THE CONFESSION
1221 Words
Days passed and Amaka had been searching for Apartments to stay in order to ease Victor of the stress and bills.
One Monday afternoon,she stood by the window in the small dorm room, watching the students walk past in laughter and chatter—most of them free, youthful, and without the weight she carried in her womb and in her heart.
Victor had gone to class, and she’d just come back from her very first antenatal appointment. She still had the small card tucked inside her bag. The nurse had been kind, the other women welcoming, but something about sitting among strangers with swollen bellies had made her feel even more alone.
She wanted to share that moment with someone. She wanted someone to ask her how she was doing, how the baby was growing. And Victor… he was always there, but he was doing too much already.
So when he returned that evening, she gave him a glass of cold water and sat him on the chair with his back leaning on the chair...looking exhausted after a while Amaka broke the silence
“Victor… can I ask you something?”
He was unbuttoning his shirt, clearly exhausted, but he turned to her with that soft gaze that always made her feel safe. “Of course.”
“This online business you’re doing—does it… does it pay you enough?”
He blinked. “Enough for what?”
“Enough to handle school, rent, food, and now me and the baby?”
He paused, understanding flashing across his face.
“It’s been manageable,” he said carefully. “Not easy. But I make it work.”
She bit her lip, stepped closer. “That’s why I was thinking of....she paused for a while and said "getting kynown apartment" Not just because of Janet. I didn’t want to be one more person pulling you down.”
Victor sighed and took her hands. “You’re not pulling me down, Amaka. You’re giving me something to fight for.”
Still, she pressed gently, “But wouldn’t it help? Me out there working, paying my own rent… you could breathe a little.”
“I don’t want to breathe a little, Amaka,” he said with intensity. “I want to breathe with you beside me. I want to know you’re okay when I close my eyes at night. I want to wake up and see you every morning.”
Her chest rose and fell with emotion, especially when he added, “I know I can’t give you everything now. But I will. One day. I swear it.”...it sound comforting to Amaka but it still doesn't sit right with her,all she wanted was someone to stay with till she get her life straight but now Victor is not ready to let go....though it broke Amaka as well but the thought of draining Victor is way out of it,and now what if Victor's mom were to find out that he's staying with a woman not ordinary woman someone pregnat and with another person's child,?....she couldnt stop thinking about this so she continued her search for Apartment this went on for about two months.
And one afternoon,
Amaka stood at the bus stop, fingers trembling as she held the printed receipt in her hands. A single-room apartment—tiny but affordable—was finally available near the edge of campus. It wasn’t much, just four walls and a shared bathroom down the hall, but it was hers.
It was freedom. A fresh start.
She knew Victor wouldn’t take it well, but she also knew this was something she had to do.
Not because she didn’t love living with him.
Not because she didn’t feel safe or grateful.
But because she did.
She’d overheard him again, trying to patch things up with Janet over the phone. His voice had been gentle, but strained. Apologetic. Trying to fix something he no longer believed in.
And she couldn't keep standing in the middle of it all—this messy triangle of unspoken emotions and sacrifices.
So she made up her mind.
---
That evening, as Victor walked in, dropping his bag on the floor, Amaka approached him with hesitant eyes and a determined heart.
“I found a place,” she said softly.
He blinked. “What?”
“I’m moving out. Next week, maybe. I—I’ve saved some money from the store. It’s small, but it’s enough.”
Victor’s entire body stiffened. “You what?”
“I just think maybe you and Janet need space. And I don’t want to keep being the reason—”
“Stop.” His voice cracked like thunder in a quiet room.
Amaka swallowed hard, startled.
He took a step closer, brows furrowed, his eyes stormy. “Is that what you think this is about? That you’re a burden? Amaka, you’re not—God, you never were.”
She stepped back, her voice barely above a whisper. “Then why haven’t you said anything, Victor? Why do you keep choosing silence?”
There was a long pause.
And then, as if a dam broke inside him, Victor stepped forward and cupped her face with both hands—so gently it made her want to cry.
“I didn’t choose silence. I chose survival,” he whispered. “Amaka… you were my first love.”
Her breath hitched.
His eyes searched hers, full of raw emotion, vulnerability, truth.
“I loved you when we were kids. Do you remember that small mango tree behind your old house? I carved your name into the bark the day my family left. I never told you. I was too scared. I thought I had time. But then we moved. And I lost you.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“I never stopped thinking about you. Every birthday, every school break, every time I walked past someone who looked like you. And when I saw you again—pregnant, scared, alone—it broke me. I knew I couldn't let you go again.”
She was sobbing now, silently, as he rested his forehead against hers.
“I don’t care whose child you carry. I don’t care about Janet. I care about you. I love you, Amaka. And if you walk out of that door now, it’ll break me all over again.”
Amaka’s lips trembled. She tried to speak, but the words were trapped behind the storm in her chest.
“I want this,” he whispered. “You. The baby. The future. Let me take care of you… both of you. Please.”
Amaka broke. Her walls shattered.
She threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest as he held her tighter than he ever had.
In that embrace, she felt something new—something deep.
Home.
---
Later that night…
They sat on the small mattress together, his arms around her as she rested against his chest. They didn’t speak. They didn’t have to.
Outside, the wind whispered against the window panes. Inside, their hearts were louder.
Victor leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. “You’re not leaving,” he murmured. “Not unless you’re leaving with me.”
She smiled through quiet tears. “I wasn’t really ready to leave anyways"
- Writer
