06/11/2025
The next morning, I woke up with swollen eyes. I barely slept...
THE SUITCASE MY HUSBAND NEVER OPENS👉 Chapter 3
..I moved around the house like someone carrying a secret in her chest, careful, slow, and jumpy at small sounds. Even the ticking wall clock sounded louder than normal, like it was counting down to something.
I tried to distract myself with chores. I swept, mopped, washed the children’s uniforms, even rearranged the kitchen shelf… but every few minutes, my mind ran back to that silver key. It felt like a tiny voice kept whispering, “Go and look at it.”
Around noon, my friend and neighbour, Amaka, stopped by unannounced. That girl has radar for when somebody’s spirit is not balanced. She knocked and entered with a nylon of suya.
“Madam Gbagada, I bought suya. Come and gist me,” she said, dropping the nylon on the table.
Normally, I would laugh, gist, complain about salary, water bill, NEPA, the usual. But that day, I just forced a smile.
“Amaka, I’m not really in the mood.”
She sat and studied my face like a detective.
“Funke, what happened? Anybody die?” she asked jokingly.
I wanted to tell her. I swear. The words sat on my tongue, ready to jump out. But something in me, call it fear, loyalty, confusion, pulled the words back. Instead, I said:
“I’m just tired.”
She didn’t believe me, but she respected it. She dropped the suya and left with a side-eye that said “I’ll come back for the full story.”
Hours passed. The house felt like a prison of silence. Around 5 p.m., NEPA took light. The room darkened slowly as evening crawled in. I sat on the bed, staring at the space where the suitcase was hidden under.
Then my phone beeped, a WhatsApp message from Tayo.
> “Babe, I fit come back tomorrow night instead of next. Something came up.”
My stomach tightened. “Something came up.” Always something.
I typed:
“Okay. Safe trip.”
My fingers wanted to add, “Where exactly are you?” but I swallowed it. If you ask a question you’re not ready for the answer to, you’ll regret it.
Just when I dropped the phone, the children entered the room, playing hide and seek.
“Mummy, see where Bisi is hiding!” my son shouted, trying to crawl under the bed.
My heart nearly left my body.
I grabbed him quickly. “No! Don’t go there. Go and play in the parlour.”
My voice was too sharp. The children stared at me, confused. I forced a smile and kissed them away.
When they left, I pulled the suitcase out again. I placed it on the bed and sat beside it. The rain had stopped outside, but inside me, everything was raining.
I didn’t open it.
Instead, I took the key and moved it, not under the pillow, not on the table but inside the inner lining of my handbag. Somewhere even I would think twice before touching.
Because something told me:
When this suitcase finally opens, it won’t just reveal what Tayo is hiding… it will reveal who he truly is.
And I wasn’t ready for that truth...
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