kizzykeziah:


Namesake, I thought you had disappeared before o. Great to have you here

Actually, I prefer using Chris for Christina. I don't see it as just a guy's name and simply prefer using it. Forgive me for that errm.... addiction of mine.

Disappear kee, no ooo.. . I'm just kind of busy this days ni Jaree, and I will always be around, probably with you. ..



And for Chris, why wouldn't you not see it as a gals name also, when you own name gaan be guy's name


BTW its okay, since we all have understand what you mean, then you are good to go

chii8:
I feel lk slappn dat guy 2olu

Joor, don't slap him o . Welcome aboard, ma'am

harjibolar10:

Disappear kee, no ooo.. . I'm just kind of busy this days ni Jaree, and I will always be around, probably with you. ..
And for Chris, why wouldn't you not see it as a gals name also, when you own name gaan be guy's name
BTW its okay, since we all have understand what you mean, then you are good to go

Great having my namesake around. And you could be right about me using Chris because of my own name. It's sounds cooler, sort of

kizzykeziah:


Joor, don't slap him o . Welcome aboard, ma'am

Great having my namesake around. And you could be right about me using Chris because of my own name. It's sounds cooler, sort of

My pleasure ma'am



So, when are you gonna update?

harjibolar10:

My pleasure ma'am



So, when are you gonna update?

Errr.....when I start and finish typing. I'm working on something else and it's taking up my time plus I got really really really lazy.

kizzykeziah:

Errr.....when I start and finish typing. I'm working on something else and it's taking up my time plus I got really really really lazy.

You dont need to tell me that jhoor, cos I know already


I had always know say, you are really lazy... So, me dey anticipate for the next update sha oo

Keep the ball rolling, ma'am.

------------------

"I should also get going now. You guys take care, okay?" Tayo stood up ready to leave with Kay who had been signaling to him to take their leave. He wondered why he was in such a hurry. It was just a few minutes past eight p.m but since he was staying at his house for the few days he was going to be in Lagos in course of his official duties, he had to leave whenever Kay said to.

"Tolu, I'd call you later," Kay finally said and made for the door passing beside Deola who nearly hissed as he went past her. She never liked him throughout their stay on campus and never tried making friends with him even as he was Tolu's closest friend in school. She shifted her attention to Tayo as she heard Kay open and shut the front door behind him,

"Why are you leaving so soon?" She asked him and he smiled back at her,

"I would have loved to stay longer but I'm staying with Kay and he has some things to do at home so he wanted to leave earlier," he explained to her while Tolu only watched them.
The way Tayo got along so well with his wife was gradually getting to him and the feeling wasn't good in any way. Tayo had gone to speak to her when he came that afternoon since he couldn't get a chance to speak to her the previous day which was the naming ceremony and also a Friday. He had promised to come the next day and since both their mothers as well as other family members had now left, he finally got to speak to her. Only God knew what hold he had over her that was making her smile at him this way when since the previous day after the naming ceremony, he didn't get to see the slightest smile cross her lips.

"Tee boy, I'd come over tomorrow. Maybe I can get to spend more time here then," Tayo told him, jolting him out of his thoughts .

"Okay, let me walk you to the car," Tolu offered and went out of the house with his friend.

Deola watched them leave and sighed. Her mum had only left that morning when she had convinced her beyond every reasonable streak of doubt that she was fine. Moreover, her mother in-law had left the night of the naming ceremony, promising to be back with whosoever that Lydia was. She still found it hard to l comprehend how possible it was for her husband to get another lady pregnant when she was still living under his roof. What was he thinking? Or had he been like this all along and she had been the blinded one? Did she do something wrong or did he just lose his moral sense?
It however was surprising to her how quickly it had all happened.
First, he withdraws from her and becomes colder. Then next, he comes back as 'hubby dearest', even though she never fell for that. She'd always had her own perceptions knowing there was something more to it. But now that she was finally in on it all, she just hated Tolu for keeping the least of the facts from her and letting it evolve up to the point where his whole shameless family throws in their hatred for her. Most especially his mother. He was exact definition of the son of a bi-tch. She wasn't sure how she was going to get past it all but knew she had to grow up now and quit being the little girl that always had her daddy there for her.

