He Promised Me Work In Lagos, Na Trap I Enter (EPISODE 12)

EPISODE 12 – Small Touch, Big Warning

It started with things that could easily be explained away.

A hand resting too long on my shoulder.
A brush against my waist when he passed behind me.
A squeeze that lasted one second more than necessary.

Each time, I told myself I was imagining it.

After all, this was the man who brought me to Lagos. The man feeding me. The man who kept saying he was helping me. I didn’t want to see danger where gratitude was expected.

One evening, as I washed plates in the tiny kitchen, he stood behind me and corrected the way I was holding the sponge. His chest was close. Too close.

“Relax,” he said softly. “You too tense.”

His fingers stayed there.

My body stiffened before my mind could catch up. I laughed awkwardly and stepped forward, pretending to reach for another plate. He noticed, but he didn’t apologize. He smiled instead, like someone who had tested a boundary and made a mental note of it.

Later that night, while we watched TV, he sat closer than usual. His arm rested behind me, not fully touching, but close enough for me to feel his presence.

“You’re safe here,” he said. “Nobody will hurt you as long as you listen to me.”

That sentence stayed with me.

Not as long as you’re careful.
Not as long as you work hard.
But as long as you listen to me.

The next day, I mentioned going out to look for a small job myself. Just to help. Just to be busy.

His mood changed immediately.

“Why?” he asked, his voice calm but tight. “Is what I’m doing not enough?”
“I brought you all the way here. I pay for everything. You want to embarrass me?”

I apologized, even though I didn’t fully understand what I had done wrong.

That night, his hand found mine on the couch. He didn’t force it. He just held it gently, confidently, like it already belonged there.

“You know I care about you,” he whispered. “I’m the only one on your side.”

My stomach tightened.

It wasn’t fear yet.
It was warning.

The kind your body sends before your mouth learns how to scream.

Episode 13 Coming Soon
When he said “You owe me,” I finally understood that help can turn into a debt you never agreed to.