My Regret (PART 1)

My name is Uju and I'm an orphán. I had worked as a teacher in a private school for three years after getting my HND. I taught in primary one. The salary at that time was just 10,000 naira. Initially, I accepted the job because of my love for kids, but as responsibilities started weighing on my shoulders, I found the need to look for something with higher pay.

The second job I got was at a bakery, where I worked for six months. However, I quit one night after almost being rápped by two masked men on my way home. If not for someone that God touched to intervene, I could have been in a very difficult situation, as my tradition fórbids abórtion. The bakery was doing well, producing hundreds of loaves of bread daily and making huge sales, but I disliked the late closing hours. The salary was only a slight increase of 5,000 naira from my previous teaching job. I never set foot in the bakery again after the incident.

I moved from place to place looking for something to do just to survive and pay my bills. My parents trained me to be hardworking, not lazy, and I had never depended on men despite how curvy I was. My virginîty was still intact. Months later, I was connected to a completely different job at a hotel. The distance from the hotel to my place was roughly a two-hour drive. The manager scrutinized me, and luckily, I passed all their tests and interviews. He reserved a spot for me in the cooking department. The manager informed me that they would start with a salary of twenty thousand naira, that my feeding would also be settled by him, as someone who had gone through hèll I agreed. With that, I was able to settle some of my small bills.

During my fourth month of working there. We had a customer that drove to our hotel and I was the one that was sent to deliver his meal to him in his room that he had booked.

"Afternoon sir. This is your meal" I greeted and placed it on top of the glass table that was in front of him.

"No problem.." He answered and pulled his watch on top of the glass table and sat on the bed. He had already removed his tie and jacket He appeared to be in his late 50(s) with a ring in one of his thumb.

"Any other thing sir?" I asked after observing.

"Ummm. No you can go." He answered, staring at me from the bed but I turned to leave regardless.

"Uhm, hold on. Beautiful princess, what's your name? How old are you?" he called me back just as I was about to exit the room.

"Uju, going to 27" I answered.

"Wonderful. That's an Igbo name, right? Meaning God's will. Even though I'm not Igbo, I can still recognize it."

"You're right, sir," I said, still standing behind the door.

"Okay, Uju, this is my first time at this hotel. I just came to spend the night here in preparation for a friend's party. My place is very far from here, and this is the closest hotel I could find. I hope you understand."

I nodded.

"Are you scarèd? This one you're standing like an army recruit. Come closer. If possible, sit next to me so we can have a one-on-one discussion."

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