"Mummy, I want to eat." Deola turned around to see Niyi with a plastic plate and spoon by the door of the kitchen. She had totally forgot she hadn't given him anything to eat since that afternoon. That was going to be his own sacrifice for his daddy's insanity, she thought bitterly staring at her son.

-------------------------------

Kay's phone kept vibrating on the glass table and Tayo who had been watching it ring for nearly four times now, stood up to check who the caller was so he might know whether or not to answer the call and tell the caller Kay wasn't anywhere close by. He had barely caught a glimpse of the caller's ID when Kay showed up and hurriedly picked up the phone, cast a glance his way and then turn away to answer the call,

"Don't you ever give up," Kay said into the receiver and stepped away into his bedroom. He was getting really pissed at this Lydia girl. Even after showing her the way to Tolu's mother and her wishes seemingly falling in place, she still chose to bother him rather than bother Tolu who got her pregnant.

"Why didn't you want to pick up?" Lydia nearly yelled and he put the phone away from his ear to save his tympanic membrane from tearing up.

"Why are you calling me?" He said when she finally got quiet.

"I don't like that woman. She asked me to stay away from Tolu's house and that she would take care of everything but I'm not buying her strategy at all. I'm nearing delivery and I need money. It's not as though the pregnancy doesn't have an owner so I don't know why I can't move into his house. Is his wife that powerful or has she jinxed everyone of you?" She continued angrily.

Kay sighed, tempted to hang up on her but he knew that was just going to make her come straight over to his house. He wasn't ready to give an explanation to Tayo who was already watching him with scrutinizing eyes,

"I wonder why you don't dial the phone number of whosoever got you pregnant rather than disturbing my peace. And if your problem is money, then send me a text message with your account number and stop bothering me,"

"You know fully well that Tolu won't pick up my calls. The fool is just staying quiet that I'm almost tempted to throw something at him and make his senses return,"

"Just stop calling me as if I'm your husband. Even a married couple shouldn't bother each other the way you are bothering me," Kay insisted and hung up.

He was however caught up like a mouse when he looked up to see Tayo behind him.

"Why would you be talking to the girl that's making our friend's life this miserable?" Tayo shot at him before he could put up any denial.

-----------------------------

"I can't believe Tolu did this, damn it," Remi cursed as he listened to his mum narrate what went down at his little sister's baby's naming ceremony. He had been away on an official assignment in Abuja for the architectural firm where he worked and couldn't make it to the ceremony. His wife with whom he only got wedded four months before had also fallen ill making her unable to attend either. But hearing his mum's account, he wished he had been there for the poor girl. How was she going to take it now? He was terribly worried about her and sighed placing his hands over the ridge of his nose.

"I feel like I have left my daughter in the hands of Lucifer himself right now. I can't even take watching her act like she's fine because she isn't," his mother had tears rolling down her cheeks as she lamented, "I wish your father was alive now. He could have known what to do but he chose a time like that to leave us this way. Remi, we have to bring your sister out of there. She asked me to leave and not bother but I know it is all a show. Those people are going to hurt her especially that old witch, Tolu's mum," she continued while Rachel, Remi's wife watched them both silently. She was also worried about her sister in-law who had always kept to herself. They weren't on terms of being friends but she was young, barely twenty six and already having to deal with in-law's problems.

"We can't do so much now that another lady is in the picture. The lady is even pregnant at that, so I can only go hammer some tough words into Tolu's head so he won't ever dream of ill-treating my sister. Aside that, I'd also talk to Deola. Staying inside that house all day is not good for her. She has a certificate for God's sake and I don't even understand why she stopped working before. She definitely needs to get some air and we have to be there for her while she gets stronger," Remi concluded and stood up to turn on the television.

"Hmmmm," his mother sighed again. She was going to get an heart attack this way, Remi thought to himself as he glanced at her, her expression vague. He had to convince her to stay longer at his place. She would just get sick if she returns to her house in their hometown.
---------------------
Tolu's mum heaved again as she sat on the tattered chair in the living room of her friend's house, waiting for her to come on out from the bedroom adjoining having assured her she was inside and promising to be with her soon.

"Mama Tolu, I hope I didn't keep you here for long," Mama Ruka, a really fat, dark complexioned lady with a weird looking nose and big lips walked into the poorly furnished choky living room with her left hand holding her wrapper tight over her big chest.

