Duru Benedicta

Who will guide me through survey?

When we were dating, she used my towel, wore my boxer shorts and dressed in my t-shirts. She would come over for the weekend and the only thing she would bring were makeup stuff and panties. As time went on, the front of my dressing mirror swelled up with her properties; creams, brushes of different shapes and styles, colors of the rainbow in the form of makeup. She would bring one thing today and leave it there for the next visit.

It was fine by me. We were looking into the future together so that provided us the opportunity to know each other inside out. Two years of being with her made me think I knew her very much but just a few weeks in marriage and I'm asking myself, "How come I didn't see this when we were dating?"

She wants to use my things when she's in the house. She still wears my boxers and singlets around. It used to be only that but these days, she would wear my shirts, the ones I wear to work, around the house casually. These shirts are carefully collected for specific occasions but she doesn't mind wearing them while cooking. She says she likes my scent in the shirt and it makes her feel my closeness.

That aside, she doesn't want to keep separate towels. She would use mine even when there are two towels hanging in the bath. I hate wet towels. She tells me I should get used to it because I'm now two bodies in one soul. I don't even know what that means. She would use my towel to clean her body, then use it as a cloth to cover her chest down and walk around. It hurts my eyes. It's like she's exposing the towels to dirt but she doesn't care.

She washes them weekly but that still doesn't make me want to share. When I bought a small towel to use, she turned it into her face towel.

As if this wasn't enough, days ago I saw her using my toothbrush to brush her teeth. I was like, "Hey, what are you doing? That's my toothbrush!" She responded, "Oh really? I don't know which is which so I use whichever I lay hands on first."

Hers is blue and white. Mine is green and white. Very distinct colours but she claimed she didn’t know the difference so ever since we started dating and later got married, she didn’t care about brushes, she just selects one and goes with it. Like how?

Everything can be allowed but not toothbrushes but she doesn't care. While I find it disgusting she tells me, "Don't you kiss with the same mouth this toothbrush cleans?"

"That's different!"
"Oh gyai, there's no difference bia!"

Now I'm hiding my toothbrush but if she sees it, she'll intentionally use it and make sure I see her using it. As I said, though it's not comfortable for me, I can learn to share my towels and boxers but I can't learn to share toothbrushes, no matter what.

I've been angry about it. I've screamed about it. I've gone on silent demonstration about it. But the day I get angry is the day she would look for the hidden one and use it right in front of me. I can't even get angry anymore. It's like a fun game for her and she does it so annoyingly I end up laughing.

So now, I carry my brush in my work bag. I carry it to work and bring it back. Because of her, I lock the zippers with a little padlock. I don't know how normal that is in other homes but married couples, do you share brushes and towels and those things? Even if you're not married, is this something you wouldn't mind if it happened to you? Or am I making much about nothing?

Please read...

He proposed to me and I said yes. A week later, I found out he was married. I broke up with him and blocked him. Seven months later, I attended an interview and this man was the one chairing the panel. I've been employed, but I'm thinking it's his way of getting me to be closer so he can continue harassing me. I don't think it was my best performance at any interview because I was conflicted. It's therefore clear he's the one pulling the strings. My question is, do I go or turn down the offer? I have a few days left to accept the offer or turn it down.

Hello and welcome to my little corner of imagination! 🌸

My name is Nwachukwu Benedicta Chidera, and this page is where stories come alive. I’ve always believed that fiction has the power to take us on journeys beyond the ordinary—whether it’s through unforgettable characters, surprising twists, or worlds built from pure imagination.

Here, I’ll be sharing short stories, or even longer stories, and creative pieces that I hope will inspire, entertain, and maybe even challenge the way you see the world.

This isn’t just my space, it’s our space. Feel free to read, comment, share your thoughts, and engage with the stories. Your support and feedback means so much.

So grab a cup of tea (or coffee ☕), make yourself comfortable, and let’s embark on these storytelling adventures together.

