Chidera opened his mouth to protest, but the words caught in his throat as Somto's presence loomed over him like a mountain.
"Listen carefully," Somto continued, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous pitch. "You will prepare a proper apology. Not some half hearted excuse. Not some cowardly deflection. You will look her in the eye and take responsibility for what you did. Because this time, Chidera, there's no running away from it."
The weight of his brother's words pressed down on Chidera, leaving him unable to respond. He nodded stiffly, his face pale, his mind racing with dread.
Somto studied him for a moment longer before turning on his heel. "I'll give you ten minutes," he said over his shoulder as he walked toward the door. "Don't make me come back and drag you out myself."
"But I didn't do anything wrong!" Chidera decided to protest, his voice trembling yet laced with defiance.
Somto stopped in his tracks, turning back to face the boy with a glare so cold it could freeze fire. "You didn't do anything wrong?" he repeated, his tone eerily calm, the kind that sent chills down the spine. "You pushed Nnenna down the stairs. Is that reason good enough for you?"
Chidera flinched at the accusation but quickly straightened himself, his jaw tightening as anger flared in his eyes. "She deserved it!" he snapped, his voice rising as if trying to convince himself as much as his brother.
Somto's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he let the boy continue.
"How dare she not give me what I asked for?!" Chidera continued, his words tumbling out in a rush. "Everything in this house is mine! She's just a servant who happens to have the same last name as us. She has no right to defy me!"
The room fell deathly silent after his outburst, the weight of his words hanging heavily in the air.
Somto took a slow, deliberate step toward him, his presence towering and suffocating. "A servant?" he repeated, his voice low and laced with menace. "Is that what you think of her?"
Chidera's bravado faltered slightly under his brother's piercing gaze, but he crossed his arms and stood his ground. "It's the truth," he muttered.
Somto's laughter was cold and devoid of humor, a sound that made Chidera's stomach churn. "Let me tell you the truth, Chidera," he said, his voice sharp and cutting. "The only reason you have everything in this house is because of the family name. A name that means nothing without the people who bear it. And Nnenna? She's worth more than every selfish, entitled word that just came out of your mouth."
Chidera's lips parted to argue, but Somto silenced him with a raised hand.
"You think everything is yours?" Somto continued, his voice rising with controlled fury. "Let me make one thing very clear. You have no right, no right, to treat anyone in this family, or this house, as less than you. Not Nnenna, not anyone."
He took another step forward, his shadow falling over the boy. "And if I ever, ever, see you pull something like this again, Chidera, i will have to take extreme measures. Do you understand?"
Chidera's defiance melted away under his brother's wrath, his shoulders slumping as fear took over. He nodded reluctantly, his voice barely a whisper. "Yes."
"Good." Somto's tone softened slightly but remained firm. "Now get ready. You have an apology to make."
Somto turned and walked out, leaving Chidera alone once more. The boy sat down heavily, his mind racing. A flicker of stubbornness began to creep into his thoughts again, his pride still holding firm.
'He doesn't understand,' Chidera thought bitterly. 'None of them do.'
But deep down, the boy knew there was no escaping the consequences of his actions.
By 4:00 p.m., the Achebe family was all set and ready to leave. The atmosphere in the car was tense, and not a single word was spoken. The chauffeur, sensing the heavy silence, drove carefully, his presence as unobtrusive as possible.
Their destination was Royal Hospital, and the thought of going there seemed to agitate almost every member of the Achebe family to their core.
The Queen sat rigidly, her face unreadable, while the second, third, and fourth princes each kept their eyes glued to their phones, pretending to be occupied but failing to mask their unease. Ebere, sitting beside them, stared out of the window, her lips pursed tightly.
The King, however, broke the unspoken rule of silence. He leaned back in his seat, gazing out of the window at the blur of the city passing by.
Unlike the others, he wasn't engrossed in his phone or pretending to ignore the weight of the situation. Instead, his mind wandered.
'Am I making the right choices?' he thought to himself. For years, he had dismissed Nnenna, treating her like a mere shadow in their grand palace. Yet here they were, on their way to visit her in a hospital bed. The irony wasn't lost on him, and it gnawed at his conscience.
'This girl reminds me of.... I would rather just ignore her. But then what will my subjects think of me?' He thought soberly.
The silence persisted as they neared the hospital, broken only by the faint hum of the car engine. Each member of the Achebe family grappled with their own thoughts, but none dared to voice them.
The Queen finally glanced at the King, her expression unreadable but her eyes filled with questions she wouldn't ask. For once, even she didn't have the energy to speak, choosing instead to swipe absentmindedly through her phone.
As the car pulled up to Royal Hospital's entrance, the family braced themselves for what was to come. None of them wanted to be there, but they knew there was no avoiding it.
At the hospital entrance, Somto stepped out of the sleek black vehicle, his movements deliberate as he turned to address his family. His tone was calm yet carried a subtle authority that demanded their attention.