Advertisement

advertisements


Episode 9

Tokunbo could not believe his ears that
Chinwe had been found and she was willing to return only on the condition that they would not ask for the involvement of those
who helped her hide all the while. Of course her father would have refused if he had not put down his foot that they leave out the police until she’s found.

He was surprised the man has no thought for his daughter’s life and all he could think was the shame she had made him go through.

Tokunbo had informed him angrily that
Chinwe was not kidnapped but she ran away, and if she was willing to return on that condition then it would be reasonable for them to accept her back and keep the police and the press away, or her father’s lies would blow up in his face.

The last part must have driven a point home as he agreed to leave the police behind and asked for a private jet to take them to Uyo and back.

All he could think about aboard the jet was what the reaction would be when she sees him and him, her. He watched out the little window as the objects below appeared bigger in preparation for landing. Chinwe’s father was as anxious as he was for the plane to land, maybe for different reasons, but they were both anxious.

“Sir, I would advise we don’t cause
unnecessary scene when we see her, people might get to know and news would travel”

“What scene would I probably cause, she just has to get on the plane, all that would be handled when we get back to Lagos”

“yes sir”

When they landed, Tokunbo walked quietly behind his father in law, the man who walked closely behind him; they were
directed to the VIP lounge where Chinwe was waiting with the woman who called them.

And there she was, sitting stiffly like he
imagined, looking cold and ready to cause a scene if they triggered it.
Tokunbo suddenly could not make use of his feet, they became too heavy for him to pull, he watched in relief
mixed with shock as their eyes met, he
wished to run and take her in his arms, but her eyes told him to stay put and his body seems to obey.

Her father walked to her and stared at her for some seconds before moving to the woman sitting some distance away with her husband,
he thanked her and they talked for some
minutes before he went back to Chinwe and Tokunbo watched as he pulled her up and they walked past him at the door and went back to the aircraft. He followed them and could not place a thought on why he was the object of her coldness, which confirmed to him, he was the reason she left in the first place.

Her father pushed her not too gently on the seat behind him, the seat Tokunbo had used on their flight to Uyo, he watched at the door
as the couple that helped them find her sat at the other end of the aisle. Tokunbo walked and took the seat beside her as it was obvious that was what her father wanted. She buckled herself in as the flight attendant came in to
ask if there was any way she could help them.

Tokunbo has a lot of questions to ask and he almost forgot that there would be no confrontation, not at the airport and not in the aircraft until they were back in their apartment in Lagos.

The engine of the aircraft revved and he
strapped himself in his seat and rested his
head on the headrest, taking a deep breath to clear his head and get his common sense to the surface. They took the rest of the journey in silence.

When they arrived Lagos an hour and half
later, Tokunbo was surprised to see Chinwe dozing beside him and he was stricken by her beauty as she slept. He shook her gently and she woke up, he walked out of the aircraft leaving her with her father and to make a call
for the driver to come to the tarmac to get them, in order not to attract people to them;

they would be easily recognized here in Lagos than in Uyo.

Safely driven to his father in law’s house,

Tokunbo met his parents there waiting to see if it was true, they were happy for a safe trip but when they saw Chinwe, they did not know what best way to react, either to welcome her back or to ask if she was alright.

Chinwe was led to the sitting room by her
father who asked his son; Nkem to dismiss all the staff working in the house at that time, so they could have the proper privacy they would need
When she saw her mother, Chinwe ran to her and hugged her tight; both women sobbed uncontrollably, the first emotion she showed since she was picked at the airport. No one needed to look at her father to know he was ready to spit fire but probably was holding back because of his in laws. When Chinwe’s
brother returned from dismissing all the staff, they all sat down and of course, Chinwe’s father started.

“I would like to welcome you both my in laws and we have to thank God for the safe return of this
., well before I ask if anyone has something to say, young woman, can you please tell us what on earth you were thinking to have taken such act on your wedding day”

“Chief, I think what we need her to do now is to rest for a while, she is back and we would like to put all this behind us”

“But, dear, we need to know why she ran away, is it because of something your
husband did or something else?” Tokunbo’s mum asked.

