My fiancé stole my cousin’s goat to pay for the bride price list.

My fiancé came to town with his best friend, Daniel. We were planning the traditional wedding, and they came to deliver some items from the list.

The first time my fiancé saw our town’s bride price list, he froze like a laptop that just crashed.

He read it again, moving his lips as if he were praying in tongues.

Then he whispered, “Love… is this a bride price or a sacrifice to the gods?”

I laughed.

He wasn’t entirely wrong. The list read:

2 large goats

10 cartons of malt

4 sacks of rice

1 fat yam for each of my uncles

Cloth for each woman over 25

A cash gift labeled “for the elders who will kneel to bless the union” 😩

He sighed and said, “I will, because I love you.”

Awww.

Fast forward a week later.

My fiancé came to town with his best friend, Daniel. We were planning the traditional wedding, and they came to deliver some items from the list.

Everything was going well until my cousin’s goat disappeared. A large, black goat with a white neck. Very popular in the courtyard. The kind of goat you greet as if it were a human.

No one could find it.

My uncle raised the alarm. “That goat was for Sunday’s sacrifice! It must not disappear!”

The entire courtyard scattered. People searched every corner, every bush. Still, there was no goat.

That’s when someone said, “Let’s check the groom’s car.”

I laughed.

Until they actually opened the trunk of his car…

And lo and behold… the goat!

It was sleeping like a baby inside a wrapper, with a rope around its neck and a water bag next to it.

“Jesus!” I shouted.

My fiancé ran forward. “Wait! I can explain!”

Apparently, his friend Daniel had suggested they “borrow” the goat to complete another part of the bride price list in another town they would be going to after mine.

“You’re not the only ones with traditions!” Daniel said confidently. “We’re paying for two wives this week.”

I couldn’t believe it.

“Two wives? So I’m in a line?!” I asked.

My man got down on one knee.

“Love, it was all Daniel’s plan. I didn’t know the goat was sacred. I thought it was… drinkable.”

My father, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke:

“No problem. Since the goat got into your car, let it drive you home. The marriage is off.”

My mom started screaming. My uncles were murmuring. I just stood there—my head spinning like a DJ deck.

Then I opened my eyes… and realized I was still in Lagos. In my bed. Under my fan.

It was 6:23 a.m.

And I was still single.

No goat. No fiancé. No wedding list. Just me and my alarm clock that blinked like a judge.

I sighed.

I hugged my pillow and whispered,
“God, please. If it’s a goat I need to find a husband, just say so. I’m ready.”

Part 1: The Unlikely Beginning

It was 6:23 a.m., and I woke up with a jolt. My head spun, and for a moment, I didn’t know where I was. I reached for the alarm clock that was blinking with an urgency I couldn’t ignore, my heart racing from the disorienting dream I had just woken from. I rubbed my eyes, trying to make sense of it all, but the vividness of the dream was still hanging in the air like a cloud.

In my dream, everything had been so real—so painfully real. My fiancé, Chuka, and I had been standing in the courtyard of my family’s compound, surrounded by my uncles, aunts, and cousins. The atmosphere had been electric, filled with excitement for the traditional wedding ceremony that was supposed to bind us together. But then, there had been the goat. My cousin’s goat—the one that had been meant for a sacrifice in my uncle’s church.

The goat was the centerpiece of an entire village tradition that could not be ignored. It was sacred. It was supposed to be offered with reverence, especially for the union of families, and yet, there it was, tucked away in my fiancé’s car, sleeping soundly in the trunk as if it had no idea of its importance.

I had shouted—loudly. And then, just as the tension had reached its peak, I woke up, drenched in sweat, clutching my pillow like it was the last thing keeping me anchored to reality.

I glanced around my small apartment in Lagos. No uncle, no cousins, no fiancé—just me and my alarm clock. I let out a slow, steady breath, relieved that it had all been just a dream, but also… frustrated.

“God, please,” I whispered to myself, sinking back into my bed, “If it’s a goat I need to find a husband, just say so. I’m ready.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. My mind wandered back to the dream again, the absurdity of Chuka’s attempt to pay the bride price in the most ridiculous way possible: by stealing my cousin’s goat, a sacred creature that had been intended for an entirely different purpose. The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. But then, I remembered the last words Chuka had said before everything had gone awry:

“It was all Daniel’s plan.”

Daniel. Chuka’s best friend. He had been the one to suggest they “borrow” the goat to complete the bride price list for another family they were visiting after my wedding. “You’re not the only ones with traditions!” he had said with confidence, as though this was some sort of practical joke gone too far.

I groaned, rolling over in bed. How had things gotten so out of hand?

It wasn’t even like I was desperate for a wedding at that point. Sure, I had imagined it in my head a thousand times—what it would look like, how the ceremony would unfold—but the reality of it all had been so different. My mind couldn’t keep up with the changing dynamics of the situation. Chuka and I had been through so much together. I had known him since we were both in secondary school, and now, here we were, on the verge of marriage.

