HIS WILL, MY WAY – GIFT ODION IRABOR (ep4)

EPISODE 4

NATHAN’S POV

Why did it suddenly feel like his whole life now depended on finding a wife—no, a godly wife?

“Where does this woman expect me to get a wife from? Not just any wife, but a godly one at that?” he muttered under his breath, pacing the length of his room.

He had underestimated her—Mrs Vera Edochie, his mother.

The plan had been simple: bring home one of his casual flings, stage a fake proposal, throw a little engagement soirée, and get her off his back. It would have worked. Should have worked.

But Mama Vera wasn’t easily fooled.

She had seen through the charade even before he could act it out. And, like the strategist she was, she’d swiftly added more impossible clauses to the will’s contract. She’d shut down his loopholes. Fast. Now, he was cornered.

His brows knitted in frustration, forehead creased, jaw clenched. With one hand, he tugged at his hair, the weight of his situation pressing harder on his shoulders.

He was stuck between two brutal options: bring home a Christian woman—a real one—or kiss his inheritance goodbye.

And it wasn’t just about the money. As the last-born and only son of the late Chief Edochie, the full responsibility of managing the family’s conglomerate now rested squarely on his shoulders. His mother

remained the interim caretaker, holding the reins until he fulfilled the final condition in his father’s will.

A wife. A godly one.

Not even his older siblings could intervene. They were well-off, married, and living abroad. They’d made it painfully clear—he was old enough to start his own family. No hand-holding.

If only Carissa hadn’t ended things when she did… It would’ve been perfect. Neat. Easy.

But no—he’d made the decision to let her go, and now, neither his mother nor his sisters had truly forgiven him for it. And honestly? He hadn’t quite forgiven himself either.

She had asked that they go their separate ways. Her reason? She couldn’t give up her newfound love for him. She had tried—oh, how she had tried to introduce him to this love, but he seemed uninterested. He was tired of hearing, Jesus this, Jesus that. Eventually, he gave in, and they went their separate ways.

He suspected his mother had added marrying a Christian wife to the family clause because she secretly hoped he and Carissa would find their way back to each other. He loved her more than he loved himself. And she claimed she loved him too. But if she truly did, she would never have left him for another man without hesitation.

He could still remember her smile, that charming face, those dimples, her curves, and the way she curved her lips whenever she was being naughty.

They were best friends. He hadn’t seen her again until they bumped into each other at a mutual friend’s birthday party.

She was with her friends when he walked in with his squad. He could never forget her face—it was etched in his memory—and he instantly kept his eyes on her, determined not to let the past repeat itself.

She caught him staring. And when he realised he had been caught red-handed, she smiled. Embarrassment swept over him, and he quickly averted his gaze.

His friends teased him, urging him to man up and go talk to the lady who had clearly stolen his heart.

Half amused, half annoyed, he excused himself and slipped into the pool garden to clear his head.

But he hadn’t gone far when he saw her again—this time, with another lady, whom he would later come to know as one of her childhood friends—Gloria.

Summoning what courage he could find, he approached her and politely excused her friend, who graciously gave them some privacy. He apologised for staring, hoping his gaze hadn’t made her uncomfortable.

She smiled and gave a slight nod, assuring him it was fine. Then, with a playful tilt of her head, she asked if he had only come to apologise for his ungentlemanly actions. He was momentarily stunned by her boldness.

But he quickly recovered and, with a spark of humour, recounted how he had seen her that day when she lost her way. His vivid description stunned her.

After getting her phone number, he proudly went back to his friends—boasting about his mission accomplished.

From there, their friendship blossomed into something beautiful.

Sadly, there was no happily-ever-after.

They had planned their goals, their dreams, their careers, their family, and even the number and names of their children.

They were each other’s first. He could still remember the first time they made out, how she cried out his name because of the pain she felt, yet stubbornly refused to let him stop. When her period was delayed for three days, it triggered a pregnancy scare. That very night, the nightmare began—when she served him a hot breakfast, sorry, dinner.

She had called him that evening, excitement lacing her voice as she asked him to meet her at their usual garden. He had thought she was about to unveil another of her naughty bedroom spice-up ideas.

Unsuspecting, he went there happily, but instead of the Carissa he knew, he met a different person. She didn’t let him kiss her. She avoided his touch. Fear gripped him. He thought he had offended her. He racked his brain but gave up when he couldn’t recall doing anything wrong. So he patiently waited for her to tell him what was behind her sudden change.

She began by telling him how she and her friends had honoured the invitation of another mutual friend to attend a church program.

At that moment, he felt an awful premonition that whatever she would say next would not be music to his ears. But he never imagined it would be worse than anything he could have guessed.

She called him by his name, not baby, not any of the sweet pet names she always used. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had heard her call him that.

As if that wasn’t enough, she mercilessly dropped the bombshell. She and her friends had each had an encounter with the Saviour, and from that moment, she could no longer do the things she used to do with him unless he also encountered her Jesus.

He was speechless. For a long time, he thought it was all a bad dream. Maybe she was joking. Maybe, if he woke up, she would shout, ‘April Fool.’ But it wasn’t April. He wasn’t dreaming. And she wasn’t joking.

His world crumbled.

He begged her. He promised to do anything just so she wouldn’t break up with him. But she stood her ground. She told him he either embraced her newfound man and his commandments or stayed away from her.

He tried everything humanly possible to win her back, but she refused, and instead, she preached to him. He saw the pain in her eyes each time he came begging her to reconsider, but she wouldn’t yield.

He didn’t even know how he wrote his first-semester exams. He failed them all. His mother and sisters had no choice but to take him to the States to complete his program.

They were in their fourth year when they broke up. It was her final year, but he still had two years to go being in the Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering—a six-year course.

His family forbade any of his friends from mentioning her name to him or telling him anything about her. He didn’t know how he survived that first year without her. She was his soul. The love he had for her couldn’t be measured. It was deeper than the deepest ocean. Yet, she had not hesitated to throw away the beautiful dream they had built together—for a man she had encountered, one he believed was nothing but a foreign religious invention.

There was even a time he called her, some months later, pleading that he had accepted Jesus and was ready to serve him, if only she would give their relationship another chance.

But she knew he was lying. If he had truly accepted her Saviour, he would not have immediately wanted to rekindle their past relationship. For no man could genuinely encounter her Jesus and remain the same again.

Her rejection for the umpteenth time hit him hard. From that moment, he developed a bitter hatred for beautiful relationships and happy couples, especially those grounded in faith.

He made it his mission to destroy as many as he could. His mantra became, “If I couldn’t have it, then no one else should.”

He succeeded in tearing apart many beautiful unions. But eventually, he grew tired of the game and stopped, though he swore never to have anything to do with the so-called Saviour and his sheep.

To be continued…