A Night In March

The Weight Of Regret

Saturday was shaping up to be one of the worst days Cynthia had endured in a long time. Her father hadn't gone to work, which meant he had spent the entire morning at home, dragging his foul mood from one room to another. It was impossible to escape him.

By noon, she'd had enough. She hurried downstairs, slid open the drawer where Andrew kept the spare car keys, grabbed one, and slipped out before anyone could stop her. She was eighteen—old enough to drive, though she had yet to earn a driver's licence. If her father found out she'd taken his car, there would be consequences.

At that moment, she couldn't have cared less, she climbed behind the wheel and drove without any destination in mind, she simply wanted to get away. Several minutes later, a thought crossed her mind. Without hesitating, she slowed the car, made a U-turn, and headed back toward the street where she'd run into Jack a few days earlier.

The idea was ridiculous, she barely knew him, their first meeting had ended with an argument, yet the thought of seeing him again filled her with an excitement she couldn't explain. She parked by the roadside and stepped out, glancing around. For a moment, she wondered what she expected to happen, then voices erupted somewhere behind her.

She turned, her breath caught.

Jack.

He staggered across the pavement, supported more by momentum than balance. His shirt hung loosely over one shoulder, and even from where she stood, she could tell he'd had far too much to drink. The excitement inside her faded almost instantly. So this was the person she'd been thinking about? She felt foolish.

Jack frowned as his eyes landed on her. For a second, he looked as though he were trying to place her face. Then he walked straight past.

He doesn't even remember me.

Heat rushed to Cynthia's cheeks.She reached for the car door, eager to disappear before embarrassing herself any further.

"Hey!" She froze.

"I know you." She turned slowly.

Jack pointed at her, swaying where he stood before stumbling a few steps closer.

"You're the girl who ran into me." A grin spread across his face. "That rude girl."

His friends burst into laughter.

"What are you doing here?" he slurred. Cynthia couldn't bring herself to answer, mortification burned through her. She yanked the car door open, the edge caught j******f balance, sending him stumbling backward onto the pavement. Gasps and angry shouts erupted from his friends. She didn't wait to see if he was hurt, she slammed the door, started the engine, and sped away.

Only when she was several streets away did she finally let out a groan.

"What was I thinking?" She struck the steering wheel once, then again. "What on earth was I thinking?" She squeezed her eyes shut for a brief second before letting out a frustrated laugh at herself.

"I am such an idiot."

As soon as Cynthia pulled into the driveway, she threw the car into park and hurried inside, slamming the front door behind her.

"Cynthia!" Andrew looked up from the sitting room, startled by the commotion. She didn't stop, she hurried past him without so much as a glance and disappeared upstairs.

Andrew frowned "What is wrong with her now?" he asked, turning to Anna.

Anna simply shrugged "I don't know, sir."

Without another word, Andrew headed upstairs.

"Cynthia!" He pushed open her bedroom door without waiting for a response.

She stood with her back to him, shoulders trembling ever so slightly.

"First, you take my car without permission," he said sharply. "Then you come back and slam doors all over my house. What exactly is wrong with you?"

"Dad..." Her voice was quiet. "I didn't steal your car. It's outside, isn't it?" She didn't turn around. "So please..." She sobbed, "Just leave me alone."

Andrew's expression hardened "Taking something that doesn't belong to you without permission is called stealing." He folded his arms. "And if you think you're going to speak to me like that and walk away without consequences, you're mistaken."

Cynthia drew in a shaky breath "Dad..." she whispered. "Have you ever had one of those days when you just wanted everyone to leave you alone?" Her voice cracked.

"Please... Not now.... I just want to be alone."

The words dissolved into sobs. She pressed both hands over her face, but the tears came anyway. Andrew fell silent. He had seen one of his daughters cry like this before. For a moment... He wasn't looking at Cynthia anymore.

"Abigail..." The name escaped him before he realized it.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Dad..." she cried. "Please leave."

"It's all your fault..."

The memory shattered.

Andrew blinked, Cynthia stood exactly where she had been, her shoulders shaking as she fought to catch her breath.

"Dad..." This time, her voice was barely audible "Please."

Andrew stood frozen, for a heartbeat, he looked as though he wanted to say something, anything. An apology, a question, a comfort he no longer knew how to offer. Instead, he simply watched his daughter cry.

"Dad..." Cynthia's voice was small now, exhausted.

"Please." She never turned around.

Andrew lowered his eyes, his lips parted, then closed again. Without a word, he turned and walked out. The door clicked shut behind him. Cynthia remained where she was, her hands covering her face as the quiet sobs finally gave way to uncontrollable tears.

Outside the room, Andrew rested his hand against the closed door. He stood there for a long moment, then he slowly let his hand fall to his side and walked away.

The rainy season had settled stubbornly over Jos.

For weeks, dark clouds had swallowed the sky, allowing the sun only brief moments to break through before another curtain of rain swept across the city. It was one of those grey mornings that tempted people to stay indoors, yet the streets bustled as though the weather had surrendered to everyday life.

Several months had passed. For Cynthia, very little had changed, life had settled into a dull routine. Meanwhile, miles away, Andrew sat behind the polished mahogany desk in his office, his attention fixed on a stack of reports. A knock interrupted his concentration.

"Sir?" He didn't look up.

"What is it?" His secretary stepped inside, clutching a file against her chest.

"Sir... we have a serious problem."

"It can wait."

"I'm afraid it can't." Something in her voice finally drew his attention.

Andrew looked up. "What happened?"

Ruth crossed the room and carefully placed the file before him. "We've been duped, sir."

He frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"We've been scammed." Silence.