But somehow, my dream had brought everything crashing down in a way that felt like fate mocking me. A goat? Really? Was that how it was all supposed to go?

I sighed deeply, glancing at my phone for the time. 6:23 a.m. It was too early for all of this. Still, I couldn’t shake the strange feeling that had come over me after waking from that dream. Something didn’t feel right, and I wasn’t sure if it was the wedding, the goat, or the weird twist of fate that had made everything unravel.

I decided to take a shower, hoping the hot water would clear my head. It didn’t, though. As I stood under the stream, I thought about how strange life could be—how the most ridiculous, seemingly trivial things could suddenly become so important.

And then, my phone buzzed on the counter.

I stepped out of the shower quickly, wiping the steam from the mirror, and grabbed the phone. It was a text from Chuka.

“Good morning, my love. Just checking in. Are you still awake?”

I couldn’t help but smile at the familiarity of his words. Chuka had a way of making me feel special, even when I was wrapped up in my own chaotic thoughts. But that was before the goat debacle. Before he had promised to pay the bride price in the most ridiculous way possible.

I sighed, staring at the text for a moment before responding.

“I was awake… and now I’m awake with even more questions. Where’s the goat?”

The text was playful, but my stomach twisted as I waited for his reply. Would he laugh it off? Or would he finally give me the explanation I needed?

It didn’t take long.

“Relax, babe. I promise it wasn’t serious. It was just a prank. You know Daniel and his crazy ideas. I’ll make it up to you.”

I stared at the message for a long time, the words feeling hollow. A prank? Was that how he was going to explain the chaos of the past few days? I could feel the old frustrations welling up inside me—the frustrations that had been building long before the goat incident. The dismissiveness, the way he often treated our relationship like a game.

I typed out a response, my fingers trembling slightly with emotion.

“You know, Chuka, sometimes I wonder if you’re actually serious about this marriage. I don’t need pranks or jokes. I need you to show me that this is real.”

I hit send and immediately regretted it. It felt like too much, too soon, but the frustration inside me had built to a point where I couldn’t hold it in anymore. A few minutes passed. The buzzing of my phone snapped me out of my thoughts.

His reply was short.

“I love you, Vera. You know that.”

I felt the tension in my shoulders ease a bit, but it was still there. Something was missing—something crucial. We had been together for so long, but after everything that had happened, I wasn’t sure if I could rely on him anymore. I wasn’t sure about anything, really.

I sighed deeply and turned away from the phone. Maybe I needed time. Maybe I needed space. I couldn’t let a goat, no matter how ridiculous, define my future with Chuka.

I needed clarity.

Part 2: The Unraveling

The days that followed my visit to the village were strangely quiet. The initial chaos of the goat incident and Chuka’s strange behavior seemed to recede into the background, but it was only temporary. Every moment I spent away from the city only seemed to deepen the unease gnawing at my heart. Something was off, and I could feel it in my bones.

The house felt too still without Chuka around. His absence was heavy, like an unfinished sentence hanging in the air. I kept telling myself I needed space, but the silence felt suffocating. The images from that evening kept replaying in my mind—Chuka’s hollow eyes, his shaky explanations, and the mystery of the goat. It was absurd to focus on something so trivial, yet the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a sign of something deeper, something darker that I wasn’t seeing.

It wasn’t just about the goat anymore. It was about Chuka’s sudden withdrawal, the way he looked at me as if I were a stranger, and the strange behavior surrounding the ceremony. He had been so eager to marry me, so certain that he loved me—until he wasn’t.

I couldn’t help but wonder: Was this all just a joke? Had I been a part of something bigger that I didn’t fully understand?

One evening, when the weight of the silence became unbearable, I decided to confront him. He had texted me earlier, apologizing for the misunderstanding with the goat. But the apology had felt hollow, like a placeholder. I needed more than that. I needed answers.

I walked to his apartment, the familiar route now feeling strangely foreign. The streets of the city felt like a maze, the lights flickering in the distance like distant stars. When I arrived, Chuka was sitting on the couch, his eyes glazed, staring at the television, though I could tell he wasn’t really watching it. The room was dimly lit, the air thick with the smell of stale pizza boxes and empty cans. It was as though he had been living in a fog for weeks.

“Chuka,” I said softly, my voice shaking. I stood in the doorway, waiting for him to acknowledge me.

He didn’t move.

I crossed the room slowly, sitting down on the edge of the couch. I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder, my touch tentative, unsure. “We need to talk.”

He flinched at the contact, and for the first time in a long while, I saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes. He turned toward me slowly, his face pale and gaunt, as if he hadn’t slept in days. The weight of his exhaustion hung on him like a cloak.

“What do you want, Vera?” His voice was low, distant, but there was something in it—a weariness that I had never heard before.

“I want to know what’s going on,” I said, my voice firm, but my heart was racing. “I need the truth, Chuka. About the goat. About what’s been happening to you. Why have you been acting so distant?”

