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"You are back!" Bethel's father deadpanned with an emotionless expression on his face.
Bethel has never seen his father this way before. He was moved by his father's anger.
Slowly his father retreated back to Precious mother, taking slow steps towards her with his fist clenched.
"I helped you from the streets, and gave you a job, gave your daughter scholarship and got repaid this way!" He yelled, making emphasis on every word.
Grace said nothing as she cried more, "Answer me!" Bidemi shouted, making Grace flinch.
Bethel felt helpless, he felt bad because he couldn't help her. He thought of Previous and what his father could do to her. Bidemi was well known to be a man of his words.
"I'm..I'm..I'm...so sorry!" Grace stuttered.
"Enough!" Bidemi shunned her
"I will ruin you so bad that the surface of earth rejects you." He spat out with acrimony, making sure he sent fear on Grace.
He turned to Bethel, "You are grounded. You won't leave this house without a body guard and in two week time, you will get engaged and married..." He trailed off, "No, in one week time!" He deadpanned.
Bethel stared in shock at all his father has said. His father must be joking with him? He thought.
The door to his room was slammed as soon as Bidemi left.
Precious mother's eyes were already filled with tears, her eyes were red already.
When her eyes met with Bethel, she didn't say any words to him but he could feel her hatred for him.
He knew she couldn't raise her voice at him knowing that would only worsen the issues, so she stood up from her knees and walked out of his room.
Bethel fell on his bed, drowning in his thoughts.
***********
"All my life Precious, all I did was for your own benefit, to help you, give you the best and after all I did, you did this to me!" Grace yelled at Precious, disappointment evident in her tone.
When Grace had reached her brother's place, her eyes were red and she was angry. She called Precious's name with anger and as soon as Precious came towards her, she slapped her, throwing pictures at her.
Precious looked at the pictures with shock. She wondered where the images were gotten from.
Grace started to hurl words at Precious, calling her a disappointment and an ungrateful child.
Precious cried out, "I'm..I'm.." Grace cuts her off.
"Enough!" Grace shunned her. "Were you that desperate?" Grace asked.
"What did you really want? How far did you go?" She screamed.
"You know I have neighbors right?" Gideon told Grace warning her not to draw attention.
"Stay out of this Gideon!" She warned.
" I never raised you to go around seducing men. They are all manipulative. They will use..." Gideon cuts her off knowing exactly where she was heading to.
"Sis, you don't..." Grace cuts him off.
"Just shut up Gideon, if you want I can just leave your house with my daughter right now, after all you were never in our lives." She yelled.
"You...you...don't tell me you knew about it?!" She pointed accusing fingers towards Gideon.
"Come on! She's a teenagers, they've all have this weird..." Grace shunned him.
"I knew it! it was wrong of me to let her stay with you. You are..." She trailed off.
"You know what? Stop trying to put your blame on her. Your past isn't her future and it's better you accept it now or later." Gideon spoke trying to pass a message across but his voice was calm not wanting to escalate the issue.
"It's fine! You are right, maybe I'm believing my past wouldn't hunt her, yes it would. My past is back to haunt me!" She shouted.
"First you and then that stupid jerk Austin!" She screamed before she realised what she had said.
Precious was shocked, what was her mother saying? she thought.
"What do you mean sis?" Gideon asked.
"Pack your bags precious, we are leaving." She said, dragging Precious into her room to get her bag.
"Where will you go?" Gideon asked.
"It's really dark and from my last check you are still house hunting." He added.
"I didn't have you when I first came to Lagos and I don't need you now." She spat out.
"No mom!" Precious released her hands from her grip.
"This is a mess mom! What's all this secret? You've been different from the first day you went on house hunting. You've changed." Precious raised her voice, tears rolling down her cheek.
"You are too young to understand precious things." She cried out.
"Please!" Precious plead.
"I don't think i can." She retorted.
" Why!" Precious pleaded in tears.
"Why me?!" Grace cried out. "Precious if i tell you, you promise to go with me?" She asked, wifing her tears off.
Can I go away? I don't even know where she will take me to, is it away from Lagos but I'm really curious! Precious thought weighing her options.
"Fine!" She said.
"I saw your father!" Grace spoke.
That moment was like a slow motion for Precious, it was as if she was waiting for a promotional result, then when you get it, the expectations turned out to be different.
"You saw Austin?" Gideon asked.
"I did, now let's go." Grace deadpanned
"Grace, it's in the past already and..." Grace cuts him off.
"The fact is, he messed up my life okay. I would have been a graduate with a degree and have a good life, i would have a baby not out of wedlock and be happy. But he ruined it for me by keeping his curse inside of me!" She spoke so fast that she didn't realise she said something really disheartening.
Precious's head began to pound hearing her mother's last statement as it began to replay in her head.
I was a mistake, she lied to me.
She was never happy she gave birth to me. To her I was the curse. To her I was her mistake, the mistake that ruined her! Precious thought, tears rolling down her cheek.
To her, I was what took her good life, I stopped her progress, I wasn't her precious gem. I wasn't her priceless jewel. I was the curse in her life. Her precious curse!