"Not at all, Iya Ruka. I didn't wait for long," Mama Tolu reassured her and sat up in the outdated sofa.

"I was putting away some clothes and if I ask these my children to do it, they would turn that room upside down," the fat woman explained to her friend. They had become friends for so long that neither could recollect how they had gotten so close. Whenever either had a problem, she would go to meet the other for advice and they both seemed to always be fine with whatever either suggested. That had been the sole reason Mama Tolu was here. She had been having sleepless nights since Tolu asked her to leave his house on the day of the naming ceremony. She had felt so ridiculed when her own son shows her the way to the door in the presence of the whole family as well as his wife's mother. It had hurt her ego and she wanted him to pay alongside his wife whom she was still insisting had bewitched her son. That is the only comprehensible reason Tolu would forgot on whose back he had developed and whose milk had nurtured him.
Thinking of all these, most especially confused on how she was going to get him back to her, so that she would give him his new wife who was carrying his baby, she explained it all to her friend who sighed on hearing the account,
"So this Adeola or what is her name has decided to bring her game to these level," Mama Ruka said staring straight at nothing.

"Iya Ruka, gba mi....save me. I can't let a witch steal my son from me in my lifetime,"

"But didn't you cause a ruckus there. You even took Alhaji along, so how come nothing happened that day?" She asked in awe, she had suggested the frontal attack to her friend just before she left for Lagos but was however surprised how the plan got foiled and Deola still managed to spend another night in that house.

"Trust me, I had performed every single act perfectly and she was already halfway back to that her mother until the pastor came and ruined it all with his bible talk," Mama Tolu said and shifted back with a resigned look on her face.

"And you are a 'christian' o," Iya Ruka remarked sarcastically and watched her friend hiss before continuing after clearing her throat, "Well, by my own methods, I have a suggestion since an urgent situation requires an urgent measure," she started and lowered her voice into whispers with Mama Tolu nodding at intervals.

"It is very fine," Mama Tolu said when her friend was done with her suggestion.

"Good, I'll change now and we would go. Nnkan to o ba ti ya ki i pe mo.....we shouldn't delay anymore then," Iya Ruka said rising to her feet and going into her bedroom.




------------------------------

Deola zipped the Mickey mouse school bag shut after throwing in a couple of books and stationery. She put the bag aside atop the school uniform on the ironing board at the corner of the room and went to check on her baby who had been moving uncomfortably on the bed and had her face in a frown now about to burst into tears,

"Hey, don't cry, sweetheart. My Sonia is a big girl that doesn't cry, hmm," she said picking the baby up and checking if her diaper was wet.

"What does she want?" Tolu asked her as she finally noticed him even though he had been at the door for a few minutes, just watching her.

"I don't know," she said indifferently though she had cursed him under her breath for showing his face to her. They had been doing so well avoiding each other for the past few days.

"You're taking Niyi to school?" He continued pointing at the school uniform and bag.

"He's starting school tomorrow," Deola simply told him, expecting him to take a walk now. She wasn't ready for a conversation with him. Her days of yearning for him to talk to her were now over.

Tolu wasn't ready to leave just yet. He was going to keep trying to talk to her as not having a conversation was killing their relationship,

"Which school is that? I see you've got a uniform for him already," he continued moving closer to her.

Unable to take him standing close anymore, she broke through the fragile frame of anger she had been holding within her, "Stop acting like you care so much. This is no longer your family, right? So let me train my son in my own way so he doesn't end up like his father whose mother never trained," she spat angrily.

"What crap are you saying? Since when have you gotten the balls to insult my mother?!" He shouted back at her, angry she was choosing to deal with it this way. He had tried talking to her but she just wanted him to stay away and now she was turning it back to his mother. His mum was wrong but Deola lacked guts to insult her this way.

"Wow, so what? Did I say something wrong? Did your mother train you? Or she very well taught you how to be a son of a bi-tch?!" Deola yelled back holding her baby tight.

Tolu then inched forward, totally angry and not really knowing what got over him and landed a resounding slap across her left cheek. He had slapped her already before staggering back, more mad at himself for being an id-iot and hitting her even with the little girl in her hands.

