ENDLESS TEARS

Chapter Five

I opened my eyes to the tap of my mum’s
hand. I felt a bit hot and feverish, having to
swallow hard before uttering a word.
“Mama”
“Amara, your husband has sent someone to
pick you up” she said.
My heart beat escalated and she touched my
hand, coming instantly to touch my neck.
“My God, your temperature is so high, are
you sick my dear?” she asked, jumping up at
once.
“I am fine mama” I murmured.
“You are not. You are as hot as a boiling
kettle. You can’t go anywhere today. Let me
get you some drugs, I will tell the guy to
come for you tomorrow” she said hurriedly.
I shook my head, “No mama, I would leave
this place today” I said.
She frowned. “You are not well Amara, let me
take care of you, I know that that useless
husband of yours would not do anything” she
said with obvious anger.
Her anger was starting to irritate me.
“Whether you like it or not, I am leaving this
place now. I have signed the contract of this
marriage, it is high time I stopped postponing
the inevitable and start living the life I signed
up for” I tried to get up, hiding my slight
discomfort. My tummy hadn’t started
protruding because I was just two months
gone but as I sat up, I could not escape the
sudden wave of dizziness that gripped me. I
shut my eyes tight for several seconds until I
felt safe to open them.
“Please be reasonable Amarachi” Mum
pleaded as I pushed off the bed and slipped
on my slippers.
“I am the only one being reasonable here
mama” I stopped. “Wait, what am I saying? I
am the most unreasonable and senseless
person on earth, but I knew mama, I knew
marriage to Corper Bello was a terrible idea.”
I turned hurt eyes at her. “Mama, I made a
mistake, even God knows that I made the
worst mistake of my life, but don’t I deserve
forgiveness? Do I have to spend my whole
life paying for this one mistake that I made?”
I cried. “When I discovered that Corper was a
wicked man, I was ready to take care of my
child alone, I wanted to, I only needed the
support of my parents, even if it was only
you” I swallowed and shook my head. “But
you did not support me mama, you could not
stand up to your husband; you never could,
even if it was for your only child” I exhaled.
“Now, I have done what papa wants me to
do; please don’t try to stop me because I
would not listen to you”
I opened the door and walked out, leaving
my mum white-faced, with tears streaming
down her cheeks. I knew I was transferring
the aggression I was feeling but I really could
not help myself. I had blamed myself too
much for my misfortunes and I felt it might
ease my burden and guilt if I blamed
someone else. As I walked, I discovered that
it did not work, if anything, what I just did
was making me feel guiltier for making my
mum sad.
My dad stood up and approached me
immediately I entered the sitting room and I
wished I could have escaped him somehow.
Anger took over me again as I wondered
what the hell he was about to say to me. No
doubt, he would insult the living daylight out
of me again, and I obviously deserve it.
Immediately he got to me, his face lit up in a
broad smile. I was momentarily stunned. Ever
since this drama started, I don’t think my
dad has ever smiled. He placed his hands on
my shoulders and I was forced to look up
into his eyes.
“My sweet daughter, you have no idea how
much I am proud of you” he breathed out.
What? I blinked. This is definitely something
you don’t see every day! If not for the fact
that I could not perceive the smell of beer, I
could have sworn that my dad was drunk.
“Oh my dear, I know that I have been hard on
you since this started, but it is for a good
cause”. He continued, completely rubbing me
of my power of speech. “You know, I am so
lucky that I have a daughter who uses her
head properly. Now, stop beating yourself
over this pregnancy issue, it is a gift from the
most high. It is definitely the key to our
breakthrough. Look my girl, you are rich” he
declared. “Very rich! You always wanted to
lift the poverty in our family, now; God has
just answered your prayers. Unknowingly, you
have taken our family out of the gutter and
you have placed us right inside the palace.”
“What are you saying papa?” I croaked out.
He put his arms around my shoulders as he
propelled me towards the exit. “Amara, you
are a wise girl, I am sure you understand me
perfectly. Now, what you have to do next is
to make full use of this opportunity that
landed on your laps on a platter of gold. You
think Alex is so mean and wicked? He might
be. But it is just a matter of time. It just takes
a beautiful woman with enough sense like
you to bend him. We men, we pretend to be
strong and invincible, but trust me, all
women came through Eve, and inherited her
cunning talents. Make use of it my daughter
and you would be able to totally change the
fortune of our family. All the dreams you
have of being a doctor, can still be achieved.
Think about it my girl.” He gave me a bright
smile. I just could not believe all I was
hearing. Vaguely, I saw the car that was
waiting for me. “Now go my daughter, your
husband is waiting in your new house. Be a
good girl. He kissed my pale cheeks and led
me to the waiting car. I walked like a remote
control robot, still not believing that
everything I just heard came from my own
father. My mum met us, dabbing at her eyes.
I didn’t know what to feel. Was she also
aware of dad’s tactics? It was too much to
take in.
I slid onto the soft leather in the car and
closed the door. The person who seemed to
be a driver, started the car. I stared at my
parents in disbelief as the car sped off. They
vanished from my sight and I was left with
the words of my father. I felt as though I did
not know my parents again but measuring
everything, this seemed like the smallest of
my problems as I looked forward to the next
phase of my life.
*****