Lady k
Natalie took a slow sip from her tea and then slowly dropped her mug on the table. It was so early in the morning and she was doing all she could to avoid eye contact with the older thin woman sitting right beside her who happened to have her eyes and all her focus on her. It was really distracting. Maybe it was because Natalie knew exactly what she was going to say and was trying so hard to not initiate any conversation so she didn't have to say it. She let out a breath. This was getting really frustrating; The awkward silence that filled the entire dining room. Maybe she just needed to get it over with.
"What is it mother?" She finally turned her face to meet her mother's, the fifty six year old dark skinned woman who had the prettiest eyes. Let's just say a typical clone of Natalie but an older version. The woman exhaled.
"What is happening with you?" She finally asked. Finally she was saying something since she walked into the house.
"What do you mean mum?" Natalie had to ask her. She didn't remember complaining about anything.
"It's been a while since you called or visited Natalie. Your father and I are getting really worried about you. The last time you called, you were crying on the phone and ever since then, you never called. Not even to explain why you were crying. Is everything okay with your husband Natalie? Does he still not like you?"
Natalie drew a deep breath and then forced a smile on her face. She turned to her mother quickly.
"Of course not Mum, everything is fine. Why wouldn't it be?"
"Sharon came over the other day. She told your father and I that you and your husband got into a little argument and it made you cry." Natalie folded her hand into a fist. God, why did the only person she ever confided in about her marriage issues have to be a loud mouth? Sharon was her best friend. She knew she had her best interest in heart and that was why she told her parents about it, but she wished Sharon had kept her fight with Christian the other day between them for at least a few more days.
"She suggested that you came to stay with us for a while and I don't think that's a bad idea at all. It's been two years and nothing has changed. We know this marriage was forced on the both of you but two years is enough time to learn to love someone. All he does is make you cry and it has me really worried. We know you agreed to get married into the Ozor family just so you could help your father but if you're not happy my baby, you don't have to stay here anymore. You don't have to stay with them and let yourself get maltreated anymore. You can come home and we'd try to help you get your life back as hard as we can. Already, your father is getting really irritated by the news, we heard your husband has recently been cut off from the company, the news is everywhere now, it means there is no future for him anymore as far as Benoil is concerned." Her mother leaned closer to her. This was the part where she started to whisper
"I heard that he no longer has a position in the company. It means you don't have to be married to him anymore since there's nothing he can do for us now, there's nothing he can do for you now. Your father wants me to bring you back home to us, back home where you would be safe and have a chance to start again. We are even looking for suitable suitors for you. You're still so young and so beautiful. Luckily for us, you don't have any kids yet, getting married again is going to be really easy, finding love again is going to be really easy-"
"Mum." Natalie called her one time. She was really sick and tired of hearing her speak.
"Mnnn?"
Natalie exhaled. How on earth was she going to say the next thing she was about to say without breaking her mother's heart or looking like she was being disrespectful?
"Mum," she slowly reached for the woman's slim hands. She rubbed it gently in a way that made the woman smile a little bit. "Mum, I understand what you're trying to say and I get that Dad is worried about me. I'm grateful that the both of you worry about me like this and still think about me but I can't leave my husband."
"Huh?" Her mother's frowned. "But why?" She asked her. "Doesn't he disrespect you? Isn't it true that he always says hurtful things to you and makes you cry all the time? He never performs his duties as a husband to you?"
"Mum, I know the circumstances in which Christian and I got married into wasn't exactly favorable for the both of us but it doesn't change the fact that we are still married and as married people, have our own differences every now and then which makes me overly emotional, but he's still my husband and I'm still his wife and I can't abandon him especially now that he needs me the most."
The woman frowned and then looked away. She was obviously not in support of anything Natalie was trying to say.
"Mum, everything Sharon told you is true. Christian lost the company. Right now, he is confused and scared and sick. He hasn't left his room or talked to anyone since yesterday. He feels like he has been abandoned and has no one else. I'm the only one here for him, I can't abandon him right now Mum. I'm sure you'd do the same for Dad if roles were reversed."
"But I and your father are different from you and your husband. Your father and I have loved each other for over thirty years."
"But didn't you say that your marriage with father was arranged as well? You still grew to love each other anyways."
"Because we both made efforts to. Your husband is not ready to make any efforts at all. You've been the one making all the efforts to keep your marriage together. You're the one that has loved him one sidedly for years now. How sure are you that things are not going to get worse after now? That he's not going to get worse and treat you even badly from now on?"