“But at the moment we are all hurt and tensed, making her talk would only end in raising our voices and I don’t know about you, I think we all need the rest after being assured of her return and safety”

“I still want to hear what her reasons are and who her helpers could be or we are not leaving here tonight”
“Chief
”

“If you want to know why I ran away
 it’s because I no longer want to be married to the man you chose for me, you picked him and I went along with your choice, but I am making a choice of my own now, I no longer want to be married to him” Chinwe replied defiantly.

“What has changed dear, I thought
” her mom cut in

“Mom, a lot has changed and I would like to be free from this wedding, I want a divorce”

“Di
.vorce?” They all echoed as if they heard her wrongly.

“If you have a reason on why you want to be divorced, why not tell all of us here, but it is too late to be thinking about divorce, I thought the two of you were getting along just
fine even though it was all arranged from the beginning” her mother in law reasoned calmly.

“Ma, with all respect, my reasons would be secret”

“If you cannot tell us the reason why you ran away and why you are asking for a divorce? I am commanding it now as your father and the head of this family that you are going back to his house with him tonight otherwise, I swear
to you, you have just woken the beast in me”

“Chief, I advise that you calm down, I suggest we take Tokunbo to a separate room and you speak with your daughter, she might not want to tell us but she could open up to you in private”

Tokunbo’s father stood up and his wife did the same, they waited for Tokunbo to stand, who all the while had not said anything but was staring at Chinwe. He finally stood up and went with his parents to the visitor’s room opposite the living room where his in laws were seated.

“Chinwe, what is the problem, what
happened?”

“Mummy
” Chinwe broke into tears again as her mother tried to console her.

“Listen to me you foolish girl, if not because you are now married and I wouldn’t waste my energy, I would have stripped you naked here
and flog you till you no longer can walk. I
don’t care what that guy has done or what it is you found out about him, I am not ready to lose to Ajayi. If you know what is best for you, you will go with him and be the best wife to him, Divorce is not even an option”

“But don’t you think we have to listen to her reason before
”

“will you shut up your mouth you older fool , I am still trying to disbelieve the fact that you did not help her run away, so if you know what is best for both of you, talk sense into her head and make her go back with him tonight or your life is over. I swear, your life would be over if she dares says no when they return”

“Wait, please, I am begging you, anything you want to do to me please do but don’t hurt them. Don’t condemn her to an unhappy marriage as I have been condemned, let’s hear her reasons.”

“Daddy, please
. I don’t want to marry him, he is a monster
”

“Even if he is the devil, you are staying with him, when I am dead, you can get out of the marriage, but not before then. And as for you, who condemned you too an unhappy marriage? It is your choice and you should live with it”

With that said, he walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him, he returned some minutes later, not sparing the crying women a glance nor the young man who was
barely keeping his anger in check.

“Yeah, we found my daughter today, it seems she was able to escape the kidnappers and made her way to the airport, we found her today and she’s home with me now”

After the call to the police, he called some
newspaper reporters too and told them the same thing before ending the call and taking the seat he vacated before; waiting for his in laws.

When the Ajayis finally came out of the room, Tokunbo’s mother was wiping her face, obviously she had been crying, hoping to get information from her son that could have made his wife run away on their wedding day.

“Welcome back, were you able to get anything from him?”

“Nothing, I think it is between them and
maybe we should leave them to talk so we can know the next step”

“There’s no need for that, we already decided here, she is going back with him”

“Sir, I don’t think that is necessary, if she wants to stay here, it is fine by
” Tokunbo tried to talk some sense into the situation, so he could understand it himself.

“She is going back with you” Chief Babalola declared with set eyes on Tokunbo, a tone of voice that left no room for further bandying.

