The Wedding Contract

Episode 13

anthony and ifaechi returned from the hospital later that evening to meet mr clifford frowning…

“good evening dad ” tony greeted silence
“good evening father.” ifaechi greeted
“ooh…so i’m your father ehn…that’s why you totally forgot and abandoned me in the
house….” that was when ifaechi remembered she was making breakfast when she got the call
from the hospital…she smiled and walked to mr clifford..she sat next to him…
“daddy daddy…i’m sorry..biko..” she said tickling him
“(fake frowning)…i’ve not eaten since morning because of you..” he said…tony just stood there watching them….he had never seen
his father this friendly with any of the girls he brought home
“okay let me go and prepare something for you..okay..?”
“fine…be fast with it..” he said
smiling….ifaechi stood up to go to the kitchen when tony spoke
“ify…i’d love to talk to you when you’re done.”
the smile on her face suddenly
disappeared…
“we have nothing to talk about..” she said and went into the kitchen….mr clifford was confused…he remembered the incident that happened that morning…

“son…what is the problem…what is going on between you two..why did she point a knife at you this morning..?” he asked
“its nothing father….but we should start looking for another girl to take ify’s place…she
might leave soon.” he said walking to his room….

“leaving..??…she can’t leave…i have to talk to her…” his father said and went into the kitchen….

“father…are you that hungry you had to come to the kitchen..??..” ifaechi asked…
silence

ifaechi turned and saw that he was
frowning
“father…you’re still frowning..??..but i’m cooking na..”
“what is this i hear about you leaving..?” he asked
“(sighs)…i’m sorry but i don’t think i can stay…not after what tony did..” she replied
“what…what did he do..??..tell me…i’ll fix it…you can’t leave ify…i like you…i really
do…i’ve never liked any girl tony brought home..but you’re different…you know…i’ve always wanted a daughter…my wife and i were planning on adopting a girl before her passing…please
don’t take away the chance to know what it feels like to have a daughter away from me…please…whatever it is he did to you please forgive him…for my sake..” he pleaded
it broke her…she missed her father..she missed that relationship of a father and
daughter….but she was scared of
tony…she didn’t trust him anymore….

“what did tony do to you..?” he
asked….she told him what happened…mr clifford was
shocked…tony had never done that
before…something might have pushed him to do it…he had to talk to him…
“please forgive him for my sake…i’ll talk to him…or think of it this way…your mother
is still alive cos he gave you the money…it won’t be fair to back out…please…do it for
me…your old father..” he said making puppy eyes….ifaechi burst into laughter
*
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mr clifford went straight to tony’s room..he has to explain the reason behing his stupid
act…he barged into the room
“dad..??…why didn’t you knock..??..what if i was naked..” he asked
“do you mind explaining to me the reason behind your stupid act towards ify this morning..??”
“(sighs)…she told you..??”
“yes she did…now talk..” he yelled “i don’t know father…honestly i don’t…ion
know if it cos i was angry at her and i wanted to get back at her…i don’t really know…”
“hmmm…that is your own..i just want to make one thing clear…if that girl leaves you have me to contend with…you know how much
i want a daughter…i finally see one i can relate with and you want to chase her away with your
womanising attitude…you better fix this..”.he yelled and left..
tony was surprised…he now understood why his father was friendly with her…his heart
became heavier…how was he going to get her to forgive him…she is not the materialistic type so buying her a gift was out of the question..he sighed
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few days later…things were going on fine..ifaechi did her best to avoid tony…she decided to continue the contract but would stay off tony’s path…the only reason she would be with him is if they had to make a public
appearance…she was busy doing the laundry when she got a text from tony.(that was how they communuicated now)..
“public appearance today at 5:00pm..be ready…the driver will pick you up..”.. she hissed and returned to her washing…she
could not wait for the six months to end