Smith’s brother came back with two police men and they arrested me. By the time I got to the police station, they gave me paper and pen to write statement. I wrote and submitted to them. Later, they took me to a room and got a policewoman to interrogate me. She was holding the statement that Smith’s brother wrote.

“Madam, I am considering your condition so I will not want you to undergo any form of stress. But then you have to cooperate with me. All I want is just the truth. ”
I nodded in agreement.

“I already have the evidence that you killed this man and his wife before taking over their home.”

“I did not kill anybody,” I protested mildly.

” It’s okay I understand that you are afraid because of the recorder.

I will switch it off so that whatever you said will between us. Open up to me so that I can know how best to help you.”

“Please help me. I am innocent,” I pleaded.

“I understand that you didn’t want kill them. It is either they provoked you or you acted on self-defense. If that is the case, then you should not be blamed. I am here to help you . But you have to tell me how everything happened.”

“I have written everything in the statement. Smith my husband is not dead. He travelled. The person that died is his first wife Olaedo. But I was not the one that killed her.”

“I know that you may not be the one that did it. Tell us the person that helped you to do it, so that you can be set free. If you tell us the person, I will transfer the blame on the person and we will set you free. I am pitying you because of your condition.”

“I am not a murderer. I didn’t kill anyone. Leave me alone,” I shouted in frustration.

“I can see that you are a hardened criminal. You don’t want to confess. Your entire family will go for it. If you fail to say the truth, both you and your entire family will be jailed for life,” she threatened.

Tears were flowing freely from my eyes. She accused me of shedding crocodile tears and left. Few minutes later, another policeman came in and started talking to me.

“We have finally confirmed that you really committed the crime. We have a cctv footage of how you killed them.Are you ready to confess now or not? If not , we are charging your case to court.”

“What are you waiting for? Go ahead and charge the case to court with your evidence. Why do you still need my confession,” I shouted in frustration.

He gave me a slap across the face.

“Listen! If you fail to cooperate with us, we will kill you and nothing will happen. Criminal,”

I wept the more but there was no one to comfort me.They moved me to the police cell and I spent the night there. In the morning, I begged one of the female warders to send message across to my parents. She assured me that she did. But they didn’t come for me.

Later in the evening, they called me out and told me to go home. Smith’s brother was standing by the side. I was sure he told them to release me.

I didn’t have any money so I had to trek home. I was not bothered, what mattered was that I had regained my freedom. When I got home , I opened the door and Smith was sitting inside the house. I couldn’t contain my joy. I ran to hug him but he pushed me aside.

“Smith, where have you been? You made me so worried. Thank God you are back.” I told him smiling. He didn’t talk to me. I felt that he was angry because he didn’t meet me at home when he came. I decided to explain what happened.

“Your brother locked me up in police cell. He accused me of killing you and Olaedo. Ah! They really tortured me not minding my condition. Thank God that I did not die.”

“Why didn’t you die? Why did they not kill you? At least they would have saved me from staining my hand with your blood. As I am looking at you, I feel like killing you.” Fire was emitting from Smith’ s eyes as he barked at me.

I took time to look at him and realized that the Smith that left me few days ago was not the Smith that came back. I started shaking in fear.

“Linda you finished me. The day you put asunder to the real love that existed between me and Olaedo was the day you killed the caring and loving Smith that married Olaedo. The day that Olaedo died was the day you buried me. If not that you are carrying my child, I would have thrown you out of this house this very moment. I will allow you to be delivered of the baby, before I take final decision concerning you. You have all the chance to be the queen of a man’s heart. But you chose to play a second fiddle. You will suffer for it. “He was seriously weeping as he was talking.

I was shaking. Fear didn’t allow me to make a sound. I didn’t know how Smith got all he was saying. But he seemed sure of it. I became confused. I would have happily gone back to my parents, but they have disowned me. I had no choice than to continue staying in his house.

Smith was treating me like animal. He only barks out instructions to me and beats me at the slightest provocation.
Things remained that way till I gave birth. No one came to take care of me and the baby. I started cooking for Smith from the first day I returned from the hospital. It was like he derived special pleasure in seeing me sad.

I used to see him weep but I didn’t know the reason. One day, I met him in the sitting room weeping. I felt so concerned and decided to ask what the problem was. He replied that next time I ask that kind of nonsense question, he would kill me.

But then, he provides everything I needed. I was not lacking money. The only mystery was that I didn’t know how the money was coming. Fear didn’t let me ask.

He called me one morning and told me that he decided to let go everything I did in the past so that we could move forward.

“Linda you really hurt me. O yes you did. But I have decided to forgive you. If not for any other thing, you are the mother of my child. If we separate, Bob will suffer. I want us to move forward as husband and wife.”

“I’m so sorry, for everything I did,” I pleaded.

“But before we move forward, we have to take an oath. It will help us to love and trust one another. I don’t want what happened between me and Olaedo to repeat itself,” Smith explained.

I stupidly agreed to what Smith proposed. I thought it was the Smith I used to know. I didn’t know that he had sold his soul to the devil. He had an ulterior motive for the reconciliation.