Marlise stepped under the shower and pretended that the water was washing away all of the stress in her life including when she said yes to Levi. The day she said yes was the day she said no to her value to abstain from sex until marriage. It was a foolish decision to agree to the proposal that she gets pregnant so his family would have no choice but to accept her.
She was now four months pregnant and all alone. Under the water, she screamed, cried and beat against the air. She heard her phone ringing but ignored because it could be Levi. Eventhough she was living in one of his guesthouses, she had shut him out and not let him step foot in the house.
For the past three weeks, he had been coming everyday and knocking until he left. When she finished bathing, she threw on a light gown and went to the living room to pick up the phone.
14 missed calls from her mother!
Why was she calling continuously at 7pm?
She immediately dialed back.
"Ma?" She said
"So your plan is to leave me stranded in Yaounde?" Mado asked angrily.
"Ma, I don't understand. What do you mean Yaounde?" She asked.
"Stop asking stupid questions. Send a taxi to come and pick me up from Chez Felix," she said impatiently.
"You're in Yaounde?" Marlise asked confused.
"No, I'm in America," she replied sarcastically and cut the call. Marlise felt fear creep through her body. She thought of ignoring her, maybe then, she would find another relative to stay. But if she tried that, Mami Mado would finish her. She quickly called a taxi. In about 30 minutes, she heard a frantic knock at the door and her heart resumed its racing.
"So this is where he hid you?" Mami Mado said, dropping her travelling bag at the door and marching into the house.
Marlise opened her mouth to respond but common sense got to her tongue. She bit her bottom lip and remained silent. Picking up her mother's bag, she went back into the living room where the woman had already made herself comfortable on the long couch.
"Ma, welcome. I didn't know that you were coming." She said softly.
"How will you know when you have been avoiding my calls?" She fired back.
Marlise looked away from her mother's condemning eyes. After putting the travelling bag in the bedroom, she came back to the living room where Mami Mado sat with arms folded.
"Ma, do you want something to eat?" She asked almost in her stomach.
She didn't wait for a reply but went into the kitchen and dished out rice and stew which she'd cooked. She placed the food on the table for her mother alongside hers. Mado came and sat down then took out a green bottle and extended it to Marlise.
"Drink, it is good for you especially in your condition," She commanded.
Marlise shook her head in denial. Her mother's glare bullied her and she took the bottle with shaky hands.
"What do you think I will do, poison you?" she snapped.
Growing up, their mother used to give she and her twin sister concoctions for health. They were always bitter as this one was. She twisted her face as the bitter liquid entered her mouth then quickly took orange juice to dilute the bitterness.
After they had eaten for a few minutes, Mado spoke.
"Tomorrow, we are going back to Bamenda," she said without looking up.
"What do you mean?" Marlise said.
"You have to stay away from Levi," She said.
"No, I'm not going with you!" Marlise shouted suddenly, a sharp pain cut across her lower abdomen. She stood up from the dining table and gripped her stomach.
"I didn't come here to ask you. I'm telling you." Mado said.
"I'm not a child," Marlise groaned as the pain increased. Mado looked up in surprise at her daughter who was now bent over on the coach.
"You are 29 years old yet you decided to act like a teenager and to make it worse, you still cry when you're angry?" Mado scolded.
"My stomach!" she cried gripping her belly tighter and curling into a fetal position. Mado stood over her as if checking if she was faking.
"Something is happening to me, ma, help," She cried.
Mado brought a glass of water and tried to put it in her mouth but she pushed it away. The glass fell to the ground and broke.
Marlise grabbed her phone and dialed Levi's number. When he picked up, all she could do was cry.
Levi burst through the door, 45 minutes later, panting and frightened especially when he saw the death stare in Mado's eyes. He focused his attention on Marlise who had curled herself into a ball.
"Levi, blood!" Marlise shouted, pointing to a trickle of red running down her legs. Levi did not wait to ask any further questions. Alarm bells rang in his head. He lifted her into his arms and rushed out of the house, not caring if her mother followed.
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
At the hospital, he paced like a madman after she was taken inside the emergency unit on a stretcher. Mami Mado, stood calm with her arms folded.
About 30 minutes later, a man in white robe walked out of the emergency room. Levi ran to him,
"Are you her relative?" he asked
"She's...she's my wife." He stuttered.
The man looked at him with a frown.
"So why did she try to commit an abortion?" he asked in a low tone.
"Abortion? I don't understand." He turned to Mami Mado and then back to the doctor.
"Abortion? She would never do that. Does that mean she has lost the baby?" he asked frightened.
"She is undergoing an ultrasound because it seems there were two babies. One was flushed out, so the scan is to see if the other survived," The doctor said.
"Two?" Levi asked confused.
"You didn't know she was having twins? Has she begun antenatal?" the doctor's voice was rising.
"I...I don't know. Can I see her?"
"You will be notified after the ultrasound," the doctor responded and walked away.
Levi was overwhelmed so he sat down. His head spun as he tried to figure out why Marlise would try to kill her baby. It was not possible. There was just one explanation. As he drew his conclusion, he felt anger building up within him.
"Auntie, I know what you did and as soon as Marlise wakes up, I'm telling her the truth," he said to Mami Mado. The woman's eyes widened in understanding then her countenance darkened.
"I don't know what you think you know but, whatever you tell Marlise, who do you think she will believe, her mother or the man who impregnated her and abandoned her?" she responded.
*TO BE CONTINUED...*
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