𝑭𝑨𝑺𝑯𝑰𝑶𝑵 𝑲𝑰𝑳𝑳𝑨

𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

OVER TWO DECADES AGO:

people never came close to even knowing who ifedayo truly was, all they saw that she came from a rich family that had many connections, but that was not the case. yes, her family was rich but they never knew the abuse her and her mother had to endure.

ifedayo's father, lukman ademoye was one of the most powerful, influential men in nigeria. he had flashy cars, mansions and a lot of money. when he was 27, he stumbled upon ifedayo's mother, hazara ogunlade, who was freshly 18 at the time. he took interest in her as she was a young, naive girl and got her pregnant. at first, her family was outraged as she was just 18 when she got pregnant; however, seeing that the person who impregnated her was rich, they forced her into a marriage with him.

6 months after they got married, ifedayo was born.
her mother named her after her late grandmother, they both had an amazing relationship.

TWO YEARS LATER:

when ifedayo turned 2, her family moved to london, england since her dad got a huge business opportunity. both lukman and hazara's family joined them when moving, expect from lukman's older brother and father as they had to take care of the business in nigeria.

the business took off successfully so the family even gained more money. but that's when the family dynamic shifted.

3 YEARS LATER:

when ifedayo started primary school, that was the first time her father laid his hands on her mother. they got into a heated argument since her dad arrived home late from work so he hit her. little did they know, ifedayo sneaked out of her room due to loud arguing and saw her father hit his wife. as she was only 5 years old, she couldn't really understand the situation but she sensed something was wrong. ever since that day, her father changed.

lukman began to work longer hours and go to clubs, he continuously came back home drunk off his head, causing more heated arguments between himself and hazara, which undeniably led to hazara being covered in bruises and wounds. lukman believed that he had absolute power over his family and they were under him. hazara noticed this and decided to tell her mother in law about the abuse; however, her mother in law told her "to be a good wife, you have to obey your husband whether he hits you or not!". that's when hazara knew that his family was in on the abuse.

11 YEARS LATER:

while enduring the abuse, hazara fell pregnant due to lukman forcing himself upon her. multiple times before this certain pregnancy, she had miscarriages due to the abuse she was facing from her husband, by now, ifedayo knew how horrible her father was towards her mother and how her father's family knew what was happening and chose to not intervene.

ifedayo and her mother had enough so they created a plan to escape the wrath of her father.

it was the 29th of august, her father was at work so they had to act fast before he came home. they packed their essentials and all their documents that they needed for the airport. but her father came home early since he suspicious of what they were doing. lukman knew that they were trying to escape from him since there were multiple cameras placed around the house.

"kini o n se?" her father asks his wife, who was shivering in terror. "o ro gaan pe o le fi mi sile ni irorun?"

"get away from me, you bastard," her mother shouted back.

lukman slaps her head, causing her to fall onto the floor. hazara grabbed onto her stomach while he began to kick her. out of nowhere, ifedayo gets a hold of a lamp and smashes it onto her father's head, causing him to pass out.

"mama, se o daa?" ifedayo asks her mother, worried for her mother's unborn child.

"mo daa, omo mi," her mother responds. "we need to leave now before he wakes up!"

ifedayo calls for an uber while her mum packs the final items into their suitcases. 10 minutes later, the uber arrives. the uber driver helps them put their luggage in the boot of his car. as they were about to get in the car, ifedayo's hears her father in the distance.

"don't even think about getting in that car!" her father bellows, walking towards the two distraught women.

"leave us alone!" ifedayo screams back at her father.

before she knew it, his hands wrapped around her throat, strangling her as she struggled against him.
ifedayo was slowly losing consciousness and as the darkness surrounded her, she felt a strong arm pull her away from her father. it was the uber driver who was able to save her in time. ifedayo's father was 6'1 and had quite a bit of muscles but the uber driver was 6'5 and looked like a powerhouse, her father had finally met his match.

"get into the car now!" the uber driver screams at them.

they entered the car with haste while the uber driver was beating the hell of lukman. soon after the beatdown ended, the uber driver got into his car and sped off towards the airport. as they sped off, a faint voice said "you will soon pay for this,". ifedayo and her mother both knew that this will not be the last time they see their abuser; however, all they cared about was their safety and where they would go.

"mum, where are going to?" ifedayo asks her mother.

"we are going to new york," her mother responds, rubbing her swollen belly.

"new york, out of all places?" ifedayo turns to her mother with confusion.

"your father has many enemies in new york, he wouldn't try to look for us there," her mother held her daughter's hand, trying to calm her down.

ifedayo hugs her mother with all her might and her mother reciprocates it back. they both said a short prayer, they prayed for god to guide them and to keep them safe from what is to come. only god can save them from the wrath of their perpetrator.

author's notes:
i chose to restart this story as i had no idea what direction it was going in, so i hope you enjoy this new and improved prologue.