Sold To Love

1. Before

Z E N I Y A H

"Mommy, please nuh do this!" Was the words I screamed as my so called mother slammed the door to the room she'd always keep me locked in.

I often wondered, why me? Why did I have to end up in this situation? Why did my father have to die... It wasn't always like this, my mother wasn't the monster she had become... Or maybe she just hid her true colors well.

There's a saying, "money is the root of all evil." And I am a living witness that this saying is totally true... My father died suddenly of a heart attack when I was 18 years old.

The news of my father's death hit me like a ton of bricks, that left deep bruises, I am yet to heal from. His death was not the only shocking news I'd hear that day. I was devastated, as for my mother, she was on the edge when she heard that my father had passed.

Why? You might ask. I asked that question too, but it was later answered when my father's lawyer came to my mother and I and told us that my father had left a will.

Oh no! You though wrong, the shock did not stop there. Not only was I the main beneficiary of my father's will, I was set to take over my father's multi- billion company when I turned twenty one years old. My mother was furious because she only inherited two of my father's car and a million dollars, which was nothing compared to what I got.

From that day, my mother's jealousy towards me had increased by a thousand.

No, not poor choice of words. My mother always had some sort of resentment towards me because she envied the relationship my father and I had. She would show it when she'd say to me and my father when he'd surprise me with gifts, saying, "it look like uh love Zeniyah more than mi, Michael."

Michael, the name of my beloved father. Oh, how much mi miss dat man. He would always make me feel safe and showed his love in more ways than his constant showering of gifts and presents.

My twenty first birthday was coming up and ever since my father died, I no longer look forward to that day. Why would I? When all I'd hear was "mi shoulda kill uh when mi find out seh mi breed" or "afta mi fuck up mi pussy fi uh, mek all man wah mi deven love come plant him dutty seed inna mi cause a money di brute leff mi wid scraps."

Him shoulda neva leff nth gi uh, be fucking grateful.

Looking back I wish, daddy didn't put up with Keisha. Keisha, the name of my egg donor.

Enuff bout she...

Back to the story.

I was young, but I was always observant and smart. I can remember growing up and hearing my parents go back and forth, my mother of course being the loudest. As I grew older and no longer believed the excuse... "Wi jus a talk, Niyah." I realized that they were always arguing about me being the reason why they're still together. My father wanted me to grow up in two parent home, not short of fatherly or motherly love, but looking back all I had was a father. My mom just used me to get what she wanted, knowing that my father rarely said no to me.

Uh could seh I grew up spoiled but daddy made sure I still had sense, not spoiled and sheltered, not knowing shit about the real world. I was grown to express what I feel, having a mind of my own and not always doing as I'm told.

Hence the reason I was locked in this room so often. I knew she had to let me out soon because I had to go to school. I was currently on my last year in college for social work. Funny, I always wanted to be a social worker, child welfare social worker to be exact, even when I grew up in a good home but now I feel like I'll be able to relate to some of the children I'll be working with in the future because of my current situation when my mother.