MY SUGAR DADDY IS STRANGE
Episode 16 — “You Don’t Sound Good on the Phone”
“You don’t sound good on the phone,” Chike said as he locked his front door.
He turned around to face Ifunanya.
“Ify… is everything alright? What’s the matter?” he asked, stepping closer to her.
Ifunanya didn’t answer immediately.
She stood there, staring at him.
For several seconds, the only sound between them was the ticking of the wall clock.
“I’m fine,” she finally whispered.
Chike frowned.
“No, you’re not.”
She looked away.
“I said I’m fine.”
He took another step toward her.
“Ify, I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re pretending.”
That sentence made her eyes fill with tears.
Chike’s expression softened.
“Come here.”
But Ifunanya stepped backward.
“Don’t.”
He stopped.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know if I can trust you anymore.”
The words hit him harder than she expected.
“Trust me?”
“Yes.”
She pulled out her phone with trembling fingers.
“Who is this?”
Chike looked at the screen.
His face changed.
It was a photograph of him standing outside a hotel.
Beside him was a woman Ifunanya had never seen before.
“Where did you get this?”
“That’s not the question.”
“It is if someone is trying to manipulate you.”
She shook her head.
“You told me you were at home that night.”
“I was.”
“Then why were you at that hotel?”
Chike didn’t answer.
And that silence was enough to make her heart sink.
“You see?” she whispered. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
Chike rubbed his forehead.
“Ify, there’s something you don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
He looked toward the locked door.
Then back at her.
“I didn’t tell you because I was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
He hesitated.
“From the truth.”
Ifunanya stared at him.
“What truth?”
Chike walked to the window and pulled the curtain aside.
He looked outside before speaking.
“The woman in that picture isn’t my girlfriend.”
“I never said she was.”
“She works for someone who has been watching me.”
Ifunanya’s eyes widened.
“Who?”
Chike turned around.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No. It’s not.”
He lowered his voice.
“For the past few weeks, I’ve noticed the same car following me. Someone has been asking questions about my business. Yesterday, someone broke into my office.”
Ifunanya’s anger began turning into fear.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want you involved.”
She shook her head.
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
A loud knock suddenly came from the front door.
Both of them froze.
Another knock.
This time harder.
Chike immediately moved toward Ifunanya.
“Stay behind me.”
“Who is it?”
He didn’t answer.
The knocking stopped.
Then Chike’s phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
One message.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT HER ALONE.
His face went pale.
Ifunanya saw the message.
“Chike…”
He slowly looked at her.
Before either of them could speak, another message arrived.
This one contained a photograph.
It was a picture of Ifunanya standing outside Chike’s house.
Taken only minutes earlier.
She covered her mouth.
“Someone is watching us.”
Chike locked the phone.
“Yes.”
Then he looked at the door.
“And now they know you’re here.”
Suddenly, the lights went out.
Ifunanya screamed.
Chike grabbed her hand.
“Don’t move.”
From somewhere outside came the sound of footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Coming toward the house.
Then a man’s voice whispered through the darkness:
“Chike… we need to talk.”
Chike’s grip tightened around Ifunanya’s hand.
Because he recognized the voice.
And he hadn’t heard it in five years.
To be continued…