Andrew opened the file, his eyes raced across the pages, the colour slowly drained from his face.

"...Again?"

"Yes, sir."

He closed the file with controlled precision. "Explain."

"The company invested in a new business venture two months ago. Shortly after receiving the funds, the company disappeared. There has been no response to our calls or emails. No registered office. No trace of the directors."

Andrew leaned back slowly. "How did this happen?" His voice remained calm. "Didn't anyone verify the company's credentials before we invested?"

Ruth hesitated. "Sir... you instructed us not to." His eyes lifted to hers.

"You said the recommendation came from someone you trusted." The silence that followed was suffocating.

Andrew's jaw tightened.

"So... This is my fault?"

"No, sir. I only meant—"

His fist slammed onto the desk. "So this is my fault!"

Ruth lowered her eyes, neither of them needed to answer. Andrew turned away and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Rain streaked the glass.

Not again!

Without another word, he dismissed Ruth with a wave of his hand.

"You may go."

"Yes, sir." She left quietly, closing the door behind her.

The office fell silent.

Andrew stood motionless for several seconds before reaching into his pocket for his phone.

He dialled a number from memory.vThe call connected almost immediately.

"It was you." His voice was low. "You did this again."

A quiet chuckle answered him. "Of course I did.Who else would go to so much trouble just to watch you fall?"

Andrew's grip tightened around the phone.

"What more do you want from me? Your son killed my daughter.What else could you possibly want?"

"My son?" The man laughed softly. "That's rich." A pause followed.

"I want exactly what I've always wanted, Andrew. I want to watch you lose everything."

His voice remained calm, almost amused.

"And don't lie to yourself. You know perfectly well your daughter's death wasn't my son's fault."

Andrew shut his eyes.

"I gave you my—" A knock interrupted him.

"Excuse me, sir." Ruth's voice came through the door.

"Mr. John from the board is here to see you." Andrew exhaled slowly, of all people...

"Tell him I'll be there."

"Yes, sir."

He lifted the phone back to his ear.

"This isn't over."

"I'm counting on it."

The line went dead.

Andrew lowered the phone without moving.

Outside his office, the rain continued to fall.

Back at Andrew's house, Cynthia hurried inside and found Anna dusting one of the flower vases in the living room.

"Is my dad back yet, Anna?"

Anna looked up and smiled. "No, Cynthia. That shouldn't be surprising, should it?"

"Well, these days he's been coming home earlier." Cynthia grinned.

"That only happened once," Anna teased with a chuckle. "I think your cold attitude scared him into it. What do you think?"

Cynthia laughed. "I don't think you're wrong. If he'd stayed any longer, he would've frozen by now."

Anna burst into laughter and nodded in agreement.

Still smiling, Cynthia turned toward the staircase. "Well, okay. I'll be in my room."

"Alright, dear," Anna replied warmly before returning to her dusting.

*******A month later*******

"It's sad your dad couldn't make it to your graduation," Nanna said as they walked across the school grounds. "What's keeping him so busy?"

Cynthia shrugged, though a flicker of disappointment crossed her face.

"I don't mind. I'm used to him missing the important moments in my life." She forced a smile. "Anyway, I'm going shopping tomorrow. Would you come with me?"

"Of course! But if we stand here any longer, we'll miss our photo shoot."

Cynthia's face brightened.

"Oh yes! Let's hurry!"

---

Back at Andrew's office, the atmosphere was tense.

A month had passed since the devastating scam, yet the company was still struggling to recover. Andrew sat across from the two investigating officers handling the case, while his finance officer, Mr. Chow, stood beside them with a file in his hand.

"Have you been able to locate the criminals?" Andrew asked.

One of the officers shook his head.

"No, sir. They covered their tracks exceptionally well. They left behind no useful evidence or trace, but we're doing everything we can to find them."

Mr. Chow let out a weary sigh. He was a short, bald Chinese-Nigerian man whose father had come to Nigeria years ago on business before returning to China, leaving his mother behind. He handed a file to Andrew.

"Sir, our financial position is deteriorating rapidly," he said. "Two of our major business partners have already withdrawn. The board members are becoming increasingly concerned."

Andrew skimmed through the report, his expression hardening.

"So we're going bankrupt."

Mr. Chow hesitated before answering. "It certainly looks difficult, sir... but I still believe we can recover."

Andrew looked up sharply "Recover? Two of our biggest business partners have walked away, and you just admitted our situation is critical. How exactly do you expect things to get better?"

"Sometimes, sir," Mr. Chow replied quietly, "all we have left is hope... and God. We can only keep working and believe things will improve."

"Hope," Andrew scoffed.

"Yes, sir." The room fell silent for a moment, Andrew turned back to the investigators.

"I want every available resource focused on this case. Do whatever it takes to catch those criminals. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," they answered in unison.

Andrew dismissed them with a wave. As soon as Mr. Chow and the officers left, he buried himself in the files on his desk. A gentle knock came from the door.

"Come in." Ruth stepped inside.

"Sir, this is just a reminder that today is your daughter's graduation." Andrew sighed without looking up.

"Yes. She told me." His voice was flat. "But I have far more important matters to deal with. I gave her enough money to throw a wonderful celebration. I've done my part. Besides, Anna is with her."

Ruth hesitated "With all due respect, sir... don't you think she'd rather have your presence than your money? You've already missed so many important moments in her life."

Andrew's eyes snapped up "So what are you now?" he barked. "My adviser?"

Ruth lowered her head immediately "I'm sorry, sir. I'll return to my desk."

"Fine," Andrew said coldly, waving her away.

Without another word, Ruth quietly left the office, gently closing the door behind her.