\"JUST WHEN ALL HOPE SEEMS LOST FOR ADAORA, HELP EMERGED FROM THE SHADOWS.

TITLE : ADAORA\'S STORM

CHAPTER FIVE : A BROTHER\'S LOVE

When Ebuka re-entered Adaora’s life, she was cautious. Rightfully so. The wounds his silence left ran deep. But as the days passed, she noticed something different, not in what he said, but in what he did.

He didn’t come back with lofty apologies or emotional speeches. He came back with sleeves rolled up and a quiet determination to be the brother she had always needed.

At first, Ebuka began with small gestures. He started calling regularly, not to ask questions or give unsolicited advice, but just to listen. He learned to sit in the silence without trying to fix it.

Then he showed up. Literally.

One afternoon, Adaora opened her door to find him standing there with a box of groceries in one hand and two pink backpacks in the other.

“Ikenna and Chioma’s school stuff,” he said simply. “And some food. I didn’t know what exactly, so I called Mummy and asked for your favorite soup ingredients.”

Adaora blinked, her heart caught in her throat. He had never bought okporoko or ogiri in his life.

“I also paid the school fees,” he added, looking down awkwardly. “Just… don’t argue with me.”

She didn’t. She stepped aside and let him in. That day, they didn’t talk much. He played with the children, repaired a leaky tap in the kitchen, and left just before dusk with a promise to return the next day.

He kept that promise.

In the weeks that followed, Ebuka became a second parent in the house. He took over morning school runs and made sure he always gave her a shoulder to lean on. He drove her to chemotherapy when her legs couldn’t carry her, sitting by her side with a power bank, water flask, and a playlist of her favorite gospel songs.

When the nausea hit and she couldn’t cook, he would prepare yam porridge, his only specialty and somehow make the kids believe it was a feast.

On weekends, he fixed broken furniture, helped Chioma with homework, and taught Ikenna how to ride a bicycle on the dusty street outside.

One night, after a long day at the hospital, Adaora sat on the couch while Ebuka folded laundry. The children were already asleep.

“Why are you really doing this, Ebuka?” she asked softly. “Guilt?”

He paused. “Maybe at first,” he admitted. “But now? Because I remember who you are. Because you’ve always carried everyone, even when you were the one bleeding.”

Adaora blinked back tears.

“I failed you before,” he continued, his voice low. “But I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure I don’t fail you again.”

In that moment, something shifted and even though Ebuka didn’t fix her world.....

He helped her carry it.

And sometimes, that’s the kind of love that matters most.

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To be continued!