Wrong Start

Episode 22

Daisy Yawson

 

“This looks nice.”

Her smile widened at the bowl of food placed before her. She’d awoken from the noise in her kitchen but now she didn’t regret opening her door to the elderly woman.

“Aunty, are you sure I can eat this? I mean you’re always cautious of what I eat…”

“Of course, I made it for you. You’re a month into this pregnancy and so I decided to change your diet.”

“Oh, that’s great!” she fetched the cooked rice into her mouth and savoured the taste, licking her mouth in appreciation.

“Sorry I can’t help but act like a kid right now,”

“That’s alright.”

“Your husband called me yesterday.”

“I know,. She turned her head away from Miss Boakye’s prying eyes.

“He told you?”

“No.”

“I haven’t had the time to call him so I figured he would speak to you instead.”

Munching on the food, she’d forgotten about the assignment she was supposed to submit.

“I will speak to him today.”

Her face almost went red from embarrassment. She loved that man so much.

Ever since Ibrahim left, she’d felt different. They talk alright but it’s a lot better when he was around her and doing to her what others wish could be done to them.

Right now, she needed to focus on two important things. Her unborn child and her schooling. She kept counting as the day went by to when she will finally graduate from school and one could tell she was genuinely excited when one month passed and now she was left with a few months.

“He did talk to me. But nothing trivial…he’s just worried about you and the unborn child.”

Miss Boakye sipped the last tea from her cup and picked her bag up.

“I will take my leave now.”

“Take care, Aunty”. She figured it was her husband’s business but hers will have to be being healthy to prevent him from worrying about them.

She nodded and left.

The uneasiness she’d been feeling for a while now graced her with its presence. Subconsciously rubbing her tummy, she looked into the distance.

“Fuck it,” ‘call me,’” she said and pushed her plate to the other side of the desk she ate on, trying to text her husband.

She was going to ask him straight away and accept whatever the answer may be.

An hour passed by. And a two. Before her phone rang loudly into her ears.

“Shit. just when I was close to sleeping.”

The ringing woke her up from her short nap as she looked at the caller’s name with unclear eyes.

“Hello.”

“Hey. Did I wake up? You sound like you’ve been sleeping.”

“I was.”

“I had to take a break from the meeting to speak to you…are you okay?”

Sighing deeply, she nodded over the phone as if he could see her.

“I need to ask you a question. Call me paranoid but I only want to know something.”

“Well, speak away.” As much as he’d like to be on the phone with his wife, someone in his office was preventing him from doing so at peace, threatening him to destroy everything he had.

Not that he was going to allow a shallow-minded person like the person in his office to ruin him, he was worried about herself and the pregnancy and how she was going to take it if she heard rumours.

“I personally don’t mind having a boy but I would love to have a girl with this pregnancy…”

Hesitating a bit, she continued.

“You’re okay having a girl?”

He found it cute even at that moment that she was worried about the gender of their child.

Thinking thoroughly, he responded.

“I don’t mind having a girl.”

The silence was thick enough to cut through grass.

‘Did he find her question offensive?’ The thought ran through her mind.

“I’m sorry, Mimi but I need to deal with something now..I will speak to you this evening. Pardon me.”

Hanging up on her was upsetting enough but not taking her question seriously, really affected her.

The thought of him calling her later somehow told her to calm down and not assume anything unnecessary.

How was she still caught in the web of love like it’s been yesterday he first made love to her. Like it’s been yesterday they welcomed their son into this world.

She decided to listen to nothing at all till she fell asleep.

 

***

“That was your wife, wasn’t it?”

Unfortunately for the woman seated across him, he was rather calm and collected, taking the whole situation in.

“Did my father send you?”

“I came here on my own…and I have a proposal to make.”

That was surprising. What proposal could she possibly make to have her stop seeing him? Undeniably, he’d agreed that she was an extremely attractive woman with wit and class but that alone was not enough for him.

When he said nothing, she continued.

“I don’t give a fuck about the business marriage. I only care about one thing and one thing only…that you give me a child.”

His feet moved away from the other pair over to the sliding windows that stood far away from the desk.

“Get out,” calmly but extremely intimidating.

Panicking, she continued to speak.

“I don’t want marriage, just this!”

Gripping the end of the table, Musa could feel her desperation.

“Find another man to do that.”

“You’re a good father to your son and everyone can see that even if you don’t say it.”.

Almost tearing up, she got on her feet, ignoring the pain she felt in her abdomen.

“I can’t father a child that is not from my wife.”

Her breathing quickened, sweat streamed down her cheeks and tears welled up in her eyes causing the redness of her eyes.

