Ride Her Shoes

21- Meeting Echezona

"That's the Nmachukwu we're talking about, the one you deceived."

At this point, his clothes were already soaked with sweat and he kept fidgeting which couldn't delight Akudo any further.

"She risked it all to come here and meet you yet what did she get, her life was on the line and also that of her child," Akudo hissed

"Had I not intervened, she would have been long gone and forgotten."

"I didn't know she was preg…"

"Her letters? Did you ever reply to them? Did you try to check where she went after you verbally abused her in front of everyone who cared to watch?

"I tried to kn–"

"Don't you dare lie to me!" Akudo yelled but Zainab was quick to hold her back else she would have left a resounding slap on his face.

"Calm down," Zainab said, trying to pacify Akudo and that was also enough to make Echezona regain part of his composure.

Sometime passed in the now tense office and no one was willing to say a word about all that was going on. Even Echezona was taking his time to take in all they've said to him.

"Here, You need to read this. She wrote it just after she had given birth to yo-her son." Akudo said, while placing a brown envelope on the desk in front of him.

Grabbing it as fast as he could, he tore open the envelope and pulled the white paper out of it.

He unfolded the paper so that he could read the content and just as he did, his eyes met the blue ink on paper and he read mindfully what Nmachi had tearfully penned down in the note as she had begun with his name.

"Echezona m,

I hope you're well? I just wanted you to know that I've brought forth a human into this world, the one whom you had planted in me with your seeds.

I was going to hate him after all you put me through, the denial, the heartbreak, even though I had never met him but things have changed now and I would never transfer the aggression of all I had been through on our son.

Today, I have made up my mind to love this little human in such a way that he would never forget what love is or feels like.

I would make sure that I work hard enough to take care of him and even though Aunt Akudo has promised to be with me every step of the way, I would ensure that all he gets he'd never take for granted as you did me,"

At this point, Echezona was close to tears. His face was scrunched up and his palms sweaty he was both uncomfortable, sad, broken but one thing he wasn't was remorseful.

"Elchi, that is what your friends call you now, right? They are the reason you said those hurtful words to me. I won't hold it against you and no matter how much I want to hate you, I can't and even the hatred I have managed to gather, I'll convert to love and give it all to our son, my son.

"You do not want to be part of his life which I am aware of so I won't force him or myself on you. This like many of my letters would never get a reply from you but that's fine, it's actually my last."

"Have a wonderful life, Echezona. I wish you happiness always."

From Nmachukwu and Nwabugwu, her son."

At the end of the letter, Akudo and Zainab watched how frequently Echezona wiped his eyes and sniffed as he tried so hard to prevent the tears from rolling down his face.

He raised his face to meet Akudo's malicious gaze even though deep in her heart she wished he'd ask to see his son at least just once.

Zainab cleared her throat and he turned to a
face her, "What do you have to say?" She asked him in a soft voice as she stared directly at his eyes which had turned pink from tears.

He shrugged,"Nothing." He said, maintaining an emotionless face caused an uproar in Akudo's system but instead of acting on it, she let out a long hysterical laughter.

"Nothing?" Akudo asked him in a voice that sounded like it was begging him to reconsider his decision and he nodded.

"Wow! Do you have any idea what you've done to that poor girl's life? Do you know you've kept her life on hold and these times can't be recovered?" Ajudo asked him, she was already breaking down and her voice was becoming shaky.

At this point, Zainab spoke in a time that held authority,"Do you have any idea how long I can keep you in this school for this single act?" She asked him and this seemed to have struck a chord in Echezona's senses.

His eyes widened and he was going to say something but she immediately asked that he left her office and never return, and when he was going to speak, she yelled making him run out of her office in terror.

His heart was filled with regret but he couldn't back down. He saw Nmachi as a burden which would affect his studies and even though she may, all Akudo wanted was for him to see the child once.

To him, Nmachi didn't belong to the Clique of girls on campus and he was right but the heart she loved him with would never be found that easy.

"Pull yourself together." Zainab begged Akudo who was now a weeping mess. "Please," she begged in a sad voice,"Neither of us knew he was going to act this way else we wouldn't have met him and to be honest, I do not regret meeting him today." She said, leaving her seat to come close to Akudo and pacify her.

"Who would have known he would be this wicked?" Akudo whispered.

"He's not wicked, it's youthful exuberance. That's what it is. I'm happy he knows she has a child and has been cut out of the responsibility just in case of the future when Nmachi is in a better place." Zainab said and Akudo nodded, wiping her eyes and nose with her handkerchief.

"Hopefully," Akudo whispered,"Hopefully, she'd get over him and he wouldn't matter anymore." She said and collected the letter from the floor where it had fallen off Echezona's hand in his bid to exit the office.

I'm so sorry for the late update.
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