SARAH One morning, as I was getting ready for work, my daughter Caro showed up in her nightie, totally out of the blue. Normally, she'd be getting ready for school at this time. "Mum, I'll be going for a special trip today," Caro announced. "A trip?" I asked, confused. "Yes, it's an excursion for my class. Didn't I tell you about it a few weeks ago? And I'm sure they announced it in school too," Caro explained. Suddenly, it all came back to me. The principal had indeed mentioned something about the final year students going on an excursion. My head was already full with worry. She wouldn't blame for for being forgetful. "Alright, whatever," I managed to say, not bothering to inquire further about the details. I figured it was a school-related activity, so it should be safe enough to let her go. With that thought in mind, I rushed off to school as I was almost running late. I was in the middle of teaching my students when my phone rang, disrupting the class. It was the principal
SARAH "Whoa, hold up! Leila, check this out!" My dad's booming voice echoed through the room, catching my mom's attention. She moved closer, taking the booklet from his grasp, her face etched with confusion. She glanced at him, bewildered. "When will you ever understand anything, Leila?" He snatched the booklet back and pointed to a section below. My mom's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?!" "Your son is at it again, up to some shady business," he growled. Anger flickered in my mom's eyes as she placed her hands on her hips. Meanwhile, I just sat on the couch, engrossed in the movie playing on my phone. Their arguments were a daily occurrence; I had grown immune to them. "Oh, now he's suddenly my son?" "You gave birth to him, didn't you?" "And you put him here, didn't you?" My mom yelled, pointing at her belly. "These two ancient beings never let me have any peace," I muttered, refusing to be bothered. Those two bickered and fought all the time, leaving me wondering how they
SARAH In Anthonio's office, we waited anxiously, my parents and I, hoping for a miracle. Anthonio finally waddled in, a repulsive sight, with his protruding belly threatening to burst. As he sluggishly made his way to his seat, his audible breath filled the room, grating on my already frayed nerves. But we had no choice but to endure; we needed his help, nothing more. "How may I be of help to you?," Anthonio's voice boomed, sounding like a gorilla in a bad temper. My father proceeded to recount the agonizing details of our bankrupt hotel, and surprisingly, Anthonio seemed genuinely interested. "I've heard all you said, and I'm going to help you out," came his abrupt response. Relief washed over my parents, their faces lit up with smiles, thinking that all our problems were about to disappear. "But... I have a condition," Anthonio interjected, crushing their hope-filled smiles. "There's a beautiful flower in your possession, and I'd like to have it," he continued, a smug look on
LEO "Enough with the nagging phone calls!" My mother just couldn't leave me alone about being late to my own wedding. But hey, I had no choice but to go through with it. Clara, the woman my mother had picked out for me, was waiting in the church, ready to become my wife. Now, I wasn't thrilled about marrying Clara. There were no sparks, no chemistry. So, in frustration, I grabbed my coat and bolted out of the house. No need for a best man, I thought. I hopped in my car and hit the road. As I drove down the highway, something caught my eye. It was a young lady in a wedding dress, waving her hands frantically. Why on earth was a bride stranded by the roadside? I couldn't just leave her there, so I pulled over. She sprinted towards me, struggling with her dress, and begged me for help. I was speechless, just staring at her in awe. She pleaded, tears streaming down her face, to get away from there. Without waiting for my response, she hopped into the car, urging me to drive. I was ta
SARAH I woke up to a startling splash of icy water on my body. My eyes shot open and there was Leo, standing there with a mischievous grin and a glass of water. I didn't have time to yell at him before he attempted to pour more water on me. I quickly sprang to my feet. "What the hell are you doing?" I exclaimed while wiping the water off my face. "It's morning, lazy bones. Time to get up and seize the day," Leo responded, his eyes scanning my body. I hurriedly adjusted my clothes, just in case he had any funny ideas in mind. "Whose clothes are these?" he pointed at my outfit. "I found them on the shelf," I answered. "Fine, get out of bed. We have things to do today," he reiterated, walking out this time. I reached for my phone, which had been turned off since the previous day. I transferred the pictures from the day before onto my phone and sent a few to my parents and Raya. Not long after, my phone buzzed with Raya's call. "Sarah, you scared me to death! I thought something h
LEO I never meant a word of what I said, but I had to convince my mom that I was truly married to Sarah. She stormed out of the house, disappointed in me. But I couldn't let Sarah go. We needed to keep up the charade or my mom would never give me a moment's peace. "I have to go, we're not married anyway. I have a job to get back to. Thanks for everything," Sarah said, breaking my heart. "You can stay with me at my place if you don't have anywhere else to go. Unless you want to go back to your old man," I begged, desperately trying to convince her to stay. "Thank you, but I can't," she objected, her voice filled with uncertainty. "What would you tell your parents when they found out it was all a lie? You can go to work from my place, I don't mind," I pressed, trying to sway her. She fell into silence, and it seemed like I was getting through to her. "Fine," she finally acquiesced. ***** We left for my house at noon. Sarah was unusually quiet during the journey, only speaking up
SARAHSleeping all through the journey, I found myself in front of another mansion. I sleepily opened my eyes and rubbed them with the back of my palms. I sat up and examined the environment."Oh my goodness!!" I exclaimed in awe, admiring the place.Leo was not seated on the driver's seat and I also could not find him anywhere around. Moments later, I could see him standing at the door of the entrance to the house, and it seemed like he was on a phone call. Suddenly, a young lady in her late 30s stepped out and hugged him. I instantly got annoyed, but I didn't know why."Don't be silly young lady, he's not your boyfriend, neither is he your husband" I cautioned myself and slapped my face.He began to approach me and I rested my head on the seat, pretending to be asleep. "Sleeping beauty" he called, gently knocking on the windscreen.I sharply opened my eyes as I thought my ears were not functioning properly"What did you say?" I asked, wanting to be sure of wha
SARAH.Standing in the living room, which was as quiet as a graveyard, I could neither see my mum nor my dad. I sat on the sofa, determined to give them a piece of my mind. About 10 minutes later, I heard my dad's car drive into the compound. I peeped through the window and saw him walking upstairs into the living room. I went back to the sofa and stood in front of it, and crossed my hands on my bosom. My dad walked in, holding a briefcase in his right hand. He dropped it on the sofa and removed his sunglasses, in a bid to have a proper view of who stood in front of him."My Child!" He stretched his hands as he drew close to me.I moved away, not letting him touch me. I was very furious."I'm not here to be peaceful with you, because you planned to sell me off to an old fool. I'm more mad at you right now than I am at mum". "I'm sorry Sarah, we can make amends"."That's not why I'm here. I'm more concerned about why your wife would lay her hands on Raya. What di