Righteous packed up her things, lied to her parents about an early resumption date for her school, and left a week earlier before the university's resumption date. Her parents gave her money for her school fees and allowances, believing that their trustworthy daughter was going back to school.
Little did they know that their assumption about her was wrong for the first time.
With her luggage well secured in the trunk of her car, Righteous climbed into her driver's seat and drove out of her parents' compound with a steely resolve she never knew she was capable of making.
She was both excited and scared at the same time. Excited for the anticipated positive end result, and scared for venturing into such an enormous decision for the first time in her life on her own.
She was doing a bad thing for running off before the school's resumption date. A very bad thing and she knew it.
She should return to her parents now, her mind told her over and over again but she didn't want to listen. She had been listening to her mind for the past twenty years and now she thought she could act on the contrary for a change.
After all, she was doing this for the man she loved, for Henry.
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Love meant sacrifice, and she was doing her share of it right now. She wasn't on the wrong side because she was for love. Her parents were the one who were currently on the wrong side of the divide because they were against love.
‘I have become a bad girl. I've lied to Mummy and Daddy and eloped, so what does that make me? Definitely a bad girl. Bad, bad, bad.’
‘Stop whining, Righteous. I'm not a bad girl. I'm doing this for Henry, for love. There's no turning back now.’
On and on, the internal argument transpired all through the drive to Henry's house.
To make the idea look more appealing, holy and justified in her eyes, she deduced that she was sacrificing, just as Jesus Christ did, for love.
The very notion struck her as an absurd and out-of-context comparison, but she quickly pushed it to the back of her mind.
For love, for Henry. For love, for Henry.
On and on, it continued, and soon, it became more like a mantra. It was what fueled her drive till she got to her destination.
Henry was surprised to see her in the front of the apartment which he shared with the original owner who was not around at that moment.
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Righteous noticed a shadowy look that crossed his face when she told him that she would be staying for a while.
It disappeared so quickly that she couldn't decipher it.
That night, they laid down together in the same bed for the first time. Before they slept, they talked about the imbroglio that they had involuntarily been drawn into.
She again noticed an uncanny expression that creased the lines on his forehead as they discussed. She didn't know what to make of it so she had concluded that he was as much worried as she was because of their love for each other.
At that point, she felt it was high time she told him of the idea that had been forming in her mind.
She reached out her hand to hold his face and told him that all will be alright, that she thought she had an idea that could help.
When Henry, out of curiosity, asked her to tell him the idea, she'd tabled it down with so much certainty, believing that it was their best shot at coming out of their precarious position.
She carefully laid out her plan in a well-rehearsed speech. When she finished, she couldn't help the satisfaction that she felt inwardly. She even let out a small smile, believing that Henry would definitely go along with the plan.
One look at Henry and she knew she had terribly offended him with her idea.
"This is the dumbest and most foolish thing I have ever heard in my entire freaking life!"
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To say that Righteous was dumbfounded would be putting it mildly. She hadn't done anything wrong, at least not in her own opinion. She had only suggested that they should elope and get married without her family's approval.
Henry started calling her unpleasant names and screaming obscenities at her. He raised his hands and was about using it on her but the horrified expression on her face made him realize the significant damage he was doing to himself.
The realization stopped him cold. After calming down, he decided to take a new course of action by apologizing.
Righteous was so frightened out of her wits and frozen in her spot about the display she had seen from him that she couldn't let out any coherent word.
He scooted closer to her and gathered her up in his arms, still apologizing. It sent a strange feeling to every fiber of her being.
It gave her a strange feeling because no man had ever held her the way he was holding her that night. He tenderly looked into her eyes as if he could see the depth of her soul.
This was not what her parents expected her to get into, but it was a whole new experience and she was finding it very difficult to tear herself away from it.
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Her emotions were being drawn by a magnetic force and that magnetic force was Henry.
She wanted to leave; she wanted to stay. She wanted to bolt away from him; she wanted to remain with him. Go or stay?
She found herself in a great state of turmoil between her moral convictions and her feelings for Henry. Unable to choose sides, she buried her face in his chest and began to sob uncontrollably. It was a gut-wrenching sob.
Her world was spinning and her life was in a downward spiral, all because of Henry. Henry.
"That's okay, my love. Please stop crying." Henry gently pulled her face away from his chest and began wiping her tears with his thumb.
His touch filled her with unexpected warmth and she wanted to lean in for more. She had never been here before but now that she had come this far, she wanted to dive in head long.
A gentle but firm voice was telling her to turn away and return home to her parents, that it was not too late, but she shut out the sound of the voice. Right there, she made up her mind that she would go to the ends of the earth with Henry.
"Shush, stop crying, babe," Henry cooed and she quickly complied, wiping off the remaining tears from her eyes.
Silence fell on the room like a heavy blanket and for a while, no one said anything.
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"I think I have an idea," Henry piped up in excitement.
"Yes, baby, I think I have a great idea." He punched his fist mid-air.
Righteous looked at him with surprise and curiosity. A few moments ago, she had given him what she thought was the best solution to their problem by suggesting that they elope and get married without her parents' consent.
He'd been so furious at her that he almost slapped her. Now, what plan would he come up with that could remedy the situation?
He’s a fool, she thought incredulously. I'm in love with a fool.
But after he had convinced her about his idea, her perception about him changed.
---
Henry started by telling Righteous that he was too responsible to take advantage of her love and willingness and marry her without her parents' consent. Imagine what it would do to her parents, he reasoned with her. When she asked for his idea, his reply chilled her to her marrow.
He had suggested that he should get her pregnant and then they would return to her parents when she was three months gone so that when they saw their daughter's state, they would be forced to give their consent.
"Are you—, are you saying that you want to sleep with me before marriage?" Righteous stuttered in surprise.
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He had quickly cut her off saying.
"No, no, Babe, don't say it like that. I'm not just saying this because I want to have sex with you. But can't you see that it is our only solution out of this tussle? Carefully think about this, darling. Can't you see that it is the only way your parents can accept me as their son-in-law?
"Would you like to give birth tomorrow and not give your parents the opportunity of holding their grandchildren all because they disowned you? Think about it, sweetheart, think about it."
He had quickly cupped her face in his palms and stared directly into her eyes.
"Don't you know that I love you so much? I can't afford to see you separated from your parents all because of me. And if you love me, then please do this for us. I want to live with you for the rest of my life, with the peace of mind that I didn't come between you and your parents."
Henry spoke with so much conviction in his voice that Righteous felt as though he was speaking directly to her soul. She looked him in the eyes and realized that she loved him so much that she couldn't deny him any request.
Then she made up her mind that she would do anything to make sure that Henry and her family became on good terms, even if it meant giving him her body.
And she did.
While he gazed into her eyes, she kissed him passionately.
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The experience was what she would never forget in her life.
Neither would she forget the satisfactory smile on Henry's face as he slept beside her that night.
They continued the sexual intimacy for the rest of the week, hoping that she would get pregnant quickly. Guilt gnawed at her, but she stifled it under the cloak of the momentary pleasure each night and the hope of a blissful tomorrow with Henry. When the time came, she left for school.
Henry called her at least five times everyday, asking if she had been confirmed pregnant. As time went on, it became their major topic of discussion each time he called her, which always ended with him promising heaven and earth to her.
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