Bond Of Love

In Bond Of Love, Ijeoma is a young mother in a rural community. Her mother tells her that Ada must come first, and Ijeoma works hard to support the girl. She still falls behind, and her landlord seizes her stock when she fails to pay rent. Loveth, her childhood friend in Lagos, calls with an offer of work and a place to stay. Ijeoma takes the offer and moves in with Loveth. Loveth asks her neighbor Lucas, who runs a coaching academy from home, to tutor Ijeoma, and Lucas agrees after she pleads with him. Lucas teaches Ijeoma in person. She turns his formal business lessons into stories from her own street experience, and he enjoys her company more than he expected. He teaches her to make, manage, and multiply money, and she finishes his practical assignments with energy. Her understanding impresses him, so he offers her an internship and takes her to client meetings. He jokes about her English but admits she never stops making him laugh. He tells his sister that Ijeoma has brought back a smile he thought he lost, and Ijeoma tells Loveth that she wants to be independent and successful. Their friendship becomes love, but Ijeoma hides the fact that she had Ada in high school. On a playful afternoon, Loveth lets the secret slip in front of Lucas. Lucas accuses Ijeoma of lying by omission, ends her internship, and tells her to leave. Her apologies go nowhere, and Lucas says broken trust cannot simply be fixed. Loveth tells Ijeoma that Lucas only saw her as a charity case and that an uneducated village girl means nothing to him. She packs Ijeoma's belongings and throws her out. Ijeoma returns to the village and finds her mother seriously ill and in need of an operation. She sells her only phone to a passerby for a low price because she has no money. Lucas realizes he loves her, but his calls are blocked. He spends sleepless nights and regrets the choices that drove her away.