The Confession
1096 Words
The heat in Lagos hit Agnes immediately after stepping out of the airport.
After months in Canada, the thick humid air felt heavier against her skin. Car horns screamed endlessly outside the terminal while impatient drivers argued in traffic.
But none of it bothered her.
Her mind was somewhere else.
On Alicia.
On the dangerous feelings she could no longer control.
And on the conversation she was about to have with her son.
Bob was overjoyed when he heard his mother had arrived in Nigeria.
“Mama! You didn’t even tell me earlier!”
Agnes smiled faintly through the phone. “I wanted to surprise you.”
That evening, Bob drove across town to pick her up from a hotel near the airport.
The moment he saw her, he hugged her tightly.
“I missed you.”
Agnes hugged him back slowly.
For a brief second, guilt touched her chest.
But it disappeared quickly.
Because every time she thought about Alicia…
Nothing else seemed to matter anymore.
Later that night, they sat together in a quiet restaurant.
Soft highlife music played through hidden speakers while waiters moved around carrying trays of food.
Bob looked happier than Agnes had seen him in years.
Maybe because for once, he finally felt close to Canada again through her presence.
“How’s Alicia?” he asked immediately.
Agnes lifted her glass slowly.
“She’s fine.”
Bob smiled.
“I miss her every day.”
Agnes remained silent.
Bob continued talking excitedly.
“I’ve been researching another immigration pathway. I think this one might finally work.”
Agnes watched him carefully.
He looked tired.
Older.
Years of stress had started showing clearly on his face.
Still…
He loved Alicia with everything inside him.
And somehow that only made Agnes more determined.
“She talks about you all the time,” Bob said proudly. “Honestly Mama, thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”
Agnes looked away briefly.
For us.
The words sounded strange now.
Because somewhere along the line, Alicia had stopped feeling like “them.”
She had started feeling like hers.
After dinner, they returned to Bob’s apartment.
Rain began falling outside while generator noise echoed from nearby buildings.
Bob brought out old family photo albums while Agnes sat quietly on the couch.
“You remember this one?” Bob laughed, showing her a childhood picture.
Agnes smiled faintly.
Then her eyes drifted toward another photo.
Bob and Alicia on their wedding day.
Happy.
In love.
Unaware of the future waiting for them.
Agnes’ chest tightened unexpectedly.
“She looked beautiful that day,” she murmured.
Bob smiled proudly.
“She still does.”
Silence followed.
Heavy silence.
Then Agnes finally spoke.
“Bob…”
Something in her tone made him look up immediately.
“Yes?”
Agnes stared directly at him.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
Bob chuckled lightly. “Why do you sound so serious?”
She didn’t smile.
And slowly, Bob’s laughter faded.
Agnes inhaled deeply.
Then said the words that would change everything.
“I’m in love with Alicia.”
The room became completely still.
Rain tapped softly against the windows.
Bob blinked once.
Then laughed.
A short awkward laugh.
“Mama abeg.”
Agnes remained serious.
Bob shook his head.
“No seriously, stop playing.”
“I’m not playing.”
His smile slowly disappeared.
“What do you mean?”
Agnes’ voice stayed calm.
“I love her.”
Bob stared at her as if waiting for the punchline.
But none came.
“Mama…”
“She’s my wife too now.”
The sentence hit like a slap.
Bob stood up slowly.
“No.”
Agnes rose to her feet as well.
“We didn’t plan it. It just happened.”
“No.”
“She has feelings for me too.”
“NO.”
Bob’s voice exploded across the apartment.
The pain inside it shocked even Agnes.
“You’re my mother!”
“And she’s my wife.”
“She’s MY wife!”
Agnes stepped closer.
“Legally, she became mine too.”
Bob looked at her like he no longer recognized her.
“This is madness.”
“I know how it sounds.”
“You slept with my wife?”
Agnes said nothing.
And that silence answered everything.
Bob staggered backward slowly as if physically struck.
His breathing became uneven.
“No…”
Tears instantly filled his eyes.
“No no no…”
He covered his mouth with one hand, shaking violently.
“You can’t do this to me.”
Agnes’ face softened slightly.
“Bob”
“Don’t touch me!”
His scream echoed through the apartment.
Years of frustration, loneliness, sacrifice, and love suddenly collapsed inside him all at once.
“I trusted you!”
Agnes remained standing silently.
“You were supposed to protect my marriage!”
“She loves me too.”
Those words broke something inside him completely.
Bob stared at his mother with pure disbelief.
Then suddenly
He started laughing.
Painful laughter.
Broken laughter.
The kind that comes when reality becomes too unbearable to process.
“You’re joking,” he whispered again. “You have to be joking.”
Agnes’ eyes filled briefly with emotion.
“I wish I was.”
Bob shook his head repeatedly.
“No… no… this is one of your weird jokes.”
“It’s not.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
Bob backed away from her slowly.
For the first time in his life…
His mother felt like a stranger.
The next morning, Agnes acted completely normal.
Too normal.
“I’m stepping out to buy something from the supermarket,” she said calmly while carrying her handbag.
Bob sat silently on the couch staring at the television without really watching it.
He barely looked at her.
“Okay,” he muttered.
Part of him still believed the previous night wasn’t real.
That his mother would come back laughing and say it was all a misunderstanding.
That Alicia would call and explain everything.
That his world wasn’t actually collapsing.
Agnes paused briefly near the door.
Then she left.
Hours passed.
Evening came.
No sign of her.
Finally Bob called.
“Mama, where are you?”
Agnes answered after several rings.
And the moment Bob heard airport noise behind her…
His blood ran cold.
“I’m back in Canada,” she said quietly.
Bob froze completely.
“You what?”
“I’m sorry.”
The call ended.
And for the first time since childhood…
Bob broke down completely.
Alone.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD