25/07/2025
Title: “The Promise That Never Came”
Amaka was just 19, a village girl with dreams as big as the sky. She was pure, untouched, and full of hope. When she met Mr. Kenneth, a 35-year-old businessman who visited her town often, her heart skipped in ways she couldn’t explain.
He was charming, gentle, and always made her feel seen. He told her things no one ever had — that she was beautiful, special, and deserved to be loved deeply. She didn’t know he was married at first. And when she found out, it was too late — her heart had already chosen him.
“I’ll leave her for you,” he whispered once, brushing her cheek. “You’re the one I want.”
Against her better judgment, Amaka believed him. One rainy evening under the mango tree by her compound, she gave herself to him, trusting his love and his promises. That night changed everything.
Weeks turned into months. Then came the nausea… the missed periods… the truth she couldn’t hide anymore. She was pregnant.
She told him, expecting tears, joy, or at least a plan.
Instead, he looked away and muttered, “I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”
His visits stopped. His calls became cold. And soon, he disappeared — back to his wife, his life, his lies.
Amaka bore her pain in silence, her stomach growing as her dreams shrank. The village whispered. Her parents wept. But she stood tall, because growing inside her was a child born from love — even if that love had betrayed her.
And though Kenneth never came back, Amaka promised herself one thing: Her child would never feel abandoned the way she did. She would be both mother and father. Stronger. Wiser.
She was no longer the girl waiting for promises. She was now the woman writing her own future.
