Others were more skeptical but still disapproving. "Even if those messages are old, why would she send such things in the first place? She's supposed to represent the Arinze name now."
At the head table, Old Madam's face was pale, her hands trembling slightly. She exchanged a glance with her husband, whose brows furrowed in disbelief.
As the guests grew restless, whispers echoing throughout the grand ballroom, a man in an impeccably tailored suit stepped onto the stage.
His presence seemed to command attention, the sharp lines of his suit accentuating his tall, imposing frame. The room fell into a hushed silence as the spotlight snapped to life, illuminating him in a halo of cold light.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, his voice smooth as silk but sharp enough to cut through the tension. The smile on his face was practiced, the warmth in it a thin veil over the storm brewing beneath. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I felt it was my duty to expose the truth about this woman."
Murmurs surged through the room like a rising tide, the crowd shifting in discomfort as their attention snapped to the man on stage.
The air grew heavy, suffocating even, as he gestured toward Olaedo, who stood frozen in shock. Her mind spun in a chaotic dance of disbelief and dread, but her body was as immovable as a statue.
"For those who don't know, I am Aneke Maduabuchi's closest friend," he said, his voice now laced with a mix of triumph and malice.
The silence that followed was deafening, but it seemed to electrify the entire room. "And let me tell you, this woman has been contacting him secretly, despite being married into this esteemed family."
The weight of his words settled over Olaedo, pressing down on her like a boulder. Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes darting from him to Chibuzor, who was now staring at her with a strange, unreadable expression.
How did this happen?
The guests began shifting uncomfortably, their whispered speculations growing louder. Some faces looked shocked, others seemed convinced already, and a few had the look of those who thrived on scandal.
Olaedo's stomach twisted painfully, and her fingers clenched into fists at her sides. The magnitude of the accusation threatened to crush her. Her lips parted, but no sound came out at first.
"That's a lie!" she finally managed, her voice trembling with both fury and disbelief. It cut through the tension, but only briefly, before it was swallowed by the man's voice as he ignored her entirely and turned to the crowd.
"To prove my claims," he said, raising a tablet into the air, his eyes glinting with dark satisfaction, "I have these messages, sent by her, which clearly show her intentions to get back with Maduabuchi and her lingering feelings for him."
Gasps erupted like the crackle of a storm, some guests leaning forward to catch sight of the screen, others muttering angrily to their neighbors.
On the large stage screen, the messages appeared again and again along with the Olaedo's voice. It was in bold, black text that seemed to scream at the crowd:
"Where is Maduabuchi now? I need to know."
Olaedo's vision blurred. No. No, this can't be happening.
The room spun around her, but before she could steady herself, the next message appeared. Her breath hitched as the next line scrolled across the screen:
"Do you think he'll come back soon? I still have feelings for him."
The gasps grew louder, morphing into an almost frenzied buzz. Whispers crackled through the air like fire on dry leaves.
"Is this true?"
"She wanted to marry him after she already married Chibuzor?"
"I knew there was something fishy about her!"
Olaedo's ears throbbed with the noise, her heartbeat pounding like a drum in her chest. She searched the crowd for a familiar face, but all she found were the wide, disbelieving eyes of people who once spoke highly of her, who now looked at her as though she were a stranger.
The man didn't stop there. He tapped on the screen, and the final message appeared, each word a stab to her heart:
"I still want to marry him if he's willing to change."
The collective gasp was deafening this time. It rippled through the room like an earthquake, shaking the foundation of the Arinze family's reputation. The whispers turned into an uproar, guests exchanging stunned glances, some even standing in shock.
"Does Chibuzor know about this?" a man hissed.
"This isn't just a rumor. She actually said it herself!"
"Imagine the shame! If Chibuzor doesn't do something now, he'll be the laughingstock of the entire continent."
Chibuzor's face was stone, but his eyes were like embers, burning with something Olaedo couldn't decipher. Anger? Betrayal? Doubt? She couldn't tell, and it made her feel more lost than ever.
A voice cut through the chaos. It was Ifeoma, her words sharp and cutting like a blade: "This is what happens when you let strangers into your family, Grandmother. A woman who couldn't stay loyal for even a moment."
Olaedo's blood ran cold, but the bite of Ifeoma's words was nothing compared to the way Chibuzor looked at her. His expression shifted, flickering between disbelief and anger, and for a moment, it seemed as though he might speak.
But then, silence fell again, heavy and suffocating, as the man with the tablet raised a hand, pointing at Olaedo with finality.
"Is this the woman you all want representing your family?" he asked, his voice dripping with disdain.
The questions hung in the air, unanswered, as the crowd shifted and murmured, their opinions forming like storm clouds. The whispers grew louder, doubts seeping into even the most loyal family members.
A young woman near the edge of the ballroom muttered to her friend, "I thought she was different. I thought she was better."
The older gentleman sitting across the room nodded slowly, his expression grim. "Looks can be deceiving, and reputation is everything. This-this is a scandal that will leave a mark for years to come."
Olaedo felt the weight of their words, their judgment, pressing down on her, suffocating her more than any accusation. The room spun again, and for the briefest moment, she felt as though the floor was collapsing beneath her.
But then, she straightened her spine, forced herself to meet Chibuzor's gaze one last time. There was no clarity there, no sign of trust, only the echo of doubt. And she knew, deep in her heart, that the battle for her name and her place in the Arinze family had only just begun.
The room was a sea of scandalized faces, each whisper cutting through the tense air like a knife. The once elegant and harmonious atmosphere of the ball had vanished, replaced by a charged, palpable dread that coiled around every guest like an invisible chain.
"I can't believe this!" a woman whispered, clutching her pearls as though they could shield her from the harsh truth. Her eyes darted from the stage to the crowd, her face flushed with a mix of disbelief and anger. "Isn't she the new Young Madam? How shameful!"
A man, impeccably dressed in a crisp, tailored suit, scoffed as he leaned toward the woman next to him. His voice dripped with disgust. "The Arinzes must have been desperate. How did she even get into this family?" His tone carried the bitterness of jealousy and a hint of something deeper, an unspoken history he wanted kept buried.
"Silence!" barked another guest, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the crowd, searching for signs of collusion. "There's no need to gossip. We need to hear the facts before we jump to conclusions."
But the whispers were already spreading like wildfire. A group of young women huddled together, their faces painted with envy and resentment. "Did you hear? She was supposed to be a fresh face, someone who would redeem the family name," one of them hissed, her eyes narrowed at Olaedo. "But look at her now. A scandal waiting to unfold."
Others, however, were more skeptical, their brows furrowed in suspicion as they took in the unfolding scene. "Isn't this a bit convenient?" asked a man with a deep, rich voice. His eyes, sharp and calculating, met the eyes of those around him. "Why would someone show these messages at such an event unless they had an agenda? This could be a setup."
A flurry of murmurs followed his statement, some guests nodding in agreement while others shifted uncomfortably, unwilling to pick a side.
The tension in the air grew heavier as each passing second drew a line of division between those who were swayed by the evidence and those who sought to maintain their faith in the Young Madam.
Meanwhile, the servants exchanged uneasy glances, their earlier admiration for Olaedo clouded by doubt. They had watched her navigate the grand ball with grace, her smile a beacon of warmth amid the sea of cold, calculated faces. But now, that warmth seemed like a fragile illusion, shattering under the weight of accusations and public scrutiny.