" You are nothing more than an animal and I hate you," Deola burst out as the baby began crying aloud, kicking as she kept crying making Niyi stir in his sleep and also join his sister, crying.

Tolu looked from the baby to Niyi and back at Deola who though had tears in her eyes was only staring back at him, defiant but weak also. He felt a rush of overwhelming guilt and stormed out of the bedroom. The last Deola heard was him kick start his car and zoom out. She then put the baby beside her brother and sat there on the floor, her face flooded with tears.

LarrySun:
Keep the ball rolling, ma'am.

Thanks, sir. I was fast losing strength already.

Tolu is really an animal but I wish poor Deola would have been more patient.

dis is really stupid of Tolu, shouldn't have slapped ha. I pity d couples sha.

Interesting story, still following. I hope Tolu does what is right by apologizing to Deola cos the girl has passed through a lot. Also it isn't easy for him to go against her mothers wish cos the maternal bond is still there even when she is at fault there is still the need to protect her. His father is an opposite of her mother, a man with a gentle soul. When u remove his mother hatred then there will be a happy ending. There is a way of stoping her, which I don't know. But only the Op does.

I understand Deola's frustration but she should never have disrespected her mil in front of her husband. No sane man will let that go even though it doesn't have to be in the violent way. Anger got the better side of Tolu making him slap his wife, he could have acted better. Lovely updates Kizzy, anticipating more.

Ma'am, keep em coming

I can say I understand how deola is fairing, but
Irrespective of how naughty the man's mother is, ladies shouldn't be badmouthing her husband mum c like that, I will say that(slap) suites deola very well.

Oga tolu, real nigga don't beat their wife, thou ladies can be irritating and frustrating at times



Thanks for the update namesake me, but it's Been a while, and I hope all is well

Nice update.

Marriage is not easy especially when the two involved are not willing to work together. Deola is feeling the enormous strain of defending her sanity and Tolu's confused state. Something similar to the protagonist state in Second-Class citizen. Its instructive for those who want to get married to get to know each other well and also get as much education as possible

Miss, you are doing well in giving us the vivid picture of everything and your conversations are good. Keep doing better.

I'm so in love with this story.... Ride on dear.

Chapter six


"Good evening, sir," Lydia greeted kneeling in front of Tolu's father. She wanted to be in his good terms and had been left to the task by her 'mother in-law' who simply looked away when her husband failed to respond to Lydia's greeting.

Lydia knew the man didn't exactly like her and he wasn't going to accept her overnight but she could only try so she said again, "Good evening sir," she said the greeting with more emphasis and louder to push aside the excuse of her being inaudible.

Tolu's father looked at her with a frown of disgust and stood up from the sofa. If he wasn't there in the first place, she wouldn't have guts to greet him.

"She has been greeting you since but you would rather watch a pregnant lady kneeling in discomfort other than to smile and put her mind at rest," his wife said now and hissed.

"What sort of greeting would that be, huh? Should I pull her in for a hug for feigning respect? Sometimes, I wonder where you throw your senses," he finished shaking his head at the both of them and leaving the house. He wasn't ready to be part of an unsavory discussion.

"That's your problem, Baba Apari....bald headed man. We don't even need you to start saying garbage here to start with," Mama Tolu called after him with a loud voice that ended in a hiss.

Lydia who had already been on her feet calmed herself that he was seemingly the only cold one to her though the last born, Seyi also wasn't being so kind to her but Kay had told her to call the bluff of the 'others' as long as the mother was on her side.

"What would I do about the way he sees me? I didn't do this all by myself. Tolu chose me when he pulled away from his wife and was I supposed to ask him if he had a wife already when I saw that I brought him comfort?" Lydia said in a tone of regret and eyes filled with tears that she could have fooled the devil himself with her look of ingenuity.

Mama Tolu moved to comfort her, "My dear, I've told you not to bother yourself and that I am in control of these. Isn't he my son?" She said and Lydia nodded, reaching for her handkerchief in her handbag on the sofa. She would just have to believe this woman since no one else was coming to her aid. Her parents didn't care what she was doing in Lagos as long as she sent them enough money for their upkeep monthly. So she was in this alone and had to fight till the finish. Until Tolu gave up and accepted things the way they were meant to be.

