Scars (Romola 2)

93: A Seed

As the minutes ticked by, Yetunde had to admit that the control of the situation was no longer in her hands.. Since Olumide saw Romola at the wedding, everything had been a little off. Romola's declaration about ownership of Olumide's heart Yetunde refused to believe it.

Olumide belonged to her before Romola came into the picture and would always be hers. She could not let Romola win. She and Olumide were engaged and with Ajoke's support, Olumide would be married to her at the end of the month.

He was the bone of contention and he was the trophy.

"Where are you going?" Her mother tried to pull her back but she shook her mother's hand off. "Leave me. I'm going to talk to her."

"And what will you say to her that we haven't tried?"

There was so much at stake. Maybe even more than Modupe's life. Did Romola know the truth? In one of her drunken spurs, could she have told Romola the truth about Modupe's conception? And even if she had, why would Romola hold that against her? She had done what she felt was right for her and her daughter at that point.

Romola, her best friend who had once worshipped her, could still be affectionate or sympathetic towards her. They weren't friends for nothing.

"Just let me do what I have to do." Yetunde turned to Romola. "Romy, pleas—"

Romola hissed at her, fluttering those thick lashes that she had always been envious of. The lashes. The body. Even in those blood stained clothes and with puffy eyes, Romola still looked better than her.

Yetunde walked to the part of the couch where Ayo sat, touching Ayo's shoulder gently even though she wished to snap Ayo's shoulder if she could fit the thickness of Ayo's flesh into her palm. This idiot had merely wasted time. Time she could've used to convince Romola before Romola requested for a dead man.

Modupe's father was dead to her. He was dead to everyone. He had fled with one of her father's cars, her mother's jewellery and her innocence. And as dead as he was, the secret of his identity was to remain that way.

"Please, go somewhere else." Yetunde took Ayo's place, squeezing into the chair beside Romola but Romola inched towards the other edge of the chair.

"Romola, please listen to me." She sniffed loudly, fighting the attempts of her sobs to hijack her words as she lowered her voice, "I know you are angry with me but don't do this. Don't let the devil use—"

"What devil? Use who?" Romola recoiled so quickly from her that she almost fell face first into the seat. The cause of her pain stared down at her with a contorted look. "The way he used you to ruin my life?"

"I didn't ruin your life." Yetunde screamed, then whispered. "I'm sorry. You have to understand why I did what I did but Modupe is my only child."

Romola shrugged. "And Sunbo was the only person in my family that really loved me. So what?"

"Think of how you feel? Do you want me to feel that way too? Isn't it horrible?"

"Horror is watching your sister die in your hands knowing that you couldn't do enough to save her. Horror is knowing that your father will harm you but not having enough resources to escape the abuse. Horror is turning up everywhere with 1000% effort only to be looked down on because of one silly mistake. Horror, Yetunde, I know it. Horror is believing that you were truly my friend."

Yetunde shook her head. If she could not reach Romola as her friend, she had to try a new tactic.

Olumid's mother came to her rescue, looking down at Romola with a sneer. "Oh, shut up. Yetunde had been nothing but a good friend to my son, at least if not to you. Without Yetunde, we would never have found your excuse of a mother. No one regards your sister's death as insignificant but you need to exercise grace. Don't you know how to forgive? "