Righteous had been too scared to go for a pregnancy test but after a lot of pressure from Henry, she finally made her way to the nearest hospital almost four weeks later. She was confirmed pregnant.
The pregnancy confirmation made her shiver in her boots. She was afraid. She knew she had made a terrible mistake and had failed heaven. What if Henry backed out now? That would be hellish. However, when she cautiously divulged the news to him over the phone, he shrieked excitedly at the top of his lungs. Then, before disconnecting the call, he inadvertently told her that he was going out to drink himself to stupor with his friends.
Righteous was so caught off guard and astonished that before she could react to his last statement, the call went dead in her ear.
Righteous frowned and stared in shock at the phone she still held. "Wait a minute, did Henry just say he was going out to drink himself to stupor with his friends?" she asked no one in particular, unable to make the statement register. She shook it off. Maybe it was a slip of his tongue due to his excitement. Yeah, that must be it.
---
When Righteous was two months gone, Henry could not wait any longer. He called her one hot afternoon and told her that it was time to go to her parents.
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The earlier, the better.
He told her he loved her so much that he could hardly go through a day without her. She believed him. She believed every word that came from his mouth.
When they broke the news of her pregnancy to her parents, Righteous felt ashamed because of the pained expression she saw on her parents' faces.
Her mother, who had been putting up a strong bravado since the ordeal started, finally broke down in tears and fell ill for a week.
But when the storm was over, her parents still loved her and treated her like their treasured daughter.
"You have forced our hands, Adiaha, and we have no choice than to grant you your wishes. We want you to know that this won't change anything. No matter what, we will forever love you.
"But you are now all grown up to decide what is best for you. You have made your decision and no matter how terrible we think it is, you are still our child, a beautiful gift from God and we can never send you away."
And that was how her parents had accepted an impostor who had forced himself to become their son-in-law.
That was how Righteous tearfully reconciled with her parents.
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Her brothers who still loved her regardless of the recent ordeal decided to spoil her as the only princess of the family by organizing a lavish wedding for her and Henry.
The D-day finally arrived and Righteous was finding it hard to believe that it was truly her wedding day. The day she would be getting married to the love of her life and with her family in full attendance and support. Her heart desire was being fulfilled in front of her eyes and she couldn't help but be grateful.
Henry was beaming from ear to ear.
It was time for the presentation of gifts. One of her brothers paid a five-year rent for a three bedroom bungalow apartment and handed them the keys as their wedding gift. The other bought them a BMW and paid for a two-week honeymoon vacation on an exotic beach house. Her parents gifted them with a six-figure cheque while the smaller gifts were from the other attendees and Henry's family who were innocently happy for their son's good fortune.
Henry was thrilled. He had gotten what he wanted. It was just the beginning.
Righteous didn't know why but she had felt a bit uncanny about the way Henry quickly transferred all the money that was given to them into his personal account.
During the honeymoon, Henry continued to treat her like a new husband should, but she began noticing some changes about him.
He went out very often to the hotel bar and each time he returned, his eyes were bloodshot and he reeked of alcohol.
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When she confronted him about it, he told her that he drank a little and a little could not hurt.
"But you told me that you didn't drink, not even a little," Righteous snapped with irritation in her voice.
And that was their first and the beginning of their real quarrel. Seeing that he had nothing to lose, Henry began to shed his chameleon skin and reveal his true self.
He told her that he was the man of the family, the head of the house, and as a woman, she should know her place and respect his authority over her.
He also told her that the money he was using to drink was his own money and the sooner she got it into her head, the better for her. Yes, he imbibed alcohol and he would continue. Period.
At that moment, her eyes finally opened and she saw Henry for who he was. Her parents had been right all along but she had been too blind with her feelings for him to see it. She had believed him above her parents who had loved and taken care of her for the past twenty years of her life. She began to take the blame for the nightmare that was unfolding before her.
She kicked and chided herself mentally as realization dawned on her.
That night, she cursed herself for the first time, crawled under her covers and cried herself to sleep. Her husband turned his back to her and snored away like a trailer with a bad engine as he slept.
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Righteous thought she had seen everything about Henry during their honeymoon. She began to recal that all the signs and symptoms of irresponsibility were there during their dating time, only she had chosen to ignore them blinded by love. When they finally settled into their matrimonial home, she slowly began to understand that all Henry had shown her so far was simply the tip of the iceberg.
Everything her parents said about her husband was unfortunately accurate.
He didn't have any steady job, as he had claimed, and all the cars he used to visit her back then were either borrowed or hired.
The business he claimed he owned, which he had shown her, was actually owned by one of his former employers who had to fire him due to his lackadaisical attitude.
The most dangerous thing about the whole ordeal was that, while he promised her parents that he would take good care of her, he was actually placing her in a precarious position where he'd use her to financially extract from her family. And that was exactly what he began doing.
He never gave her money for her school fees and allowances, instead he asked her to take from her brothers.
Instead of her husband, her brothers became the breadwinner of her family. Her brothers apparently understood their sister's situation and knowing that they couldn't stand to see her suffer in the hands of a monster, they happily took up the responsibility of taking care of her family, financially and otherwise.
