THE NEW BEGINNING
358 Words
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Chapter Two: A New Beginning
The city smelled different — of car fumes and roasted corn and something Ada had never known before: possibility.
She told herself this was her second chance. Her new husband, Mr. Patrick, was a businessman, charming and confident. He spoke softly, promised her comfort, and called her Queen.
For the first time in years, Ada didn’t have to worry about rent or hunger.
Her children went to school in clean uniforms. There was meat in the pot and laughter in the evenings.
When neighbors saw them together, they said,
> “Ada, you’re lucky. God has wiped away your tears.”
She smiled.
But sometimes, late at night, when she heard her older children whisper in the dark, she wondered if they missed their father. She silenced the thought — love, she told herself, shouldn’t look backward.
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Months passed. Patrick became moody.
He didn’t like when Ada visited her two children who stayed with Emeka.
He said, “They’re not my concern,” and she stopped arguing.
To keep the peace, Ada agreed to whatever he wanted.
She wanted to believe she had chosen right this time.
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Then came the silence.
It began with small changes — her daughters stopped laughing as much. They became quiet at dinner, avoided eye contact.
When Ada asked what was wrong, they said, “Nothing, Mama.”
But Ada felt it — a heaviness that crept through the house like smoke.
Sometimes she woke up at night to muffled sobs.
Sometimes her girls avoided Patrick’s presence.
Her heart told her something was wrong, but her mind refused to believe it.
> “I’ve finally built a home,” she told herself.
“I can’t lose it again.”
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As months turned into years, Ada wore her silence like a shield.
She prayed harder, smiled at church, and pretended her family was perfect.
But perfection, like lies, never lasts forever.
One evening, as the harm she ignored grew into a storm, her world would break again — and this time, no prayer could stop the truth from coming out.
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End of Chapter two
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