He Promised Me Work In Lagos, Na Trap I Enter (EPISODE 18)

EPISODE 18 – Truth Weigh Pass Hunger

The air between us that evening felt heavy, thick like Lagos humidity.

He had been unusually quiet, pacing the small room, his gaze distant. I knew something was coming — a truth I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear.

Finally, he stopped and looked at me. His eyes were soft but haunted, like someone carrying too many secrets.

“I suppose I should tell you,” he began, voice low. “I loved your mother… secretly. Even when she was alive, I could not show it. And now…” He paused, swallowing hard. “…now I see her in you.”

My stomach twisted. I tried to process his words.

“What do you mean?” I asked, keeping my voice steady, though my heart raced.

“Everything I do for you, every food I give, every place I let you stay… it’s because of her,” he said. “I see her in your eyes, your face, your ways. I can’t help it.”

I felt a cold wave wash over me.
It wasn’t care. It wasn’t protection.
It wasn’t love for me.

It was obsession. Replacement.

“You no suppose know this,” he whispered, almost pleading.
I shook my head, tears threatening.
“So… all this time, I’ve been… what? A substitute?”

He nodded slowly, looking away.
“I no be person to you… I be replacement.”

The weight of that confession pressed down on me. Hunger had brought me to him. Fear had kept me there. But this truth — heavier than any hunger — made me feel trapped in a life that wasn’t even mine.

I sat there, silent, staring at my hands. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. But I had nowhere to go.

Episode 19 Coming Soon
Nkiru begins to question everything — the food, the room, the comfort — realizing she is no longer just dependent, she is a pawn in his obsession.
The first thought of escape flares quietly in her mind.