ISSY (easy) || Completed √

4. Sins, consequences

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If you focus on the hurt, you'll continue to suffer. If you focus on the lesson you'll continue to grow

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Desmond was twenty-five-years-old when he married Juliet, who had just turned twenty-three few months prior to their wedding. It was a marriage born out of love and a promise to stick together forever. 

A year later and Juliet was without a child. Everyone was patient. After all, there had been marriages that didn't produce a child in the first year. 

The second year came and people started to ask questions, especially Desmond's mother. They all questioned Juliet's ability to conceive and issued the blame on her, given the lifestyle Juliet once lived.

Juliet used to be a wild woman, who gave herself to any man she found attractive — though all these ended the moment Desmond came into her life. Despite the change of character and being converted to a Christian by her husband, Desmond's mom still said she was only pretending.

Desmond was the first and only son — amongst three daughters — of his parents; and after the death of his father, his mother grew agitated in her desire for him to have a son to carry-on the family name.

The third year came with Desmond's mother, secretly, suggesting he brought in a second wife. And by the fourth year, Juliet found no peace in her matrimonial home. Her mother-in-law refused to leave the house, and almost every day she threatened to bring in a new wife. 

The doctors they visited said it'd take a miracle for Juliet to ever conceive. Their faith were thinned by this news, but they both strengthened their hope and decided to wait on that miracle. This piece of information they kept to themselves.

These were trying times for Juliet and if not for her new-found faith, a supportive husband and caring parents, she would have sought for a divorce.

By the fifth year, when all hoped had been lost, Juliet conceived. This eased the pressure from her mother-in-law, and the woman finally left the house. But their happiness was short-lived as, simultaneously, Juliet had Isabelle and her parents died in a car accident.

Her mother-in-law was the first to say she was a witch, who had sacrificed her parents' heads for the life of her child. All these accusations only worsened when Desmond's mom found out Juliet had given birth to a daughter. And due to dire birth complications, Mrs. Onyenorah would forever be unable to conceive.

As Isabelle grew to a knowing age, she witnessed first-hand how much her grandmother hated her mom, and how much the woman also hated her.

After Isabelle had, unintentionally, let her feet leave the floor, causing the chair to tilt back fully so she fell with a loud thud, she yelped in pain. Her parent's heard the commotion and hurried into the dining room.

“Oh my goodness. Isabelle, how did this happen?” Her mom asked as she helped her up.

“What is wrong with you? How can you be so reckless?” Her dad asked, picking the chair up and giving it a quick check.

Her mom helped her sit on another chair, examining the back of her head. 

“Does it hurt?” She asked.