We all stood stunned. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved.
The Williams were confused; they had no idea what she was talking about. Nita was dazed. I sat there like a lump of clay, and my dad’s face was as white as a sheet.
"I have always known!" My mum repeated.
"I knew when you were sleeping with her, all those late nights; I suspected. You would come home, and you would reek of perfume that didn’t belong in this house. I came by your office, and she was wearing the same perfume.
I thought, It’s just a phase; when he gets bored, he will come back to me. I knew when she was pregnant. But I had Rachel to take care of and was pregnant with Richard too. I didn’t have the energy to fight."
She sighed and continued. "I knew when you took the baby to your sister. I knew everything. But I chose to protect my family. To protect you. To protect your reputation."
"We should probably leave." I stood up and held my wife. "This is something both of you need to talk about."
"Nita, are you coming with us?" Mr. Williams asked.
I tensed, not entirely shocked at the question. He was her father, after all, who just heard that I impregnated another woman.
"I was speaking with my daughter." He turned back to Nita. "Are you coming?"
I held on to my wife; she looked up at me and smiled. "you’re not leaving me." I stood my ground.
"Never. I’ll be right back." She walked over to her dad and held his hands.
"I’m sorry, baby." Mr. Williams said.
"This is too much, and it is my fault. You have to come home."
"I thought you said my place is with my husband."
He sighed heavily and kissed her forehead. "Come home whenever you want."
"I love you, Dad. I love you, Mum." She looked at her mom too. "I love my husband, and he loves me too." She looked back at me, and I gave her an affirmatory nod.
"We need to sort this out ourselves."
She walked to my mom and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you both too."
"Oh my girl." My mum stroked her face. "Like I said, you were sent from heaven. Good night, my child."
We got home; the entire ride went in silence. The emotional roller coaster of the evening was quite draining. I had a new respect for my mother. Everything she had done was to protect my father, to protect her kids.
I still cannot believe the entanglement of the entire situation. Dad gets a woman pregnant, takes the baby away. Said woman has a brother, who wants to marry my sister.
My mum kicks against it, but my sister was already pregnant, aborts the child, and dies in the process. And now it turns out my supposed cousin is my stepbrother. I just can’t deal. My brain was exhausted just trying to make sense of it.
I got into bed with my wife, both of us staring at each other in the dark. I gently stroked her face, quietly expressing my love for her. She moved closer and kissed me.
I pulled her by the waist, molding her into me. I couldn’t live without this woman. She was the air that I breathed, and I was going to make everything right for her.
While Nita was back at work, I left early back home. I had a horticulturist setting up in the compound. Nita had always wanted a garden, and now that we were finally in a good place, I wanted her to have it.
It took all day digging the soil and moving the seedlings. I thought we would be done before she got back, but I never knew starting a garden was a lot of work. She arrived from work, and we were still busy; I was covered in black soil, and I stank of fertilizer.
She stepped out of the car screaming, her eyes wide. "Richard! Oh my God!"
"Surprise," I said, spreading my arms. "You’ve always wanted a garden, so I figured why not start now?"
Her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my God, you remembered!!!"
"I’m not completely useless." She laughed harder and hugged me. The tiniest things would always make her happy. I have never known a woman so easy to please.
"You are getting an extra topping of love tonight."
"With all this work, I deserve more than an extra topping." I teased. We hadn’t made love in a while; all the matters arising were always getting in the way, or sometimes we were just too tired.
Our marriage was still too young to be starved of the romance. We needed an escape.
"Well, the word is out at work now. Everyone knows you’re having a baby with Gwen. Victor came round today to ask if I was okay."
"Son of a bitch! He just loves opportunity, doesn’t he?"
"Be nice. He is just being nice."
"When is he going to be done with his evaluation? I want him gone." I asked.
"Oh yeah, he submitted his report already. He assures me everything is fine except for our scandals left, right, and center. The board should call a meeting in a few days. And you, my dear husband, will finally be CEO."
"I hope so. Sam hasn’t made his move yet."
"We are ready for him. You are being updated about his movements, right?"
"He hasn’t caught up to being followed?" she asked.
"They change cars hourly."
I pulled her into me, my arm around her shoulders.
"Hmmm...." I answered tiredly.
"Is that what I get for getting you a garden?"
"Take a bath and I will give you what you deserve." She said, batting her eyelashes at me.
"Promises... promises..."
I was just stepping out of the shower when I heard Nita calling me from the living room.
"Give me a minute, babe!" I shouted back and hurriedly threw on some clothes.
"What’s going on?" I asked, still toweling my hair, the sound of the TV in the background.
"Sam just made his move!"