EPISODE 5: WALKING AWAY
Adesuwa spent the night thinking. Every time she looked at her sleeping children, her resolve grew stronger. She couldn’t let them grow up in this toxic environment.
By dawn, she had made her decision. She packed the little belongings she and her children had—mostly clothes and a few kitchen utensils. Her hands trembled, but she knew there was no turning back.
Efe stirred on the bed and opened his eyes. He frowned when he saw her packing.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice groggy.
Adesuwa straightened up, her heart p******g but her voice steady. “I’m leaving, Efe. I can’t do this anymore.”
Efe sat up, blinking in disbelief. Then he laughed. “You? Leave? And go where? You think you can survive without me?”
For the first time, Adesuwa didn’t shrink under his words. She met his gaze. “I’ve been surviving without you, Efe. You stopped being my husband a long time ago.”
Efe’s face darkened. “You’re my wife! You belong here!”
Adesuwa shook her head. “No, Efe. I belong where I am valued. And this is not that place.”
With that, she gathered her children, holding their hands tightly as she stepped out of the house for the last time.
Her heart was heavy, but there was also a strange feeling deep inside her—relief.
She had no idea where she was going or how she would survive, but one thing was certain—she would never look back.
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EPISODE 6: A NEW BEGINNING
Adesuwa and her children walked for hours, their feet sore and their bodies exhausted. She had no concrete plan, only a desperate need to escape the life she had endured for too long.
By the time the sun rose higher in the sky, she found herself in front of a small church. It was quiet, except for a few women sweeping the compound. One of them, an elderly woman with kind eyes, noticed her and walked over.
“My daughter, are you okay?” the woman asked.
Adesuwa hesitated, then shook her head. “I left my husband. I have nowhere to go.”
The woman, who introduced herself as Mama Grace, listened to her story with sympathy. “You are strong, my dear. And you are not alone. Come inside, let me see how I can help.”
For the first time in years, Adesuwa felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Mama Grace gave them food and a place to rest. Later, she introduced her to the church’s women’s fellowship, where she met other single mothers who had been through similar struggles.
One of them, a woman named Ireti, owned a small restaurant. She offered Adesuwa a job as a cook.
“You can stay with me for now,” Ireti said. “No rent, just help me with the business.”
Tears filled Adesuwa’s eyes as she accepted. Doors were opening.
That night, as she lay beside her children in a warm, safe place, she whispered to herself, “This is just the beginning. I will make it.”
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