How do I do this? How do I do this? How do I do this?

That had been the only question running through his mind all day. This task of telling Aurelia the truth was weighing heavy on him, and even though it would appear that all he had to do was sit her down and tell her the truth, it wasn’t that easy.

That evening, as he watched her moving gracefully around the house, seeming focused on completing small chores like arranging the flower vase on the dining, and straightening a crooked picture frame, a pang of guilt and sadness gripped his chest.

He couldn’t help but remember the stories Aurelia had shared about her parents. Stories that painted a painful picture of a family torn apart by infidelity. Stories that had been told with much pain and grief. Stories that vividly described the emotional toll her parents’ divorce had taken on her. The betrayal, the shattered trust, and the sense of security lost for a while.

Her mother cheated on her husband and the father of their two kids, of which Aurelia was the older, running off with another man, abandoning the family home after the truth was revealed, getting pregnant for her new fling, and initiating divorce proceedings shortly afterward. She even had the gall to demand for alimony as one of her reliefs, a request the judge scornfully rejected.

“You are the one who has left the matrimonial home to stay with another man and you want alimony for what? This woman paaa.”

Needless to say, the actions of Madam Gloria Dodoo had left serious scars on her firstborn daughter, and the thought of her husband doing what she did would raise fiery consequences.

Jeremy sighed.

Aurelia turned to catch his gaze at her, a small smile slowly playing on her lips.

Immediately, he put on a smile and blew a kiss at her. She winked at him and walked off.

His heart sank as he realized the depth of the betrayal she would feel when he finally confessed. She would be absolutely shattered, and extremely angry.

His mind continued to play possible scenarios of how the confession would pan out. It was safe to say that none of them ended well. They either ended with a nasty slap and a storming out of the house, or a violent confrontation. And as far as the second one was concerned, he could not imagine himself getting physical with her. He may have had bulging muscles, but the only kind of force he ever exerted on her was the sweet kind in the bedroom. No way on God’s green earth would he hit her.

Oh, God, what do I do? How do I go about this? I just don’t know, I just don’t know…

“Hey, Daddy Jay!”

The seductive voice of Aurelia broke his thoughts, with her right behind him.

Startled for a moment, he sighed with relief and smiled. “Hey queen.”

Silence for a moment. Then he heard her giggle. The next thing he felt were her hands rubbing all over his chest, and the soft feel of her teeth pulling his ear.

He smiled and looked up at her. “Ooooh, Mami’s hungry, eh?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “Why don’t you come on upstairs and… feed me?”

Without another word, she walked off, making sure he could see her very short nightie and the fact that she was deliberately swaying her hips for him.

She must have gone to change for him.

He threw his head back and sighed. “Damn it, Aurie!” he silently groaned. “Just when I needed to try and talk to you about this serious matter.”

It was hard enough attempting to muster courage to talk to her; he had already struggled to do that all evening. Now there she was, walking away in that steamy nightie, with those uncovered legs begging for a sweet invasion.

He took his shirt off. This whole confession thing was going to have to wait. “Ugh, chale, forget! I can’t resist that ass! I’m sorry, she’s gotta get it right now!”

***

An hour and a half later, and Jeremy stood in front of the bathroom mirror, gearing himself up to get it done.

The revoking declaration, that is. Not the confession.

Aurelia had been ravished just the way she had wanted, and was fast asleep now. No way was he going to say anything about his indiscretion after giving her a sweet serving of love.

Besides, as he lay there, he thought deeply about it. He had just had intercourse with his wife, and that was pretty much a reiteration of the legitimate bond he had with her. Surely that would weaken the soul tie, right? So he could get the declaration in, and possibly, that would do the needed damage.

So as he stood there, rehearsing what to say, he had convinced himself that this would do the trick. Sure, it might not be exactly what Lincoln had said, but surely it would be just as good.

Going through the declaration one more time in his head, he stared at his reflection. “Time to do this,” he whispered. Taking in one deep breath, he began.

“I decree and I declare that this soul tie is terminated! I decree and I declare that whatever bond me and that witch have by reason of the stupid mistake of sexual intercourse is hereby annulled! I speak to that witch and her powers and I declare, you have no hold over me! I do not belong to you! My only bond is to that of Aurelia Provencal by reason of holy matrimony, blessed by the Almighty God and His servants! Loose your grip on me, and begone! In Jesus’ name I declare. Amen!”

He repeated it two times for good effect, then nodded. He felt a good vibe already.

“Yep, that should do it,” he smiled to himself.

***

 “You can’t escape what we shared, you fool!”

“You can’t escape, do you hear me? You belong to me, body and soul!”

The next day had arrived, and as he sat in front of his computer, Jeremy’s morose mood was enough indication that it had not worked. She had come again in his dreams and screamed those frightening words to him.

Sighing, he rubbed his forehead and reached for the bottle of water beside him. “Chale, this thing really dey stress me,” he muttered.