She had barely sat when a car was heard zoom into the compound and the occupant open and shut the car's door.
Still wondering who it could be, mama Tolu also went to the window to check who just drove in and smiled to herself,

"Omo oko ni e.....you are your fathers' son indeed," she said and waited for Tolu to walk in to the house. If she had thought of this method earlier, things could have been saved right from the onset.

"Mummy, good evening," Tolu prostrated the minute he walked through the door to see his mother standing there in the living room.

"Stand up, Tolulope. It's just about time," she told him while Lydia watched, a little puzzled on how the woman got him down here when she was already losing faith in her. He was indeed her son after all, she said in her subconscious and looked up at him till their eyes met. Lydia tried holding his gaze but he looked away almost immediately. A miracle hadn't happened yet but it was more possible now that he was here. And hopefully ready to accept her.

------------------------------

Deola put a pacifier in Sonia's mouth and turned away from her to continue sorting out the documents she needed to apply for a job. Her big brother had spent nearly an hour on the phone with her that morning telling her to get a life and stop putting everything she held in one man who wasn't even worth it. She had at first cried her eyes out when he finally hung up promising to come around over the weekend when he would most likely meet Tolu at home and then speak to them both.
She had cried not because her brother had turned it on her staying back at home and playing housewife while her husband took up the role of playboy perfectly played, but because he was right after all. Remi hadn't even wanted her to get married immediately after her youth service at twenty four and had said straight to Tolu's face then that he wasn't in support of his sister sitting around being the bride when she had a certificate and could build a future for herself. She had thought he was being unreasonable and she was happy about being Tolu's wife even if staying with him was all she was to live for but she could have exerted more patience and looked into the future. She could have seen then that she was never wanted by Tolu's family right from the start of it all.

Frustrated, she threw the folder aside,
"I don't even know where on earth to start from?" She said staring at her certificate from the University of Lagos where she had obtained her Bachelors degree in Pharmacy.

She reached for her phone as she heard it beep a message notification. She stood up as she read the message from Christina,

"I hope you're home because I'm coming over with Jummy. She wanted it as a surprise but I didn't want you to get caught unawares so do me a favor and try smiling to the door."

Deola went over to the living room and looked out to see a blue Hyundai Accent drive into the compound.

"Really short notice, Chris," she said to herself and gave a quick look round the living room. She had not cleaned the place in her frustration since that morning and now went to take away Niyi's shoes and toys which were the only odd things there.

She had barely dropped them off in the room when she heard two female voices become more audible as they approached the door. One was clearly Christina's and the other......it was indeed Jummy's, her course mate and friend at school. They used to be roommates once before but after convocation, everyone seemed to disappear. Glad they were both there, Deola went ahead to open the front door to usher them in.

Jummy nearly screamed on seeing her,
"Oh my god! Is this really my own Deola? You already look like a mum, girl," Jummy who was a slender fair complexioned short young lady, barely five feet tall but was in heels which made her as tall as her friends and had her hair braided and curled up, threw her hands out in a hug for her friend.

"She is a mum," Christina said and smiled at Deola and then went on to sit in the living room. Deola and Jummy came behind her.

"I expected that you'd be really bigger by now and not this thin girl I'm seeing. You don't eat anymore?" Deola remarked as she led her friend into the living room.

"I couldn't find a better cook to make me want to eat. Lost the ultimate chef after graduation," Jummy replied her and went to sit on the sofa opposite Christina.

"Yeah, right. I thought I'd never see you again and this is indeed a surprise to me," Deola continued glancing over at Christina who feigned ignorance. Jummy had met her the previous day at a mall and swore she had to see Deola. She couldn't have spilled then that their friend was having a hell time in her home and needed a break so she just had to succumb when Jummy showed up with her car that afternoon and asked to be taken to see Deola. Good thing she was on a sick leave at work, she would have evaded her otherwise.

"Yeah, I told Tina I wanted to surprise you. We only met yesterday and she said you have two kids already. Deola, when did you get married that you have two kids already?" Jummy asked in exclamation.

Deola smiled back, "One of those things," she said simply. One thing about Jummy was that she talked a lot. Too much at times and couldn't be a confidante, she'd just turn the whole situation around and make a blow of it. One reason she never bothered keeping contact with her. Now that she knew her home, Deola silently prayed that she would just leave without finding out how 'rosy' marriage was for her.