Natalie pursed her lips for a second, thinking about the truth in what her mother had said and then she curved them. She squeezed her mother's hands.
"Let me do this Mum." She told her. "I know you and Dad mean well but let me do this. Let me take care of my family my own way. I still have faith in my marriage and I'm still willing to try to make it work. I just need you and Dad to trust me and believe me when I say that you both have nothing to be worried about. Allow me to stay here and take care of my husband, I don't want to leave him like this. I'm all he has Mum. I can't turn my back on him, especially now."
Her eyes beseeched her Mum. She could tell her Mum was really indecisive now and trying so hard to come in terms with everything she had just said. It only took a minute before the woman sighed and then nodded her head.
"Okay." She tapped Natalie's hand. "It's okay, we trust you. We won't make you do anything you don't want to do, stay and look after your husband if it's what you truly want. We would support you too."
"Thank you Mum."
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Kora
I was back home. One night only, and I was already sick of hotel food. I missed my mum. I just wanted to be back home and in my really comfortable bed again. By now, I really hoped my mum wasn't angry with me anymore. I felt really bad about what I did and all those things I said to her. She didn't deserve to hear those words. I was calm now, calm enough to actually apologize to her. I was in the wrong and foremost, I hated to fight with my mum.
"Mum?" I walked in on her and My aunty Victoria talking in the kitchen. She turned to me immediately, she didn't even know I was back. I could see how scared she was. It looked like she hadn't slept all night because she was worried about me. I watched her let out a relief exhale right before she ran to me.
"Kora," she hugged me immediately without letting me say anything else. "Thank God," her grip on me got tighter. I could see how brightly my aunty was smiling behind her. What was wrong? I was only gone one night and I didn't expect her to be so worried. She slowly let me go and slid her arm down mine, "Thank God you're back."
I looked into her eyes. They didn't look like they were totally happy to see me. Even when she was smiling like that, I could see how her eyes said something completely different. She wasn't as happy as she looked. There was something on her mind.
"Mum?" I called her. "Mum are you okay?" I had to ask. I was starting to feel guilty again. I really wanted to hope that I hadn't broken my mother's heart with the way I behaved yesterday. "Mum are you still mad at me for of what I said yesterday?" I was sorry, I really was. I pouted. "I didn't mean any of those things. I'm really sorry Mum, don't get mad at me any more please."
"No." She shook her head and sniffed. "I'm not mad at you at all. I deserved it." Then what was it! Why was she that way? I turned my gaze to my aunty as she approached us, the smile on her face was constant. She rubbed my mum's back gently.
"I'd just leave you both to talk." She raised her head to me, smiled and then walked away. I noticed my mum's grip on my hand tighten as she led me to the table.
"Mum,"
"Let's talk." She told me as she pulled a chair out for me and pulled me into it. Why? What was wrong? Why did she have a tone of seriousness in her voice.
"Mum, is there a problem?" I watched her sit across me and then pull my hands to her so she could rub it gently.
She shook her head, it was obvious she was trying to push back the tears in her eyes. Something was definitely wrong with my Mum. I had never seen her this way before.
"Mum is this about what happened yesterday?" I had to ask her. "I'm sorry Mum, I'm really sorry I said those things to you. I shouldn't have-"
"I'm the one that should apologize for how I talked to you. I shouldn't have asked you to do anything without explaining why. You were right, you're not a child anymore, you deserve to know the truth. The truth about everything."
The truth? What truth?
"Kora," her voice broke. "Kora I'm sorry for keeping so much from you." She shut her eyes for a second as a drop of tear fell from her face. "I'm sorry for forcing my lifestyle and my beliefs on you and making you do things that have somehow affected you in one way or the other. I'm sorry that you had to go through all that in school, all that humiliation all your life without knowing why because of me. I feel so ashamed of myself and I was scared that if you knew, you would be ashamed of me too."
"Mum, you're scaring me."
"When I was your age," she started. "My mother, your grandmother, she used to own a club house where I and my sister used to live in." She started. "It was also a house for prostitutes. She trained us and thought us to sell ourselves for money. We had to do all sort of things to feed, and go to school, meet all sorts of people, all sorts of men."
"My grandmother was a pimp?" I had to ask her. I was really surprised. I knew my mum had a really scary past she was running from but I had no idea that this was it. I always tried to make up reasons for why my mother hated to talk about my grandmother so much, I didn't know it was this deep, that my grandma had made her own child a prostitute. Her children-
"Is that why you hate my grandma so much? Why you never let me see her?"
