THE PRICE OF HIS PRIDE

Episode 2 | A Kingdom Without a King

The burial took place three days later.

It was the kind of event Abuja had not seen in years—black SUVs lining the streets, governors flying in from different states, senators, ministers, traditional rulers, captains of industry. Cameras flashed endlessly. Tributes flowed like rehearsed speeches.

Bright stood beside the casket, expression unreadable, accepting handshakes and condolences like a seasoned politician, though he was not one.

“He was a great man,” they said.

“You resemble him so much.”

“He prepared you well.”

Each sentence felt like a weight added to his spine.

When it was finally over and the last guest departed, Bright returned to his father’s mansion—an expansive estate in Maitama that felt too quiet without the booming voice that once commanded it.

That night, he did not sleep.

Instead, he sat in his father’s private study, surrounded by leather-bound books, framed photographs, and the faint scent of cigars. On the desk lay a sealed envelope bearing his name, written in bold familiar handwriting.

Bright.

His fingers hesitated before opening it.

Inside was a single page.

My son,

If you are reading this, then I am gone.

I have given you everything I own, not because you are my blood, but because I trust your discipline.

Power is dangerous in the wrong hands. Never let emotions cloud your judgment.

Choose your life partner wisely. A man’s downfall often begins in his bedroom.

Pride will protect you—but only if you control it.

Bright folded the letter slowly, his jaw tightening.

Those words would become the law by which he lived.

________________________________________________________

Weeks passed.

Peak Construction Company adjusted swiftly to its new leadership. The board watched closely as Bright assumed the role of CEO with quiet authority. He arrived early, left late, spoke little, and tolerated no incompetence.

Employees whispered about him.

“He’s cold.”

“He’s brilliant.”

“He doesn’t smile.”

“They say he’s richer than his father ever was.”

Bright didn’t care.

Women, however, cared very much.

Socialites, models, daughters of politicians, and ambitious beauties found reasons to cross his path. Invitations poured in—dinners, galas, private parties. He declined most of them. Random women did not interest him. He had standards, boundaries, rules carved from years of observation.

One rule stood above the rest.

He would marry a virgin.

It was not religion alone that shaped this belief—it was principle. Control. Certainty. He had seen powerful men destroyed by secrets hidden in silk sheets. He would not be one of them.

And then there was Ada.

(Who is this Ada?)

Look out for the next episode...