Till Death Do Us Part
Episode 5: When Fear Sleeps Beside You
Obinna & Nkiru’s Apartment – 6:40 AM
Nkiru hadn’t slept. The curtains were drawn, but she still checked every crack for shadows. She moved from window to door, testing locks like a ritual. Her phone had no new alerts. No missed calls. No threats.
But the silence felt louder.
Obinna stirred on the couch. He’d been sleeping there since the night they fought. Not because they weren’t trying — but because the weight between them made even lying side-by-side feel unsafe.
A knock came at the door.
Three sharp taps.
Obinna tensed, stood up slowly, and motioned for Nkiru to step back. He looked through the peephole. Nothing.
Another knock — this time softer. Calculated.
He opened the door just slightly.
No one.
Only a small black nylon bag on the welcome mat.
He picked it up gently and unwrapped it.
Inside: a bullet. Clean. Untouched. Wrapped in red ribbon.
Nkiru gasped. Obinna shut the door immediately, bolted it, and grabbed his phone.
“Ngozi. He’s back.”
30 Minutes Later – Enugu CID
SP Ngozi had really tried her best working every single angle to apprehend Ifeanyi. Her job had bled into her life.
She held the bullet delicately with a tissue.
“No fingerprints,” the forensic officer confirmed. “Just the bullet and the ribbon.”
Obinna paced. “How does he keep getting so close? Does he have a tracker on us?”
Nkiru looked pale. “He’s not trying to kill me. Not yet. He’s enjoying this… the fear.”
Ngozi nodded. “That’s exactly it. He’s not hiding in the shadows. He is the shadow. He wants you to never feel safe again.”
Nkiru turned to her. “What do we do?”
Ngozi was quiet. Then:
“We bait him.”
Same Day – Enugu Social Media Storm
Within hours, a controlled post went up across local blogs and Instagram pages:
“Mr. & Mrs. Obinna Nwafor to relaunch wedding in a private ceremony — Love Wins.”
#EnuguWeddingReloaded #StillTogether #NoWeapon
The goal: provoke Ifeanyi. Flush him out.
By nightfall, comments flooded in:
- “Una dey craze? No learn from d first wedding?”
- “Na love or na mumu?”
- “Ifeanyi, abeg finish what you start.”
Obinna wasn’t comfortable with the plan, but Nkiru stood firm.
“He wants us to live in fear. I want to live in defiance.”
That Night – A Shortlet in Independence Layout
They booked a three bedroom Shortlet under police supervision as they prepared for the second wedding ceremony. Plainclothes officers patrolled the area
They sat across from each other, neither knowing where to begin.
He finally spoke.
“Do you still love me?”
She nodded. “But it’s hard to feel love when fear’s always in the room.”
He exhaled. “Let’s leave. Maybe Lagos. Abuja. We start again.”
She shook her head. “We run now, we’ll keep running forever. I’m not afraid of him anymore. I’m just afraid of who I’m becoming.”
Obinna moved closer. “You’re still you. Just a version that’s seen too much.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I love you so much. Thanks for standing by me”
Elsewhere – Awkunanaw, Enugu
Ifeanyi sat in the backseat of a moving SUV, his arm still stiff from the gunshot wound. Smally drove, chewing bitter kola, while the third man, Razor, loaded a pistol quietly.
On the dashboard was an iPad showing the wedding teaser post.
“She dey play games,” Razor said. “She wan flush you out.”
“She thinks I’m stupid,” Ifeanyi sneered. “She thinks this is about the wedding. About embarrassment.”
Smally snorted. “So what’s it about?”
Ifeanyi’s voice dropped low.
“This is about teaching her that some debts can’t be cancelled with goodbye.”
Next Morning –
The smell of fried yam filled the air. Nkiru stood in the kitchen barefoot, trying to find a sense of routine again.
Obinna sipped tea and watched her quietly, grateful for this rare moment of normalcy.
The second wedding ceremony ended up being a success. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, Ifeanyi never showed up and the bait caught nobody. Yes they were grateful for the successful ceremony but unhappy it didn’t end the way they wanted. They had expected him to show up and land in police trap but it never happened.
