FLASHBACK“Where is your mother?” Naya’s elementary school teacher asked, as she submitted her assignment before the whole class. It was Parents-Teacher’s Day that week and her mother was specifically invited to check her grades. Since her mother claimed to have slipped and fell the previous night, she made an excuse not to come. Naya knew her mum didn’t slip and fall. The sight of the cut on her arm and the red marks on her neck, made it quite obvious that something was wrong. And it was her father that was wrong, not the wet floor. “She slipped and fell,” Naya said anyway, before walking back to her seat. How much she had started learning how to lie to cover up her mother’s pain from the age of six. Her mother taught her it was great, and it was for their own good. There was nothing good about it. In fact, nothing came out of it at all. But thinking about this. Naya wondered how she was different from a home-wrecker. She was Lovelyn 's husband affair, and aside from that, she was
The memory slowly set in and Brett became more and more aware of the face he saw. It was Naya. This sent him shivers and he felt more reason to stay away from her. Each time Brett saw Naya’s face, he was reminded of his mistake and the dark secret he had to hide from his wife. He wanted to keep away so bad but Lovelyn kept making things more difficult for him. During the next ultrasound, Lovelyn advised him to go with Naya alone. He hated the idea and didn’t want to leave without his wife. He hated the awkwardness when the doctor talked about the child around him and Naya. Things only got more awkward now that he knew it was Naya he slept with. He couldn’t tell her the truth. He feared letting her know.“Your child is growing very fast,” Doctor Doris told them as she turned off the monitor and printed out the result. “You are doing a great job taking good care of Naya.” Naya faked a smile, even though she knew that was not the case. “I guess there is 3 months left,” he said as he ho
FLASHBACK Naya Aurora arrived home to the sound of something breaking in her home. She couldn’t tell what it was, but her anxiety heightened, knowing something wasn’t right. She hurried in promptly, and was shocked to see her whole house upside down. “Mum?” She called, wondering what was wrong. There was no response. Instead, there was more glass breaking. Her aunt wasn’t around at that time since she went for her monthly pilgrimage visit. Naya followed the sound of the breaking and arrived at her mum's bedroom where her dad had a gun in his hands. He was threatening his mother’s life with his gun, asking her to give him all the money she owned and repay him for all he did for her. Her mother was clueless of what to do. Naya could tell that her mother was helpless and needed all the help she could get. Naya smartly snuck out of the room since he hadn’t seen her and called the police immediately. When she was certain they were on their way, she walked back into the room where he w
Naya walked into the kitchen and struggled to get a bowl down from the top cabinet. As she tried and tried with all the strength she had, she took a stool to help support her. “Stop,” Brett stopped her as he held her hand to prevent her from climbing the stool. “Let me help you, okay?” She nodded and watched him pull the bowl down for her. Her eyes couldn’t leave his physic as he assisted her with that little gesture. Her eyes admired his muscles and his sexy beard. His Adam apple bounced, and his chest looked comfortably broad. She snapped out of her thoughts and concentrated on the bowl. Why was she suddenly thinking like that? This was someone’s husband. Perhaps that was why Lovelyn was mad at her. She was beginning to grow to like her husband. This wasn’t allowed at all. “Have it,” he handed her the bowl. She thanked him and placed the bowl down on the counter, before pulling the packet of berries from the fridge. Her pregnancy was definitely getting into her head. For some rea
FLASHBACK “A man must never lay his hand on a woman, no matter how mad he is,” Desmond told Naya, as she gave him her torn bag to help her fix. Naya was 13 years old at that time and Desmond had recently moved into their home. He was now called her father and everyone told her to bear his surname Aurora. She remembered exploring her school premises telling everyone that she was Naya Aurora. "Naya what now?" Some asked in confusion, wondering why she would change her surname from Chase to Aurora. "Aurora is a cool name, isn't it?" She would flaunt it like it is some reward. It was definitely a reward for her because she deeply loved the name a lot. The name reminded her of how lucky she was to be strongly affiliated with a man who wrote very good books and sang beautiful songs in the name of her mother. “What if the woman gets out of control and persuades the man to hit her?” Naya asked, as her father placed the torn bag into a polytene bag. He was probably going to give it to his
TOUGH DECISIONS***FLASHBACKWhen Desmond walked her mum down the aisle for the first time, Naya couldn’t stop cheering, as she clapped her hands innocently with tears running down her cheeks. There were few guests on that day, including Desmond's parents and her mum’s siblings. Naya watched her new parents exchange their vows and put on their wedding rings cutely. Her chubby lips couldn’t stop grinning, and her aunt pulled out her old rusty phone to take a picture of them. “Till death sets us apart,” her mum said after they concluded their marriage speech at the pulpit. “Till death sets us apart,” Mr Desmond concurred with a nod. Naya remembered the look they gave each other in the eye, and how she thought they looked so adorable. “I want to experience love like this,” she remembered telling her aunt, who nodded. “When you grow up dear,” her aunt advised. “When you grow up.” ***Naya battled with the pain in her stomach as she held Brett’s hand trying to breathe. Lovelyn was i
Naya didn’t expect Lovelyn to snatch the child from her the way she did. The rage in her voice and her clenched teeth showed how much she wanted Naya out of their lives at all cost. Brett frowned at her immaturity and tried to calm her nerves. “Would you cut it off!” He scolded impatiently. “She is only trying to be quiet right now. But I am done with the way you bully her. What has she done to you and why do you hate her this much?” Lovelyn cuddled the child with a nonchalant stare. “I am not blind, Brett. I know a threat when I see one,” she avoided her husband’s stare. “Surrogate or not. I will never let this lady near my child!” The nurses watched the drama with raised brows. Naya was very sure that they had a lot to gossip about them. The drama was obvious and people would find that juicy. A surrogate and a wifey fighting over a 1 day old…juicy! The child began to cry and Naya’s heart dropped. She wasn’t sure of why she felt so attached to her. “Bring her please. I need to
Naya didn’t know why Lovelyn reacted negatively, but as long as she knew the young lady, the young lady hated her as hell. Using her mum’s death as a way to salt her wound was the most sassy thing she would ever do. Lovelyn sharply turned to Brett as if he was her bodyguard or something. “Can you see the audacity?” Lovelyn asked angrily. “What an ungrateful person this lady is! I was the one who freaking got her the doctor that took care of her mother for months!” Naya bit her lips in annoyance realizing Lovelyn took it the wrong way. She only asked her a damn question. Why was she getting unnecessarily mad about it? It made no sense at all “Lovelyn told me about your mum’s death,” Brett answered on Lovelyn’s behalf. “The doctor called her while I was with her in the lobby. We both heard the news together.” Naya felt hurt. How could Lovelyn not show sympathy despite knowing all she was going through. Even if Lovelyn had to be soft for that short period of time, it would go a long