A CAST OF PAIN (Closed For Editing)

Chapter Nineteen

KORE'S POV

"Enjoy it while it lasts, but I don't trust these people."

Those words couldn't have come at a better time. As I exchanged greetings with the people I could almost consider my arch-nemeses, I couldn't help but smile. It was gratifying to finally be recognized as one of them, as part of their family. But, as I always reminded myself, their acceptance was secondary; what truly mattered was the recognition and opinion of the Father. Their opinion could change at any moment. One day on TV, and they finally noticed me, but what if I had lost the case?

The constant greetings were becoming exhausting, and I was sure David, even though he remained silent, felt the same. I felt guilty for dragging him into this situation. He could have left with Jojo, but he chose to stay. How gentlemanly of him.

"I need to get us out of here somehow," I whispered to myself. "Lord, help. Please."

I counted to thirty, but it didn't even reach five before my prayers seemed to be answered. Martha appeared, sliding into our midst and speaking with the others in Yoruba.

"Ejo ma, ejo sir, SE mo or won se se de ni. E he ki won sin mi naa, ese gan (please ma, please sir, you know they are just arriving. Let them rest, thank you very much)," Martha said.

Her words made the elderly family members disappear, giving us a momentary respite. However, one persistent guy in his early twenties, apparently undeterred, complained, "But, Aunty Martha, I just want a picture. Come on."

"She lives in the house with you, doesn't she?" Martha replied.

"Wa ma ti later (you'll see her later)," the guy hissed and walked away, mumbling to himself.

"Talk about some toxicity," I mumbled.

Martha decided it was time for a change of scenery. "So, big sis," she began, looking from me to David, "let's forget about them and go inside, hmm?"

"Please!" I groaned, relieved.

For a moment, Martha observed her surroundings before her gaze seemed to settle on something. "Hello," she called out to a teenage girl nearby.

The girl turned and ran toward us. "Yes, Aunty Martha," she replied.

"Please be a darling and help with these boxes."

"Sure," the girl beamed, lifting the handles of our boxes.

"Thank you," David and I chimed in.

"Thanks, dear," Martha added, then turned to face David and me. "Now," she said, putting her arms around our shoulders, "it's good to see you, our young Barrister. And you," she continued, turning her attention to David, "boy, you look cute."

This drew a soft laugh from David. "Are you a Barrister too?"

******

"Ooh, that's nice, really nice. Now let's meet everyone."

Martha was moving toward the center of the room, and I decided to greet my uncle Paul. I put my arms around his neck fondly. "Hi, Uncle Paul," I said cheerfully.

"Akorede, so good to see you," he replied, smiling.

As I returned his smile and was about to continue the friendly conversation, someone suddenly interrupted.

"Hold on, is that who I think it is?"

The recognition of my newfound status as a public figure flooded my mind once again. What a day on T.V. can do to you.

All eyes were now fixed on me, especially those of the unfamiliar ones.

"Hello, everyone," I said with a smile, turning to face the lady who had exclaimed earlier as she skipped towards me, bubbling with excitement.

"What a pleasant surprise, I can't believe this is really you," she continued. I maintained my smile as I surveyed the room and the people within it.

I couldn't recognize most of them because, of course they were new ones but, two faces stood out, one, oddly farmilar and the other....

And then, her gaze met mine, those eyes, those expressions. I couldn't decipher the words they spoke, but it sent shivers down my spine. It wasn't the typical "OMG, I just met a celebrity" look. It was a complex mixture of recognition and shock. Then, in an instant, I remembered who they were.

"What?" I mouthed silently, overwhelmed by a sense of foreboding.