Her daughter- ADEOLA HAASTRUP

Her father had entered his room almost an hour ago and Aunty Blandinu had taken her brother inside the room to sleep, she was however still seating at the door, where she and her brother had been standing when daddy had gone into his room.

Something is wrong with mummy, she said to herself. Mummy did not come home yesterday and the policemen came today to talk to daddy. And she knows they are police people because she saw two of them carrying gun. But what could have happen to mummy, she wondered again as she rubbed her small hands against her chest.

Daddy has not been talking to them since plenty days now. Before he used to throw Tolu up and he use to call her princess but now, he don’t even talk to them again and mummy is always crying, shouting or hugging them and saying things will be better.

She stared at her father’s door down the hall, a door she used to enter at will before but one she could not go to again. What happened? Daddy don’t even like her again and before everybody used to call her Didi daddy’s pet, why don’t daddy like them again? Where is mummy?

She miss her mummy, even Tolu that is always thinking of food miss mummy, why don’t she come and hug them the way she use to do when daddy shout at them? And why did Blandinu say mummy have gone to heaven before aunty Kemi slap her mouth? The only person that travel to heaven is Daddy’s mummy and she did not come back oh.

Mummy should better come, she have to sing in church tomorrow and she have white gown with wings to wear, mummy should come fast fast oh, that heaven is not a good place to go even though God is there.

She moved towards the window in the hallway facing the gate to the compound “mummy, come back please, don’t leave us here with wicked daddy”


Her best friend- Lilian

“Oh my God, oh my God, its Joy!” Lilian screamed as she read the story online. She shook her head and couldn’t believe her eyes.

Her husband rushed in when he heard her scream, she stood in the center of the kitchen with tears running down her face. “What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked disturbed by her tears.

“Joy is…..is…… she’s dead!” she cried out as she folded into herself on the floor and started crying. He went to her and started rocking her gently

“Oh God, why? Why Joy, why, why?” She cried as her husband rocked her. She didn’t know how long she remained crying for her best friend and for the kind of death she got. She finally stood up, went to the kitchen sink and washed her eyes.

“What will you do now?” her husband asked from the floor where he still sat.

“I don’t know, I’ll probably call…..erm… somebody, maybe Tunmise, I don’t know…” She knew she sounded confused but she couldn’t help it, she was disturbed.

She had known Joy since they were in the Delta state University in Abraka. They had met in their first year as sociology students, lived as flat mates, came to Lagos together and remained best friends. They had been through thick and thin together and she wasn’t sure how she was going to cope with the loss of Joy.

Joy had been her friend, supporter and confidant. She had been married for 3 years and had been unable to have a child as a result of abortions she had done years earlier as a student. She had only found out after she got married and could not take in before she was told by the doctor that the lining of her uterus had been destroyed and she might never conceive. She hadn’t been able to tell her husband who had honestly been very patient with her and she and Joy had continued to look around for solutions.

Joy had insisted that she not give up, she had encouraged her to try other avenues and they had actively looked for solutions together and visited several fertility specialists within and outside the country.

And now, Joy was gone. What would she do?







The mistress- Daniella

Serves her right, Dani thought when she saw the news of the murder on a gossip site. Next time she comes to life, she will know who she can mess with and who not to play around with. Stupid bitch! She thought vindictively.

She remembered when that evil woman came to her boutique to assault her last month over her husband. She and her evil friend had beaten her and broken her nose and teeth but nemesis had caught up with them, Lilian or whatever her name was, that her yeye friend would soon get hers.

On top, they lied to everyone and said she attacked them, as if she would bother with such when she already had the man.

She couldn’t even understand which husband they were fighting over, is it the one that hated her and was seeking a way to get rid of her so he could bring Daniella in.

She was only 25 but she had a lot going for her, she wasn’t going to allow a know-it-all bimbo like Joy Anuchebe Haastrup stand in her way, never!

She felt no guilt or shame at her actions. She had grown up dirt poor and the only thing she had were her brains and her looks and she was going to make it through those. She had waited for a man like Tunmise all her life and he finally came. She didn’t intend to waste any time on niceties.

She was born in Lagos to a brainless bird of a mother who had spent her whole life prostituting and could not even tell who the father of her baby was. She did not have food, clothes or money to buy the basic necessities and toys were a luxury her mother never thought of getting for her daughter. Her only saving grace was her beauty. When she turned 14, she went to work as a maid in Ibadan, she was 16 when she got disvirgined by her boss but she made him pay well for it.

She promised herself that she was never going to be a prostitute like her mother, age shamefully and then die. No way! She made her looks work for her, in school at the Polytechnic Ibadan, she had chased after big men and been able to afford the good things of life. She had met Tumtum last year and he had gradually dumped all his other girls for her, his wife had been the only stumbling block.

