In Lagos, Valerie was in her room, half lying on her bed, absentmindedly scrolling through her phone.
She had just finished a long day at the studio.
Her body was tired, but her heart was light.
When her phone lit up, she didn’t even check properly.
She already knew it was her Mannnnn.
She smiled instinctively.
“Hi”
She stopped. Something was wrong.
It wasn’t just what he said. It was how he said it.
“Val.”
Her smile didn’t just fade. It fell. That tone was flat, controlled and distant. .
Like someone who had rehearsed what he wanted to say and was trying not to feel anything while saying it.
Her stomach dropped immediately. That tone never came with good news.
“What is it?” “Why are you calling me by my name?” she asked, her voice already quieter.
He didn’t respond.
Her grip on the phone tightened.
“Babe?” She called
He exhaled slowly. The kind of breath you take when you’re about to hurt someone.
“We need to talk.”
Her body reacted instantly. Every muscle tightened. Her heart started beating faster.
Her mind went blank for a second.
That phrase. That exact phrase. Nothing good had ever followed it.
“Okay…” she said slowly, her voice careful, like she was stepping on glass. “Talk.”
Another silence.
She could hear him breathing.
Uneven. Controlled, but strained. Like he was holding himself together.
“They asked me to extend.”
Her brows pulled together.
“What?” She was confused
“My stay in Rwanda.”
A pause.
“Six more months.”
It felt like something inside her chest slipped.
“No.”
The word came out before she could process anything.
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not.”
She laughed. But it wasn’t laughter. It was panic wearing a smile.
Her throat tightened. “This is a joke.”
“It isn’t.”
She shook her head slowly, like refusing the reality would undo it.
“No.”
“Yes.”
The air in the room changed. Or maybe it was just her lungs. Because suddenly, breathing felt like work.
“Purity… Okay… So what’s the problem?” Cause she knew it was beyond them asking him to extend his stay.
He hesitated. And that hesitation? That hesitation was louder than anything he had said.
“I can’t keep asking you to wait.”
Everything paused. Like the world held its breath.
“What?” she asked, confused now. Truly confused.
“I love you. I do.”
Her heart reacted to that instantly. But the next words crushed it.
“But this distance… it’s too much.”
Her stomach dropped.
“Soo ! What are you saying?.”
“You can’t handle this distance again.”
She let out a breath that turned into a small, broken laugh.
“Stop saying that.”
“It’s true.”
“I can handle it.”
“Can you?”
“Yes.”
“Valerie.” She flinched. That name. She hated when he called her by her name.
Inside her chest, something twisted painfully.
Call me baby… please… call me mama… anything but Valerie…
But she said nothing. Her pride locked her throat.
“I can handle it,” she repeated.
But her voice shook just a little. And he heard it.
“I see you.”
That broke her.
Because it meant that he knew. He knew she was struggling. He knew she was trying to be strong. He knew she was stretching herself thin just to hold them together.
And still he was doing this.
She wiped her a stray tear that fell off, quickly.
“It’s about me, right? I can handle it.”
“It’s about us.”
“No.” She adamantly said
“Yes.”
“You’re quitting.”
“I’m letting you breathe.”
Her chest tightened painfully. “I don’t need to breathe away from you.”
“I’ll wait for you,” she rushed. “I promise. I’ll wait. I can wait.” She heard herself. How desperate she sounded.
But she didn’t care anymore.
“I have to end things now.”
The words landed like a slap.
“You have to?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”
Her mind rejected that instantly.
No… that’s not love.
But she didn’t even have the strength to say it fully.
She just whispered “No…”
“Yes.”
She tried to switch the call to facetime.
Once. Declined.
Again. Declined.
Her chest tightened sharply.
Something inside her snapped.
“Purity please…” she cried, her voice trembling uncontrollably, “Babe… I beg you in God’s name… don’t do this…”
Her breathing started changing. Faster. Shorter.
Her chest rising and falling too quickly.
“I can’t breathe…” she whispered to herself.
Her hands started shaking.
“I can do this!” she forced out, even as her lungs struggled.
“You shouldn’t have to.” He said
“I choose to!”
He shut his eyes tightly. Tears slipped out. He could hear her breaking. Feel it. And it was tearing him apart.
But he hardened himself. He didn’t want her to resent him in future. He didn’t want her to wake up one day and say “I’m done.” It was best he did it now that things were not so serious.
And if he softened, he would stay.
And if he stayed, he feared he would ruin her.
“I’m trying to be honest…”
“So am I!” she cried. “This hurts so bad!”
“I know, baby…”
“Then fix it!”
“I can’t, mama. I can’t .”
Her world tilted.
“I can’t fix this.” He whispered
“Why?!”
“Because we need to end it here .”
“No!”
“Yes.”
Her knees gave out. She dropped onto the bed. Her body shaking now.
“Purity…”
He didn’t reply her. She only heard him take a deep breathe.
“Don’t leave me…” her voice was small now, almost childlike. “Please…”
“I am sorry.” He soundedexhausted
Her heart broke fully.
“No.” “This is a mistake!” She shouted.
“My purity won’t do this to me.”
“That purity is trying to save you, Val!”