Unknown to Righteous and her brothers, they were dutifully playing into Henry's game. Keep the cash dripping, baby.
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Things turned from bad to worse.
They quarreled verbally more frequently, until one day, Henry decided that it was time to start using his fists.
He beat her blue and black and threatened to do it all over again if she so much as offended him.
She lost every reason to live, but her unborn child gave her a sliver of hope. So she decided that for its sake, she would live one more day. Everyday for the baby's sake.
She had been too ashamed and embarrassed to return to her parents and truly apologize and tell them that they have been right all along, and for long she suffered silently. Till she could bear it no longer. When she scraped up enough strength to go face her parents, they didn't hesitate to forgive and welcome her back like the prodigal daughter. She fell into their arms and wept.
They wanted to continue holding her. They persuaded her to divorce her husband since the marriage was built on falsehood. They asked her to return home and let them take care of her and they could become a one big happy family again.
But Righteous perceived in her heart that she was too far gone to return.
Her family might never criticize her but what would others say? People would definitely make mockery of her and speak negatively about her parents, accusing them for not training their child well even though none of this was their fault.
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She could tolerate any insult or mockery directed towards her, but she couldn't stand it if any garbage was thrown at her parents. She made up her mind that it was only her mistake and she'd bear the responsibility alone.
So she assured them that she had to go back to her matrimonial home and that she'd be fine.
Regardless of her refusal at first, her parents insisted that the least they could do for her since she was bent on staying with her husband would be to start sending her monthly allowance and continue taking care of her as they did before she got married.
Before she left their home that day, her parents embraced her and reassured her that she was still their beautiful and priceless daughter whom they loved regardless of what happened between them.
And that was how Henry became completely dependent on his wife's family money. That was how everything about Righteous, from her school fees down to their baby diapers became provided by her parents and brothers.
Words could never explain the joy she felt when she gave birth to her first child, Preye. When she held her baby in her arms, she made up her mind to survive every day for his sake.
Righteous had thought that the arrival of a new born baby in the family would change Henry's behavior but she was so wrong.
Three years later, she graduated from law school and also gave birth to her second and last child, Ayanate.
She fell in love with her baby girl and instantly gave the tiny life her English name.
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"Welcome to the world, dear Ayanate Righteous Green," she cooed, smiling and kissing the top of her daughter's forehead. "I'm now a proud mother of two."
Immediately she uttered those words, her emotional dam broke and she didn't bother restraining the tears.
She made a mistake but instead of punishment, she received forgiveness and blessings.
Righteous continued going through several life struggles every day as she took care of her children.
She was also working as one of the lawyers in a well-known law firm in Port Harcourt.
Her children and her job gave her more reasons to live and as she made progress in her work, she started relieving her parents and brothers of their financial responsibilities over her regardless of their initial protests.
Her family continued to be good cheerleaders, encouraging her to reach out for new heights and she did.
They adored her children and thus, she made sure to send them to visit their grandparents during the holidays to shield their innocent eyes from seeing the domestic abuse that was being carried out on her by their father.
Six months prior to the expiration of their house rent, the landlord started sending them notice. As usual, Henry asked Righteous to start calling her brothers to tell them to renew the rent.
That was when something snapped inside her.
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Deciding that she'd had enough of Henry using her for his financial gain, Righteous made up her mind that something must change.
She did call her family as Henry had asked her to. Only this time around, she didn't ask them for money.
She told her family that she loved them so much and she would not be used to extort money from them anymore.
Even though they begged her not to do it, she severed all ties with her family and deleted their numbers from her phone and Henry's phone so that neither she nor Henry would be able to call them even if they wanted to.
She also took Henry's and her SIM card out of their phones and flushed them down the toilet.
She told Henry what she did and finally concluded by telling him that they'd be packing out of that apartment to a smaller one that her meager salary could afford.
He was enraged. He stood up fuming, with the intention of beating her to a pulp.
He rushed her but before he could get to her, Righteous spoke like an aggressive mad woman. He could see the fire that blazed in her eyes and the kitchen knife that she gripped tightly in her right hand as she threatened to kill him if he raised even a finger on her.
Realizing that the event had taken a drastic turn, Henry grunted and stormed out of the house and out of her life as well. That was the last time she ever saw him. Righteous was left all alone to single-handedly train up her children.
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She moved into a smaller apartment, having lost every means of communication with her husband.
Righteous held tight unto her maker that she had formerly ignored. God became her husband, best friend, confidant and her all in all. And together, they trained her children in the way of the Lord.
With time, she grew more successful in her job. Within a few years, she climbed the ladder and became one of the best lawyers in the state and country.
She finally decided to resign from the law firm she was working with to start up her own. She became financially buoyant enough to relocate to a better apartment in an estate.
Life was moving well for her regardless of some challenges that came with any new taxes.
She thought that her troubled days were over until five years ago, when her daughter returned home from school, blind. Since that day, her life had never remained the same again.
---
"Oh, God, why?" Righteous muttered amid tears as she kept driving.
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She got to the second Artillery and veered to old Aba road. When she got to Slaughter Market, she took the road that led to Trans Amadi, which was close to the location of the estate where she resided.
Behind her, Tiger, who was stalking her, had not been suspected or sighted so far.
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