Thank you for being here—and welcome to the journey! 🚀📚

Hello and welcome to my little corner of imagination! 🌸

My name is Nwachukwu Benedicta Chidera and this page is where stories come alive. I’ve always believed that fiction has the power to take us on journeys beyond the ordinary—whether it’s through unforgettable characters, surprising twists, or worlds built from pure imagination.

Here, I’ll be sharing short stories, or even longer stories, and creative pieces that I hope will inspire, entertain, and maybe even challenge the way you see the world.

This isn’t just my space, it’s our space. Feel free to read, comment, share your thoughts, and engage with the stories. Your support and feedback means so much.

So grab a cup of tea (or coffee ☕), make yourself comfortable, and let’s embark on these storytelling adventures together.

Thank you for being here—and welcome to the journey! 🚀📚

She told me she was going to give me a response in two weeks so I should be patient. I waited but I talked to her every day without asking about my proposal. When she said she didn't have credit, I sent it to her willingly. When we met and she had to go home late, I got her an Uber and paid for it.

Two weeks later, she asked me, "Where are we meeting to get the response?"

So I suggested a nice place not too far from town. I was there before she arrived. She ordered from the menu, ate, drank and enjoyed the night. Somewhere in the middle of the date, I said, "Uhuh, so what do you say?" She answered, "Oh won't you allow me to enjoy the night a little?"

When all was said and done, she got up, hugged me and started leaving. "What about the response?" I asked. She answered, "At least let me get home first."

She got home, wrote a long message to tell me she couldn't date me because she said yes to another guy days prior. I was like, "So what was all that for? You created the impression you were going to say yes and now this?" She said, "That's why I gave you a hug. For everything you've ever done for me."

I wasted my time, my money, my hope, just for a hug? Who needs a hug anyway? I was very angry but I let it go. Weeks later, she was back asking for help through Momo. I shook my head and asked her to collect it from her father. She thinks I have an ATM machine in my house. I've blocked her.

I completed the university without tasting the warmth of a woman. The closest I got to was a hug, a handshake or sitting next to a woman in a trotro but it didn't mean I knew nothing about s*x. I listened to conversations from friends and learned as I grew up. There was nothing I didn't know, theoretically, and I was loud about it.

I wanted to belong to the upper echelon so when guys met and they were sharing intimate experiences, I contributed imaginary ones. Sometimes, I stole other people's stories and made them mine. Friends believed me but deep down, I'd only sat next to a woman and breathed the same air with her. We didn't go beyond that.

It wasn't religious. It was upbringing. I could have done it along the line but my upbringing came in the way. You can say I was scared and you wouldn't be wrong.

I'm done with the university and currently doing my national service in a town far from home. In the office, colleagues would gather and talk about nonsense things. Again, issues of intimacy feature loud and proud so I give it to them. The theory I know. The stolen stories. About the imaginary girl I made cry in bed.

I don't know if it was due to these talks that drew Cynthia to me but she liked me enough to let it show. She is also doing her national service in the next office. She started visiting, cooking for us and hanging around. One thing led to another and it happened. I didn't last for three minutes. She said, "Say the truth. Is this your first time?"

I thought we had something deep going so I could reveal my true self to her. I could be vulnerable in her presence so I confessed. She looked regretful. She said, "You should have told me." I asked what was wrong and she answered, "I'm not in the position to tutor anyone in this enterprise." I proudly answered, “I know my way around, trust me. Didn't you see my action? Wait for the second round.”

I'd learned the second one is the longest but Cynthia dressed up and left my room. No chance to make a second impression. The fact that our relationship is suffering isn't my problem but the fact that her friends see me and they laugh discreetly makes me worried. Her colleagues in her office also do the same. I just have to walk past them and they’d give me this mischievous smile.

I'm worried. If this news gets to the brotherhood, I'm dead. I can't sit among them when they talk so I met Cynthia and asked if my failure to perform is going viral. She said she hadn't told anyone because she doesn't kiss and tell. I don't trust her so I pleaded with her not to let the guys know.

That aside, I want to reclaim my position in her life. Another chance to make amends. It’s not going to be easy but I'll ease my way slowly back into her life somehow and make things work again. Is it worth the try?