Then, the phone on his desk vibrated, interrupting his thoughts.

He glanced at the caller ID and saw Lincoln’s name flashing on the screen. Swallowing hard, he answered, his voice shaky. He hadn’t called Lincoln back since the direction, and he knew the man was going to demand answers.

“Chale, Lincoln. What’s up?” Jeremy asked, trying his best to sound casual, although the tension in his voice betrayed him.

“Yeah, Jeremy,” Lincoln’s voice was calm, “I hope all is well.”

“Yeah, yeah, all is well, chale.”

“Good. We thank God. Please, I’ve not heard from you since we last spoke. Have you done what I asked you to do?”

Jeremy hesitated, guilt weighing on his shoulders. He knew he could not lie to this guy.  “Umm… well, not exactly. I haven’t told my wife yet, but… but I did the declaration thing you mentioned. I thought that would be enough.”

A moment of silence followed, then a sigh. “Jeremy, it doesn’t work that way. I told you the confession is necessary. You can’t skip it and do the declaration thing. It won’t work, chale.”

Jeremy sighed, feeling very uneasy. “I just… I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, Lincoln. I’m scared, chale, I’m scared. My wife won’t forgive me if she knows.”

Lincoln’s tone turned stern. “Jeremy, I understand your worries, but look, this is not an ordinary matter at hand. If you want to sever the tie with this witch and protect your family, you need to be honest with your wife and follow the procedure given. Otherwise, the bond will remain, and bro, this is not a bond you need to have following you. The sisterhood this woman is with is more dangerous than you can imagine.”

Jeremy froze.

“See eh, the Sisters of the Midnight Coven no dey play. I’ve seen their activities in the spiritual realm, and they’re one of the scariest witches to encounter. You see the way some of these evil spirits and principalities will be scaring people in horror movies? That’s their level. My guy, if you continue being lackadaisical about this, she go fit do some crazy things.”

Beads of sweat began to form on Jeremy’s forehead. Witches that messed around like those in the movies? That sounded horrific. After watching Hereditary a few weeks ago, he knew he never wanted any encounter of that sort.

“Ummm… but, but Lincoln,” he enquired, “I was also wondering… isn’t it also okay to do it after, you know, having intimate relations with my wife? I mean, it’s like enforcing our bond as man and wife, right?”

The exasperated sigh at the other end of the line was enough of an answer for him.

“Jeremy, look! You can’t do things your way in this realm. You can’t. This direction I gave you is not something I cooked up myself, it was given to me as a divine direction. You either follow it or this evil girl continues to torment you. Having sex with your wife isn’t going to help nullify the soul tie. It isn’t. I wish it was that simple, but it isn’t. This is what God expects you to do, so do it!”

That last sentence was spoken with quite some force. Jeremy knew he could not win this debate. So he sighed. “Alright, Lincoln. I’ll do what I need to do.”

“Good. Look, this is for your good ooo. Once you break that soul tie, you are free. And you and your wife can reconcile. Me, I can see you’re remorseful about it, so I feel like Aurelia will forgive you. Just get it done before anything crazy pops up. Please… please.”

The line went dead.

Putting the phone down, Jeremy squeezed his eyes shut and sighed.

“He makes it sound so easy. He doesn’t know how this woman reacts to adultery stuff. But well, I dunno how I’ll do it, but I guess I must…”

***

It was midnight.

Draped in her dark cloak, she stood before the ornate mirror, its surface still reflecting the mystical realm where the spirits of the Sisters of the Midnight Coven dwelled. With a determined expression and a heavily charged atmosphere, she began her incantations, her ritual to seek additional powers from the spirits underway.

“Sisters of the Midnight Coven, I have served you faithfully,” she declared, her eyes ablaze with determination. “All these years, I have been faithful to the cause and spilled blood whenever you instructed me to. Now, I ask for a boon, a surge of power that will make him mine, body and soul. And to destroy anyone that stands in my way. Strengthen my enchantments, empower my spells. It is time to get extra serious with him.”

As she uttered these words, a surge of magical energy enveloped her, causing her cloak to billow as if she was in the midst of an otherworldly wind. The room quivered with the intensity of the ritual, and the mirror glowed with an unearthly brilliance.

In the mirror’s reflection, the spirits of the Sisters of the Midnight Coven seemed to respond, their ethereal forms radiating a newfound power. She duly felt the surge of energy coursing through her veins, a potent force that was to amplify her magical abilities.

With a victorious laugh and a shout, the ritual came to an end, and the room quickly fell into an eerie stillness.

She stood before the mirror, now imbued with additional powers, a victorious gleam in her eyes. The spirits of the Sisters of the Midnight Coven faded away, having granted her wish.

Looking in the mirror, the most evil of smiles lit up her face.

“Watch out, Daddy. The appetizer is over, here comes the main course!”

Bruh, she’s leveled up unprovoked? Jeremy needs to stop fooling around and do the direction! This witch clearly isn’t playing fair…