Now, all that was left was to get pregnant quickly for her Tumtum, she didn’t know why that hadn’t happened yet, she had tried very hard but when it happened, they would be married in record time. After all, he had confessed to her that he recently discovered that neither of the two children his wife gave him belonged to him, she didn’t know how true it was and she wasn’t going to ask, all she knew was that the coast was now clear for her.

Thank you karma.

Please, i will not be posting during the weekend as i usually dont have data then.

@all reading, i will continue posting on monday. Thank you.

almacherish:
Abi o..... Im starting to suspect the biological father of her children since the husband thinks the children arent his.... But i still dont think her husbands hands are clean, i mean, who feels nothing when his wife is dead??

Of course, his hands ain't clean but I'm 80% sure he wasn't the one who killed her

piroux:
Please, i will not be posting during the weekend as i usually dont have data then.

@all reading, i will continue posting on monday. Thank you.

okay ma

Mind blowing . Can I be able to wait till Monday

Oshey piroux! This is mind blowing...wehdone ma.

piroux:


Divepen1, Audreytimms, Repogirl, Larrysun, Skarlett, Missnande, Gmike2rule, kimberlywest, Debbietiyan,oluwabuqqyYOLO Meneski,Jazmiynne, Tolulolu0122, Gsteve001, marianneada, shalomdee, shewrites, Alennsar, smilingB1, susiivy, yorhmienerd, Queening, horlah1, hadduni, Tuham, Evaberry, Queetener, Missmossy, ladySuperb, Charytea, pncessadeola, Michelle55, seunlly, bejeria101, Halyma, Diamondwriter, bitingcool, Williamsesco, Lordshola, ibawon, sharliz, richiearmany14, sammyendowed, Abbydammy1, prisiliveth, FelicityLucita, Tori46, harsol, speezyWears, eitsei, rachealfst, Toppzy001, Opeoluwa99, Maryclaire1, haleemwale, yusufIbrahim, pepperoni55, alarmednigerian, BlizxydoDo, TosinBecca, Bensoate1, Twinkle004, Nmaglit, divatolaz, Ansasan, opybycar1, granely, pweetyz, specter, Eniqurl, Precial419, lettruthprevail, Oyinda8100, joyce21, crislyn, swanky47, jasmine4, damlaz24, Aloedamz, michaelunique, Hadampson,lovelydaisy, Ukez15, Bollie29, Bossy512, heemah, ashatoda, Abefe99, PrettyMizQdot, Queenakande, Diamondamsel, Evajael, IRALIFE, àkejujoe, hannie20, Shakyroh320, sulips, MissTega, shugaoftouch, Hashtagmoniker, Gynah33, ifecoded, rayos, BlissfulJeff, hammedroyabat, Queenitee, muzzafar, WHOcarex, iamozipatrick, Stevenbright, darwinbrown, Elpoche, Adefiery,tylesh,Olabantu, Ireneblush , Bibi294, dafil22, Nofuckgiven, namedonfinish, Lankyannie,
Oyinda1242, xaviercasmier, Ellagold35, Eniolaewa, smomeydrinkey, kimkardashain, mhizgap, Ladysuperb, Eyinimofeoluwa, everyone on the literature section, on nairaland, visitors, everybody!

Part 2 is here

m just seeing dis now. thanks a. lot for the mention.

almacherish:
Abi o..... Im starting to suspect the biological father of her children since the husband thinks the children arent his.... But i still dont think her husbands hands are clean, i mean, who feels nothing when his wife is dead??

her husband might have the intention of killing her bt sum1 else did maybe her sister

Who killed joy?

This is well-woven. You gave things a thorough thought. This is going very fine and I'm loving it already.

Nice story... Read other cool stories on Tushstories via

www.tushstories.com

#Click!

piroux:


