Chapter 36: Chapter 36
The scenes began to click one after the other to Precious, she had met this same man on three different occasions, first at Apapa, then at Lekki and now at Ikoyi.
Precious scoffed at fate's way of reuniting. She remembered her last conversation with him at the museum and how she felt pity for him; he was her father, she thought.
Did he think my mom aborted me? Did he tell her to abort me? Precious thought.
Precious didn't even know what to think considering that her both Parents didn't want her.
Gideon nodded his head; Austin parked his car well before following them home.
When they opened the door of Gideon's house, Grace was on the floor crying hysterically.
When Grace looked up and her eyes met with Austin, she raised her voice.
"Leave! What are you doing here??"
"Get out! Get out! Get out!" She raised her voice, using her hands to show him the door. Grace was hurt, thinking of her past always had an effect on her.
"Let me explain Grace!" Austin spoke, his voice held concern and begged to be heard.
He walked closer to her but she pushed him. Gideon thought of giving them privacy but the look on Grace's face showed she wasn't going to let him speak to her.
Precious watched how her mother cried; Grace was pained, Precious was pained, it was as if the year planned to be a pained year for them.
Austin followed Gideon into his room. Gideon ushered for him to sit down and soon Austin began to narrate the whole story to him.
After seventeen years of searching, Austin finally found her. That day she had told him of her Pregnancy was the day his name was listed amongst those leaving for peace keeping to India.
When she told him she was Pregnant, he was happy and sad; Sad in the sense that Grace wasn't happy knowing she wanted to further more to school and he had taken a year out of it. Happy in the sense that his plan worked. He knew she was going to the university and she knew she was a very beautiful girl, she'd attract other suitors and fear of losing her made her get her Pregnant.
He loved Grace from the very moment he saw her and he always told her he wanted to marry her but she laughed whenever he said that.
He had told his mother about her and planned on introducing her to his family.
When he went to receive the call, he was told to come to the office immediately and that he was needed. He remembered telling her he had to squeeze his schedule to see her.
He said he was going to meet her soon and rushed back to the office to receive the news he'd be leaving for India in three days.
While on the ship, he was about to call her that night, he lost his balance and his phone fell into the sea.
He couldn't contact her as he didn't know her new line of hand, it took him three days before he returned back to land and when he went to search for her, he heard she was chased out of her.
He was hurt and what pained him the most was when he heard Trisha didn't help her, he riled up.
He wanted to take responsibility and even send her to the university if her parents refused to and it all went down the drain.
Fate had other plans for him as he didn't have enough time to search for her, he had to leave for India and after three years, he returned back to Nigeria.
The first thing he did was look for Grace although he was posted to Port Harcourt when he returned to Nigeria.
He spent a total of eight months there before he was posted to cross river state.
It wasn't after another six months at cross rivers before he was finally posted back to Bayelsa.
He went to meet her mother asking if she knew where Grace was but she said she knew nothing.
The best day for him happened to be the day he finally saw her but he was hurt when she ran away but he couldn't blame her.
She thought he was married and it hurt him to know how much he put her through, he felt bad.
Reason he was a bachelor at 42, he had been forced to marry but he couldn't think of another other than Grace knowing he hurt her.
Then his mind thought of Precious, he saw some similarities of his facial expression on her but he shrugged the thought of.
Did Grace abort the child or not? He thought.