[STORY]:- The Darkest Side Of Love – Episode 8

Roy is a British citizen and based on marriage, she was also given same citizenship. Their children were American citizens. She had to device a way to get her kids and move to a country where he wouldn’t come looking for them. She settled for Australia. She sold some of her possessions; gold jewelry, land, her other car, shares and other items that were not too obvious. He had stopped her from going to church with them so she used that opportunity to ransack and get things she could sell off for money. She moved her children’s things in bits out of the house. The plan took almost four months to succeed. With the help of her mother, she was able to gather her things together. She took the evidence and sent it to some prominent men in their compound. She went to the Police and made a report. She told them his threat and asked them to help arrest both of them so she could quickly move her things from the house before he gets back.

Early hours of a Sunday morning, Roy and Mercy were picked up at home. They were accused of incest and arrested. Jacinta had planned everything. Her mother joined her and the nanny to pack all their possessions into a hired vehicle. Outside, as they were about to drive off, the nanny confessed to Jacinta that she was the one that made the anonymous call to her. She felt Jacinta didn’t deserve the treatment she was getting and she couldn’t stand what Roy was doing to the children. Jacinta thanked her.

The hired vehicle left for Ghana by road. They didn’t use their passports to cross the borders because she didn’t want them to leave any trace. Her mother was with her to ensure her plan goes through. They got to Accra and boarded a flight from there to Australia. She only breathed a sign of relieve when she was mid-air the flight to Australia. Her ordeal was almost over. Her mother came back to Nigeria after they had left.

Jacinta had moved on and was very happy with her new life. She had been off the radar for a few months after leaving Nigeria and was happy Roy had not located them yet. He had gone to her father’s house in search of her. He claimed she ran off with another man and taking his children with her. They had become aware and looked at him with disdain without saying a word. He sensed they knew his secret and wanted to leave but they made him wait and handed him divorce papers. They severed all ties with him by doing that.

He didn’t stop there. He went on social media and everywhere he felt he could rubbish her claiming she eloped with another man after he caught them in bed together. The stories making the rounds were so believable that people placed curses on her. He claimed she kidnapped his kids and even appealed to the US embassy to help him get his kids back. He went to the Interpol to lay complaint and the search for them commenced. When her brother saw their picture being flashed claiming she eloped with her lover kidnapping his kids, he contacted her and asked her to be careful. Jacinta couldn’t believe how desperate he was to have the kids back. She became almost paranoid. She was too careful and won’t let the children out of her sight.

One fateful day, she was going through documents on her laptop when she found the folder on the laptop. She opened it and to her surprise, it was a footage from her house. It downloaded before she left Nigeria. She sent the footage that had the children watching her husband and sister in law have sex to the American embassy with a letter explaining why she ran away with the children. It was in the best interest of the children. Their father was trying to initiate them at a tender age into incest. She gave them convincing evidence. Based on the information they had, he was arrested again and this time prosecuted. Immediately he was found guilty, her divorce was finalized. Unfortunately, he was given a minimal jail term.

Two years later, she got an email from her ex sister in-law. Mercy asked for help. She had escaped prison sentence while Roy was incarcerated. She had met someone and they were deeply in love. Roy is enraged about the affair. She wanted assistance on how to run away from Nigeria and start a new life.

Jacinta thought it was a plan to find out where she was. She refused to give her information. Mercy proved herself by sending pictures of her and the guy. She told Jacinta she wanted to be free from Roy. Roy had held her bound for far too many years and she wanted all that to stop. She wanted to change her life. She dropped a number she could be reached on. From what she was saying, she needed Jacinta’s help to escape and relocate with her new found love.

Jacinta asked her brother to get a new sim card. He called Mercy on the number and connected Jacinta via conference call. Mercy was so excited to hear from Jacinta.

“I have missed you Jacinta. How are Mitch and Mirabel?”

“They are safe. How are you?”

“I am fine. I escaped jail term.”

“You were a willing accomplice so I wonder how you did it.”

“Willing accomplice? Is that what you believe? You have no idea what I have been through.”

“You could have left and started your life anew but you didn’t.”

“Do you know how many times I have run away and he found me and brought me back? This is why I reached out to you. You are the only one that has tried escaping once and you did it successfully. His other girls; I never saw again after they tried escaping.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you warn me?”

“I couldn’t have. I was ashamed. It was better you never knew. At least he didn’t force us to have sex together like he did with the other girls.”

“What changed?”

“The realization that what we were doing was wrong and the new man I found in my life. I am willing to change but Roy has been threatening me. I want to leave Nigeria for good. I want a country he would never find me. I have my own money. Father left money to us. I can start my life with it. Just point me in the right direction. You were the best friend I ever had.”

“I can help you but I need to know how all this started. Mitch and Mirabel have been exposed to this lifestyle. I want to know the traits so I can curb it and put an end to it.”

She sighed. It was as if a heavy weight was about to be lifted from her. She took her time to start narrating the story; a story that left Jacinta  grasping for air by the time she was done.