Divepen1, Audreytimms, Repogirl, Larrysun, Skarlett, Missnande, Gmike2rule, kimberlywest, Debbietiyan,oluwabuqqyYOLO Meneski,Jazmiynne, Tolulolu0122, Gsteve001, marianneada, shalomdee, shewrites, Alennsar, smilingB1, susiivy, yorhmienerd, Queening, horlah1, hadduni, Tuham, Evaberry, Queetener, Missmossy, ladySuperb, Charytea, pncessadeola, Michelle55, seunlly, bejeria101, Halyma, Diamondwriter, bitingcool, Williamsesco, Lordshola, ibawon, sharliz, richiearmany14, sammyendowed, Abbydammy1, prisiliveth, FelicityLucita, Tori46, harsol, speezyWears, eitsei, rachealfst, Toppzy001, Opeoluwa99, Maryclaire1, haleemwale, yusufIbrahim, pepperoni55, alarmednigerian, BlizxydoDo, TosinBecca, Bensoate1, Twinkle004, Nmaglit, divatolaz, Ansasan, opybycar1, granely, pweetyz, specter, Eniqurl, Precial419, lettruthprevail, Oyinda8100, joyce21, crislyn, swanky47, jasmine4, damlaz24, Aloedamz, michaelunique, Hadampson,lovelydaisy, Ukez15, Bollie29, Bossy512, heemah, ashatoda, Abefe99, PrettyMizQdot, Queenakande, Diamondamsel, Evajael, IRALIFE, àkejujoe, hannie20, Shakyroh320, sulips, MissTega, shugaoftouch, Hashtagmoniker, Gynah33, ifecoded, rayos, BlissfulJeff, hammedroyabat, Queenitee, muzzafar, WHOcarex, iamozipatrick, Stevenbright, darwinbrown, Elpoche, Adefiery,tylesh,Olabantu, Ireneblush , Bibi294, dafil22, Nofuckgiven, namedonfinish, Lankyannie,
Oyinda1242, xaviercasmier, Ellagold35, Eniolaewa, smomeydrinkey, kimkardashain, mhizgap, Ladysuperb, Eyinimofeoluwa, everyone on the literature section, on nairaland, visitors, everybody!

Part 2 is here

I just finished reading this update. I like the way you state your story. It makes it easy to understand. And i must say, you are good keep it up. And thanks for the mention

Nice one

Tuham:
Well doing piroux

Please don't stop halfway ooh.. Keep pushing and Tuham wishes you all the best

.

Beautiful story, i'm following.

You guys, thank you so much, i feel wonderful today!

See Me feeling like Detective, Nice Story Piroux

Torrotti- Her childhood friend

She heard the news from Lilian an hour ago and she couldn’t hide her grief at her friend’s passing. It broke her heart to think that Joy had died that way but she wasn’t really surprised.

She had known Joy when they were teenagers, they had lived next to each other and despite the fact that Joy was 3 years older, they had been best friends till Joy met Lilian at University. For a while from her late teens to her early twenties, she had allowed herself to be influenced and corrupted by Joy and Lilian.

Of the three of them, Lilian was the only one from a comfortable background. She and Joy had come from impoverished families that could barely afford the basics. Joy, with the encouragement of her mother started sleeping with older richer married men who paid her quite well especially because she was so beautiful. She, on the other hand wasn’t so fortunate, she was very dark, passably pretty, she had battled acne as a teenager and she had really small breasts. Her only redeeming quality was her large buttocks and extremely curvy hips. On top of that, her mother, a staunch Christian had kicked against such living and ended up fighting with Joy’s mother over it.

However, when Joy got admission to the University at 19 and even got a 2 bedroom flat off campus with Lilian from the proceeds of her business, her 16 years old self was seduced and she ran away from home to live with Joy for a while. The three of them spent time carousing with older men and rich young boys in parties, sex games, abortions and the high life. Lilian had almost 12 abortions in that time, she 3 and Joy, only 1.

Before she knew what was happening, four years had passed, the two older girls were set to graduate and she still hadn’t gotten admission. She had no skills except sex and on top of all that, she fell mysteriously sick after spending a weekend with an Indian client in Port Harcourt. She worsened progressively and she was rushed back home to her mother who had barely seen her in all that time. She sold everything, her car, clothes, everything she had to help in paying her bills. She saw death holding her hand but somehow, miraculously, she was healed at a Christian convention.

She gave her life to Christ and turned a new leaf entirely. Somehow, she never went back to school, she started a business and moved to Port Harcourt. In that time, Lilian and Joy kept disturbing her to join them again but she refused, by then, they were both in Lagos and seemed to be doing fine. She suffered a lot in Port Harcourt but she was determined to stick with God and pay her dues and she did.

It took her while but she earned her mother’s trust again, put the youngest two of her four siblings through school and expanded her business. She was 27 when she finally found a man to settle down with, she told him of her past and he took her for what she was. Eventually, she relocated to Canada where they had been staying for 3 years now and although life wasn’t perfect, for her, it was really good.

Despite everything, she had kept in touch with Joy and Lilian and had tried to convince them to change their ways especially after she heard what had transpired between Joy and her sisters but they wouldn’t listen to her. She had been relieved when they had gotten married and she had been at both their weddings. When she had her first child before relocating, Joy had come to see her and even visited her just last year when she had her second.

And now Joy was dead and she didn’t know if Joy had ever changed.

Oh God, she cried, please let her make heaven and let her killers be caught.





