A FORBIDDEN KISS
1513 Words
From the very next day, Blessing felt as if she was walking on hot coal.
Every sound in the mansion scared her. Every movement of Rakeem’s shadow made her heartbeat skip. His words from the car “I will not forgive this” were still ringing in her ears like a curse.
But no punishment came.
Instead, Rakeem ignored her completely. For two whole days, he didn’t speak to her, didn’t even glance her way. It was almost worse than anger. It was as if she had ceased to exist.
Blessing sat on the edge of her bed one evening, twisting her fingers together, her heart heavy. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted someone to just tell her what to do.
Her phone vibrated under the pillow. She jumped, quickly pulling it out.
It was a message. From Samuel.
“Blessing, I can’t let it end like this. Please meet me tomorrow. Just once. Behind St. Mary’s church, 5pm.”
Her chest tightened. Fear fought with longing inside her. Every sensible part of her screamed, Don’t go! Don’t you see the danger? But her heart… ah, her heart was hungry for comfort. For love. For Samuel.
The next day came too fast.
Blessing told the maid she was going to the market. She wrapped herself in a simple ankara gown, no jewelry, and a scarf to cover her face. Her feet carried her nervously to the old church at the edge of town.
The place was quiet. The sun was going down, painting the sky in orange and purple. Blessing’s heart beat faster with every step.
Then she saw him.
Samuel. Standing under the mango tree beside the church, waiting as if he had been counting the seconds for her.
“Blessing…” His voice broke as he rushed forward.
Tears filled her eyes. Before she could stop herself, she ran into his arms. His embrace was warm, desperate, the opposite of the cold silence she had been living in.
“I missed you so much,” Samuel whispered, holding her tight. “Every night I can’t sleep. I keep thinking of you in that man’s house. You don’t belong there. You belong with me.”
“Samuel…” she sobbed, gripping his shirt. “I don’t know what to do anymore. My life feels like a prison.”
He pulled back just enough to look into her face, wiping her tears with his thumb. His eyes burned with pain and longing.
“Then run away with me,” he said. “We can leave this place, Blessing. Start fresh. I’ll protect you. I’ll love you the way he never will.”
Her lips trembled. The words were sweet, dangerous, like forbidden honey.
And then… before she could think, before she could stop it, Samuel leaned in and pressed his mouth against hers.
The kiss was soft at first, then desperate, filled with all the love and frustration of years. Blessing’s heart pounded. For a brief moment, she let herself drown in it the sweetness, the familiarity, the escape.
But then
A voice cut through the evening air. Cold. Sharp. Deadly.
“Well, well… what do we have here?”
Blessing froze. Her blood turned to ice. She broke away from Samuel immediately, her eyes widening in horror.
Rakeem.
He was standing just a few feet away, hands behind his back, his eyes blazing with fire that could melt iron. Behind him, two of his guards loomed like shadows.
“Rakeem…” Blessing’s voice shook. “It’s not what it looks like, I”
“Silence!” he thundered. His voice echoed against the church walls.
Samuel stepped forward, putting himself slightly in front of Blessing. “Don’t talk to her like that,” he said, though his voice wavered. “If you were a real man, you would treat her with respect, not lock her up like a prisoner.”
Rakeem’s lips curved into a cold smile, the kind that made the air heavy. “And if you were a wise man, you would not kiss another man’s wife in front of God’s house.”
The guards moved forward, but again Rakeem raised a hand. His eyes never left Samuel.
“You think you can take what’s mine and walk away alive?” he asked quietly, dangerously. “One more stunt like this, and I will bury you where no one will ever find your body.”
Blessing gasped, clutching Samuel’s arm in fear. “Rakeem, please!” she cried. “Don’t hurt him, I beg you!”
For the first time, Rakeem looked at her. His gaze was dark, filled with betrayal and anger.
“You disappoint me again, Blessing,” he said, his words slow, deliberate. “This time… there will be consequences.”
He turned to his guards. “Take him.”
Blessings screamed. “No! Please! Don’t touch him!”
The guards seized Samuel, twisting his arms behind his back. He struggled, shouting, “Blessing! Don’t let him win!”
Her tears blurred her sight, her screams echoing into the empty evening.
Rakeem stepped closer, his face inches from hers. His voice was calm, almost gentle, but it carried a deadly weight.
“You wanted freedom, Blessing?” he whispered. “Now you will learn the cost of disobedience.”
Please, Rakeem, I’m begging you,” Blessing cried, grabbing his arm. Her tears soaked into his sleeve, but he didn’t even flinch. His face was like stone.
The guards were dragging Samuel towards the waiting car, his voice hoarse with resistance. “Blessing! Don’t cry! He can’t break us!”
“Shut him up,” Rakeem said coldly. One of the guards shoved a handkerchief roughly into Samuel’s mouth.
Blessing fell to her knees on the dusty ground. “Rakeem, don’t do this! If you punish him, you’ll be punishing me too. Please, I beg you!” Her sobs tore from her chest like broken glass.
Rakeem bent slightly, his eyes burning into hers. “Good. Then you will feel it,” he said quietly, like a teacher disciplining a stubborn child. “Maybe that pain will remind you where you belong.”
He turned away, his coat brushing against her trembling hands.
“Rakeem!” Blessing shouted, her voice shaking. “If you touch him, I swear I will never forgive you!”
He froze. For a second, she thought her words had struck him. His shoulders stiffened, his jaw clenched. Slowly, he turned back, his eyes locking onto hers with a dangerous fire.
“Never forgive me?” His lips curved into a bitter smile. “You think your forgiveness is what I live for?”
He stepped closer until she could feel the heat of his breath. “You married me because your family begged. Not because you chose me. Not because you love me. So don’t stand there and act as if you hold power over me, Blessing. You don’t.”
Her heart cracked at his words, but she refused to look away. Her voice was small, broken. “Then why are you so angry? Why does it matter if I kissed him, if you don’t care?”
The question hung in the air like a whip. For a moment, Rakeem’s eyes betrayed something hurt, buried deep. But he quickly covered it with his cold mask.
He snapped his fingers at the guards. “Take him. I’ll decide what to do with him later.”
“No!” Blessing screamed, trying to run after Samuel, but Rakeem grabbed her wrist so hard she winced.
“Enough!” he thundered. His voice silenced even the birds in the trees.
Her tears streamed freely now, her chest heaving. “Please… don’t kill him.”
Rakeem’s grip softened slightly, his gaze locked on her desperate face. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, so low only she could hear:
“I won’t kill him… yet. But one more betrayal, Blessing, and I will destroy him in front of your eyes.”
Blessing’s knees buckled. The weight of his words crushed her chest. She wanted to scream, to fight, but all she could do was sob into her palms as the guards shoved Samuel into the car.
The engine roared to life. The car rolled away, Samuel’s muffled cries fading into the distance.
Blessing collapsed on the church steps, her body shaking. Rakeem stood over her, his shadow long and heavy in the fading evening light.
“You brought this on yourself,” he said quietly, almost regretfully. Then he turned and began to walk away.
Blessing’s voice cracked through the silence, weak but filled with raw pain: “Rakeem… please… don’t take him from me.”
Rakeem stopped. His back was to her, his fists clenched at his sides. The air between them was thick with tension, anger, and something unspoken.
Without turning, he said in a low voice: “Then learn, Blessing. Learn who you belong to.”
And he walked into the darkness, leaving her broken on the church steps.
- Writer
