THE PRICE OF HIS PRIDE

Episode 7 | When Innocence Becomes Collateral

The following morning, the Jones household buzzed with activity.

In the kitchen, Abimbola moved carefully, her steps slower than they used to be. Years of labor had stiffened her joints, and the dull ache in her lower back never fully left.

Ibukun stood beside her, chopping vegetables with quiet efficiency.

“Mama, please,” Ibukun said gently, “sit down. Let me finish.”

Abimbola shook her head. “Agnes doesn’t like delays.”

Ibukun frowned. “The doctor said—”

“I know,” Abimbola interrupted softly. “But we need this job.”

Ibukun pressed her lips together, holding back frustration.

They had worked for Agnes for nearly twenty years. Loyalty, they believed, would protect them.

They were wrong.

From the doorway, Agnes watched them with unreadable eyes.

Her gaze lingered on Ibukun—slim, modest, unassuming. There was nothing flashy about her, yet something in her posture spoke of discipline and restraint.

Agnes’s mind clicked into place.

Innocent, she thought. And desperate.

A dangerous combination.

___________________________________________________

Later that evening, Agnes summoned Abimbola to the sitting room.

“I’ve misplaced a few things,” Agnes said casually. “Jewelry. Very expensive jewelry.”

Abimbola’s heart skipped. “I—I don’t understand, madam.”

Agnes’s gaze hardened. “I want you to be careful. People talk.”

Abimbola bowed her head. “I would never steal from you.”

Agnes said nothing more.

But the seed had been planted.

And when seeds of suspicion are watered with power, they grow quickly.

_______________________________________________________

Across town, Bright sat alone in his penthouse, glass of whiskey untouched beside him.

Ada’s reaction replayed in his mind—not guilt, but disappointment.

Why was honesty always taken as insult?

He stood and walked toward the window, staring at the city lights below.

He wanted clarity.

Certainty.

A marriage built on truth, not compromise.

If Ada could meet his standard, he would honor her fully.

If not…

Then he would walk away.

What he didn’t realize was that his demand—spoken calmly over dinner—had ignited a fire fueled by pride and vengeance.

And before the truth could surface, an innocent life would be offered as collateral.

(Would innocence be enough to save her… or would it be the very thing used against her?)

Look out for the next episode...