‎CONTINUATION

                 THE SILENT TRUTH
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‎Chapter Three — 
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‎She began reaching out   one message at a time, one conversation after another.
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‎Some denied it, claiming they were negative.
‎Maybe they truly didn’t know their status. Maybe they were innocent, unaware.
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‎ “I don’t have HIV,” one said. “You must have gotten it somewhere else.”
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‎Some lied.
‎They did have it, but years later, they would either discover the truth
‎or keep pretending not to.
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‎ “I’m clean,” another had said. “Don’t worry.”
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‎Those words echoed now like a cruel joke.
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‎But one man went silent.
‎His reaction was different   heavy, still, and sharp.
‎He didn’t deny it. He didn’t confess.
‎He just froze.
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‎Sometimes silence weighs more than words.
‎It tells you everything you need to know without saying a thing.
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‎Amara’s voice trembled.
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‎ “Why?” she asked. “Why didn’t you tell me? Did you ever care?”
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‎He looked away. The air between them thickened, fragile with guilt and fear.
‎Finally, his voice broke through   small, trembling.
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‎ “I didn’t know how,” he whispered. “I was scared.”
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‎And in that moment, she understood.
‎HIV hadn’t just infected her body   it had infected silence.
‎It had spread through fear, through shame, through everything people were too afraid to speak about.
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‎Her tears fell quietly this time  not out of anger, but from the weight of understanding.
‎She didn’t forgive him, not yet.
‎But she saw the fear that had chained him.
‎And she knew, now, she was ready to break it.
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‎“You can’t change what you did,” she said quietly, “but I can change what comes next.”
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‎--- To be continued…….

WRITTEN BY UMORU DANIELA JOHN 
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