"Where is Niyi?" Christina asked her looking around.

"Hmm...oh! I took him to school this morning. About time he troubled a schoolteacher," she told them.

"And your baby? I want to see the baby. Is it a boy or girl? Come on, Deola," Jummy started looking from Deola to Christina who only shook her head.

"I thought I told you it was a girl. Wasn't it Omolayo she was named?" Christina chipped in and looked back at Deola who got up to get the girl and some refreshments for her guests.

"I'm calling her Sonia," Deola corrected Christina who raised an eyebrow. Deola was starting with changing the name that was unanimously given to the baby by her husband and his family? Well, interesting, Christina thought.

"Pretty name," Jummy remarked and got up after Deola, "Can I come with you?" She asked already moving towards where she thought would be the bedroom.

"Of........course," Deola managed to say and looked back at Christina who just shrugged.

keep dem coming Keziah.. nice work

Erm ehnm...

I hope this jummy won't complicate the issue ooo, when she talk too much, and can't be confidante, then thatz a problem, a big one per se


Oya, bring it on ma dear

gorgybee:
Tolu is really an animal but I wish poor Deola would have been more patient.

'Animal' is a huge word for Tolu. He doesn't deserve all the blames for whatever is going on.

harjibolar10:
Erm ehnm...
I hope this jummy won't complicate the issue ooo, when she talk too much, and can't be confidante, then thatz a problem, a big one per se
Oya, bring it on ma dear

I hope Jummy doesn't complicate things also o. And I'm having a little hiccup bringing it on. Maybe I should be a little more committed in posting cos honestly I'm not.

Hi

This is refreshingly original. I love the way you're able to spring up many characters without mixing them up, and I love the dialogue too. Interesting, keep it up.
My oga Larrysun, I sight you

kizzykeziah:

I hope Jummy doesn't complicate things also o. And I'm having a little hiccup bringing it on. Maybe I should be a little more committed in posting cos honestly I'm not.

And I will want to know what really happen, why you've not been so committed ooo... Cos I've started to wonder what has cause the change In my one and only namesake. My namesake that I grown up to know, ehn. .. Make I keep am

So, how are you doing, and Hope you are good ^{You ain't replying ma message naw, not anymore}

harjibolar10:
And I will want to know what really happen, why you've not been so committed ooo... Cos I've started to wonder what has cause the change In my one and only namesake. My namesake that I grown up to know, ehn. .. Make I keep am

So, how are you doing, and Hope you are good ^{You ain't replying ma message naw, not anymore}

Sorry,I'll reply. I just have much on my plate now.
And I'm good. Never Better.

.

kaboninc:
Hi

No 1 motivator. How's it going?

Kizzykeziah,I just hope it's not what I'm thinking!!
God is your strength
I just caught up with you guys,lazy me!
Nice story btw,it's unique and almost everyone can relate to it

Keep 'em coming!!

kizzykeziah:

Sorry,I'll reply. I just have much on my plate now.
And I'm good. Never Better.

.
No 1 motivator. How's it going?

Lool!

Am fine my sizzling and captivating writer!

Trust you're good too.

Now you're making me to fall in love with Deola. Don't know why I have this soft heart for those who have one problem like this or the other.

Your stories are becoming clearer, focused and well structured - less typo errors.

Can I like cause Tolu to see that Kay is contributing to his woes?

Then Deola (I'll name my daughter Deola) shouldn't have spoken to Tolu in that manner nau! Well she's sad but make she control herself ni. Tell her am coming to take her and her beautiful kids away from Tolu! For good, better.

Truss me, I will!

May your ink never dry as you continue to wet our appetite with your thrilling episodes!

Do have a peaceful night!

Cheers!

kitnah:
Kizzykeziah,I just hope it's not what I'm thinking!!
God is your strength
I just caught up with you guys,lazy me!
Nice story btw,it's unique and almost everyone can relate to it

Keep 'em coming!!

What are you thinking?

pls keep the story going, i read your previous work and must confess its a masterpiece.

kitnah:
Kizzykeziah,I just hope it's not what I'm thinking!!
God is your strength
I just caught up with you guys,lazy me!
Nice story btw,it's unique and almost everyone can relate to it
Keep 'em coming!!

