Boredom: the desire for desires.—Leo Tolstoy

Fola woke up with the tiredness she had felt for the last two weeks. She wondered about the cause of her unusual fatigue. Was it the stress of implementing Bisi's plan or was it the burden of returning Chief Naade's favor? It had to be the latter.

She dragged herself into a sitting position and leaned her head against the headrest. A weary sigh left her lips and her mind drifted to her new debt to Chief Naade.

He wasn't bluffing when he said his favors come with a heavy price. His allowing her to attend the graduation of her siblings came at a price. A price she was still paying and didn't know when she would stop.

I want you in my bed every night," he announced in a stoic voice.

In the eyes of the world, it wasn't a price but her duty. After all, fulfilling her husband's desires was part of her wifely duties. But every night she felt used and soiled.

"It's time to get up," Acantha declared as she marched into the room. "You have ten minutes."

From the corner of her eye, Fola watched as Acantha crossed the room and plopped down on the armchair in front of the window. Fola ignored her and closed her eyes. What would it be like to slip away from all the chaos destroying her peace of mind?

A pinch on her shoulder jolted her. Her eyes popped open and connected with Acantha's frowning face.

"What do you think you are doing?" Acantha's eyes darkened.

Fola's stomach flipped and she swallowed. "I was just catching my breath," she muttered and climbed out of bed.

She trudged into the bathroom and leaned against the closed door. Her eyes traveled to the bathtub and a feeling of longing washed over her. She wished she could soak herself in the tub for hours. However, Acantha's presence in her room erased her yearning. Enjoying a hot bath would probably remain a dream for several weeks to come.

Feeling more sorrowful than before, she had a quick shower, wrapped herself in her robe, and entered her dressing room. Her eyes stopped on the navy blue dress hanging on the hanger, a dress Acantha had handpicked. Over the weeks Nora had grown more scarce. Although she still oversaw the affairs of the house, she didn't meddle so much in Fola's life. Fola didn't know whether to be happy or sad. After all, Nora had only transferred the reins of control to Acantha. She, Fola, remained a captive.

Her anguish couldn't increase more than it already did. With hunched shoulders, she returned to the room after getting dressed. Acantha stood up as she returned. As usual, Fola waited for Acantha to give her approval before leaving the room.

Acantha gave a curt nod and raised her head. "Let's go," she commanded and moved to the door and Fola followed her out.

The walk to the dining room was silent. When they arrived at the dining room, Fola muttered a greeting to Chief Naade and cast a glance at Banke who sat on his right. Fola wasn't surprised when Banke scowled at her. Fola's frequent visits to Chief Naade's room had caused Banke's hatred for her to increase. How could she tell Baanke that she would be happy if they could trade places?

She discarded her thoughts and rushed her food as fast as she could. Banke's heated gaze almost made her choke several times. Fola sprinted out of the room after gulping down her glass of water. She walked a few distances from the dining room and took in deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Moments later, the queasy feeling in her stomach faded and the tightness in her shoulders eased. However, she was left with another issue. What should she do next?

Her study wasn't appealing neither was her bedroom. The garden was the other place she could find peace. However, the armed guards scattered around reminded her of her captivity. She spent several minutes aimlessly moving down the hallways of the house until she found herself in front of where she left almost an hour ago. Her bedroom.

She pushed the door open and slipped inside. Her legs carried her to the bed and she laid down with a groan. Her mind raced with thoughts of what she could do but nothing came to mind. In all her life, she had never felt so useless. Her lips thinned and her brows drew together in a frown.

After staring at the bleak ceiling for a few minutes she rolled on her side and produced a tired sigh.

Cast your burden on the Lord, said a small voice.

Fola's breath caught in her throat. The act of praying still felt foreign to her. However, her willingness to pray increased a little after her prayers seemed to be answered on the day of her siblings' graduation.

Her eyes flickered closed and she whispered in the silent room, "Dear Lord, you know I need my freedom more than ever please set me free from my captivity."

After saying the prayer, sleep claimed her. She woke up dazed a few hours later. Ironically, sleeping didn't make her feel any better. She was still as tired as before.

Her eyes drifted outside the window. Unlike the morning sun that barely shone, the sun sitting in the sky was at its peak. She didn't need to check the time to know that it was mid-afternoon.

Her head fell back as frustration filled her. She berated herself for sleeping away half of the day. It had never happened before in her almost three decades on Earth.

With an angry scowl, she got out of bed and left the room. The clock hanging in the hallway told her it was a couple of minutes before lunchtime. Rather than wait for Acantha to summon her, she went to the dining room by herself.

Thankfully, she was the only one going to have lunch. Chief Naade and Banke had left to attend to their businesses. Acantha sent her a surprised look as she entered the dining room. She was supervising the maids who were in the process of setting the table.

Without sparing anyone a look, she took her seat. A plate of pasta and fish was laid out in front of her. She withheld a grimace. It was the same as yesterday and countless days before that. Oh, how she hungered for a plate of jollof rice and fried chicken.

Acantha's hard eyes reminded her that she had no choice. So she pushed her desires away and forced down every morsel of food on the plate. Several minutes later, she trudged out after emptying her plate. As she stood outside the dining room she almost laughed as it dawned on her that she was back where she was in the morning. Nowhere to go and nothing to do.

She wandered around the house with heavy spirits. The urge to cry washed over her but she held in her tears. Crying made her feel weak. A feeling that she despised. However, her tear glands seemed to have plans of their own. Despite the battle she put up, a tear slid down her face. She clenched her teeth to withhold a wail but a strangled groan escaped her lips.

Tired of fighting, she leaned against the wall and let her tears fall. Her shoulders shook as waves of sobs racked her body. Pain spread across her heart. Where was the light at the end of the tunnel? She wondered.

The sound of voices calling her flitted into her ears. Her tears ceased and she straightened. With teary eyes, she watched as Tobi and Olivia raced toward her. Her eyes darted to Tobi's hands which held something tightly. A glint of recognition filled her eyes. It was none other than her phone.

Excitement pulsed through her and she grinned. As they reached her, she pulled them into her study a few steps from where she stood. She made sure the door was locked before turning to face the children.

Tobi beamed and handed her the phone. Her hands shook as she held her phone for the first time since it was confiscated over a month ago. She pushed her nervousness away and unlocked the phone. Her happiness soared as the message she had been waiting for popped up.

It is time to put our next plan into action.

You need to convince him to allow you to start coming to the office again.

Fola's eyes danced with glee as she read Bisi's message. After Bisi told her the plan in their meeting four weeks ago, Fola had grown more hopeful.

For one month, she had been following the first step of the plan which was to be docile and disarm Chief Naade by winning his trust. In the weeks after they made the plan, she had made sure she didn't fight Chief Naade's control. Whatever he and Acantha commanded her to do, she did it without raising objections. Chief Naade seemed to be pleased with her submission and that is what they wanted.

Now the time for phase two of the plan had arrived. Fola couldn't be happier. Maybe Bisi's plan would give her the freedom she so craved.

                  ★★★★★

Ahhh, who is feeling Fola's pain? 😭😭

Poor thing 😢

I hope Bisi's plan works?

Do you think it will?

I look forward to your responses.

Keep voting.

Keep sharing.

I love you all plenty ❤️❤️

Until next time, be happy!