Former lover boy- Richard

He sat in his sitting room and kept staring at his phone with a mixture of fascination and disgust, the picture of Joy’s scarred face superimposing itself on the beautiful one he had known. His wife had gone out and the house was empty. He looked at the picture again and he didn’t know if he should feel relief or anger. A part of him had wanted her to disappear but he hadn’t meant for her to die. Oh God, please forgive me.

Thank God nobody suspected him because he would definitely be caught. He had no alibi for that time frame as he had indeed been with her just before her death but he had left her alive, nobody would believe him though, would they?

And it wouldn’t matter because his life and marriage would be destroyed. Yes, he had had an affair with Joy two years ago, a brief, hot, lustful affair and he had known it was wrong but Joy was beautiful and he had imagined what it would be like to take her to bed years before then. It had been wonderful but the affair burned out within 2 months and he got his senses back. He returned to his wife and she to her husband, neither partners any wiser.

So it came as a surprise when she called him a week ago to tell him that her husband had found out that their son wasn’t his but was a result of the affair she had with him over 2 years ago. He hadn’t known what to do, although he didn’t have a child with his own wife, he wanted his marriage to work and he could not afford to make an enemy of a man like Tunmise Haastrup.

Joy however was scared especially when her husband threatened to throw her out and had even resorted to blackmailing him that she would tell his wife the truth if he did not help her out. What was he supposed to do? In the end he had seen her yesterday around midnight so they could discuss over dinner secretly, a part of him wanted to see his son but on the other hand, he would lose his share of his father in law’s company if the truth came out. He loved his wife too; he wasn’t ready to jeopardize that.

Now, someone had killed her, most likely her husband since he threatened to do so, and he was now the only one who knew that Toluwani Haastrup was actually his biological son.




Her mother- Anwili Anuchebe

Anwili cut the call she had received on her cheap mobile phone and stared around her as she stood in her dilapidated living room. She took in her torn carpet, her old curtains, the worn out stools that stood in place of chairs and the door that couldn’t be locked anymore and started laughing.

She laughed and laughed until the tears came and when they came, they overwhelmed her. Joy was gone, Joy who was supposed to be her redemption was gone and now people would laugh at her. They would tell her how they had foreseen this future for and they would make jest of her like her cousins had just done.

Two of them, whom she hadn’t heard from called her earlier to tell her that Joy was dead. Her daughter, her life, her shame, her reproach and now the reason the world would mock her. Oh God, she thought to herself, why, why me. What had she done that was so bad that life refused to forgive her, what?

She had only been 12 when her father had died in the civil war in their town of Mgbidi in Imo state and they had lost a lot of their belongings and property. As the 3rd wife of her father’s 4 wives, her mother had not gotten much after her husband’s death. Her mother had been unfortunate in that despite several pregnancies and delivery, Anwili was her only child to survive out of infancy and it was to this daughter she pinned all of her hopes. After her father’s death, she and her mother had survived by selling ugu until an older man had taken an interest in them.

The man, Ikenna, had come at a much needed time in their lives offering food, shelter and comfort. Ikenna was already 50 at the time, a childless widower and a full 11 years older than a mother so everyone naturally assumed he wanted to marry her mother since he housed them. They were wrong. It was her he wanted.

Buoyed by her mother’s support, his wealth and his unending kindness, she agreed to the marriage. He was insistent that she be fully grown before he married her and she waited with bated breath for the wedding to take place. She married him when she turned 20 and enjoyed an enviable life of luxury and devotion from her wealthy husband and when she presented him with their daughter Adaora a year later, he was extremely pleased.

The problem though was their sex life. At 54, Ikenna was no longer at the peak of manhood and she couldn’t resist when his nephew Obinna came to stay with them. Obinna was a 24 year old beautiful brute who did not hesitate to take advantage of his uncle’s kindness by servicing his young wife as regularly as possible.

Despite her mother’s uninformed warnings about the changes she sensed in her daughter, she carried on the lustful affair until they were caught by Obinna’s father who had come to see his brother for something. A deeply honorable man, he refused to cover them and exposed them to the world to her mother’s shame.

Instead of apologizing, they decided to run away together. In retrospect, she had behaved like an abominably spoilt child but hindsight was usually better. They ran away to Aba where Obinna got work as an apprentice but the stress of having to fend for herself and the lack of luxury tired out the relationship, and in truth, they both quickly came to regret their actions, Obinna especially. They barely lasted a year together before they went their separate ways.

She moved to Port Harcourt and took up with another wealthy man for over a year, which ended when his wife found out and came to beat her out of the small apartment where she stayed. She later got a job at a restaurant where she met Joy’s father. A charming con-man and a dupe, she fell quickly in love with him although he was married abroad and only wanted a wife to have children for him in Nigeria.

