t understand,” Chidi frowned.

“You don’t understand?” Chinedu shouted. “I came here to warn you stay away from my woman! Leave Ada alone! Because of you, she no longer respects me. Because of you, she treats me like a nobody!”

At that, Chidi laughed loudly, his mockery cutting through the air like a whip. “Of course you are a nobody. Just look at yourself! What do you even have? Have you ever seen the four walls of a university? Do you even know what it means to be a graduate? Or what it means to live in the city? And you think you can drag a woman with me? Shame no dey catch you?”

The crowd gasped.

Look at you,you claim you live in the city but look at the house you are living in ,look at how ugly it looks…. Chinedu said his voice rising.

It’s government property oga,it was giving to us by the school authority, what makes you think we are happy to live in this kind of house….he paused a bit. Don’t ever think you are better than us because you are nothing but an illiterate.

Chinedu’s whole body shook. He stepped closer, his fists clenched, eyes bloodshot. “Chidi, you must be a very big fool.”

Emeka rushed forward, trying to hold him back. “Please, bros, don’t do this here. People are watching. Let’s settle it peacefully.”

But Chinedu shoved him so hard that Emeka almost fell. “If you ever touch me again, you will regret the day you were born!” he thundered, his finger stabbing the air.

Chidi hissed, shaking his head. “Emeka, leave this bush boy. I don’t have time for this nonsense I’m off.” He held his book well and started walking away.

“Chidi!” Chinedu shouted after him, his voice trembling with rage. “I will not warn you again. Stay away from my woman or else I will destroy you. Mark today’s date! He turned to Emeka, warn your friend before it is too late!”

The villagers whispered among themselves as Chinedu stormed off, leaving tension in the air.

Not long after, Ogechi, one of the village girls, slipped quietly out of the corpers’ lodge. Her hair was a little scattered, and she quickly adjusted her skirt and polo so no one would suspect what had just happened inside.

Chidi followed her out, smiling like a hunter proud of his catch. He wrapped his arms around her waist, whispering into her ear. “You’re very sweet,” he said, his voice low and playful.

Ogechi giggled shyly, blushing. They hugged quickly, and she waved goodbye, still smiling as she walked away. Chidi leaned against the wall, blowing kisses at her until she disappeared down the path.

But Ada had seen everything. She stood frozen, her heart pounding, her hands clenched tight. The mocking way Ogechi looked at her as she passed was enough to break her pride into pieces.

Her face twisted in anger. Without thinking, she stormed towards the lodge.

“Who is she?” Ada demanded the moment Chidi came out again.

“Who is who?” Chidi asked innocently.

“That girl that just left here!” Ada shouted, her voice sharp enough to cut stone.

“Oh, her? She came to see me,” Chidi said boldly, his lips curling into a smirk.

“She came to see you?” Ada’s eyes widened. “So you’ve been cheating on me, Chidi?”

Chidi’s expression hardened. “No, you’re the one who has been cheating on me. You came here to accuse me of what I didn’t do, while you’re the one guilty.”

Ada blinked, confused. “What are you talking about?”

Chidi stepped closer, his tone sharp. “This morning, a man came here. He called himself your boyfriend. Right in this compound, he warned me to stay away from you. Ada, do you know the insult, the disgrace and embarrassment you have brought on me in this village simply because I love you. Is it bad to love in your village?”

Ada’s stomach dropped. She knew it was Chinedu, but she had never thought he would dare to embarrass her that way.

“No, Chidi… please, I can explain”

“There is nothing to explain!” Chidi snapped, his voice shaking with anger. “I don’t want anything to do with you again. Leave, and don’t come back.” He stormed inside and slammed the door.

“Chidi! Please!” Ada cried, banging on the door. “I can explain!” But there was no answer.

Humiliated and burning with rage, she wiped her tears roughly and marched straight to Chinedu’s house.

Chinedu’s father sat outside, enjoying the afternoon breeze with a newspaper in hand. At the backyard, Chinedu was splitting firewood when Ada stormed into the compound like a thunderstorm.

“Chinedu!” she shouted, not even bothering to greet his father.

The old man frowned instantly. “Is this how you enter someone’s house? Where are your manners?”

But Ada ignored him completely.

Chinedu rushed out, surprised but happy,Ada had never visited his home before. His face brightened. “Ada…” he called softly, hope shining in his eyes.

