Never Say Never.
Fiction (P.S: Be kind to yourself)
I waltzed into the parlor with my shiny new red dress mirroring the sun. It looked so beautiful and elegant.
“Someone is in a good mood today. Did you win the lottery?” Martins asked as he walked in from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn in hand.
“Me and the girls are going for dinner today. I told you last week,” I said and straightened the already straight dress.
“If I remember correctly, you only mentioned it.”
“Babe, I told you. It seems you forgot,” I said and looked him square in the eyes.
“If you say so,” he said and raised a hand in defeat, “but you only mentioned it.”
I rolled my eyes at him. He definitely knew how to be petty. I honestly told this man about this hangout a week ago to avoid long talks but Martins will be Martins.
“Is Esosa also going to attend?” he asked while his eyes probed my face.
“Yes daddy,” I laughed and said “she's one of my girls, is she not?”
“I don't like her. I really don't. She is too wayward and she has several boyfriends. She is also not good for your relationship, sorry, our relationship. You are just not seeing her true colors. I don't like her-”
“Babe, stop doing this. She is my friend and I told you how much she stood by me during my bad times. I can't tolerate it when you speak of her like that. She is not perfect but she's not a condemned person.”
“You really don't get it. She is not good for you!” Martins raised his voice, his anger palpable.
“Why are you getting worked up about Esosa babe? Is it because of that voice note that both of us exchanged and she said I shouldn't be living with a man I am not married to? I'm asking because ever since you started hacking my phone, that has been the one thing you keep bringing up about my friend. And that's how you also read our private chats. I don't go through your phone, so I don't think you should be going through mine and checking the conversations I have with my friends-”
Martins tore the gown from my hands and the shiny beads fell everywhere. I shifted back when I saw the menacing look in his eyes.
“The phone you are using, I bought it. The lifestyle you are enjoying is from my money. How much are you worth Philomena? Even this gown, I bought the wretched thing to make you happy and you are questioning what I think about that your ashewo friend? Are you mad?!”
I gulped in fear as he dragged my hair and I could feel his breath on my face. A sharp pain seared in my skull as he pulled harder.
“I'm sorry for what I said babe!” I said through clenched teeth.
“Bitch!”
He pushed me away and I fell on the floor. He hissed as he walked away. I swallowed the sobs that threatened me and he came back immediately. He grabbed my phone and flung it at the other end of the parlor, it slightly dodged the window and fell under a coffee table. I sighed in relief.
“Madam, you are not going anywhere. After all, I bought the car you wanted to use to go and see your babes.”
As he walked away, hot tears caressed my cheek before falling on the floor. A part of me closed off as I succumbed to my pain and lay on the floor.
When Rissi told me about how her husband used to beat her, I would hit my chest and say ‘it can never be me’ but who is lying on the floor, clutching her chest and wishing for a miracle?
P.S: This is just a friendly reminder to check Shawn’s Bookstore for books on personal development, self-love and mindset shift. And always remember you are loved 😘.