We were on our fourth year of dating when one night she called to tell me she was not feeling well. I told her to get some drugs and sleep it off. That was around 9pm. Around 11pm she called again. “What are you doing?” I said I was about to sleep. “Can you come around and take me to the hospital, I’m still having severe pains.” I looked at the time and told her, “It’s 11pm, driving from here to your place is quite a distance, why don’t you get a tax..?”

I didn’t finish talking when she cut the line.

I tried calling again and she didn’t pick. She had been my girlfriend for four years and I knew what she could do to get me to visit her, especially on Friday night like that night was. She had done it to me on several occasions, using different tactics only for me to get there, and tell me, “I’d wanted to see you.” So when she didn’t pick my calls again, I slept. The next morning I called her phone and her mother picked. She said, “She was brought to the hospital last night and got admitted.”

I rushed to the hospital. She was so angry she didn’t look at my face once. I said I was sorry. She didn’t say a word. She turned and faced away from me. She spent three days at the hospital. I went there each day and each day, she refused to talk to me. The day she was discharged, I was there to take her home and she refused to sit in my car. Right in front of me, she called a taxi, sat in with her mother and the taxi drove away.

The next day she sent a message, “It’s obvious you don’t care about me. All you think about is yourself. I could have died just because of your carelessness. It's over between us.”

I spent a whole month apologizing to her but she was resolute. Nothing I said could change her mind. I didn’t think that was a reason enough for us to break up but she did and walked out of the relationship.

We broke up but didn’t stop talking. Occasionally, I would reach out to her and ask how she was doing. When I posted something on social media, she would react. We bumped into each other quite a few times. Two years after our breakup, we both met at a friend’s wedding. Immediately she saw me, she came to sit next to me and we talked throughout the wedding. I joked, “This should have been us if you didn’t walk away.” She said, “Don’t say I walked away. Say what you did that made me walk away.”

I told her I haven’t healed since she left. She told me it took her several months to completely move on. I told her I’ve dated two women after her and it didn’t work out. She said she was in her second relationship after me. I said, “We are meant for each other. Why don’t we come back together?” She answered, “Let’s see what happens. I’m watching you.”

She didn’t accept for us to be together but she gave me hope that we could end up together again. On her birthday, I celebrated it as though we were back together. I took her out and sent her gifts. I wrote a beautiful message for her.

I tried to stay close. She would call me one day and ask, “I need this and that, can you get them for me?”

I would stop whatever I’m doing and go get it for her. “I would be going to this place tomorrow, would you be able to drive me there?” I would forgo everything I was doing and drive her there.

One day, she took me to a new place she said she had rented. I inspected the place with her—a two-bedroom house with a large compound. She had to repaint the place and do some repair works. She left those works in my care. I hired carpenters to fix the wooden works and hired painters to repaint the whole place. All she did was to go around and inspect the progress of work. When all was said and done, I took one of our office pickups and helped transport all her belongings there. And even helped to arrange her stuff in the room. I was amending my past mistakes so I can be given a second chance.

A few months later, she posted her wedding invitation on her status.

Not too long afterward, her pre-wedding photo shoot followed.

I thought I wasn’t seeing well. “Or she’s joking?” I called her, “Are you serious about what you just posted?” She answered, “How can someone joke with something like that? It’s happening live.”

I asked, “So how come you didn’t tell me until I saw it on your status?” She sensed my anger and asked, “Why are you getting angry? Ain’t you supposed to be happy for me?”

I thought I was doing everything within my power to get the girl I love back. Not knowing, I was rather aiding her to get married to another man who was living and working outside the country. The date came. They got married and moved to the house I helped pay for the renovation. I wished them well.

I have been with my boyfriend since I was 16. I’m 30 now and he is still in my life. Although we have an 8-year-old son together, we are not married. Our relationship has been on and off over the years. Mostly because he leaves and only returns when he sees that I’ve met someone new and want to move on.