“You are not Jesus. Do not try to save me. I can help myself.” She shouted.
He didn’t say a word.
Tears blurred everything.
“This can’t be happening…”
“It is…” his voice broke badly now, “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
“I gave you everything…” she sobbed. “Everything…”
He felt like he was suffocating. “I don’t want you to hate me later…”
The silence after was unbearable. Valerie stared at the dark screen. Her reflection stared back at her.
Then it hit. Fully.
Her chest tightened violently. Her breathing became erratic.
“I can’t breathe…” she gasped.
Her hands trembled uncontrollably. Her heart raced dangerously fast.
Panic attack.
She slid off the bed onto the floor. Clutching her chest. Tears pouring endlessly.
“God… please…”
She couldn’t regulate it. Couldn’t stop it. Her body was in complete distress. Tammy travelled to Port Harcourt to see her family so she was alone at home. She prayed under her breathe.
It took time. Long, painful minutes. Before her breathing slowed.
But the pain? The pain stayed.
She called him. Again and again but he has blocked her.
Blocked.
She laughed. A hollow, broken sound.
“You blocked me…”
Tears fell harder.
“You actually blocked me…” “How dare you…”
She screamed into her pillow and cried until her body gave up. Until exhaustion dragged her into a restless sleep.
Her name disappeared. The silence afterward was deafening. He stared at the phone.
His hands trembled slightly. He had done it. He had actually done it. The decision he thought would bring relief now felt like guilt. Like betrayal. Like ripping out a piece of himself.
He set the phone down and stared at the ceiling. He took deep breaths but it didn’t help. The words replayed in his head.
I can’t keep asking you to wait.
He swallowed hard. His chest ached. Not metaphorically.
Physically, he felt a tightness. It felt very physical. Sooo painful that he winced and held his chest. He had convinced himself this was kindness. That letting her go would protect her.
But what if it destroyed them? What if he was wrong? What if he had chosen the easy way out? He closed his eyes. He didn’t even have the energy to pray .
He whispered
“Abba I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Silence. He waited but heard nothing.
He exhaled.
His frustration bubbled. Why wasn’t it clear? Why didn’t God intervene? He had prayed before making the decision. He had asked for direction.
Right??
Why did the choice feel like his own? As tho he wasn’t guided. And now confusion and something like regret filled him.
Did you ask Me before you decided?
He froze.
His stomach dropped. He hadn’t. Not really. He had prayed generally but he hadn’t waited, he hadn’t listened. He just acted.
That still, small voice.
You moved without Me.
The words pierced. He sat up. Rubbing his face.
“This is for the best,” he whispered.
But it sounded hollow and false. Who was he to decide what was best?
He had taken control, assumed responsibility for both of them. And in doing so, he hurt her.
He imagined her face when the call ended. The way she collapsed.
The way her breath broke. The way she cried. It destroyed him.
Not because he wanted to go back. But because he loved her.
Heck!! Who was he deceiving? He wanted to go back to her.
He wanted to be with his Valerie.
Hard girl turned soft girl cause of him.
He had just chosen a path that didn’t honor love. He exhaled shakily.
He was filled with regret. Guilt..
It is not too late to repent. Not to fix it but to repent. To acknowledge that you’re wrong. To surrender completely to my will.
He bowed his head.
“I’m sorry, Lord. I'm so sorry.” He weeped
“I should have sought you.” He fell on the floor and cried bitterly.
He would carry the guilt. Not forever. But for now. He had hurt someone he loved.
She woke up hours later. She was groggy and her eyes swollen.
The world felt different. It felt smaller and colder. She checked her phone. Still blocked. No messages. Nothing. The silence hurt so bad that she wanted to screammmmm…
But it also forced something: Space.
Not the kind he demanded. The kind she had to navigate. She needed space to breathe, to grieve. Space to exist without him. So she got out of bed.
She texted her mother.
I need to come home.
Her mom didn't need explanation or details.
Her mother replied immediately.
Come, Osas.
That single word cracked something open. She booked a ticket to Benin City.
Benin. Home.
The moment her mother saw her. Everything broke again.
“Iye…” she cried, collapsing into her arms.
Her mother held her tightly. She did not know what happened but she knew her daughter needed comfort.
“Ọmọn na… ẹ ghọ ghọ…”
(My child… you will be fine.)
Valerie shook her head weakly. “No, iye… I don’t think so…”
Her mother stroked her hair.
“You will.”
“It hurts…”
“I don’t know what it is. But you will be fine, my darling ”
Her mom led her into the house and forced her to eat something after she had calmed down a bit.
Night had fallen completely. The house was quiet and calm.
But Valerie wasn’t. Even in sleep, her body wasn’t resting.
She turned. Her face tightened like she was fighting something in her dreams.
Fragments, Memories.
His voice. His laughter.
The way he used to call her “baby” The way he would say “come here” like she belonged somewhere safe.
She whimpered softly. Tears slipping from the corners of her eyes even in sleep.
Her mother noticed immediately.
Mothers always do.
She moved closer, adjusting the wrapper around Valerie’s body and then She placed her hand gently on her head again.