She stayed with him for 3 years and had Joy for him when she 26. Usually he travelled home and came back for the holidays but the year Joy turned 2, he did not return. She went to meet his family but they refused to acknowledge her since she wasn’t married to him and he already had another wife and children from their village. This nearly broke her heart for she had had a special love for him and would have gladly stayed with him forever.

She was realistic however and did not let that disturb her overmuch and the following year, she married a man based in Asaba and had another daughter for him when she was 29, Jennifer. Although he wasn’t very rich, he took care of her and her daughters and did not make her work too hard. He died before he turned 40, she was just 31. The stress of taking care of 2 daughters alone was too much for her so she went back to her mother.

Naturally, her mother was angry and refused to have anything to do with her. Her husband, Ikenna had died but her mother was still living in his house and raising their daughter Adaora who was then 10 years old. After much pleading and intervention by family, her mother forgave her. She dropped Joy and Jennifer with her and ran off with another man the following year.

She returned to the village 10 years later with a new man although she did not go to see her mother who was sick at that time. While buying foodstuffs from the market, she saw a beautiful girl trailing after her and quickly got to know it was her daughter, Joy. Discussions between them revealed that her other two daughters were in Lagos. Adaora had gone there to school and immediately she settled, had invited her beloved 12 year old sister, Jennifer to stay with her living Joy to take care of their grandmother.

Joy had complained and moaned about the injustice and was bitter at being left behind, she insisted on following her mother from the village. Without giving it much thought and moved by sudden love for her beautiful child, Anwili asked Joy to pack her things and told her where they would meet, she was to tell her grandmother nothing. She did as she was bid and they left the village two days later for Enugu where her lover was based. She heard later that her mother had cursed her and Joy but wrote it off as the ranting of an old bitter woman who hadn’t done much with her life.

She returned to Asaba after she broke up with her lover. There she doted on her daughter and discovered her daughter’s predilection for men too. It gave them something in common and they usually shared notes. They rented a mini flat where they were neighbors with Torotti’s family. There, she had carried on a pleasurable affair with Torotti’s randy Yoruba father to the anger of his pious, church going wife.

They found it amusing that the woman would go to vigils with her children and she would sneak into their room to have fun with her husband. Joy’s unusual beauty quickly brought droves of men and they were able to survive on the rich clients that Joy had. Mama Torotti condemned her actions and bitterly opposed her when she found out about her affair with her husband. The poor woman had to hide her head in shame when her daughter Torotti ran away from home to live with Joy in the University. These days, they say mama Torotti is in Canada with her daughter, Papa Torotti having run away years ago. She, mother of Joy Haastrup, was still in the same mini flat almost 20 years later.

When Joy returned from youth service at 25, she told her she wanted to go and visit her friend Lilian, whose family had relocated to Lagos and insisted she would come back with goodies. She came back almost a year later with plenty of goodies and with news that she met her sisters and that her grandmother had died a year earlier and had been celebrated with a big burial.

She said she was living with her sister, Adaora who was married and living the life and wanted to go back to her house. Her mother extracted a promise that she would make Ada call her and see if she too could relocate to Lagos. That was the last time she heard from Joy.

When months passed with no news and she could not get in touch with her, she went to Lillian’s family house where she was given vague directions to their house in Lagos. It took her almost a year to raise the transport fare but when she hadn’t heard from her daughter, she went. There in Lagos, she couldn’t see her, everyone evaded her and she thought something bad had happened to her daughter.

She eventually located Adaora’s house but there she received a cold welcome and wasn’t even let into the big house. Ada refused to come out and told her maid to give a slip of paper with Joy’s address and 50,000 naira. She felt extremely small and useless that day but was grateful for the money. On getting to Joy’s house, a beautiful 2 bedroom, Joy denied her flatly and refused to acknowledge her. She returned to Asaba an extremely broken hearted woman.

She got back and started doing laundry, having lost her taste for men and prostitution. She washed everyday till her hands cracked, asking for forgiveness and praying that she would get a second chance with her daughters. Her cousin sent her magazine photos of Joy’s wedding that she wasn’t invited to a year later and that day she nearly committed suicide, she finally understood her mother’s pain and anger.

She never got that second chance with Joy and she didn’t know why. What had she really done wrong where Joy was concerned?

Sad

Joy was a handful! Nice story, keep it coming.

God, i cnt believe dat the perfect joy was lyk dis be4. sad.

Kimkardashain:
God, i cnt believe dat the perfect joy was lyk dis be4.
sad.

Like Mother Like Daughter

Na wa o...this kind of joy.

Kimkardashain:
God, i cnt believe dat the perfect joy was lyk dis be4.
sad.

Not surprised, I knew she wasn't innocent

Just seeing this. Op thnx for d mention.