Recently, he told me he got a new girlfriend. We were still together when he said this. Then he sent me a video of the two of them together on vacation. I responded, “Oh nice, congratulations. I have also moved on with someone new.”

Actually, there was no one in my life. I just said that because I was hurt. I tried to move on, but like all other times, I couldn’t. No one who came my way was him. That should have been a good thing but the heart wants what it wants.

A few months later, he came back to me again, and we rekindled things. I even lent him some money when he was broke. I didn’t mind helping him out because he had been good to me in the past. And I didn’t want to be ungrateful to him in his time of need.

Everything seemed to be fine until two days ago, when I sat him down and asked about his thoughts on us settling down.

“We’ve been together for fourteen years. Where is this heading?”

He told me plainly, “I don’t see a future with you. Besides, I haven’t broken up with my girlfriend.”

He said we could still be together and get intimate whenever we feel like it. After that, he repaid all the money he owed me. I know what this means. I am just disappointed that I wasted all my time with him.

Despite his shortcomings, I held on to him because I didn’t want to have kids by different fathers. So I figured if I could make it work with him, I would bear all my children with him. Now he says he doesn’t want me. What am I supposed to do?

I’ve lost good men because he always comes back begging. I thought the fact that he always came back meant we would end up together. It turns out that it wasn’t that deep for him.

Come to think of it, we made a blood covenant when we first met. I am wondering if that is the reason I am stuck with him. I want to know what I can do to break free from his hold, so I can move on from him while I still have my youth. I don’t want to keep doing this dance.

Ever since I met Jason, all he did was brag. He bragged about his cars, his wealth, and his lavish lifestyle, but it was so obvious that the only things he really had to his name were a big mouth and an ego that was clearly much larger than his bank account.

Jason painted himself as someone living the good life. He claimed his family lived abroad and that he and his father were big shots in real estate.

What he didn’t know was that I could sense the truth from the very moment we introduced ourselves. For starters, he looked like he had just rolled out of bed and thrown on the first thing he found on the floor. Truthfully, he showed up in a nice car, but his whole outfit screamed, “I’m trying way too hard.”

When we finally made it to his “mansion,” Jason wouldn’t stop talking about his wealth. I zoned out halfway through his stories because they had more holes than a sieve.

They were all over the place, and he was talking way too much for someone who claimed to be rich. When we arrived, I stood there looking at his so-called mansion, which clearly looked like it had not been lived in for days.

Then the lies started flowing as smoothly as champagne at a party he probably couldn’t afford. He bragged about having another car that was in the shop and promised he would give it to me soon. I just nodded and thought, “Yeah, sure, Jason.”

His so-called gateman kept appearing and disappearing at the strangest times, almost like a character in a cheap magic show. I honestly wondered if the man had a secret side job as a superhero who specialized in disappearing acts.

Here is the real shocker: this supposedly wealthy Jason suddenly asked me for money to buy groceries so he could cook for us. He claimed his mobile money was not working.

He made it sound so urgent, as if these groceries were going to last him a whole week, and as if that was not enough, he also asked for more cash to cover what he needed for his “car repairs.”

Right then, I knew I was sitting across from a master manipulator. He was acting so strange that I even wondered if he was high on something. That was my final sign. I grabbed my things and got out of there as quickly as I could.

Do you know what the funniest part of it is? None of the cars he had bragged about were anywhere to be seen when I left. The one that was supposedly in the shop? He had me pay for the top-up and then insisted I wait for this invisible car because he wanted to drop me off. He said it was because I lived far from his place.

The very next day, Jason called me again. This time, he had a new story. He said he was stuck at a fuel station and needed me to send money to some fuel attendant. I couldn’t help but laugh. I hung up and said to myself, “Not today, Jason!”

A few days later, I noticed he had blocked me on all his social media accounts. When I tried calling, he picked up once, and the moment I told him who it was, he snapped at me. He told me never to call him again and then blocked my number completely. No surprises there.

The lesson in all of this? Never waste your time or your money on smooth talkers who build their lives on lies. Always trust your instincts, because they will never lead you wrong.