Chapter 53: Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Alvin keeps stealing glances at me. I am so sure that he wants to ask me questions but he is not sure or maybe he is not ready just yet.

We are cruising the highway to my home village and I am so aware of Tabby and her boyfriend Luke trailing closely behind us.

I miss Aliana and Janet so much. I will pay them a visit after coming from the village. Aliana came to see me at the hospital when I delivered, I called her because I am super sure that she had been supporting me genuinely.

‘’Mum said you shouldn’t drive crazily like you are doing right now. Didn’t he tell you?’’ I ask Alvin whose attention is placed ahead fully. He is so annoying when he is not giving me attention. That aside though, I enjoy his attention the most. He gives me the best ever.

‘’I like it a lot when you shrill. Are you scared?’’ he asks with a smile on his lips. A sweet one.

‘’No, I am not scared.’’ I lie knowingly. ‘’You are at very high speed and that is not what mum told you. Are you high on something?’’

‘’Sweety, don’t say that I am not. I love both of you so much and I don’t need mum to ask me to drive carefully when I am with you, I should be able to do it without any reminders.’’

My heart does some tumbles when he says that. Alvin is just madly in love with me. Luke told me that he confessed to him and also asked him not to tell me a thing but what are little brothers for? He told me to act surprised if he ever confesses that to me. Trust me I may not be able to pull the act but I will try for Luke’s sake.

We stop in a certain town and we walk to a store to shop for some food and groceries for both my parents and godmother. Tabby offers to carry the little chap who is busy sucking on his index finger. He looks more handsome and I pray that the village weather will not affect him.

Luke winks at me when he sees Alvin and I together and I glare at him dangerously making both of us laugh at each other.

We are home after a few hours and I smile when I catch our beautiful compound.

East or West, Home is best.

Luke and Alvin pull through the compound and I remember when I last saw Luke here. It has been several months since then. I have the money mum gave me in an envelope and I hope to give it to dad. These two didn’t allow me to chip in even a little bit.

Job and Clare run towards us as we all alight. Carly is struggling to run and I notice she is limping. She must have hurt her leg.

Tabby offers to carry Ian and hold Carly up high making her laugh genuinely. She is still very adorable but she has grown so much. I crouch before her when I set her down and hold her feet. They are cut mercilessly and when I ask her why she says that she stumbled on a stone causing the cut. I feel her pain literally.

We all walk towards the house and everyone is happy to see us. Mum smiles when she shakes Alvin’s hand and frowns a little when she shakes Luke’s hand. I bet she remembers him well, well.

‘’Welcome back, my daughter,’’ Dad says and I smile at him.

‘’Thank you, dad,’’ I say walking to Tabby and taking Ian from her. She frowns a little but she lets go. Tabby hasn’t gone to see her mum yet. She decided to say hi to my parents first and we’ll go together to see my godmother. ‘’Um … dad?’’ dad turns to look at us. ‘’Please meet your grandson, his name is Ian. He is one …’’ he cuts me off glaring at me deadly.

‘’What do you mean my grandson?’’

‘’I mean, meet my baby, dad.’’

‘’Tell me you are joking, Clara!’’ he shouts and I tense on the spot. Dad is just harsh and I don’t know what to do. ‘’Did you go to the city to get pregnant? Why would you want to show me a grandson? You were such a good girl, Clara! What came over you?’’

‘’Dad please just ...’’

‘’Don’t dad me! I knew you were going to the city precisely to find men. You decided that the city was the best place to ruin your name. Did you go there to have a baby? Are you a baby-making machine? Ehe! Clara?’’

‘’I am sorry, dad. You should at least understand me. Listen to me and place your eyes on the angel I am carrying here. If you don’t want to bless me, then bless this little angel that I am carrying in my arms.’’

‘’I have never met a stupid girl like you! You probably took after your father or something like that. You are such a disgrace to the family!’’ he shouts to the top of his voice. ‘’You should go and find …’’

‘’Jerald!’’ mum shouts at him.

‘’Shut up, Marcella! Now is the right time to speak up. I have hidden the truth for over twenty years and trust me, not anymore. It is eating me up to know that she has grown up knowing I am her dad when it isn’t true. She decided to walk away from this family and now she is back to mess it all over again?’’ my head is spinning around and if I am not careful, I will fall down with baby Ian in my arms. ‘’In search of greener pasture my foot! Is a baby one of the greener pastures.’’

I feel Tabby’s hold on my shoulder. My legs are wobbling land I feel super bad. My whole body is weak and painful. I don’t know what dad is saying. I bet he wants to reveal what he was threatening to reveal several months ago.

‘’Mr. Jerald, please. Hear her out. She is still your …’’

‘’My daughter? She isn’t.’’ I eye mum literally begging her to confirm that what is being said here is a lie. I know such things happen but I don’t think it should be happening to me. She hides her eyes. Meaning this is the necked truth.

‘’What are you saying dad?’’ I ask torrents of tears falling from my face.

‘’I am literally saying that you are not my daughter, I mean that you have different parents and that’s why you are here messing things up. What examples are you trying to show my children? Why would you want to be a bad big sister?’’