The way you introduce a new character is really explanatory you don't bore us with much words please keep the updates coming..God bless you.

Her younger sister- Jennifer

Jennifer was surprised at the grief and guilt she felt at the news of her sister’s passing. She and Joy had never been close, hardly ever gotten along and at some point had virtually been enemies but she could not have wished death on someone else, least of all, her sister.

She had barely been two years old when their mother had dropped them with their grandmother and she couldn’t honestly say she still remembered what her mother looked like. From the beginning, maybe due to her age, she had clicked with her elder sister Adaora in a big way. Ada had loved to carry her, play with her, take care of her and wouldn’t hesitate to tell the story of how her life had brightened by Jennifer’s coming.

In retrospect, Joy had probably felt neglected because at 5, she was capable of doing so many things by herself already hence wasn’t considered a priority. Adaora was a priority after all her father had owned everything. Everyone had to go with whatever Adaora wanted especially their grandmother who did not want her late son-in-law’s family to have issues with the way Ada was being raised.

Ada’s love for Jennifer ensured that her needs came first while her fights with Joy made sure Joy was considered last. Those must have evoked feelings of worthlessness and resentment in Joy but she made things worse with her greed, vanity and self-centeredness and she also made sure she dealt with Jennifer who she thought had taken everything that should have belonged to her.

Adaora didn’t make her papers quickly when she finished secondary school at 17 and her aunt who was based in Lagos with her German husband had asked her to come. Reluctant to leave Jennifer, Ada had gone to Lagos for her A’ levels and subsequently gained admission to the University of Lagos where she studied chemistry. At 20, in her 3rd year and living in the apartment her aunt had secured for her outside the school, Ada had come back home to pick her up, leaving Joy to tend to their grandmother.

A few months later, they went back home when they heard that Joy had run away. On questioning their grandmother, she was very insistent that it was their mother who had taken Joy as neighbors and even street vendors had seen them together the day Joy disappeared. Mama had been in pain, she was angry with her daughter for constantly shaming her and with her granddaughter for leaving in such a cruel manner. She probably also felt rejected by people she reasoned she had made sacrifices for.

Growing up with their grandmother had not really been fun. Most of her love was given to Ada who she considered legal and she only had a little left over for Jennifer and Joy but Jennifer had Ada’s love to compensate, Joy did not. Mama was also forever prophesying that Joy would end up like their mother because she was just as remarkably beautiful as their mother had been. Jennifer was relieved to leave with Adaora and even at 12, she understood why Joy would have run away.

She had always been brilliant at school and her academic excellence made her sister’s aunt’s husband take interest in her education and when she was 17, they sent her abroad to school in Germany to Adaora’s immense gratitude. She graduated from Engineering at 22 and returned home to stay with her sister who was by that time married to a well- to- do man and pregnant with her second child.

She got a job quickly in an oil firm and shuttled from her sister’s house on the Island to her office. That was how she met Dennis, the handsome, suave young man who stole her heart and virginity. She considered herself very spiritual and followed the 10 commandments as best she could but loved Dennis so much she gave him everything. Her sister, who had always encouraged her sexual purity was a little disappointed about the Dennis affair but was encouraged when she saw how serious he was about her.

That was until Joy came. She had just opened a profile on the new Facebook site where she could chat with her old German schoolmates when by some stroke of luck, she saw a picture of Joy with her old male German schoolmate who was in Nigeria at the time. Confirming it was indeed her sister, she got her phone number and they chatted excitedly. She was shocked when she realized that her sister was having a sexual relationship with the German who was only visiting for a few weeks but didn’t have any grounds to judge her.

On getting home, she told Ada about locating Joy and they organized an outing where the three of them met over drinks. In honesty, they were shocked at Joy’s brazenness and seductiveness, blown away by her beauty and awed at the control she seemed to have over the men around. They nonetheless had a good time. Joy was at that time, staying with her friend Lilian and she filled them up on details of her life and their mother’s.

It was gradual but eventually Joy was living in Ada’s house with them. Ada did not really mind the imposition, there was enough space but she minded how Joy came across as grasping and self-centered. Joy was very jealous of Jennifer, her breeding, foreign education, job and her boyfriend and never failed to point out Jennifer’s k legs, something Jennifer was sensitive about.

Ada did not want to close Joy off, feeling guilty for leaving her behind years ago and grateful for the second chance but she didn’t like how Joy went out of her way to hurt Jennifer so she always tried to broker peace between them. She was also concerned about what Joy did for a living as she always seemed to have money but did not have a job. However, Joy made up for it by being a giver and she always got something for everyone at home including the household help and even Jennifer who had enough money to get things for herself.

