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A few weeks after Ope had that conversation with Kemi in his car, he went ahead and married Oge despite Kemi’s tears and pleas because he believed Kemi was being childish.

 On their wedding day, friends and family noticed that Kemi was very sad. In fact, he almost refused to follow his relatives to church. Somehow, his paternal grandparents convinced him to go to church with them, and he did. But throughout his stay there, he kept frowning and pouting.

“Kemi, what’s the matter? I have noticed that you have been moody since morning. Don’t you like the new outfit your father got you?” Kemi’s grandmother asked, and Kemi shook his head.

“Then what is the problem? Are you hungry? Do you want a snack?” Kemi’s grandmother asked again, and Kemi shook his head.

“Talk to me, Kemi. What is the problem?” Kemi’s grandmother said.

When Kemi’s grandmother asked the last question, she expected that Kemi would say something, but he didn’t. He just pointed at Oge, who was smiling in her wedding gown at the front of the church.

“Oh No, Kemi. Aunty Oge is very busy right now and she cannot be here with you. She is getting married to your dad today, and I believe you know that,” Kemi’s grandmother said.

“No, grandma, I do not like her,” Kemi said.

“I understand you, Kemi, but you must accept Oge as your mother now. I once had a step-mom when I was around your age, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t like her in the beginning because I thought she wanted to replace my mom. But as I grew older, I realized that she was a great woman, and she loved me. I know Oge loves you, Kemi, and it’s ok if you do not like her now. As you grow older, you will come to see that she is not as bad as you think,” Kemi’s grandmother said.

When Kemi heard that, he burst into uncontrollable tears almost immediately, and his grandmother was forced to take him out of the church.

Sadly, Kemi could not tell anyone that he was being abused almost every day. He carried the burden silently, and the more he kept it to himself, the more it ate him inside. Things even got so bad that Kemi would be in his classroom, and he’d be so absent-minded. If he were at home, he would remain in his room all day unless his stepmother, Oge or his father called him.

As for Oge, her abuse got worse after she officially tied the knot with Ope. Sometimes, she would tell Kemi to do some nasty things to her private area with his tongue and hand, and other times, she would do the same thing to Kemi.

Each time Oge abused Kemi, she would leave him in severe pain, especially if she did something to his pee-pee with her mouth. Even if Kemi begged her to stop that he was in pain, Oge would not listen; she would continue to abuse him until she was satisfied.

One day, while Kemi was sitting absent-mindedly in his classroom as usual, his class teacher, Mrs Rose, asked to see him after school was over that day.

“Kemi, is everything okay? I have noticed that you have been acting differently lately. What’s the problem?” Kemi’s teacher asked.

“Nothing, Mrs Rose. I’m fine,” Kemi answered.

“No, Kemi, you cannot tell me that. I know when my pupils are fine and when they are not. Do you still miss your mother?” Kemi’s teacher asked, and immediately she did; Kemi nodded and burst into tears.

“Yes, I miss her every day. If she did not leave me, Aunty Oge wouldn’t be hurting me,” Kemi said, holding back his tears.

“Is your stepmother hurting you? Eh?” Kemi’s teacher asked.

“No, no! I didn’t say that,” Kemi said, then he grabbed his bag and ran out of the classroom. From the way he ran out of the classroom, his teacher was sure that Kemi was hiding something.

“Hmmm! This poor innocent boy—I hope his stepmother is not maltreating him. I must talk to his father about it,” Kemi’s teacher soliloquized.

That afternoon, instead of leaving school at her usual time, Kemi’s teacher waited for Kemi’s father to come and pick him up.

“Good afternoon, sir,” Kemi’s teacher greeted Ope when he arrived. 

“Good afternoon, Mrs Rose, I hope all is well,” Ope said.

“Yes, everything is fine. Please can I have a word with you in private? I can’t talk freely with Kemi in the car. I promise not to take much of your time,” Kemi’s teacher said.

Upon hearing that, Ope got out of his car and walked away with Kemi’s teacher.

“Sir, I don’t mean to pry, but is everything okay at home? Kemi is getting worse every day. He now stays totally absent-minded in class, which bothers me,” Kemi’s teacher said.

“Yes, I assure you that everything is fine at home. If things were not okay, I would have told you. I think Kemi is still dealing with his mother’s demise. You know he is still a child, and we do not expect him to move on like an adult,” Ope said.

“Hmmm! What about his stepmother? How is she with the boy?” Kemi’s teacher asked.

“Oh, she is great with him. She treats him like her own son,” Ope bragged mildly.

“Hmmm! That’s strange because I talked a little with Kemi today, and he mentioned something about his stepmother hurting him. I tried to get more information from him, but he wouldn’t say anything. Honestly, sir, I think you should look into this privately. I have heard many stories of step-parents who maltreat children, but they portray a great relationship on the outside,” Kemi’s teacher said.

“No, I think you’re mistaken. Oge is a wonderful woman, and she would never hurt Kemi,” Ope defended Oge.

“I know, sir. You might be wrong, and you might be right, but you can never tell unless you confirm this. Kemi is your son, and the fact that he is still very young makes him your primary responsibility. Please, sir, just be sure that your wife is the same person you think she is,” Kemi’s teacher said.

“Thank you, Mrs Rose, I know what to do,” Ope said.

