Indomitable Heart

CHAPTER ELEVEN — VISITING THE PAST

"I can't comprehend what you just said, Mum. What's that supposed to mean?" Wilson demanded, needing verification.

"I made myself clear and understandable. I can't marry that girl." Mrs. Geoffrey stood her ground firmly.

"Can you explain to yourself, Mum? You can't just come and ruin everything I've worked so hard to put in place. What's going on?" he inquired, his voice troublesome and pitiful.

"I won't tell you everything now. Come over so we can sit down and discuss it face to face." She commanded and cut the call.

Seeing Wilson's face, Olive noticed everything wasn't alright.

"Why do you look terrified after speaking with your mum? What's the problem?" she inquired, shifting closer to the couch.

"I don't know what's happening. She just called and instructed me to stop all marriage preparations and cancel the wedding," Wilson explained.

Olive was short of words. She kept calm and started reminiscing about her whole life—all the sacrifices she made to reach her current height.

Will everything just go down and drain out like this? The thought occupied her mind, sweeping out all life inside her.

"Olive, are you okay? Olive!" Wilson yelled to regain her consciousness.

"Yes." She answered with force, her mind returning from its picnic outing.

"What's wrong? I called you several times, but you didn't answer."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was absent-minded for some minutes. So what's the whistle-blower behind this incident?" she asked.

"She said she couldn't discuss it over the phone—demanding I come to the house," Wilson reported.

"That means you should get going right now." She spoke out, standing up and helping Wilson rise.

"I'll tell you everything in detail when I come back. Please take good care of yourself." He gave her a peck on the cheek before moving out.

Immediately he arrived at his father's house, he rushed to the living room. He sat with his parents and they started the conversation.

"Why are you saying I should cancel the wedding? You know that's not possible," Wilson kept complaining.

"Calm down so you can hear and understand me." His mother requested.

"Alright, I'm all ears," Wilson stated after a deep breath.

"After you introduced us to your wife-to-be, I personally went to Florida and asked around. I wanted information about her family—and at last, I got very important information." She spoke out, pausing for minutes.

"Mum, please be fast. I don't have all the time in the world. What's the information and what does it have to do with my wedding?" Wilson asked Mrs. Geoffrey.

"Good question." She complimented and continued:

"I found out that a lady was conceived through p**********n. Her mother was a s*x worker in her teens—that's how she got pregnant. You know our family's reputation, and I'll never allow something like this to jeopardize it."

Wilson's heart stopped beating for seconds. His hemoglobin went on strike; his nerves went into deep sleep.

"Are you sure about what you just said?" he asked, somewhat amazed.

"I got it from a very reliable source. Besides, the world is a global village—check it out yourself." She voiced out.

After some moments of thinking, Wilson said:

"Even if that's true, it doesn't concern me and my marriage to her. I must marry her, whether you like it or not."

"You're not serious, little boy. You can't destroy the reputation your father and I struggled so much to build—just because of a girl from nowhere. I won't allow that." She maintained her stance and agility.

"Thank God you mentioned my name. I told you to leave this boy alone. That's not enough reason to oppose his marriage. The girl didn't commit murder—neither did her parents. Just give them your blessings and let them be." Mr. Geoffrey, who'd been opposing his wife, yelled and continued:

"My son, if the girl is good for you, I have no excuse to cancel the marriage. You have all my blessings."

"Thank you so much, Dad," Wilson said, immediately standing to leave. He told his mother:

"You better like her because she's already my wife."

Before he could open his car, Mrs. Geoffrey shouted:

"I'll never accept her as my daughter-in-law—unless you want me to disown you."

As Wilson drove from the compound, he could still hear his mother's yelling—but he didn't let it bother him.

When he got home, Olive was blinded and entangled by curiosity and anxiety. She moved to and fro across the entire compound, biting her fingers, carrying her heart in her hand like someone whose wife is in labor. Immediately she heard the car's honk, she ran to Wilson, asking numerous questions:

"What did she say? How did I offend her?" and so on. But he rebuked her, telling her to let him go inside first.

As soon as he settled down, he told her everything that had transpired—and the cause. Olive became cold hearing it all. She didn't know who to blame or the cause of her misfortune in life.

"Don't worry, babe. I'll marry you no matter how big the obstacle is," Wilson assured her.

"Why aren't you blaming me for not telling you before now? Why aren't you asking me questions?" She inquired, frustrated.

"Look at me, babe," he commanded, maintaining eye contact.

"It's not your fault. No one has the right or power to choose their parents or how they'll be conceived. Maybe you didn't want to talk about such a heartbreaking story. I totally understand, my love. So don't panic. Alright?" Wilson empathized.

"My mum's parents gave birth to ten children and died early in a car accident, leaving Mum and her siblings with nothing. Their uncles collected what little their parents had and left them empty-handed. As the first child, my mum entered p**********n to earn a living—that was her only option to care for her siblings. That led to her pregnancy, and she stopped work. After she gave birth to me, Mr. Jackson saw her and married her. They started a new family. He took me as his own daughter, and I recognized him as my father," Olive narrated.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." He sympathized—she looked like a lost puppy.

"Don't worry. The day after tomorrow is our wedding, and nothing on earth can change that. I have all the money it takes to implement it without her permission," Wilson declared.

But he became submerged in sorrow and agony when a sentence entered his ears:

"Don't bother yourself—for I'm no longer interested."