Chapter 4.

Anita goes back home with her father and mother, who arrived at her school to witness her final graduation ceremony.

Her mother is overjoyed, but her father keeps his usual stern expression as he drives them home.

He's proud of her that Anita didn't allow her beauty to hinder her from becoming successful in life, but nonetheless, he's still confused as to why she's the prettiest of all his daughters.

Even though his wife didn't give him a son, he isn't bothered by that, as their custom permits a woman to inherit all her father's property, even though she's already married to another man, but he still wonders if he's Anita's true biological father.

He sighs as he drives towards their home, as the university is closer to their home that's in the city.

Arriving home, he drives into their simple compound and parks, as their home is just a simple bungalow, which is a flat consisting of 4 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, 5 toilets with bathrooms.

Mr. Joshua Baker is the owner of the house, as he acquired the house from the direct land owners, and he steps a foot down while Anita and her mother step down next. Anita's sisters: Flora, Esther, Favour, Lisa, and Glory were all inside, but none of them stepped out to welcome them as they arrived home.

Mrs. Tonia walks into the living room first, while Anita follows suit, dragging her boxes as her father remains in his car answering a phone call.

"Mom!" Esther and Favour rush up to their mother first, while Lisa and Glory step out next.

They all have separate rooms they share, as Anita and Flora share a room, while Esther and Favour share another room, with Lisa and Glory sharing the last room that was sometimes used as the guest room too.

"Welcome back home, mom. How did the event go?" Favour asked their mother first, as she's an 18-year-old girl.

"Fine, why don't you ask your big sister about it? She won two awards as the best overall graduating student and best in her department as well." Mrs. Tonia responded with a faint smile, while Favour frowned and replied, "Who cares, mom?"

"Shut your mouth, Favour. She's your big sister, and you should accord her some respect!" Mrs. Tonia warned Favour, while Esther quickly responded, "We don't care, mom!"

"Esther!" Mrs. Tonia warned Esther too, while Esther rolled her eyes from where she's standing by the middle door entrance and holding the curtain.

"It's okay, Mom." Anita walked up to their mom and tapped on her shoulder softly, but Mrs. Tonia responded, "Your father caused all these." Mrs. Tonia almost burst out into a sob, but just then Mr. Joshua walked into the living room and asked, "Caused what?"

Mrs. Tonia sniffed and quickly wiped off her tears as she replied, "Nothing. I was just discussing something not important."

Mrs. Tonia quickly walked away into the kitchen while Mr. Joshua's eyes narrowed at Anita, who smiled faintly at him, as she isn't an albino but her beauty is too much and too charming. And staring at her dimples and chubby cheeks alone made her look like an angel from heaven.

"Fine, take all these bags inside, and where are your sisters? Flora, Favour!" Mr. Joshua calls them out while they respond.

"Yes, Papa! Good evening, Dad. Welcome back home."

Flora walked past Anita, who was dragging her boxes, and walked up to give their father a welcome hug.

"Assist your sister and take those luggages inside," Mr. Joshua instructed Flora after giving her a warm hug too, and she bit her lower lip angrily and finally assisted Anita in carrying her second box to the room they both share.

Anita didn't utter a word to Flora, who carried her box to the room, but as Flora turned to leave, Anita finally said, "Thank you," but Flora didn't respond as she walked back to the living room to meet her father, who was sitting on the long couch and taking off his shoes.

"How's your day today, Flora?" Mr. Joshua finally asked Flora, and just then, the rest of his daughters stepped out.

"Father, do you remember your promise to take me to a private university?" Esther asked.

"Yes, I remember, but you still haven't passed your Jamb exams yet, and this's the fourth time that you're writing the same exam with your younger sister Favour. Can't you both learn from your elder sister, Anita?" Mr. Joshua questioned.

"No, father!" Esther and Favour both responded, surprising their father and making his jaw drop.

"What has come over you girls? If you still fail to pass your Jamb exams this year again, then forget about going to the university and look for a trade or handwork to learn! I cannot continue to waste my hard-earned money sponsoring you both through a private university when you cannot even qualify for a government university. Now leave my sight, all of you. Can't you learn from your elder sister for once? Don't you see her good grades, despite her being more beautiful than you all?"

