Episode 5 final
Her Father’s Daughter🦋
When I could no longer bear the pains of Laura and Charles ending up as man and wife, I decided to go and meet dad. I have to go and explain everything to him. I had to let him know I’m not crazy but a victim.
When I drove into the compound, I was surprised to see three different cars aside dad’s. When I got closer to the door, I overheard voices… angry voices, shouting.
One voice was dad’s, the other sounds like mom’s, but…mom dare not enter this house while dad is around.
But to my greatest astonishment, I thought right.
Mom and dad were fighting while Laura, Charles, aunt Mary and Oga Peter (dad’s driver) were trying to calm them down.
“How could you do this?, firstly you gave out Gina to your old friend and as if that wasn’t enough, you allowed Laura to get married to her sister’s ex, where has that ever happened?”. Mom screamed.
I never knew she could be this angry.
“So you have grown tails, Hannah?, to come into my house and tell me what to do”. Dad fired back.
“Oh God!… turned to aunt Mary
…. Mary, this is your fault, why didn’t you call me earlier, I would have left whatever I’m doing in Port Harcourt and come down here to address this issue. This marriage wouldn’t have taken place”.
I entered and sat on the couch with my baby in my laps, still trying to understand what was really going on.
Charles was the first to notice me but when he tried to look at the face of my baby, I lifted him up to my shoulder and looked away.
“You’re a very wicked man, Gregory, you kicked me out of your house and went ahead to restrict me from seeing my children and yet, you still could not take proper care of it them, you allowed them make choices that could destroy them in the near future”. Mom continued.
“You broke our marriage vows, what were you expecting me to do?, clap for you?”. Dad retorted.
“Greg, I didn’t break any vows and you knew it but your ego won’t just allow you accept the truth for once, you know I have been innocent of the crime”
Dad kep mute. That was unlike him because he doesn’t give up so easily. Or could it be mom has been innocent. I wondered.
“And you.. Mom turned to Laura
… are you a kid?, why will you agree to get married to your own sister’s ex fiance?, does it mean you have had an eye on him or what?”
“Having an eye on him?or going out with him?, she has been sleeping with him, Mom, I caught them red-handed…”. I cried.
“Liar!… Charles screamed,
..you’re a liar, you never see anything, you just making up stories to look like the victim here”
I stood up and faced him.
“You’re so shameless, Charles, you’re shameless, so even up till now you’re still lying?, you’re not going out with Laura and yet, you’re married to her, how come?”
“Yes, when you thoughtlessly shattered my heart into pieces, I have no one else but Laura, there to comfort me …”
“and she comforted you into marrying her?”
“Can you all stop all these?, stop, please, you’re making me lose my mind”. Laura pleaded.
At this point, I had to sit down and breastfeed my baby who has been crying all through the drama.
Everyone else sat down except mom.
“I want to understand something. Gina are you saying that your sister and Charles were seeing each other while both of you were engaged?”. Dad questioned
“Yes, daddy, yes, dad, I have seen them with my two n***d eyes in this living room the day I was happily going to announce to him that I’m pregna… I know what I saw”.
There was complete silence in the room before I could finish my accusations. They were all looking at me suspiciously. And that made me uncomfortable on my seat.
What have I done?
“What were you saying?, you were going to tell me about what?, pregnancy?, which pregnancy?”. Charles queried.
I kept quiet for a while, bottoning my shirt.
“Regina, what were you saying?, you were going to tell Charles about the pregnancy?, hope it’s not what I am thinking?”. Aunt Mary asked.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking.. I stood up.
.. I think I have to take my leave now…”
“You lie, you go nowhere until you explain what you mean by telling me about the pregnancy”. Charles said, standing on my way.
“Regina, is Charles the biological father of your baby?”. Dad asked calmly.
By now I couldn’t fight back the tears that clouded my eyes as I sunk back on the sofa crying like a child.
Aunt Mary came forward and took baby Charles away from me
“Your dad asked you a question”. Charles added.
I nodded and everyone let out an exclamation of disbelief. Charles pounced on me but Oga peter was fast enough to pull him off me.
“Regina, why?”. Charles cried.
Mom went and held dad on the collar.
” You see what you have caused?, all these wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t kick me out of our home, look at our children… just look what you’ve made them do”. She cried.
Dad was weak. He couldn’t move from his seat.
Oga Peter dragged her away from him.
“Madam, calm down”. He pleaded.
I got up to leave again but Charles rushed and took the baby away from aunt Mary.
“Give me my baby!”. I yelled at him.
But he would not let go.
Laura left angrily.
My phone started ringing at this time, but before I could reach for it, Charles had it on loud speaker.
It was my husband.
Dad collapsed and we rushed him to the hospital.
Honorable came to the hospital later in the afternoon and Charles welcomed him by telling him he has been fathering another man’s child.
“Babe, babe, don’t listen to him, he is crazy”. I said.
“What do you mean he is crazy?. Honorable, he is saying the truth, Charles is not your son but his… aunt Mary interrupted.
Before I could speak further, he left angrily.
He called me on phone later in the evening and warned me never to step my foot in his house again.
While still in the hospital, dad apologized to mom and she surprisingly accepted.
He was discharged same them and we took him back home.
Charles went home later on to his wife. And since honorable would not accept me back, I was left at home with dad and mom till this day….a single mother…a life which could have been averted had I listened to my sister’s pleas initially or had I swallowed my ego and apologized to Charles that day I threw a glass at him.
How I wish I could turn back the hands of time, but if wishes were horses. I wept.
I learnt my lesson but in a hard way… that truly, truly, pride, destruction and regrets walk hand in hand.
The end.
Thanks for readingStories by ⛔ Joy Ifunanya
Pride, hmmmm