But Ada’s face was full of fury. “Why did you go to the corpers’ lodge to warn Chidi to stay away from me?” she barked.

Chinedu tried to speak. “Ada, please, let me explain”

“Explain what?!” Ada cut him off, her voice loud enough for the neighbors to hear. “You are very shameless! Poor and stupid! Always following me around like a hungry dog! Do you think because you helped me and my mother would make me to love you,? Who even knows you in this village except as the son of a broke man? You want to embarrass me in front of the whole village?”

Chinedu’s father dropped his newspaper angrily. “Young woman, watch your tongue”

But Ada spun on him too, her eyes blazing. “And you! Old man, keep quiet! Instead of teaching your son to behave like a man, you are sitting here with newspaper, pretending to be important. If you had trained him well, he wouldn’t be running after women who don’t want him. Both of you are nothing but disgrace!”

The compound went silent. Chinedu’s face fell. His father’s hands shook with rage.

With a hiss, Ada turned on her heels and stormed out, leaving them humiliated before the neighbors who had begun peeping from their compounds.

Chinedu’s father slammed the newspaper on his lap. “Chinedu! So this is the kind of girl you want to marry? Over my dead body! I will never allow that arrogant fool into this family. Never! In fact, I regret ever following you to her house the other day.”

“No, Papa, please,” Chinedu begged, his voice breaking. “She didn’t mean it. You know she doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

But his father ignored him, muttering curses under his breath as he picked up the paper again.

Chinedu squatted in a corner of the compound, his head in his hands. His heart ached. Ada had humiliated him, insulted his father, and still, he couldn’t stop loving her. Tears stung his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

Alone in his pain, he whispered to himself: “Why does love hurt this much?”

That same evening, Ada could not sit still. Shame and fear pressed her heart, and she knew if she delayed till morning, Chidi’s anger might harden forever. Without thinking twice, she tied her wrapper, stepped out into the night, and hurried straight to the corpers’ lodge.

The place was quiet, only the soft glow of a lantern seeping through the window. She knocked timidly at the door.

“Who is there?” Chidi’s voice came, sharp and impatient.

“It’s me… Ada,” she answered weakly.

The door creaked open. Chidi stood there in a plain T-shirt and trousers, his face tight with anger. Behind him, Emeka sat on a wooden chair, reading under the lantern light.

Before Chidi could speak, Ada dropped to her knees. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she clutched his leg. “Chidi, please forgive me. Chinedu is not my boyfriend, I swear to you. He is nothing to me. I don’t have anything to do with him.”

Chidi hissed and tried to pull his leg away. “Ada, leave this place. I don’t want you again.”

She shook her head desperately. “No! I will not leave. You are the only man I love. People are already mocking me in this village. If you leave me they will finish me with gossip. Chidi, please don’t do this to me.”

Her sobs filled the small compound. Emeka dropped his book, startled by the sight. “Ada, stand up,” he said gently. “Don’t disgrace yourself like this.”

But Ada clung even tighter, her voice breaking. “Let me die here if he won’t forgive me. I have no one else but him.”

Chidi’s face hardened even more. “Ada, don’t tempt me. I said leave!” he barked, turning back inside.

Yet Ada refused to move. She remained on her knees at the doorstep, crying and begging like her very life depended on his answer.

Time dragged. The air grew heavier. Chidi sat on the edge of his bed, trying to ignore her wails, but every sob reached into his chest like a knife. He tossed, he turned, he muttered to himself, but the sound of her broken voice refused to leave him alone.

Emeka shook his head in pity. “Chidi, this girl truly loves you. If not, she wouldn’t humble herself this way.”

At first, Chidi didn’t reply. But when he heard Ada whisper through her tears, “Chidi, please… forgive me or let me die here,” his heart shifted.

With a deep sigh, he stood up and opened the door again.

Ada lifted her swollen eyes to him, her face wet, her body trembling. “Chidi…” she whispered.

He looked at her for a long moment, then slowly reached out his hand. “Ada… stand up.”

She shook her head. “Not until you forgive me.”

His chest rose and fell heavily. Finally, he pulled her gently up. “Alright. I forgive you.”

Ada broke into another round of tears, this time of relief. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, pressing her face to his chest.

Chidi held her, though his tone was stern. “But Ada, listen carefully this is your last chance. If you ever disgrace me again, I won’t forgive you a second time.”

“I will never, Chidi,” she sobbed. “Never again.”

To be continued…..