Chief Babalola stood up and with that his in laws also got to their feet and he turned to his son, get the drivers and you”[/b] he turned to Chinwe, who was still folded in her mother’s
arms “get up and go rinse your face, before the drivers get here”

He preceded Chinwe into the hallway that
leads to a bathroom for the visitors; she
walked with a slumped shoulder as if the
weight in her heart would break her down any moment.

Tokunbo’s heart went out to her immediately, he wished he could give her comfort and protect her, but here she is, rejecting him for reasons only known to her. She needs lots of
protection from her father but she rather
would continue to stay with him than stay
married to him.

In the bathroom, Chinwe supported her
weight on the counter that holds the
washbasin, looking at herself in the mirror
and how close she was to escaping this life.

The door to the bathroom opened suddenly
and her father came in.

“Hurry up with that and don’t keep them waiting”

“you really would not listen to me? You are selling me off because of your greed and black heart, I hate you so much and I wish I was never born” she told him in the meanest voice she could muster.

“It doesn’t matter what you feel, all I care for now is that you remove yourself out of this house soon”

Janet came to the bathroom but was
prevented from coming in by her husband
who kept leering at her with so much hate in his eyes

“What, won’t you allow me to see her alone before she is shipped off to your business partner?”

“I will not spare you a minute with her; who knows what the plan would be this time, hmmn Ngozi”

“You give us a minute alone, where could she probably run to at this time and in this house or are you already losing touch with your powers?”

“Fools, one minute or I swear
”

“swear what?, to beat me like you always do?, please don’t hold back, what wonderful scene that would be to our in laws and what a good
message that also would be for your son in law, at least with his father in law beating his mother in law, what stops him from tying his wife to the bed and giving her a good beating once she upsets him, hmmm?”

“Don’t stay too long and don’t make me get come get you” he turned to Chinwe and sauntered out of the bathroom
Finally at last, Chinwe broke down in front of
her mother who quickly gathered her into her
arms and held her tight, her heart was also
shattered that she could not protect her
daughter from these pains neither could she
take her place. She would have taken the
maltreatment of her husband a thousand folds
more if it would free her but she knows she
would not be able to.

“Baby, what has he done, why do you no longer want to marry him, I thought you two were beginning to like each other”

“He 
.oh God, he is not who he seems or says he is and I just don’t think I am ready,.. ”

“Honey, all this you are saying is medicine after death and you should have made your decisions and acted upon them before the wedding”

“Mum, I did but I 
”

“You should have told me, I would have
arranged for you to be taken out of the
country, I thought you wanted the wedding, and I was happy you could finally be free of your father, but now that you married him, things are a bit 
. You know?” she said in a
firm voice that surprised Chinwe even though she had tears in her eyes too.

“I know, I have to live with my decisions”

Chinwe said with a sigh that further broke
her mother’s heart.

“I wish I could help, but I am glad you are safe and alive, I almost died when they could
not find you, your brother was the only sane reason I was holding on to hope”

“Did he blame you for my action?”

“Of course he did, but I no longer care, he could beat me and blame me for the rest of his years on earth, all I am after is the happiness of my children” she said with a sad smile on her face.

“Mum, you have endured it enough; you
should get out of this house and his life
before he does a permanent damage”

“He already has done that but believe me; it is just for a little while more”

“What has he done, tell me mum”[/b]
Her mother held her shoulders tightly and
shook her once, “listen to me Chi, wash your face and leave me with him, I have borne it this far and believe me, I can for a few years more, just go far away from here, he will calm
down and things will be better”

“I am sorry of all that my actions have
brought on you, I am so sorry” she hugged her mother tightly and when she pulled back she decided to face the music and dance to the tune, her mother would constantly be the object of her father’s fury with any news of
her truancy inn her husband’s house. Her mother has paid a lot for her to be in this position and now that she’s married, she would make her status to reduce her mother’s suffering.

If staying married to Tokunbo Ajayi would
make her father stop beating her mother then married to him it would be, but it would not be a happy marriage.


MORE STORIES FOR YOU đŸ”„


Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*