Chapter 39: Chapter 39

"Raliat", Mr. Usman called, entering his daughter's bedroom. He was a business mogul and was rarely at home. Sundays were his only free day, even though he schedules most of his traveling on Sundays.

"Yes, daddy", Raliat responded. She was laying on her bed reading a novel titled "UNREQUITED FATE".

"Raliat", he called again with a grim countenance. Raliat was surprised to see his annoyed face. She shuddered and quickly sat upright.

"What is this thing I am hearing about your so-called boyfriend?" He inquired pointing to the direction of the sitting room.

Raliat looked towards the direction he was pointing at, and with a confusing look, she stammered out of fear. "I...d..do..don't know what you mean, daddy."

He saw the fear in her and tried calming himself. Then, he asked calmly, "When is he coming?"

Raliat looked up at the wall clock. "He should be here any moment from now."

"What's his name?" He asked again as he moved towards her big bed.

"It's Ayoade sir", she answered.

"Ayo...mene (Ayo...what)?" He frowned his face as he sat down beside her.

"Ayoade, daddy", She repeated, trying to hide her fears. She knew the point he was driving at and she couldn't say what his reaction would be. Her heart was beating wildly and she felt like crying.

"What tribe is he?"

"He is Yoruba."

"What!", her father lamented. Raliat jumped up in fright.

"What is wrong with you? Out of all the Hausas on earth, you decided to go for a boy from South-West."

She breathes out the air she had been holding in and summoned up the courage to give him a reply, hoping she would succeed in convincing him. "Daddy, I feel the tribe doesn't matter. What matters most is the love we have for each other."

"What love are you talking about? What if he starts maltreating you when you are eventually married?"

"Dad, Ayoade can't do such......."

"How sure are you? How long have you known each other?" He demanded, interrupting her.

"Dad......."

"Answer me."

"Two weeks", she finally said and looked down in shame.

"What? Raliat, what the hell is wrong with you? Do you know how many years your mother and I courted? We courted for 3 years. What do you know about him that you are already talking about marriage?"

"Dad... I....."

"Is he a Muslim?"

The next question caught her off-guard and she scratched her head.

"Is he a Muslim?" Her father thundered again, with blazing red eyes.

Raliat jumped up in fright and quickly answered, "I don't know."

******

I don't know who fathered me and my mother had refused to tell me who he is, Habib thought.

Ever since the death of Habibah, he had been more than willing to get to meet his biological father, just so he could give him a piece of his mind.

Who would have thought our lives would turn out this way? We were all leaving a very comfortable life in a comfortable home and environment but our mother messed everything up.

He was tempted to go back to the house to ask Mr. Ladi, his so-called father for forgiveness and also to find who their father was from him, but his pride wouldn't allow him.

As much as he didn't want to hate Mr. Ladi, he couldn't help it. He was the man he knew as a father for 26 years of his existence. He threw them out of the house without any remorse.

Life had been so difficult, things had been rough for him and his mother. Sometimes, his existence made him sad.

But the truth was that his mother needed him. She wass at a very critical stage of her life. The death of Habibah was having a toll on her.

Whenever Habib looks at her, he feels nothing but sympathy for her instead of resentment. He knew she was going through a tough time. She lost her child and her husband in just a day.

A man she had looked up to for her every need. He was her companion. He was the only man in the world who loved her despite her flaws, unfaithfulness, and disloyalty.

But it was too late!

If only she could turn back the hands of the clock, but the deed was done already.

She was no longer the fashionista Habib knew her to be. All she does all day was to eat, sleep and look into space. She barely talks despite the effort of her sister and son to pull her out of her self-created world. She was lonely and depressed but she doesn't even know how much the whole thing was affecting her son too.

If only she could just let go of the past and be steadfast in prayers for Habibah and our present condition.....maybe the mercies of the Almighty will come upon us, Habib thought.

His mother was not even aware of the fact that he was having academic issues.

Habib was scared for her mental health. She knows that he goes to school daily but she doesn't care to ask when he would be graduating. He was supposed to graduate the previous year.

I want to pretend like everything is fine but it isn't, he thought to himself as he rested his jaws on his hand.

He needed something to vent his anger on. The anger he had been harboring and accommodating for more than two years since the death of Habibah. The only way to get rid of that anger was to see his father and fight him for making Habibah commit suicide.

Parents do not realize that some of their past sins always react to the lives of their children.

His parent's waywardness led to all of these. First, it was his mother. Now, my father had done the abominable. His biological father had sex and even impregnated his twin sister.

Their father did the abominable with his blood! His daughter.

What a world! Habibah died because of our parent's misdeed, Habib sighed as a tear roll down his eyes.

After leaving Mr. Ladi's house, Habib and his mother sought refuge in her sister's apartment who was a divorcee.

A week later, he went to his mother's shop only to find the place locked. He knew immediately that his dad was behind it. Since then, he had been struggling with providing for his mother who was always indoors and all, so catering for his own needs, including his education.

What happened to him served as an eye-opener. He used to be extravagant but not anymore. He gives his friends money without them asking, but now that he needed them, they were nowhere to be found. He didn't think of saving and now he was suffering for his mistakes, as well as his parent's mistakes.

Ever since he was always on the lookout for opportunities online to make money. He came across different platforms and opportunities, but in the long run, he got defrauded. His #20,000 went away in a blink of an eye.

He cried and felt like dying.

But he couldn't just give up. He kept on looking for opportunities because he needed the means to sustain himself.

Especially his mother.

Then, he came across Yusuf Olatunde Naim from Kaduna State who was a freelance trainer. Habib was part of Naim's organized free class where he got a lot of values. When he organized the master's class, Habib had to borrow the money from his aunty to pay for the class. Before the end of the class, he refunded his aunt back.

That became a positive turning point in his life.

Things became better. He made ×10 of what he paid within a month. Before he knew it, he became a professional freelancer and content writer. He was on the path to overthrowing his teacher, Naim by making six figures before the year runs out.

That was the reason why he was having academic problems. He was torn between making money and graduating from school. But the truth was, he needed money to graduate and he needed to graduate to make money... If not more money.

Just two weeks ago, his mother fell sick and was rushed to the hospital. He was called from school and he had to rush home. He got a writing gig that same day and the deadline was the next day.

He wasn't in his right senses and needed money, so he couldn't decline the gig offer. He paid for his mother's hospital bills and had less than #10,000 left in his bank account.

He did a rush work and submitted the gig the next day. By the evening of the same day, he almost fainted when he got a review from the client. It turned out he did a terrible job.

His client stopped giving him jobs and he was no longer making money. His other permanent clients too stopped giving him jobs. Habib guessed the first client had told them of his terrible performance.

Now, they were back to square one!

"This is indeed grace to grass!", he murmured.