CHAPTER |1
1569 Words
Amarahh’s POV
WHAAPP!!
The slap came before the insult.. Before the anger and before my mind could register what was going on.
A sharp crack split the evening air as Casper’s palm connected with my face, forcing my head sideways.
The metallic taste of blood slid under my tongue as I felt my cheek sting, but I didn’t fall.. I refused to give him that victory.
“You think you can disrespect me?” Casper growled, stepping so close to me that his breath burned against my already burning cheek. “After everything I’ve done for you?”
“You’ve done nothing for me,” I spat, chest rising and falling. “I don’t belong to you Casper. I never have.”
His eyes narrowed in a dark and venomous way, the kind of eyes that made the whole province step aside when he passed through the marketplace.
The dim yellow bulb hanging from our ceiling flickered, showing me the scar across his jaw.. proof of all the violence he’d survived in his life and all the violence he was willing to give.
“You’re mine, Amarahh. One day you’ll accept it, even if I have to drag you to the altar myself.”
“Over my dead body.”
My words were gasoline, and he lit immediately.
He grabbed my face.. hard. “Keep trying me.. Keep pushing me and you’ll see..”
“Let go!” I managed to croak as his grip tightened.
My mother burst from the kitchen, with a wooden spoon in her hand as if it could do anything against a monster like him. “Leave my daughter alone, Casper! Let her go!”
Kano’s lips twisted into a cruel smirk. “My dear mother in law… control your girl, or I’ll do it myself.”
“Get out of my house.” My mother shook, but her voice didn’t waver. “You have no right here.”
“No right?” Casper laughed. “This entire province knows she’s mine.”
“She’s not.”
I yanked my face free, stepping between him and my mother. My cheek throbbed with pain while my heart hammered hard in my chest.
Courage tasted bitter.. but I swallowed it anyway.
“Casper, I have told you time and again I will never marry you. I will never be yours.. Not today, not tomorrow.. Not ever.”
For a heartbeat, the room went silent.
Even the crickets paused to listen.
Then Casper’s face contorted into something feral.
“You think you can walk away from me, Amarahh?” His voice dropped, deadly and quiet. “Try it. I dare you.”
He shoved past me, knocking my shoulder. His men waited at the doorway, shadows against the night. He snapped his fingers, and they followed like loyal beasts.
Before leaving, he pointed one finger at me like a promise, a warning.. No, it was a threat.
“Try walking away from me. Let’s see how long you last.”
That was how the door slammed with a force that shook the walls making some of our pictures fall off the wall.
The moment he left, the adrenaline drained from my body like water through cracks. My knees buckled.
My mother exhaled shakily, dropping the spoon. “Amarahh… my child…”
“Mama, he’ll kill me.” My voice broke. “He meant it.. I know he meant it.”
“I know.” Her eyes glistened with tears she fought really hard not to fall. “That is why you must leave tonight.”
“What?.. Mama..”
“There’s no more waiting. No more saving little by little.” She bent beside her bed, pulling out a cloth pouch. “I have been adding to your money.”
My breath stilled. “But… Mama…”
“You will not be trapped here like I was,” she whispered fiercely. “You will go to the city. You will be free.”
A sob crawled up my throat. “What about you?”
“I will be fine. I have endured worse men than Casper. But you…” Her fingers brushed my bruised cheek. “My child, you are meant for more than this place.”
I hugged her tightly, inhaling the familiar scent of herbs and wood smoke.
“Pack quickly,” she hurriedly urged . “Before his men surround the compound.. God is giving you a small window, Amarahh. We must use it.”
I moved with trembling hands, stuffing clothes, my worn-out notebook, a cracked phone, and the wad of cash into my bag. Mama wrapped some food in paper and my breath trembled as I changed into a faded hoodie then pulled the hood low, and tied my hair up.
The night outside hummed with quiet danger.
As we stepped outside, Mama gripped my hand tightly. “Don’t look back. Whatever you hear, don’t turn around now run… run like a woman.”
I nodded and ran as if my life depended on it while she followed behind.
The bus stop was dimly lit, the dusty road empty except for stray goats wandering like ghosts. We hugged one last time, and she cupped my cheeks.
“Live, Amarah.”
“Yes, Mama.”
“And don’t cower to any man who makes you fear.”
I tried to smile but failed as I kept looking behind us.
The bus arrived shortly after, roaring like salvation. Before I boarded, Mama pressed something into my palm.. a small pendant she’d worn since I was a child.
“For protection,” she whispered to me and I nodded as I wore it around my neck.
The moment I climbed into the bus, Casper’s voice echoed in my head
Try running away from. Let’s see how long you last.
“Challenge accepted.” I muttered to myself
The journey to Riverton was long, tiring, and filled with the restless breathing of passengers trying to sleep but I didn’t sleep.. I couldn’t.
My cheek throbbed and my thoughts raced. Then the city lights appeared like stars dripping down to earth, bright and shimmering in the late-night haze.
When I stepped off the bus, the cold air hit me first.
The terminal buzzed with noise even at midnight with traders arguing, announcements crackling, and tired travelers dragging suitcases.
I tightened my grip on my bag and searched for somewhere to relax my head.
A wooden bench in a corner seemed the safest so I sat there, hugging myself, feeling smaller than I’d ever felt.
“Tomorrow,” I told myself. “Tomorrow I look for work.. Tomorrow I find somewhere to stay.”
“Tomorrow I start my life but for now...”
My eyes drifted shut.
“Excuse me,” a crisp male voice cut through my half-sleep.
I immediately jolted upright.
A man in a well-pressed suit stood in front of me, he was probably in his late fifties and he held a tablet then stared at my face like he was comparing me to something.
“You are…” He checked the device again. “.. the girl from Alaocha?”
Every cell in my body froze.
He knew me!!
How??
Had Casper found me already?
“I.. I..” I stammered.
“You’re late,” he said sharply. “Mr. Hart instructed punctuality above all else. The children are asleep now, but you’ll begin early in the morning.”
My confusion must have shown in my face cause I had no plans to hide it and he sighed impatiently.
“You are the nanny from the Elite Nanny Services agency, yes? You came from Alaocha?”
I opened my mouth to tell him no, that this was a mistake, that I had never applied for anything..
Then my eyes flicked past his shoulder.
And my heart stopped.
Casper’s men.. Two of them were entering the terminal and they looked like they were looking for someone..
Looking for me.
My entire body turned to ice.
The butler followed my gaze. “Is there a problem?”
‘Yes. A deadly one.’ I thought to myself
But my voice came out steady, thin, desperate.
“No. No problem. I am… I am the nanny from Alaocha.”
The words tasted like fire and freedom.
“Good.” The man nodded once. “Come with me. The car is waiting.”
He grabbed my bag before I could protest and marched towards the glass doors and I quickly followed, although my eyes darted back at Casper’s thugs weaving through the crowd.
Then one of them lifted his head and looked straight in my direction.
Panic instantly shot through me so I lowered my hood, hurried my steps, and slipped into the sleek black car waiting outside.
The butler shut the door behind me with a decisive click.
“Welcome to Riverton City, Miss,” he said, sliding into the front seat. “Mr. Hart awaits your service.”
As the car pulled away, I pressed myself into the leather seat, watching the terminal fade behind us..
watching Casper’s men spill out onto the pavement, scanning the darkness.
They were seconds too late.
I exhaled shakily.
“I am the nanny,” I whispered to myself, pulse racing.
But somewhere deep in my bones, I knew..
I had just stepped into a lie that would change everything.
- Writer
