~THE DEVIL ON THE ALTAR~ đș
CHAPTER TEN
Paul was very thrilled to see a young, charming and very beautiful lady among the first timers in the church. As the president of the fellowship, his duty was not to welcome the newcomers but having sighted the lady he took it upon himself to do the welcoming. He got to know that her name was Patricia and then the name had not left his mind, it was his waking thought and his sleeping thought. He felt attracted to her by her beauty and when she became a zealous member of the church he just couldnât love her less.
âA very beautiful lady that loves God and is passionate about the things of God! What more could I ask for in a wife?â He thought to himself one day after the service. He quickly rebuked the thought and focused on what he was doing but the more he tried to run away from it the more he saw himself thinking about her.
On a particular day, he had called Patricia into his office just to familiarize with her but two other sisters came with her and he could not ask them to excuse them to avoid raising any suspicion so he just talked on general stuffs and nothing personal and Patricia didnât really contribute because she could not relate with most of the things they were discussing. There were other occasions also where he tried to start a conversation with Patricia but she was mostly not paying attention to him.
When Paul noticed the change in Patricia he was so disturbed that he had to inquire to find out what the problem was. It was then he got to know about her mumâs condition and he always prayed for her speedy recovery. He went out of his way to visit Patricia all through the period of the exam just to make sure that she was not moody and was reading her books. All through the holiday, he was praying and hoping that Patricia and her mum were okay even though he could not contact Patricia.
When Celestina informed him about not hearing from Patricia, he instigated visiting her because he was really worried about her. He was not happy at the condition he met Patricia and it really broke his heart. He had to take out of the trust fund his father left for him just to pay for the surgery and hospital expenses because he wanted Patricia back in school and was also hoping for an avenue to get close to her but the kind gesture was not really helpful since Patricia was only grateful to him and not emotionally attached.
Having Patricia in his room was like a dream come true, he was really excited about it and was just staring at her all through the process. When the sisters suggested cooking for him, he rejected it at first but when he discovered that it was Patricia who would prepare the meal he readily agreed to it. He secretly wished Patricia had come alone because there were a lot of things he wanted to tell her. He decided to look for a means to make Patricia come back to his room alone so they could talk, he then decided to take her key from her bag and keep it so that she would have to come back to get it. His plan worked and Patricia was back in his room but he did not like her impatience even though he also knew it was late and might not be safe for a lady to walk around, he could not help himself because he felt he might not get another chance to express his undying love for her.
Patricia kept on looking at him to check if he was asleep and was also checking the time intermittently. She was getting paranoid about the whole situation since it was quite late for her to go to her hostel and also impossible for her to spend the night there.
âI donât think you would be able to go to your hostel tonight,â Paul said jotting her from her thought.
âI will go, sir once you fall asleep,â she replied.
âThat would be quite dangerous. Donât worry you can spend the night here and you will leave very early in the morning,â Paul said, trying to convince her.
âI think it is not right for me to be here by this time and not to even talk of spending the night here,â she replied.
âWhat do you mean by it is not right? Donât you trust me? Or what are you implying?â
âWe are still in the flesh, sir and everyone is prone to temptation. That is why we have to be careful and watchful.â
âIâm not disputing that. All Iâm saying is, it is safer for you to spend the night here so you can sleep soundly than for you to be out there by this time,â Paul said, offering her the bed and he laid on the floor.
She hesitated for a while before consenting and then she insisted he should take the bed since he was sick and she would take the floor. But as a gentleman, Paul refused the offer and remained on the floor. He stayed there until he started shivering and Patricia had to get up to attend to him. He was burning up with fever and she helped him to the bed then he grabbed her and boom, he had his way with her. She tried relentlessly to free herself but he overpowered her and had his way.
Patricia could not believe what just happened to her. She sat on the bed and stared into space. She could not bring herself to cry or wail and she just kept on looking. Paul knelt down beside her and began to apologize for what just happened, he claimed that it was the devil that possessed him and he didnât know when he did all he did. He started confessing his undying love for her and how he had always sought for an opportunity to tell her. It was at that point that the reality of what just happened dawned on Patricia and she began to cry and shed tears profusely. She was asking God for mercy for defiling herself. She took her things and left, not minding his pleas and even his marriage proposal.
Patricia cried all through her journey from his hostel to her hostel. She cried because she just lost a lot of things and some of ~which she can never get back. When she got to her hostel all she did was to pray for mercy and grace from God because those were the only things that could avail for her. She regretted going with the sisters to~his place, her going back there to get her key and even her staying back to chat with him and everything she did that night. All she was saying was âhad I known I wouldnât have done this or thatâ. Patricia prayed all *through the remaining part of the night hoping that she could erase the memory of his touch and even aggression, the sound of his voice and all that. She had lost the presen* ce of God and her inner peace *and was seriously praying for God to restore His presence into her life.
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To be continued…
I knew it that this Paul is not human but the devil