“Ọmọn na…” she whispered softly.
(My child…)
She began to pray again.
“Lord… touch her heart…”
“Remove every pain that is not from You…”
“Ọsa, kpare… kpere… do not let this break her…”
(God, hold her… keep her…)
Valerie’s breathing hitched slightly. Then slowly… she began to calm down.
Her mother continued.
“You know her… you know her strength… but also her softness…”
“Don’t let this pain harden her…”
“Ẹdo gha rre… give her peace…”
(Let peace come…)
Valerie’s fingers, which had been clenched slightly, relaxed. Her face softened just a little. But she was no longer fighting.
Her mother sighed quietly. Still stroking her hair.
“Osas…” she whispered, her voice filled with love.
(God’s gift…)
“You will not break.”
She sat there for a long time. Watching her daughter sleep and praying silently. Covering her.
Because she knew that some battles were emotional.
But the root? Spiritual.
Morning came slowly.
Valerie woke up feeling heavy. Not just tired. But very Heavy.
Like something sat on her chest overnight and refused to leave.
Her eyes were swollen. Her head slightly aching.
For a moment— Just a moment— She forgot.
Then it rushed back. Everything.
The call, the words, the silence, the ending.
Her chest tightened again. Not a full panic this time. But close enough to scare her.
She sat up slowly. Holding her chest.
“God…” she whispered.
Her voice was weak.
“I don’t understand…”
Tears gathered again.
“I really don’t…”
“He left” her voice broke,
It felt like the Holy Ghost pulled her into a hug.
Valerie cried again. Not as violently as yesterday but deeply.
“God… I can’t take this”
You can.
“I’m not strong enough for this”
Yes, you are.
Valerie shook her head.
“It hurts…”
“It really hurts…”
I know, my baby
She pulled back slightly and looked up.
Valerie sniffed.
You may not see it now… but i am still writing something. My yoke is easy and my burden light
A tear slipped down Valerie’s cheek.
“ I don’t want this part of the story, God”
Sometimes… you don’t get to choose the chapters but you choose how you come out of it.
Valerie’s lips trembled.
“I miss him…”
That confession came out small. Barely above a whisper.
“And I’m angry…”
“And I still want him back…”
Silence.
Allow me handle that part.
Valerie closed her eyes briefly. Another tear fell.
Allow me do my work in you and you will be stronger than you were before him.
Valerie didn’t feel strong. Not even close.
But for the first time since the call. She didn’t feel completely alone cause she had the Holy Spirit.
Miles away, Purity didn’t move from the floor. It was another day without Valerie.
The room was quiet, but his mind wasn’t.
It was loud. Too loud.
Every word she had said replayed over and over again.
“Don’t leave me…”
“I’ll wait…”
“This hurts so bad…”
He pressed his palms against his ears like it would stop it. It didn’t.
His chest felt tight—painfully tight.
Like something had wrapped itself around his heart and was squeezing.
He inhaled sharply. Then exhaled.
It didn’t help.
Nothing was helping.
He dragged himself up slowly and sat on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, hands hanging loosely like he didn’t have the strength to hold anything anymore.
“I did the best thing I could…” he whispered.
But even he didn’t believe it. The words sounded hollow.
Like something he was trying to convince himself of.
He looked at his phone again. Her contact still there.
Still saved.
Still his Valerie.
His fingers twitched. He wanted to unblock her and call her back.
God, he wanted to.
He imagined her crying. The way her voice had cracked. The way she struggled to breathe.
The panic in her voice. His jaw tightened.
“Don’t…” he muttered to himself.
Because if he called back. He would take everything back.
And if he did that, won’t he just hurt her again later?
That fear. That fear was what held him in place.
He stood up abruptly and began pacing the room.
“I’m protecting her…” he said again.
But this time, his voice broke halfway.
Because deep down… He knew something wasn’t right.
He stopped walking and closed his eyes.
“Abba…”
He ran his hand through his hair roughly.
“I hurt her…”
“I hurt someone I love… Someone you gave me”
His voice broke completely. Tears came again.
He slid off the bed onto his knees.
“God…” he cried, “I’m sorry…”
His shoulders shook.
“I’m so sorry…”
The room filled with the sound of his sobbing.
“I didn’t wait for You…”
“I didn’t trust You…”
“I took control…”
He bent forward, his forehead touching the ground.
“Forgive me…”
His tears soaked into the floor.
“I don’t even know how to fix this…”
But even as he said it, One truth sat heavy in his chest.
He might have lost her. And that?
That was the part he wasn’t ready to face.
To be continued on Friday
My babiesss!!!
Ahhhh. This chapter was intense. I had to make sure I give you guys a longer chapter today.
Was purity right for ending things??
I feel Valerie would have ended things one way or the other if purity didn’t do it now.
This episode was intense🥹
I understand Purity's POV, he's scared that waiting for him would hurt Valarie that's why he decided to end things.🥲
It's so painful🥹💔
I really feel for both of them, heartbreak is never sweet🤧
Thank you Isabella for giving us a longer episode this time😁
This is another time I'm stumbling on this kind of situation. Don't make decisions on behalf of others. Stop assuming for them 😔