THE WEDDING INVITATION
740 Words
“Because that wasn't the only secret I've been keeping from you.”
Amara's fingers tightened around the phone.
“What secret?”
Chike exhaled slowly.
“I never stopped loving you.”
She closed her eyes.
For five years, she had imagined hearing those words again. She had imagined Chike returning, finding her, and telling her that their goodbye had been a mistake.
But she had never imagined hearing them when he was engaged to her sister.
“Then why are you marrying Adaeze?” she asked.
“I didn't choose this.”
Amara laughed bitterly. “Nobody forced you to propose.”
“I know.”
“Then what am I supposed to believe?”
There was a long silence.
Finally, Chike said, “Meet me tomorrow. Same place.”
“The garden?”
“Yes.”
“I shouldn't.”
“I know.”
“Chike, she's my sister.”
“I know.”
“And if anyone finds out about us—”
“I know, Amara.”
His voice broke.
“But there's something you need to hear before I marry her.”
The call ended.
That night, Amara couldn't sleep.
She kept looking at the wedding invitation lying on her bedside table.
Adaeze had always been the sister she trusted most. She couldn't betray her.
Yet there was something strange about the whole situation.
Chike had disappeared five years ago without saying goodbye. Now he was suddenly back, engaged to Adaeze, and claiming he had never stopped loving Amara.
Something wasn't right.
The following evening, Amara went to the garden.
Chike was already there.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
An elderly man stood beside him.
Amara recognized him immediately.
It was Chike's father.
“Why is he here?” she asked.
His father looked at her sadly.
“Because you deserve to know the truth.”
Chike lowered his eyes.
His father continued.
“Five years ago, when my son was leaving the country, I discovered that the two of you were in love.”
Amara's heart raced.
“I warned him to stay away from you.”
“Why?”
“Because your families have a history you don't know about.”
Amara frowned.
“What history?”
The old man looked at Chike.
Then back at her.
“Your father and I were once business partners.”
Amara waited.
“We lost everything because of a decision your father made.”
She shook her head.
“My father would never—”
“He didn't do it intentionally,” the man interrupted. “But someone blamed him.”
“Who?”
The old man whispered:
“Chike's mother.”
Amara stepped backward.
“What does that have to do with Adaeze?”
Chike finally spoke.
“Everything.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope.
“This was given to me the night before my mother died.”
Amara stared at it.
“What is inside?”
“A letter.”
“From your mother?”
“Yes.”
He handed it to her.
With trembling hands, Amara opened the envelope.
She read the first line.
And her entire body went cold.
“Chike, if you truly love Amara, you must never marry her sister.”
Amara looked up.
“Why?”
Chike's eyes filled with tears.
“Because Adaeze isn't your sister.”
The world seemed to stop.
“What did you say?”
Chike swallowed hard.
“She was adopted.”
Amara stared at him, confused.
“That's impossible.”
“There is more.”
He took another letter from the envelope.
“This one is from your father.”
Amara opened it.
Her eyes moved across the page.
Then she covered her mouth.
At the bottom was a name she had never expected to see.
Adaeze's biological mother.
And it was the same woman who had been searching for Amara's family for twenty years.
Amara looked at Chike.
“What does this mean?”
Chike stepped closer.
“It means the kiss we hid five years ago wasn't the biggest secret between our families.”
He paused.
“The biggest secret is that your sister may have been brought into your family because of us.”
Amara's heart pounded.
“And why?”
Chike looked toward the darkening sky.
“Because someone wanted to make sure you and I could never be together.”
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