Chioma was a tall lady with an aquiline nose and a beautiful face. She was endowed with a long hair which made the villagers of umueke to rate her as the most beautiful lady in the village. Her family tall height added to her homely features. Chioma was the only child of chief Nwachukwu and his wife. Her father was a popular rich timber contractor in the village and he held so many chieftaincy titles in the land. His affluence made his popularity spread far and wide across several villages as a man of means.
As the only daughter of Chief Nwachukwu, Chioma had a very rosy childhood as she grew up in affluence and had every comfort in her stride. As she grew up in the village, she became a spoilt child who had many servants at her beck and call. Chief Nwachukwu and his wife regarded Chioma as a child who must not be made to deprivation and anything she requested must be provided.
Chioma, though not too brilliant, attended a secondary school after which she settled down in her village to live with her wealthy parents. She went into trading and with much money at her disposal, she soon after became wealthy too as her trade blossomed. She did not have many friends as she was very choosy and arrogant because of her family background and wealth. Those few friends could not advise her as she would not listen to them.
Her beauty and affluence ran into her head and made her conceited She regarded herself as being above everybody else as nobody could offer to advise her on any matter. She behaves arrogantly towards every villager. Men were even afraid of asking her hands in marriage any longer. Some men who were bold enough to woo her in the past were rebuffed as she usually looked down on them as being below her status. After years, men in the village decided not seek her hands in marriage. Any men who mentioned their intention to approach her would be told not to do so.
This made Prince Ndukwe, the son of the king of the village to make up his mind to go for the hands of Chioma in marriage. The Prince had just came back from his studies abroad and decided to visit his village. One evening, he decided to meet Chioma and tell her his mind to marry him The prince was told off when he mentioned his intention to marry Chioma. She said "I can't marry you. though your father is the king He is not as rich as my father". Prince Ndukwe went back home dejected and the men in the village sighed with "had we not told him" as the news of his encounter with Chioma spread across the village.
Two years after, Chioma and her parents decided to travel to the city in search of a suitor for their daughter. As they were going, they had a fatal accident and Chief Nwachukwu and his wife died in the accident while Chioma got spinal cord injury. She was confined to wheel chair and her business went down as she had to depend on people to do most of the things she wanted to do.
She was in the condition for about four years when her father's sister came to pay her a visit and told her of the need for her to get married as she was forty two years old "All your friends are married and as you are now, you can not find a suitor in the city. You have to accept any man that come for your hands in marriage", her aunt said. Few week after, Chioma was approached by a man with a hunch back. She had no option than to accept to marry him. The news that Chioma was going to marry a hunch back man spread across the village and to the delight of all suitable suitors she had rebuffed because of her pride