Post by Rebecca Ajirioghene Oyetu (@Beccajiri)

THE PRINCE WHO IMPREGNATED A PALACE COOK OUT OF IGNORANCE

Episode 1

“Ego! Ego! Are you deaf or pretending not to hear me?” the palace cook, Mama Nnena shouted from the kitchen corridor.

Ego jumped up immediately, her heart racing.
“Ah! Mama Nnena, I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. I was washing the vegetables you asked for.”

Mama Nnena eyed her suspiciously.
“Since morning you’ve been slow like someone that lost her soul. What is wrong with you?”

Ego smiled faintly, “Nothing, Mama. I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Hmm…” Mama Nnena squinted, dropping her spoon. “Ego, look me well. You’ve changed o. Your face is shining anyhow. Your chest don rise small, and you’ve been eating too much lately. Tell me, is there something you’re not saying?”

Ego laughed nervously. “Mama, ah, no o! What will I be hiding? I’m fine.”

But Mama Nnena wasn’t convinced. “Come here. Let me see your eyes.”

Ego hesitated but stepped closer.

The old cook lifted her face and gasped softly. “Chineke! Ego, who did this to you? You’re pregnant!”

Ego’s heart dropped instantly. “Pregnant ke? Mama, what are you saying?”

“I said you are pregnant! Look at your eyes, your palm, even the way your waist has widened! I have raised seven children; I know when a woman is carrying one. Who is responsible?”

Ego’s lips trembled. She looked away, pretending to arrange plates on the wooden shelf. “Mama, please stop saying that. I’m not pregnant.”

Mama Nnena shook her head in pity. “Ego, don’t deny it. Tell me who the father is before it’s too late.”

Ego’s voice cracked. “Mama, please... I don’t even have a man. I can’t be pregnant. I only... I only served the prince food that night, that’s all.”

Mama Nnena frowned. “Which night? The night of the royal feast?”

Ego nodded slowly, memories flashing through her mind the wine, the laughter, and how the prince, Prince Somto, had stumbled into the kitchen drunk, calling her ‘my beautiful servant’.

She shook her head quickly. “No, Mama. I can’t be pregnant. It’s not possible.”

Mama Nnena sighed heavily. “I don’t like what I’m sensing. Go and buy pregnancy test kit and confirm. Because this your body is telling me something your mouth is denying.”

Ego swallowed hard. “But Mama, I don’t have money.”

Mama Nnena looked at her with pity. “Haa, Ego, how can you be carrying trouble and say you don’t have money to check it? Okay, take this ₦500. Go to Mama Ify’s chemist and test yourself.”

Ego collected it with shaking hands. “Thank you, Mama.”

At the chemist’s shop...

“Good afternoon, ma,” Ego greeted shyly.

“Afternoon, my dear. What do you want?”

“Please I want to buy a pregnancy test strip.”

The woman behind the counter eyed her up and down. “Pregnancy test? Hmmm. All these palace girls with fine face but no sense. How old are you sef?”

“Please, ma, I’m not what you’re thinking. I just want to confirm something.”

“Confirm wetin? That you’ve opened your legs for one guard abi? It’s ₦400,” the woman hissed.

Ego handed her the ₦500 note and collected the test strip with shaky hands. She rushed to the restroom at the back of the shop.

Two minutes later...

She screamed softly, covering her mouth. Two bold lines stared back at her. Positive.

Her legs grew weak. “Jesus Christ! I’m finished. What will I do? How will I tell Mama Nnena? How will I even face the palace?”

Her mind raced. “No… no, no, this can’t be true. It was just one night, and the prince was drunk. He didn’t even know what he was doing. Oh my God, how can I be pregnant for the prince?”

She ran back to the palace, tears in her eyes. But as soon as she stepped into the courtyard, Queen Amara spotted her.

“Ego! Come here this minute!” the Queen commanded.

Ego froze in her steps. “Yes, my Queen.”

Queen Amara narrowed her eyes. “Where are you coming from? And what are you hiding in your wrapper?”

Ego’s heart skipped. She pressed the test strip deeper into her pocket. “Nothing, my Queen. I only went to get salt for the kitchen.”

“Lie! I saw you talking to Mama Ify at the chemist. What did you buy?” the Queen asked suspiciously.

Ego’s mouth went dry. “Nothing, my Queen.”

“Guards!” the Queen called. “Search her!”

Ego’s eyes widened in fear as the guards approached her slowly.

To be continued...

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