He stared at me, his eyes narrowing as though weighing whether to speak or remain silent. The silence between us felt thick, suffocating, but I refused to break it.

Finally, he spoke. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean for everything to go wrong. The goat, the wedding, all of it. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

His words were hollow, but something in them shifted inside me, something that made my stomach churn. I took a deep breath and pressed him further. “What are you talking about? What happened to you, Chuka?”

He closed his eyes for a moment, as though gathering the strength to confess something he had long kept buried. “I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want to drag you into this.”

“Into what?” I demanded, my patience beginning to wear thin. “What is going on?”

Chuka’s hands trembled as he looked up at me. His voice was barely a whisper. “Vera… I’m in debt. Deep debt. And Milana… Milana’s been part of it. I thought I could fix things, but I couldn’t. The goat, the wedding… it was all a distraction. I didn’t know what else to do.”

I felt my heart sink. Debt? Milana? My mind reeled. It made no sense. Chuka had always been careful with money, cautious with investments. He had never once mentioned being in financial trouble.

“What kind of debt?” I asked, my voice tight.

“The kind that gets you involved with people you don’t want to owe,” he replied bitterly. “People who don’t care how they get paid. People who… control things. And Milana…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “She knew. She’s been involved in this for years. She was the one who made the deal with them, Vera. And I got caught up in it. The goat… It was a part of the payment, the exchange.”

I felt a chill sweep over me, the realization dawning on me that I had been blind to everything. Milana. The woman who had always seemed so perfect, so composed, was part of this dark web of deceit.

“Milana knew?” I whispered, my heart beating faster. “But why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want you to see the man I’ve become,” he said, his eyes filled with regret. “I thought I could fix it. But it’s too late now.”

Part 3: The Truth Uncovered

The following days were a blur of confusion and disbelief. I couldn’t shake the images of Chuka, sitting there on the couch, admitting to me the depths of his betrayal. The truth about Milana’s involvement in his financial ruin left a bitter taste in my mouth. I thought I knew her. I thought I knew what she wanted from Chuka. But now, it seemed everything was built on lies.

I couldn’t get the thought of Milana’s involvement out of my head. I knew I needed to confront her, but the idea of facing her again filled me with dread. What would she say? How would she explain herself?

I decided to visit her, to demand answers, and to understand why she had led Chuka down this path. When I arrived at her apartment, I hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door. The silence in the hallway felt deafening, and the heavy air around me made me feel like I was walking into a trap.

When Milana opened the door, her eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly masked it with a polite smile.

“Vera,” she said, her voice cool and composed as always. “What brings you here?”

“I need to talk to you,” I said firmly, pushing past her into the apartment before she could respond. “About Chuka. About the debts, the goat, everything. I know what you’ve done.”

Her face paled slightly, but she didn’t flinch. “Vera, I don’t think this is something you should be involved in,” she said, her tone condescending, as if she were speaking to a child. “You don’t understand how these things work.”

“Don’t tell me I don’t understand,” I snapped, my voice rising. “You used him. You’ve been using him for years, Milana. And now he’s in danger. I want to know everything. How did you get him involved in this mess?”

Milana’s gaze shifted, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of something—fear, perhaps, or guilt. But it was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. She crossed her arms, her posture stiff.

“I didn’t mean for it to go this far,” she said quietly, her voice soft, but there was no apology in it. “I never meant to hurt him. But Chuka—he was always too eager, too trusting. I thought he could handle it. I thought I could control it. But it spiraled out of control, and now we’re here.”

I felt my pulse quicken. “So you admit it?” I asked, my voice trembling with disbelief. “You admit that you used him? That you used him to pay off debts, to keep this whole mess going?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes. But I never wanted it to hurt him. I never wanted him to feel this way. He’s always been so naive, so blinded by his own desire to be the hero. And in the end, it’s what broke him.”

I stepped closer, my fists clenched at my sides. “You took everything from him, Milana. You took his life, his happiness, and you ruined him.”

Her eyes narrowed. “It was never about him. It was about survival. We all have to make choices, Vera. Even you. You think you’re so different? But you’ve always been a part of this game, whether you want to admit it or not.”

I took a step back, her words cutting deeper than I wanted to admit. “What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice faltering.

Milana’s lips twisted into a thin smile. “Everything we do is about survival, Vera. And now, it’s your turn to decide. Will you protect him, or will you let him face the consequences of his choices?”

In that moment, something shifted within me. I had spent my whole life trying to protect Chuka, trying to fix everything for him. But now, I realized that I couldn’t save him from his own mistakes. And I couldn’t save myself from the truth.

With a steady breath, I turned and left her apartment. I didn’t need to confront Milana any longer. I knew everything I needed to know. The rest was up to me.

As I walked away, I could feel the weight of the past finally lifting off my shoulders. It was time to let go. It was time to move forward, and this time, I was doing it for me.

The End.