TOLULOPE.

PART 2: DESPERATION AND DILEMMA.

Tolulope, Abayomi's sister, watched the drama unfold with a heavy heart. She confided in her friend Rachael, "I wish I could swap mothers with you. Mine is so controlling and cruel."

In a bid to relieve her friend from the stress, Rachael revealed that Tolulope's long-lost love, Jimmy, had returned. She convinced Tolu to hook up with Jimmy and that he specifically came to ask her out on a date, but she was absent on his visit. Rachael stated that Jimmy said he had a lot to share with Tolu, and it would give him great joy to finally see her.

They reunited, and Jimmy shared how Tolu's mom, Shade, had threatened him to stay away from Tolulope because he was not good enough for her daughter.

Tolulope's heart ached, remembering the pain her mother had caused her. She vowed to stand up to her mother once and for all.

Tolulope confronted her mother,

"Why did you ruin my happiness? Why did you threaten Jimmy and ask him to end our relationship?"

Shade responded, "You're insulting me because of that no-good boy?"

The argument escalated, with Mr. Balogun intervening, "Shade, stop this evil character! I'm sick of all this nagging, controlling, and cursing." You just want to play God in all of our lives. You pick our food, clothes, friends, and TV programmes to watch, you only let us use the words you like, you even picked the schools and courses our children studied, you even tried to pick a wife for our son. Let them be.They are grown adults!

But before he could finish speaking, Shade cuts in, raining all sorts of insults on her husband. He was about to respond in anger, but it was too late. Shade's words had already struck their mark. Mr. Balogun collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where he died after advising and praying with his family.

Shade blamed Tolulope for her husband's death, declaring, "You'll pay for this, Tolulope! You'll marry Jide as a remission for the wrong you have done to me for making me a widow before my time, and that's final!"

Tolulope reluctantly married Jide as she could no longer bear her mother's cruelty. She never loved or knew Jide in person, so she found it hard to adjust to her new life as a married woman.

It's been 6 years since Tolu married her husband Jide, and all she has known is pain and terror, as her marriage was troubled from the start. Jide was abusive and neglectful, leaving Tolulope to care for their daughter, Ireti, alone.

Tolulope tried to reach out to her mother for help, but she was refused. "You're a married woman now, Tolulope. Stay with your husband and send me money instead."

Life was miserable for Tolulope once she got married. Jide made life unbearable for her and Ireti, who had to stop school because her father refused to care for her.

Tolulope was forced to quit her job and become a full-time housewife because Jide was jealous that other men would say she was beautiful. He stopped her from communicating with her friends and the outside world and regularly beat her and Ireti, leaving them with bruises.

Tolulope was poor and unable to provide for herself and her daughter. This made her fall into depression, regretting her decision to give in to her mother's cruel request . She wanted to leave, but she realized she had nowhere else to go but decided she would endure for the sake of her daughter Ireti, whom she wanted to grow up with father in her life.

One day, Jide came home drunk, and Tolulope confronted him. He sent her out of their matrimonial room, and as she continued to press on the issue, he beat her up again until she weakly passed out. He left her in that condition and stayed out of the house for many days.

Jide finally returned home. He came in with his new wife. Tolulope tried to talk to him, but he slapped her and started beating her. She struggled out of his grip and tried to protect herself, but he was too strong. In a last-ditch effort to defend herself, she grabbed a knife and stabbed Jide in the neck. He died instantly.

Tolulope was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging. As she sat in her cell, awaiting her fate, she realized that her mother's cruelty had led her down this path. She pitied herself, thinking about her life and how her mother had destroyed her. She thought of her daughter, Ireti, and how she would be left alone in this world with no one to protect her.

She hated her mother, Shade, and wished her worse pain forever. As she sat there, she knew that her story would serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of control and manipulation.