She opened her eyes to find the rapist still working tirelessly to undress her further; at first it was all blurry, and she couldn't make out the face.
Could it be Obioma, one of Nnadozie's top farmers? He has a suspicious look and has been staying with them since she arrived. He was fond of giving her compliments, calling her fancy and beautiful names. He seemed to like her, though she personally doesn't like him but always replies to his compliments with a smile. Was he here tonight when everyone must be exhausted as a result of the ceremony to have him with her, she wondered?
Definitely, she won't allow him to pull this off; she screamed "Help!" on top of her voice, almost bringing down the roof.
He hurriedly covered her mouth with his hand before she could complete the word, terminating further words from escaping, knowing that if she succeeds in calling for help and he is caught, he would be made to walk naked around the whole village with little children raining down insults and abuses of all manners on him. She continued struggling to break free from his grip but he was just too big and heavy.
He then whispered into her ears.
"Please don't shout, Ego, please don't shout."
Immediately she heard the voice, she went still with shock. All traces of fatigue and blurriness faded away for her. To her utter amazement, it was Nnadozie who was on top of her, sweating profusely in the cold harmattan, trying to rape her.
"Stop! Please stop!" he said a little louder, raining saliva all over her face.
"I promise to let go if you just stop," he said again, the smell of fermented palm wine mixed with tobacco pouring from his nostrils.
Ego nodded quickly.
It was not an acceptance of what he was doing. It was the only way she could get him to release her without further struggle. She also knew the shame that would follow if his actions were discovered. Whatever had possessed him tonight, she did not want to destroy his reputation or expose his family to the humiliation that would follow.
The moment Nnadozie saw her nod, he loosened his grip.
Ego immediately scrambled away from him and retreated to the far edge of the bamboo bed. She pulled her wrapper tightly around herself, her body trembling as she stared at the man before her.
She was numb.
Not because she had been frightened alone, but because she was deeply disappointed.
This was Nnadozie—the man she had respected, the man whose kindness had slowly earned her trust, the man she had begun to imagine sharing her future with.
How could the same man have done this?
She stared at him for several seconds, unable to find the words to describe what she was feeling.
Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper, she asked the only question that came to her mind.
"Nna... what are you doing?"
The question sounded almost like a broken record.
Nnadozie lowered his head.
The confidence and authority that usually accompanied him had disappeared. Shame spread across his face as he struggled to meet her eyes.
"I'm really sorry, Ego."
He swallowed hard.
"I don't know how it came to this."
He fell silent for a few seconds, carefully choosing his next words.
The hut remained quiet except for the faint crackling of the dying fire.
"I have wanted to tell you how I feel for a very long time," he finally continued. "But tonight... I don't know what came over me."
He shook his head slowly.
"Though I have been harboring some feelings of affection for you, even before you married my younger brother. This night I just could no longer control it."
Angered at what he just said, she had to cut in, "And this is how you wanted to make this feeling known to me? By forcing yourself on me while I was asleep? She asked.
Sounding tongue-tied, "No… Ego," he said, pulling closer to her while she pulled further away from the rapist.
"Don't come any closer, or I will scream down this roof."
"I won't come any closer; please just bring down your voice; I don't want to wake up people sleeping." He said, pulling backwards away from her.
"You should have thought of that before coming to force yourself on a poor widow." Heating up, she continued,
"Did you think I was going to keep quiet and allow you to have your way so you could continue to provide for me? No, maybe I wanted it because I've been celibate since your brother passed away?" She asked him not to take his advice of keeping her voice down.
With his head bowed in further shame, he responded, "Nne… no, I didn't mean any of those. I love you; I really do love you, Ego beke."
She barked at him, "Don't ever call me by that name again."
He nodded in agreement without uttering a word.
"How can you say you love me?" Ego asked, still struggling to comprehend what had just happened. "I was your younger brother's wife, for crying out loud. And you already have two wives. You just celebrated the naming of your third son. What else could you possibly want from a poor widow like me?"
"I want you. All of you."
Nnadozie took a deep breath before continuing.
"You know I could have easily inherited you along with my brother's belongings. But I didn't. Because of the love I have for you, I waited patiently for five years, hoping that you would one day choose to marry me willingly. I want the kind of love you and Nnanna shared."
He searched her face as though hoping to find an answer there.
"I want that special love—the kind of love that made you both inseparable."
Ego stared at him for a long moment.
"I forgive you for what happened tonight," she finally said.
Nnadozie nodded silently.
She drew a deep breath and continued.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot marry you. Not because of what just happened, and not because there is something wrong with you. I simply feel that I need more time to mourn Nnanna. I don't think I'm ready to become another man's wife yet."
Her voice softened as she looked away.
"I loved him, Nnadozie. Five years may have passed, but my heart has not forgotten him."
Nnadozie remained silent, staring at her.
"Really?"
Nnadozie asked, his voice suddenly devoid of warmth. "How has this independence of yours worked out for you so far?"
Ego met his gaze without flinching.
"It hasn't been easy," she admitted. "But I thank the gods."
Nnadozie gave a short, humorless laugh.
"So, if I ask you to leave my house this very minute, where will you go?"
Ego said nothing.
"Tell me," he pressed. "Who else do you have? Who will shelter you? Who will feed you? Which other person will take you in when you have nowhere else to go?"
His words carried an edge now, and the anger beneath them was becoming impossible to hide.
Ego slowly shook her head as the truth began to sink in.
"So that is what this is about?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You know I have no one else to fall back on." Her voice hardened. "You knew I was vulnerable, and you used it."
Nnadozie stared at her.
"You deliberately refused to rebuild my hut so that I would have no choice but to remain here. You wanted me dependent on you. And now that I am under your roof, you come into my room at night and tell me how you feel about me as though I owe you something in return."
Her eyes filled with anger.
"Was that your plan all along, Nnadozie?"
"Ego, I did not know you were this ungrateful." Nnadozie's voice rose as his anger finally broke through. "After everything I have done for you since my brother kicked the bucket, this is how you choose to repay me?"
Ego stared at him, the hurt and anger inside her finally boiling over.
"Honestly, I didn't know you were this crazy either." Her eyes narrowed. "How am I even supposed to know that you weren't the one who set my hut ablaze?"
The accusation struck a nerve.
"Woman!"
Nnadozie's voice thundered through the hut.
"Listen carefully. There is one thing I will not tolerate in my own house, and that is insults from you. If I had known this was how you would repay my kindness, I would have left you out there to fend for yourself."
He pointed toward the open doorway.
"In fact, I want you out of my compound before the first crow!"
He turned abruptly and stormed out of the hut, leaving the door wide open behind him.
Ego remained seated on the bamboo bed, staring into the darkness beyond the doorway.
For a while, she did not move.
The words before the first crow kept echoing in her head.
Only moments ago, she had thought she had finally found a place where she could rest her head. Now she had been given only a few hours to find somewhere else to go.
She pulled her wrapper tightly around her body and stared at the doorway.
Outside, Nnadozie's footsteps gradually disappeared into the darkness.
Then the compound fell silent again.