Am I permitted to guess your thoughts? And I've missed you too

Chioma123:
pls keep the story going, i read your previous work and must confess its a masterpiece.

Thanks, ma'am. I promise to keep it going. So help me God.

kaboninc:


Lool!

Am fine my sizzling and captivating writer!

Trust you're good too.

Now you're making me to fall in love with Deola. Don't know why I have this soft heart for those who have one problem like this or the other.

Your stories are becoming clearer, focused and well structured - less typo errors.

Can I like cause Tolu to see that Kay is contributing to his woes?

Then Deola (I'll name my daughter Deola) shouldn't have spoken to Tolu in that manner nau! Well she's sad but make she control herself ni. Tell her am coming to take her and her beautiful kids away from Tolu! For good, better.

Truss me, I will!

May your ink never dry as you continue to wet our appetite with your thrilling episodes!

Do have a peaceful night!

Cheers!

Hope you'd invite me to the naming ceremony when you give your daughter Deola's name.
And I'll definitely pass your offer to Deola

--------------

The tension burning in the car was beginning to consume Lydia as she glanced over at Tolu who took a quick swerve and headed to the busy street fully focused on his driving. He hadn't given her so much as a single glance since they took off from his mum's after the latter had insisted he dropped her off at home.
His cold attitude now was a source of concern to her as she wasn't even sure he meant anything he said to his mother earlier. He could just be playing them both to get his mother off of his family.

Clearing her throat, she broke into a series of coughing to get him to look at her but got nothing. He didn't so much as blink and just kept driving so she continued coughing until she nearly coughed up her lungs and puke her insides out before he finally looked over at her,

"What is wrong with you?" He yelled at her and slammed his palms on the steering wheel.

Lydia sat back and got a hold of herself beating her left hand over her chest in a bid to calm her coughs,
"I'm a little sick," she told him choking gently.

Tolu looked at her, hesitant on whether to believe her or not before reaching for a bottle of water beside him and holding it out to her without saying anything else. She could be a great actress and he wasn't ready to act by her script.

"Thank you," Lydia muttered and took the bottle from him to take a sip still coughing gently in between.

The silence and coldness then returned with both of them looking away from the other. Unable to stand it any longer, Lydia finally burst out,
"Why are you being this way? Do you think I'm an idiot that can be fooled by your perfect acting of prodigal son?" She said in a fury making Tolu cast a quick glance at her and then smirk,

"Why? You didn't buy what just played out this afternoon?" He asked her in a mock tone.

"So it was indeed acting? Telling your mother you were sorry for making her stressed up because of you," Lydia asked him in disbelief and shook her head when he said nothing to her, affirming her prenotion, "You are so unbelievable. To think that I believed your promise to take responsibility of me for one moment," The same gullibility that had gotten her pregnant was what she found herself drowning in all over again.

"You should still have believed," Tolu said quietly.

"What? Did you mean it?" Lydia asked him impatiently wanting him to tell her to her face that he was ready to have a family with her. That was all she wanted from him right from the day she had met him at the bar with Kay, his friend. He had fit perfectly into the portrait she had mentally painted for a husband and she had threw herself at him without blinking about what she was heading for.

Tolu nodded and remained silent all through the rest of the drive. He had reached a resolution and he was going to do it this way.

--------------

Tolu turned off the car's ignition leaving the fm radio to be the only source of life in the vehicle as Timberlands' apologize was playing on the DJ's spin on City 105.1 fm which he had the radio tuned to.

He didn't know whether or not to go into the house as he saw the his wristwatch tick ten p.m. He had only just left his mothers' after feeling the necessity to sort things out with her. She was right in saying he had a responsibility to fulfill over Lydia even though whatever they shared was purely a mistake. One he regretted deeply and wished could wash away but unfortunately never would.

Now that his mother was not addressing him as an invalid son any longer because he showed up just as she wished, he was feeling really hesitant to walk into the house. That was purely because of his altercation with Deola the previous night. He didn't know how he was going to face her and tell her it was all because of his state of mind. But her words were indeed provoking and though he regretted it leading to him slapping her, he couldn't put aside the fact that their differences were becoming much more obvious. So much for the 'wife material' lecture Tayo had given him. He only felt trapped now.

