“I can’t believe what I’m hearing! This is the sweetest news ever… I am so-so-so happy” Nana screamed silently in happiness and then asked Grace what she intended to do about it.
“Nana, I tried my best to calm him down but he angrily walked out from me, leaving me in tears. He said be can’t stand looking at me anymore, that I disgust him. Nana, see what I have done to myself, how can I get him to forgive and accept me back again? I really can’t bear loosing him.” Grace said pretending to be wailing in deep tears
“Stop crying Grace, maybe it’s only a misunderstanding, he will still snap out of his anger and come for you again” Nana said, laughing so loudly in her heart.
“Nana, you are speaking as you if you don’t know Oluba again. Once he makes a decision, it’s always final, it’s hard to get him to change his mind again” Grace said
Nana who couldn’t control her loud joy decided to call Grace back so as to let out her euphoria of happiness..
“Grace, can I call you back? I need to check something” she asked
“Alright” Grace said, and ended the call. She began taunting Nana, looking at the phone, as if she was talking to her face to face.
And Nana who ended the call jumped in all happiness: “Is this for real? I really can’t believe this, my efforts have finally paid off. Thank God I made up that little lie and she even believed me? Hahaha, Grace, you are so stupid. You think Oluba will still see you with same eyes he used to Cherish you with? No, that can’t be possible again. You used your own hands to break the relationship by trying to seduce him into having sex with you, and now Oluba will see that you are not even the saint he thought you to be. Aww, I am so happy, Grace, I can’t have Oluba and you can’t’t have him either. Let me call Enaku to give her the latest gist” she then dialed her number
“Hello Nana, I was about calling you and your call came in” Enuka said
“Enu, can you guess what I just heard?” Nana asked in cheerful tone
“And what’s that? Tell me already, because your voice is sounding so happy”
“Oluba has called off his engagement with Grace”
“What? I don’t understand, how?” Enaku asked
“Grace just called me now and was telling me about it. I couldn’t even wait to ask her the full details because I was choking in happiness. I ended the call before she realises that I am laughing at her predicament”
“This is unbelievable! But what did she said that led to the break up?” Enaku asked.
And Nana narrated all Grace told her..
“Can you imagine! See caused it herself. Oluba will now think that she is not who she claimed to be. This is so interesting, I am happy for you my friend. Now, you too are even and people will even mock her the more. You know your own is that, everybody knows about you and your characters, they are not hidden, but Grace, they will be shocked.
In order to disgrace her the more, we will tell everybody that Oluba discovered that she was using charms on him, and that her true intentions of exposing you was to snatch him from you, and when Oluba realised the truth and about dumping her, she tried offering him sex to keep him, but he turned her down and broke up the engagement. That the man thought she was a saint, but not knowing that she is a sheep in wolf’s clothing. That she was only pretending to be a good girl.” Enaku suggested
“Wow Enaku, you are full of ideas. You have yet brought another epic idea that will make Grace hide her face in shame. I’m enjoying this seriously. An adage says, anything that goes around, comes around”. She is receiving the price of what she did to me.”
“But where is she at the moment?” Enaku asked, interrupting Nana
“I did not ask her about that, let me call her now and ask” Nana said disconnecting the call, and then called Grace’s line
“Hello Grace, hope you are no longer crying?”
“What am I going to do now, Nana? I called him, he warned me to stop calling his number” Grace said
“OK, but where are you now, are you still coming home because it’s already late?” Nana asked
“Nana, I don’t want to show my face there for the mean time, I know that soon the whole villagers will hear the news. I can’t stand their gossip, I will be here until the news fade away. All you will do is to carry your bags and return home. Tomorrow morning, return to our village, Ok”
“But why hiding away from your village because of this simple thing? Be brave like I did during my own time and return home”
“Nana, you were brave but not me, I am not that brave. I will return but not now. I will return in a grand style for a special purpose, but just not yet.” Grace said and smiled in her heart
“Return in a grand style? What does she mean by that?… Let me ask her” Nana said in her heart and then asked: “Grace what do you mean by returning in grand style?”
“But Nana, what do you expect me to say? I’m looking for the words to console myself. How can Oluba do this to me?” Grace replied.
“Poor thing! You have to stop dreaming, you have lost him for good. And you getting married again? I don’t think that will ever happen again. I think you are so unfortunate and getting married is not in your destiny. No man has ever sought for your hand in marriage until Oluba came into the surface, and you tried snatching him from me, but thank God it has backfired. So, you will return to becoming the Grace we all know, the one that will rot in her father’s house. Ta daaaa…….” Nana sneered at Grace in her heart
Grace who noticed Nana’s quietness asked: “Hello, are you still there?”
“Yes Grace, I am here.. OK, let’s talk again tomorrow, OK.. Just try and catch some sleep, and stop worrying yourself over it, only God knows the reason for everything”
“Alright Nana, and thanks for your concern” Grace said as they bided “goodnight”
“Can you imagine? She is even using that her evil mouth to call God’s name. Nana, I know you must be in wild jubilation now. Well, enjoy while it last.” Grace taunted.
After they ended the call, Nana called her mother and told her what happened. She too couldn’t believe it, she was mad in joy.
When Nana returned home the next day, she realised that there was no need for her to continue living with Patience again since her reason for staying with them had been achieved.
She then went to her and said: “Mama Grace, since Grace is not here again, and according to her, she won’t be returning home anytime soon, I have decided to return to my house again, because here will be boring for me. And don’t worry about my mother influencing me again, because you and your daughter have succeeded in showing me the good ways of life” She said, expecting Patience to say something, but she did not utter a word, she only nodded and kept looking at her with anger showing clearly in her eyes.
And Nana who stood for some minutes, waiting for her response decided to enter the house to carry her bags.
“But why is she not saying anything? And I can sense some hatred in her eyes. Why is she looking so angry? Maybe, it’s because of the way Oluba jilted her daughter” Nana said and smiled softly to herself: “Mama Grace, it’s your turn to feel the pain my mother went through when your ugly daughter snatched Oluba from me.”
When Nana went inside to get her bags, Patience was burning in anger.
“Nana, if not for one thing, I would have descended on you for trying to kill my daughter.” She said, remembering how Nana was pretending to be nice and concerned when Grace was mysteriously sick, not knowing that it was all her doing.
Her heart continued beating fast in anger, pushing her to approach Nana and dealt with her for inflicting her daughter with so much pain.
But remembering how Oluba pleaded with her to act smart and cool, she allowed the moment slide.
Fews days later, the news had spread like wild fire. Enaku and Nana twisted the whole truth and made Grace appear irresponsible and desperate, asserting that she was only pretending to be a good girl.
Grace wasn’t happy at what she heard and her mother was loosing her cool.
Patience couldn’t stand people saying bad things against her daughter. She tried telling them that it was not entirely what happened, that they were misinformed.
But people had already believed the ones Enaku and Nana fed them with.
And Chibugo did not make matter easy for her too, making her to be loosing her Patience.
She kept calling Oluba and Grace, asking them when they will be through with the game, that she can not hold up with the pretence any longer, that she was loosing her stance. That it pierced her heart on how people kept ridiculing her daughter’s name, calling her things she was not, saying all sort of bad things against her.
And some of the negative comments were beginning to hurt Grace, giving her concern on how her name was been tainted.
To be continued….
Dare the Truth was written by Ngozi Lovelyn O.
Warning: No part of this work should be copied, use, reproduce, redistribute either electronically or manually without prior permission from the author.
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