By this time, Jennifer was planning her wedding to Dennis and was shocked when 2 months to the traditional wedding he called everything off. She was devastated and went to his family members to help her beg him to no avail. A few weeks later just before the date of the wedding would elapse; she went to his house to beg him again when she met her sister there cooking in his shirt and a tiny skirt. Her eyes seeing red, she had attacked her sister but only got herself thrown out by Dennis for all her efforts.

Ada was shocked and angry but Joy insisted that Dennis had only approached her after he broke up with Jennifer. Ada pleaded with Joy to break up with him but she refused and went to stay at his house with him. The whole thing hurt Jennifer so much; she refused to forgive her sister. A few months later when Joy and Dennis broke up, Joy returned to the house after Ada’s husband convinced his wife to take her sister back so as to prevent bad blood between her sisters.

Jennifer couldn’t take it and she left the house to stay with a friend, renting her own apartment a few weeks later. This action made Ada very sad and caused friction in the house between Ada and Joy. All the while, Jennifer refused to communicate with Joy even when they met in public. She stayed up several nights to cry, curse her sister and wish evil upon her.

Before the year’s end, Joy had left Ada’s house but Jennifer did not know why. She had explicitly told her sister that she did not want to hear anything about Joy so Ada had not told her what happened. She figured it was pretty serious as even Ada’s peacemaker husband was strongly in support of her leaving and even seemed to have triggered the process.

A year later, she met Dennis at the wedding of a mutual friend and he was full of apologies and regrets. He told her he had been deceived by her sister who brought proof that Jennifer was cheating and confessed they had been sleeping together months before he called it off their wedding. The sincerity of the apology appeased Joy for a while and she even toyed with the idea of getting back together with him.

Until she saw the pictures of Joys wedding in the magazines. The sheer beauty and splendor of it nearly brought her to her knees with grief. She knew then that she didn’t want Dennis again, he wouldn’t do. She was half out of her mind with envy and didn’t think Joy deserved that kind of wedding, husband, wealth or happiness after all she had done. She even visited an herbalist to cause harm to Joy but she quickly regretted it and never went back there.

Over the years, as relationship after relationship crashed -mostly because she went after men who would put Joy’s Tunmise Haastrup to shame- and Joy seemed to be living a perfect life, her anger and jealousy increased and nearly choked her. A year ago, through the help of a good friend, she began to get healed and she realized that her bitterness at her sister contributed to the downfall of her many relationships.

She finally forgave her sister and let her go in her heart and now, she was in a great relationship with said good friend, a good guy who wasn’t as rich as Tunmise Haastrup or as handsome or as stylish but one who was good and true to her, who put her first and loved her. It took her a while but finally at 32, she had found her own.

She and Ekene, her fiancée had already concluded plans for their traditional marriage which was holding in September and were intending to do their white wedding in December. As a gesture of forgiveness, she had intended to send Joy an invitation. Now, Joy was dead and she would never be able to tell her she had forgiven her.

She wept for the opportunity lost.


Her elder sister- Adaora

She was still in shock after almost 4 hours of hearing the news. Her husband was watching TV, seemingly indifferent to the news and her two children were now in boarding school. Hmm, she thought, so this is how life just gets extinguished from a person. She saw Joy in the news regularly, bubbling with life and happiness and it was strange to think that she might never see her again. She felt regret for the waste of human life, anger at the killer and yet, a disgusting sense of vindication.

As a child, she had been taught that the evil that men do lives after them and was a little gratified that they had been proven right again. Joy had done a lot of wrong to a lot of people so she wasn’t surprised at what had befallen her. Joy’s biggest problem, as far as Ada was concerned, was that she had no loyalties to anyone and she would take anything from anybody. At least she would try.

She remembered that terrible time when Joy had been caught with Dennis and the devastation Jennifer had felt, she had been so angry, she had had every intention of throwing Joy out when she came back if not for the intervention of her husband, Charles.

As an only child, she had often felt alone without any other playmates of her own except her grandmother. She had never doubted the love and devotion she had felt from everyone, her aunt, her father’s siblings and even her mother’s relatives and she had grown up supremely self-confident.

She often felt envy though when she visited her cousins and saw how they all related with themselves and it was brought home to her again how alone she was. It was hardly any surprise that she received Joy and Jennifer happily when they were dumped with grandma by their mother.
As children, Jennifer had been extremely open and easy to please, Joy was not. She was forever whining and complaining and Ada soon focused all her attentions on the younger, open and less complaining Jennifer. God, she had loved that child, for all intents and purposes, she had raised Jennifer and that was why her sister’s life and happiness mattered so much to her.

When they had met up with Joy again, she had been wary of letting Joy come close especially when she became suspicious of what she did for a living but she had also felt guilty for leaving her behind in the first place so she made a lot of allowances for joy. Too much allowances, it turned out.

