Three Days To My Wedding

CHAPTER 8

Adele rushed to hug Fafa, Marintia's co-worker whose sister was supposed to make adjustments to the wedding gown. "How is she?".
"The doctor said she passed out due to extreme shock but that there was nothing to worry about. She would be discharged in a couple of minutes. She just needs to rest".
"God bless you Fafa".
"What are friends for? Oh look, mummy is here". Anne was walking hurriedly towards them with a million questions. Adele repeated what Fafa told her.
"God bless you my daughter", Anne said to Fafa, "you should go home now, there's going to be a heavy downpour".
"Okay ma. Bye Adele".
Less than fifteen minutes after Fafa left, the predicted heavy downpour began. It rained cats and dogs. Anne and Adele sat in the waiting area until a nurse told them they could see Marintia who was fast asleep when they entered so the two just sat in silence, not wanting to wake her.
Marintia was discharged the next day, very early in the morning. Anne decided it was best she moved in with her family instead of staying in her apartment with Adele for the time being.
The entire week felt like a nightmare. Marintia seemed distant, lost and confused. She never left her room and would only eat a small portion of whatever food she was served. Whenever she went into the shower, she would stay there for hours which was sometimes alarming. At midnight, she would be heard sobbing and talking to herself.
Anne invited her pastor to pray for her and talk to her, she also involved the services of a therapist and got a personal doctor. Marintia's phone was even taken away from her after Chris started flaunting his new girlfriend Taira, on social media and some anonymous bloggers started spreading rumors about Marintia. That Chris dumped her because she was promiscuous and that she slept with some influential people to land herself a job. This issue that Anne and everyone else thought will die down after a month, was being dragged by powerful forces who won't stop until they  drain her daughter completely and eventually watch her being laid to rest.
As Anne sat in her room, weeping and praying, she got a call from an unknown number. "Hello, who's this?".
"Marintia's boss here".
"Okay, how may I help you?", Anne was obviously irritated, infact, angry.
"You must be Madame Anne?".
"Yes I am get to the point".
"Your daughter has not been to work for a week now, I wanted to be sure if she was okay".
Now, Anne was very, very angry. How can a human being be this insensitive? After what he did to her daughter was he expecting her to be alright? When he caused her daughter's humiliation?
Anne tried to be civilized in her response, not wanting to compound the problem at hand, "my daughter will no longer be working for you. I will send in her resignation letter on Monday".
"Oh don't bother. She's fired already. We don't condone sentiments at work, it is one of our ethics", he replied coldly, "we would clear her desk and send you the items she left behind. Have a nice day".
At this point, Anne felt some invisible load drop on her shoulders. She knew her blood pressure was going high, and she needed to get medical attention as soon as possible.

"What is the meaning of this Rose?", Mr. Asante asked his wife as he flung a newspaper at her.
"What is what?", She asked calmly, picking up the newspaper.
"My son is engaged, and I was not involved? I'm just reading about it?".
"I don't understand why you should be making such a mountain out of an anthill. This is no biggie and it's not like the wedding is taking place anytime soon. We're just giving the media something to talk about".
"What are you saying Rose? You're clearly insinuating that I am no longer the head of this house. You made such a huge decision without me?".
"Listen Richard, you are not always available. You have a lot going on on your plate and that is why I've decided to make myself useful".
"What is useful about this?!", He shouted. "You just act on impulse without consulting anybody. How selfish of you!".
""Ta, ta ,ta", Mrs. Asante raised her index finger, "I am the most selfless person here. You know you want to run for the presidential seat in the next elections and  need influential people like the Kusi's to help push this dream. You are hardly ever present and all I'm trying to do is establish ties with the family to create a tight bond through marriage. Thankfully, Chris has agreed to it so you should be grateful to me for having your back and getting all the work done while you focus on formalities". She calmly sipped her hot cup of coffee.
Mr. Asante stared at his wife long and hard, "this better work". He muttered and walked away.
"Men and their ego", Mrs. Asante said to herself, "he does not know the things I have done to sustain this marriage and save his image. Ingrate".
"Life cannot go on like this forever", Anne said to her daughter who was almost hard to recognize due to lack of sleep and a decline in her diet. "Beat your chest and tell yourself that you would not die over a man. It's easier said than done but truly, you need to rise from the ashes. You have to get back on your feet no matter how many times you are knocked down. You cannot remain locked up in your room, cut of from all humanity else you'd lose your sanity. God would not give you a test that is beyond you, He always shows us a way out so that we can endure. There is always joy in the morning and light at the end of every tunnel. All seemingly bad things that are happening are working in your favour". Anne paused to see if her words were making any impact on her daughter but Marintia's eyes were glued to the wall. She neither moved nor spoke.
Seeing she would get no response, Anne continued, "I brought your phone and laptop. You cannot continue living like a prisoner when Christ has set you free. Don't be afraid to explore this freedom. You're only twenty six and you have many, many years ahead of you. Don't waste months beating yourself up, rise up daughter. You can do this". Anne stood up after a few minutes of silence, "dinner is at six. I want to see you downstairs, Emefa".