Hagar, being the middle child of a high-class family from the north, did not exclude her from an early marriage as it was quite a normal thing. The only difference between other girls and her were her family status. She could accept or decline any marriage offers as well as choose who to marry, and when she once set eyes on Musa, she knew she had to get him somehow but unfortunately, he was already married with a kid.

Despite that, the zeal to have his child was already replaced by the marriage she longed for.

To her, having his child would put her in a good position than getting married to other influential suitors.

And so the decision to make this proposal.

“I want just one from you,” her sadness deepened.

Sighing heavily, he walked back to his seat and looked up at her silently.

“I wouldn’t be able to do that for so many reasons, Hagar. And I wouldn’t want to do it at all for any reason as well. I hope you would reason with me and not make this difficult for me.

You’re a very attractive woman but not what I want. I’m sorry if I’m being too straightforward but you wouldn’t be happy even if you were to have my child. That child will suffer as well if they see you unhappy and that’s something I wouldn’t want…”

“How would you know, huh, Musa? How would you fucking know!!…”

Everyone on the third floor might have heard her yelling at their boss.

“You’re not naive and you’re strong, I will give you that but throwing tantrums because I have refused to give you what is beyond me is not something I expect from you.”

Shaking his head in disbelief, he ushered her out.

“Wait..”

“I will decline the marriage. Forcing you won’t do and your baba knows that”.

The surprised look on his face was replaced with a deep frown.

“But I need to warn you. If he doesn’t get what he wants from you, your son will be next.”

“I know what you mean and I appreciate your sentiments..”

“I will take my leave now,” pushing herself out from the seat, she made her way towards the door still bent on looking at him one last time.

However, she forced herself to leave without looking back.

Ibrahim stared at her back as she left. Realizing how foolish he’d been for hanging up on Mimi, he picked up his phone to call her which she immediately picked up.

“I’m sorry,” was the first thing he said after hearing her voice. She immediately knew something had happened.

“Are you okay?”

“I should be asking you that, Mimi…should I come over. I miss you.”

The uneasiness he felt after saying that alarmed Mimi.

He even said he missed her and the emotions behind all he said made her want to agree to see him but it wasn’t yet time for that.

“Hey,” she softly called out to him. It seemed to her that he needed some kind of support or something and she was willing to give him.

“Let’s video chat so we can see each other.”

“I want to show you something,” she knew whatever she wanted to show him would make him feel better somehow.

So they video called.

He saw him and she saw her. Mimi wore only a tube and blue shorts.

She was only a month into her pregnancy but her belly told otherwise.

The shock on his face followed by amusement made her giggle with excitement.

“I’m almost two months but this belly looks 3 months to me.”

You could see a slight bump which wouldn’t have been possible in two months but now, seeing her belly made him chuckle with pride.

“I can’t wait to meet him or her.”

“I can’t wait to meet him,” she said to him.

“I thought you wanted a girl.”

Bending her head low, she stared deeply at her tummy.

“I want a girl but maybe later. Maybe I’m being selfish and I want to be the only girl in your life right now.”

He could see her blushing and found her cute. He hadn’t thought of ever having a girl but he knew how girl children mostly affect their dads, and almost laughed at the whole issue.

They talked a bit for a while until there was tension between them when Mimi revealed that during one of her visits to the hospital, two doctors had examined her breast. One a female, and the other a male. The female who was the doctor, did the examination and the male who was the nurse, had helped but did not have any physical contact with her.

Still, the rage in his eyes could not be quenched.

“Don’t ever let another man, see you naked again,” he spelt out the words for her, not moving an eyelid.

“I’m still going to breastfeed around your family. What do you mean by what you’re saying?”

“Fuck it, Mimi, you’re not going to expose your breast even around my family..the only people allowed to see you are your kids and me and that’s final.”

Hell, he had a point. She could cover her breast up and still breastfeed.

“I understand, I’m sorry.”

His face softened.

“I’m sorry too.”

“I have a hard time controlling myself when it comes to you.”

His words gave her goosebumps and although he rarely said words like this to her, she knew he meant them.

The pair said their goodbyes shortly after.

***

It’s been two months of not hearing from Melvin after they last talked but somehow, she managed to send him a message on Facebook with the gardener’s phone.

Kadi may have been reporting back to him concerning her progress but she had more pressing matters to talk to him about.

She’d like for him to be a 100 per cent part of the child’s life. It hurt her that Kadi was in control of the whole situation. How was she going to live as a servant to her own child and not a mother? The more she asked, the less she found answers.

Her phone rang beside her and she picked it up to answer. The name of the caller almost made her drop her phone.

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