After what Joy did to Jennifer and Dennis, she had accepted Joy back on her husband’s insistence. A few months later however, he had started insisting that Joy leave their house, she had instantly become suspicious as her husband was not a vengeful or vindictive person. The worry had not allowed her sleep properly and she had watched them both every time, even tracking her husband to work several times in the week and checking his phone regularly.

She had learned from the experience with Jennifer that Joy was capable of anything and she also wanted her out too but she needed to know why her husband was the one initiating it.She tried but she didn’t catch them doing anything wrong and finally decided on more extreme measures.

She lied to everyone that she was travelling and encouraged all the domestic help to take a few days leave, which they did. She took the children to Jennifer’s house and quietly returned home, parking her car outside and entering the compound.

She sneaked to the garage where she heard her husband shouting, she moved towards the entrance and saw her husband standing in front of his Lexus jeep, the bonnet opened,

“What did you do with my car?” He demanded angrily, she couldn’t see who it was he was talking to but she didn’t need to, she heard the tinkling laughter and knew who it was.

“I just removed the battery now, I knew you will want to run out so I took it out yesterday night when sister said she was travelling” Joy laughed

“Then I will take the Camry”, he said as he made to move to the other car.

“Relax oh, I have removed that battery too, don’t stress yourself” She saw Joy then, wearing a tank top, braless so her nipples were visible under the material with a bum short..

Ada looked at her husband’s face, he looked shocked for a moment “Joy, leave me alone please, I don’t want you, don’t you understand?”

Now Joy wasn’t smiling anymore, “I’m the one who rejects men, men don’t reject me”, Joy said angrily, walking towards him.

“You know what, I will take a bike and go”, he said, moving towards the entrance.

Joy ran, blocked his way and tried to take off her top. He grabbed her hands and put them behind her back. “Hahahahahaha!”, she laughed, “are you not touching me now, Mr Saint?”

“No, I am not. I love my wife and I will not jeopardize my marriage for a prostitute. I have warned you I will report you but you haven’t listened. You think I’m bluffing abi? The only reason I have not told her is because I don’t want to destroy your relationship but this is the last straw!”

“Then I will tell her you have been begging for it, you’ll see, she already suspects us, you know?” She said sneeringly.

“No, I won’t believe you”, Ada said finally revealing herself, tears streaming down her face. They released each other quickly and Charles walked towards her.

“Baby, let me explain, its not want you think”, He said beseechingly.

“I know”, laughing through her tears, “I know”, she said as she hugged her husband.

Joy left her house that day without apologizing and never returned. Ada hadn’t told Jennifer, at first to avoid giving her bad memories, later because it was pointless.

Her husband had proven his faithfulness and love and she regretted ever doubting him. After that time, their love had grown and it felt like she had been holding something back before. In the end, she was grateful Joy happened between them so she could have the knowledge she now had.

She was glad when Joy got married although she didn’t go and wasn’t invited anyway. She hoped marriage would change Joy and make her understand loyalty. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t, but that was between Joy and her God now. Life for her moved on.

Quietly, she went to the quiet kitchen and dialed Jennifer’s number, when she picked and was crying, Ada knew she had heard the news. They spoke for a while with Jennifer saying she was fine and she cut the call with the intention of going to Jennifer’s place. It was just like her softie sister to lose it over the death of someone she claimed she hated. Oh, well, big sister to the rescue.

When she got back from Jennifer’s place a few hours later, Charles opened the door for her, he could tell immediately that she was really sad. He opened his arms and hugged her, not asking any questions.

“Jennifer is so sad….” she said as they sat down, his arms still around her.

“Really?” he asked genuinely surprised, ”I thought she would be relieved”

“Me too”, she sighed. “I feel guilty for not feeling so bad”

“Don’t” he consoled her, “Joy did a lot of harm and she never said I am sorry”

“You know what I want to do?” She said brightening up, “I will look for our mother, Kene, my cousin told me how bad her condition was, I want to help her….”

“Is that a good idea?” he questioned doubtful “If you remember how Joy….”

“I know, I know, I’m not going to ask her to come here, I just want to help her so Jennifer and I will not spend the rest of our lives in regret. She doesn’t deserve it but I will do it because she’s still my mother and so I won’t feel this bad when she dies”

“Alright, I will be right here if you need me.”

“I know….” she replied as she rested her head against his chest, at peace with the decision she had made.

Awwwn

I won kill Joy like this. Oh She's already dead

Yeah, you may be right sha...

Eyinimofeoluwa:
her husband might have the intention of killing her bt sum1 else did maybe her sister

Kimkardashain:
God, i cnt believe dat the perfect joy was lyk dis be4.
sad.

That's d kind of world we live in #trust nobody