That afternoon, instead of taking Kemi to the house, Ope took him to his fabric shop. When he was done in the evening, they returned home together.

“Babe, what happened that you didn’t bring Kemi back home?” Oge asked.

“Oh! Nothing. I just wanted to spend time with him today. You know it’s been ages since he came to the shop last,” Ope lied.

Ope did not tell Oge that he had spoken with Kemi’s teacher. Even if a part of him wanted to tell Oge about it so they could laugh about the silly allegations, he still managed to keep it to himself.

Even that night, Ope could not sleep; he kept thinking about the possibility of Oge maltreating or hurting Kemi in any way. Then, he began to think of the possible reasons why Kemi did not want him to marry Oge.

The following morning, while driving Kemi to school, Ope used the opportunity to ask Kemi some questions about Oge.

“Kemi, my boy. Daddy wants to ask you a few questions. Can I do that?” Ope said in a very friendly tone, and Kemi nodded.

“Do you promise to tell Daddy the truth?” Ope said, and Kemi nodded.

“Ok, that’s my boy. So, has your new mummy ever done something to hurt you? Maybe pinch you on the cheeks or pull your ears when you weren’t being naughty?” Ope said, and Kemi nodded.

“Are you sure about that?” Ope asked in shock, and Kemi nodded.

“Does she do other things to you? I’m your daddy, and you can tell me anything,” Ope said, but Kemi did not respond. He just sat in the car and stared out the window.

When Kemi did not respond, Ope concluded that Kemi was hiding something from him.

After dropping Kemi at school, Ope went straight to one of his friend’s house and he told him everything.

“Ah! But Oge does not look like the kind of person that would maltreat children,” Ope’s friend said.

“That’s the problem. I have never caught her maltreating Kemi. She doesn’t even yell at the boy,” Ope said.

“But if his teacher said that Kemi mentioned that Oge was hurting him, then something is definitely going on. You’re not just aware of it yet,” Ope’s friend said.

“Yes, my brother. My son has become a shadow of himself. At first, I thought he was like that because of his mother’s demise, but there’s definitely more to it. My Kemi, who used to sing and play around the house, barely talks unless you talk to him. His teacher is also complaining about his performance in school,” Ope said.

“Hmmm! Then you need to investigate this issue fast. It’s better you confirm yourself that Oge is not hurting Kemi than to make assumptions,” Ope’s friend said.

“What do I do, my friend? You know I’m always at the shop and barely stay home except on Sundays,” Ope said.

“You will need to install secret cameras in the house. If you want, I can help you do that. You just need to take Oge out of the house and ensure that you do not say a word to her,” Ope’s friend said.

“But how will I install Cameras that Oge will not see? You know those cameras are big,” Ope said.

“No, we will use smaller cameras. It’s the only way. Then, you can be watching the footage from your phone,” Ope’s friend said.

“Ok, if that’s what I need to do, then I will do it,” Ope said.

About a week after Ope had that conversation with his friend, they secretly installed mini cameras in the house. They installed the Cameras in the living room, kitchen and all the rooms and bathrooms, including Kemi’s room.

After Ope installed the cameras, he silently prayed that Oge would be innocent of the allegations. He loved Oge, and he badly wanted to be wrong.

Unfortunately, things did not turn out as Ope had prayed. Two days after he planted the cameras in the house, Ope made a spine-chilling discovery that shattered his heart.

That afternoon, after Ope dropped Kemi at home after school, Oge tried to abuse Kemi again. Then, when she bathed Kemi in the evening, she also abused him again in the bathroom.

Ope did not know until later at night when he watched the camera footage. When he saw how his innocent poor boy was screaming Daddy as Kemi touched him inappropriately, Ope burst into tears, and his heart sank immediately.

“Oge, how could you be so wicked?” Ope growled as he dragged Oge out of the bed by her hair.

“Babe, what’s happening?” Oge asked in shock, but Ope could not talk freely because he was still crying.

“Babe, talk to me. What did I do?” Oge asked, but before she could say another word, Ope slapped her so hard that she fell on the floor.

“What did that little boy do to you that you decided to destroy his life? How could you abuse a child that was left under your care?” Ope said in a teary voice.

“Baby, please calm down. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Oge feigned Ignorance, but her response only Infuriated Ope.

“Better call your people because it’s either I kill you today, or you kill me,” Ope said in a thunderous voice, and then he began to beat Oge mercilessly.

Luckily for Ope, before he confronted Oge, he had texted his friend and even shared the video footage with him. If his friend had not arrived at Ope’s house on time, Ope would have beaten Oge to death.

Already, Ope had beaten up Oge until she was unrecognizable. Thankfully, Ope’s friend did not go to Ope’s house alone; he had involved the police, and when they saw the footage of what Oge did to Kemi, they arrested her.

The remainder of that night, Ope cried his eyes out and he apologized to his son for not listening to him. He also promised Kemi that he wouldn’t marry any other woman until Kemi was grown up. 

Although it took a while and a lot of counselling, Kemi gradually came out of his shell. On the other hand, Ope began to pay more attention to Kemi. In fact, he made Kemi his best friend, and they talked about everything. Kemi also promised never to keep secrets from his father again.

As for Oge, she was sentenced to life imprisonment for abusing a minor, and she spent the rest of her life in prison.

The end.

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