‘’Look here sir! I hate people who insolence women. They gave birth to us, they are our sisters, aunts, siblings, cousins, and before all that, they are our parents and great …’’ Alvin is still talking when dad cuts him short rudely.

‘’And who told you that you can lecture me on what I can or cannot do? Who the hell are you?’’ he is taking sure strides towards him and I run between them to separate them. This is literally going to be messy.

Dad pushes me away when I make to stop him from hitting Alvin and Luke catches me halfway when I am just about to fall on the floor. I am confused, and stunned at the same time because dad honestly never taught me like this.

He said we should all the damn time respect everyone regardless of their fate. Life in the city was challenging enough, from that witch marrying the guy I love, to Harry’s mum being just an impossible woman, and then to so many confusing talks.

Revelations for that matter.

Dad holds Alvin by the collar of his upscale t-shirt and if this doesn’t get bloody cluttered and muddled then I have no idea what’s going to happen next but it doesn’t look good.

I give Alvin a beseeching look. I want him to let go, fighting isn’t gonna help him with anything, I want to leave here so badly but that’s not happening. I have to know what the truth is.

‘’Jerald, please! …’’

‘’Shut up, woman!’’ he says leaving Alvin’s collar and turning to mum. ‘’You stole her from a rich family so, you should tell her the truth. You should make sure that she is aware of that. Tell her that her mother was your cousin. You connived with an evil woman and stole her from her and up to date, your people don’t know where you are and your cousin is dead too.’’ Fresh and warm tears are falling and I don’t do anything to hold them back. Mum had mentioned that her cousin had disappeared and was yet to be found.

Now I have a vivid idea what dad is saying. We have never been taken to our grandpas’ from mum’s side. I know the ones from dad’s side but not those from mum’s.

Ever received some shocking news? Ever been in a position where the news you are receiving is something you literally were told and you never thought that it could be you? Luke is looking at me when I turn to look at him. Believe me, it is a hard moment but I manage to spare him a smile. I kneel down asking dad to stop what he is saying because I am about to go livid.

For the first time in my over twenty years in this entire life, I feel that dad is lying. I totally refuse to take in what he is saying. Things start flowing in my head. At some point, dad was about to give me away as a wife to Liam. Who was very willing to make me his wife just because of some stupid bet? Well, in my dream, Mrs. Williams said that Harry is my brother and that is being confirmed right now. In my other dream, mum cautioned me not to be with Harry. Too late because I already have a baby with him. Mrs. Williams also told me that my plans of going back to the city to torment her weren’t gonna work.

How do I call the boy? Who is Ian to me? Isn’t it bad to have sex with your own brother or family? How do I explain all these to him when he grows up? But why was there so much love between Harry and I? I am saying ‘was’ because I don’t think I love Harry anymore. This shit just drained my love for him and I am never turning back.

Luke moves closer and helps me up. He obviously knows the story so I will not be calling him little brother in vain. He is my real brother. No wonder so much brotherly love and affection. He saved my life and if it wasn’t for him, I would be long dead.

Tabby takes the baby from me and I let her. Family secrets sometimes can be there to bring you down. So, I have literally lived under my own mother’s roof for five months without knowing?

I thought Harry’s family had secrets. I didn’t know that I have been a lie all this while. Living with people who never sired me.

Gross!

Alvin moves closer and makes sure that I am well protected. I am weaker than I was when the conversation started and I feel like someone is literally messing my life up.

‘’You don’t believe me? Ask your mum.’’ He bursts out a burst of malicious laughter. He is happy when I am about to run mad. My whole life has been a lie and I have nothing to do about it. I want to go into a river and deep myself deep, I don’t want people to see me and start pointing fingers at me saying, ‘’She got pregnant for her brother.’’ I feel the warm tears fall and I don’t bother to even wipe them.

I start moving towards mum both Luke and Alvin helping me. This is the reason why I am so much sure that I had seen that woman Mrs. Jones, my city mother somewhere. Mum has a few of her photos in her album.

Apparently, they were friends and guess what? This is what friends shouldn’t do to each other. In this case, a friend who is also a cousin.

From the look of things, she is totally oblivious of her cousin being alive. She must think that she died. I don’t know who was buried in her place before they realized she was missing from the morgue or something like that.

Maybe I will ask her one day.

‘’Ask her, let her tell you the truth of the matter. Ask her why she lied to you and why she has been whacking you from finding out who the hell your family is.’’ If I say that I don’t want to hear that, then I will be one of the certified liars around. I want to know everything.

‘’Mum please say dad is lying?’’

‘’Yes, please tell us the truth. Is he lying?’’ my eyes shoot open when I see who is at the door. Now I know that in this life, nothing can be hidden under the sun.

‘’I watch in awe as mum shakes her head. ‘’He isn’t lying. He is telling you the truth. You are not our baby by birth but we raised you and that gives us …’’

‘’Some right? Says who?’’

I make a mental note there and then. I move closer to mum and does the unthinkable. My hand connects with her cheeks and she shrieks in pain. We can have the case later but for now, I feel better, that I have done that.