He suddenly heard hard taps on the car window making him raise his head from the seat headrest, cursing whosoever it was that chose that time to cut in his meditation. Tuning down the volume of the radio, he wound the window down to know see the person's face,

"Baba Niyi, I hope all is well," It was Baba Sade, the next door neighbor that was the violator of his peace. The man who was with his shirt off and had his last child hung across his shoulder, stood there smiling with a seeming look of concern on his face.

"All was well until you intruded my peace," Tolu nearly barked at him as he flung the car door open and stormed off cursing as he went.

"Ahn....ahn! For what reason are you yelling now? I was only checking if you were still alive shut up in your car," Baba Niyi called after him. He wasn't going to let a young 'boy' like that insult him.
He had always been looking forward to an occasion where he would get to speak to Tolu and get to know more about who he was but this scene showed him that his hopes had been for nothing and Tolu was just as his wife painted him-A silent killer, she had said and he was more tempted to believe her now. He only pitied the young lady that was married to him. If her husband couldn't control his temper with an outsider then he wondered how he was going to do that with his wife.

-----------------

"Daddy, I can write 2", Niyi said excitedly holding up a pencil and a notebook to his dad where he had scribbled all over the whole page hanging open.

Tolu nodded at him and wiped his face of the dripping water with the towel over his shoulder. Immediately he had walked in that night, he had gone straight to the bathroom ignoring his son's continuous chants of 'Daddy' and avoiding Deola. He was not ready to take responsibility for his action with her yet and couldn't stand looking at her lest apologizing.

"Niyi, come in to sleep. It's late and you're going to school tomorrow. I also have an appointment and don't want to be late so hop hop into the bedroom," Deola said walking out of the kitchen and Tolu turned slowly to look at her.
Niyi looked up at his father expecting him to say something to buy him some more time to spend with him. Tolu smiled at his son and told him to go in to sleep since it was way past his bedtime.

It felt awkward the minute Niyi went into the room leaving him standing almost opposite Deola especially when she smiled and told him his food was served on the dining table and it was running cold. He looked over at the set table and was tempted to say something but held it in, proceeding to the dining table.

He was about opening the dish when he turned around abruptly and his eyes met hers with her still standing there and not taking her eyes off of him. Like she was waiting for something to happen.

"Thanks," he muttered slowly expecting it to have a magic effect on her and make her leave. He was feeling terrible enough as it was.

Deola nodded not taking a step away making Tolu more uncomfortable. He should definitely be uneasy for having guts to want to eat the dinner I prepared, she thought as she noticed his discomfort. If his discomfort was going to be her source of revenge on him for him now, then it was satisfying enough and she was going to enjoy it a little more.

Tolu opened the plate covering the dish with ewedu soup and a couple of meats and reached for the water in the bowl beside it to rinse his hand and settle to his meal of Semolina and ewedu soup. He still felt Deola's eyes on him but this time she was turning to leave for the bedroom already. He had taken up a morsel and dipped it into the soup about to put it into his mouth when he threw it back into the plate abruptly.

Deola turned around hearing the clatter of the plate which Tolu pushed aside with a look of surprise on her face.

"What did you put in it?!" Tolu shot at her making her take a few steps back, unsure she heard him right.

"What?" She asked flabbergasted.

"Stop acting like some saint, Deola. If you planned on getting your pound of flesh by poisoning the food then try harder," he ranted on.

"Wow! You've really lost it," Deola shook her and hissed. She was in no mood to listen to gibberish from him. Her mother had made her promise when she was leaving never to let things get out of hands and to tackle the worst with calmness. She had broken that promise once and wasn't in for the same mistake again. She might end up with a scar on her face if she stood there as she wasn't sure what next her anger and frustration might cause her to say. She had turned back into the bedroom when she heard Tolu pick up his car keys and storm out of the house banging the door behind him.

"What is all these madness about?" She yelled angrily at no one in particular but only got an engine start for a reply.

"Mummy, Sonia is crying," Niyi called her attention to the baby who was crying at the top of her voice. She had probably woken half the neighborhood with her screams.

Deola looked over at the girl and hissed, " This isn't the future daddy always assured me of," she said looking back at Niyi who went to pet his sister, not sure how but knowing fully that his mum wouldn't.