"Father!" Flora, Esther, Favor, and Lisa all exclaimed sadly.

"Shut your mouths and don't bother me. I have been a good father to you all, yet you all cannot be good daughters in return. Fail your exam this year again and see the other side of me!" Mr. Joshua warned, and he stood up from the couch. Just then, his wife steps out of the kitchen and stares at him and her five daughters in the living room, as Anita is the only one in her room.

"Excuse me!" Mr. Joshua walks past his daughters and walks into the room he shares with his wife, knowing it's entirely his fault. As he has shown more love to the rest of his daughters than their senior sister, Anita, and made her look like an outcast, now he's regretting it all.

He's even facing some challenges at his office, as some missing funds from some transactions were detected missing under his records, and if the error isn't corrected, then he's on the verge of losing his job as a banker in a government-owned bank.

His brows furrow as his wife steps into their room to meet him a few minutes later.

"Aren't you being too harsh to our daughters today?" Mrs. Tonia questioned, but Mr. Joshua only glanced at his wife, not responding as he stared away. Loosening his neck tie, he takes off his long-sleeve shirt and strips it.

"I'm preparing dinner; it's already getting late." Mrs. Tonia informed him, but he still doesn't respond as he loses his trouser belt too.

"Honey, you aren't saying anything in response?" Mrs. Tonia finally asked him, and he replied, "What do you want me to say to you? Can't you at least see that I am busy?"

Mr. Joshua walked past his wife and stepped into the bathroom to take his bath, while Mrs. Tonia sighed and shook her head in sadness. As she knows, all isn't well with him, as he has been behaving so unusually and was even acting happier when Anita was announced as the winner of the two prestigious awards. He jumped up happily and screamed out "Yes!" Not minding the other parents and relatives around, he stood to witness the awarding of the best graduating student, and when he saw Anita approaching, his smiles and happiness faded, as Anita didn't smile at them approaching, as she thought he hated her and wasn't proud of her achievement.

Mrs. Tonia smiled faintly, remembering how her husband had reacted to his daughter's wins. Although the school rewards weren't much, as they only awarded Anita some cash and medal rewards, Mrs. Tonia believes her daughter's certificate will get her into one of the highest-paying jobs in their country.

Mrs. Tonia finally walked out of the room she shares with her husband, as he's already taking his bath, and she can hear the sound of water splashing in the bathroom.

She walked into the kitchen, as the okro soup she was preparing had already heated a little, and she served it out on different soup plates.

Just then, Glory walked into the kitchen to assist her and carry it out to the dining room, beside their living room.

Glory's a 14-year-old girl, as her children senior themselves with only a two-year gap each. And Glory is still in Junior Secondary School 3 (JSS3).

"Mom, I want to become a business administrator like my big sister," Glory said as she carried the tray of soup up in her arms and stared up at their mother.

"There's no problem with that, Glory. You should study hard as well. You've got your big sister here to guide you." Mrs. Tonia smiles at her last daughter.

"Okay, mom, is Sis going to marry soon? Chika told me that her big sister won't be returning home as she's already pregnant and expecting a child for her fiancé," Glory asked.

"No, Glory! Although I don't know about that yet, Anita will first get a job before she settles down. You know your big sister is hardworking and wants to become an independent woman first instead of depending on a man for money," Mrs. Tonia replied.

"Oh, so mom, you depend on my father too for money?" Glory inquired, surprising her mother.

"No, Glory! Now that's enough of the conversation. Carry the soup out now before it gets cold. Oh, Anita is already here to assist us." Mrs. Tonia smiled faintly, and Glory turned to face Anita, standing by the kitchen door.

Anita overheard their conversation, and she had a faint smile on her face too.

"Why are you standing there and staring at us? Come assist us in serving the dinner out. I'm sure your father will soon be out," Mrs. Tonia said, but Anita's smile quickly faded away from her face as she heard her father's name and didn't like him either.