{"id":32,"date":"2026-01-21T12:44:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/?p=32"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:44:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:44:36","slug":"how-i-fell-in-love-with-my-step-mother-episode-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/how-i-fell-in-love-with-my-step-mother-episode-5\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW I FELL IN LOVE WITH MY STEP MOTHER Episode 5"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Episode 5<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Silence can be louder than a scream.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My father\u2019s question hung in the air like a sharpened blade.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cHave you ever touched my wife?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Amara was crying now, shaking her head violently. \u201cNo! Never! Chinedu would never do such a thing!\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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But my father wasn\u2019t looking at her.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He was looking at me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Waiting.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In Umuofia, a man\u2019s silence is an answer.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I felt sweat crawl down my spine. My throat burned. Every lie I had prepared dissolved the moment his eyes locked with mine.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI asked you a question,\u201d he said quietly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I swallowed. \u201cPapa\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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That single word broke something in him.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He stepped back as if struck. His face twisted\u2014not with rage yet, but with pain. Deep, wounded pain.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cSo it is true,\u201d he whispered. \u201cMy own blood.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cNo!\u201d Amara cried, dropping to her knees. \u201cIt\u2019s not what you think. Please\u2014\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cStand up,\u201d he snapped.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She froze.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI said stand up.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She obeyed, trembling.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My father turned to me again. \u201cHow long?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The room spun.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI didn\u2019t plan it,\u201d I said weakly. \u201cIt just\u2014\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He raised his hand.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I flinched.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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But he didn\u2019t strike me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Instead, he laughed.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A dry, broken laugh that scared me more than violence.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cSo the diviner was right,\u201d he said. \u201cThe betrayal was close. Very close.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He walked to the wall and lifted my late mother\u2019s photograph.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIs this how you repay me?\u201d he asked the image. \u201cBy taking another woman from me\u2026 through my own son?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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That was when the weight of it crushed me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I knelt.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cPapa, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d I said, my voice breaking. \u201cI hate myself for it. I swear I tried to stop.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Amara screamed. \u201cPunish me instead! I seduced him! I\u2019m the one at fault!\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My father turned slowly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cSo now you admit it,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She covered her mouth.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Too late.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The truth had fully chosen its mouth.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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For a long time, my father said nothing. Then he did something unexpected.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He walked outside.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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We heard him order the guards to leave the compound.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then he locked the gate himself.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Fear wrapped around my chest.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He returned with a cutlass in his hand.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Amara cried out.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I stood up immediately, stepping in front of her. \u201cIf you must kill someone,\u201d I said, \u201ckill me.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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His eyes softened\u2014for half a second.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then hardened again.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cDeath is too easy,\u201d he said. \u201cYou will live with this.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He pointed the cutlass at me. \u201cFrom today, you are no longer my son.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The words sliced deeper than any blade.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cAnd you,\u201d he turned to Amara, \u201cwill leave this house before sunrise. If you are seen anywhere near me again, the gods themselves will not save you.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Amara collapsed, wailing.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Before dawn, she left.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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No goodbye.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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No last look.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Just the sound of footsteps fading into the morning mist.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The village woke to whispers.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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By afternoon, everyone knew.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Some said I bewitched her. Others said she was a demon sent to destroy a household. Women spat when I passed. Men looked at me with disgust.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My father refused to see me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Three days later, he fell ill again.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This time, it was worse.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As he lay on his mat, breathing shallowly, he called for me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Hope sparked foolishly in my chest.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I knelt beside him.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cTake care of your life,\u201d he said weakly. \u201cBecause this house\u2026 will never accept you again.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Those were the last words he spoke to me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He died that night.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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They buried him with honor.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I stood far away during the burial, alone.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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After the mourning, the elders made their decision.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I was banished.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Not formally announced\u2014but understood.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I left Umuofia at dawn with nothing but a small bag and a heart full of ghosts.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Years passed.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I tried to forget.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then one evening, in a crowded city market far from home, I heard a voice call my name.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I turned.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Amara stood there\u2014older, stronger, her eyes still the same.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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And in that moment, I realized something terrifying.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Our story was not finished.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It had only been paused.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Episode 5 Silence can be louder than a scream. My father\u2019s question hung in the air like a sharpened blade. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-i-fell-in-love-with-my-step-mother"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions\/43"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}