She shook her head.
"She wasn't a good mother Kora. She wasn't to me or Veronica and I didn't want you to be around someone like her. I didn't want to bring you up in the way she brought me up. I wanted better for you and Micheal, keeping my past from you both was the only way I knew how."
"Mum," I squeezed her hands. "Mum I'm really sorry, I didn't know."
"It's okay." She tapped my hands and then smiled. "It's really okay. It's in the past now and I don't regret the choices I made because it gave you to me, you and your brother."
Her words made my heart melt. I suddenly felt so bad for my mum and extra guilty.
"I'm sorry Kora." Her voice broke like she was about to start crying again.
"Mum,"
"I'm really sorry I lied to you about everything."
"Mum it's really okay. I'm not upset."
"No it's not." She shook her head. "It's not because I've not told you everything, I've not told you about your father."
I frowned. My father? I didn't- I didn't understand what she meant. Where were we suddenly talking about him?
"My Dad?" I asked her. "Mum I thought you didn't know who he was."
She shook his head.
"I do." She said. "I haven't been completely honest with you Kora. I haven't been honest about who you are." I squinted my eyes. I didn't understand anything she said. "You deserve to know the truth, you deserve to know everything. I don't want to hide anything from you anymore but I'm scared you'd hate me if I tell you. I don't know how to."
"Mum," I called her name in a whisper. It looked like her heart broke every time she said something. I was getting really terrified.
"You were right Kora, I know who your father is and I've been keeping keeping it from you intentionally." She raised her eyes to look at me. "But I'd tell you. I'm ready to tell you now."
I watched her attentively. I wanted to know. I could feel this really cold breeze pass through me as I listened to every word she said and before I knew it, everything went numb and static.
"Your father is David Richards, Richwell's David Richard. You are Oma's younger sister."
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Lady K
It was a cold night. A really cold night and for the first time in hours, he opened his eyes. Christian took a deep breath. He couldn't believe how long he had been sleeping for. He knew he passed out after throwing all that tantrum after the meeting and he had been out all along. He hadn't left his room since then, that explained his cramped legs. He sat up immediately after taking a quick scan at the ceiling. His head hurt. The past two days had been the worst for him. He exhaled and rubbed his temples as he slowly turned around. He needed a drink, probably something strong enough to knock him out again. He needed to forget the fact that he was completely useless. Every time he opened his eyes, it was all he could remember. He exhaled and then froze when he noticed a figure sleeping on the couch. It made him frown even harder as he felt another chill breeze pass through him. It looked like she had fallen asleep looking after him, taking care of him. That explained why she had forgotten to wrap herself in a blanket and she was cuddled the way she was. She was shivering and she couldn't even wake to get a blanket. How long had she been sleeping like that?
Christian drew a deep breath and got up from the bed slowly. He didn't want to bother himself with her, he couldn't. He was just going to stay awake drinking his sanity away for the rest of the night. He took a step to leave and then stopped. Was he really going to do it? Was he really going to leave her like that? He exhaled. He knew he was a lot of things but he also knew one thing he didn't want to be and that was a monster, the monster he used to be. He slowly turned back to his bed and grabbed his blanket. He started to walk to the couch. He stopped when he got in front of her and then exhaled when he saw how she kept rubbing her hands together unconsciously.
She was freezing. He bent over and placed the blanket over her, trying to be as gentle as he could and the moment he raised his eyes, her face was the first thing he saw. He found himself staring at her longer than he ever did. For the first time, he noticed all her features. He noticed how beautiful the woman he married was, beautiful enough to slowly bring him to his knees and before he knew it, he was sitting down right in front of her, staring at her as she slept, memories of everything that had happened two days ago filling his mind.
He couldn't help but wonder why this woman in front of him was so persistent. Why she never gave up on him no matter what he did, no matter how mean he was to her, why didn't she hate him? Why didn't she go away or leave him? He didn't deserve her and he knew it. He never did and that was why he was always mean to her but there she was, still by his side. He exhaled. At that moment, he realized that he had been doing a lot of things wrong. He had been a bad person and most importantly, a bad husband to the one person that didn't leave him when everyone else did. He let out a shaky breath and then exhaled weakly. He bowed his head and became lost in his thoughts. He had to fix it. He had to fix everything for her sake. He had to do better, he wanted to do better for the woman in front of him. For Natalie and he didn't know why he was feeling this way.
What was he going to do now?
What was he going to do?