PROMISED BY MY FATHER, LOVED BY ANOTHER

The first time Richard Mofe swore his daughter would never marry a poor man, he had no idea that one day the same man would be standing between him and death. ADA Years later, whenever I think about the night everything changed, I don’t remember the rain first, nor did I remember the lightning that sent light from our window to illuminate my father's stoic face. But one thing I remember vividly is my father's voice. "You'll marry him over my dead body." The words cracked through the dining room with enough force to silence the storm outside. Rain lashed against the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Mofe’ ranch, while lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating crystal chandeliers and polished oak floors that had seen decades of family dinners, holiday celebrations, and business deals. Tonight, the room held none of those things, but only anger. I sat motionless at the far end of the twelve-seat dining table, my fingers curled around a linen napkin I did not realize I was crushing. The food on my plate had long since gone cold, though I couldn't have swallowed a bite if I tried. It was my birthday but guess what? I lost my appetite for the cake that had always been the best part of my Birthdays. Across from me, my mother stared at the untouched meal before her, saying nothing. She rarely spoke whenever her husband was angry. My Dad stood at the head of the table, broad shoulders squared beneath a tailored charcoal sweater, one palm pressed flat against the polished wood as though he needed something solid to keep himself anchored. "A carpenter?" he demanded, each word clipped with disbelief. "Out of every man in this state, Ada, you expect me to welcome a carpenter, a common carpenter! into this family?" I lifted my eyes, allowing the tears to flow and in a tiny voice I whispered, "His name is Ethan." "I don't care what his name is” Baba thundered "He deserves at least that much." I said almost immediately while wondering where I got the strength to speak back "What he deserves," he snapped, "is to stay far away from my daughter." Silence settled over the room. The big clock in the corner ticked steadily, measuring the seconds neither of them was willing to surrender. MR RICHARD I had built Mofe Enterprises from nothing. At nineteen, I slept in the back of an aging pickup because I couldn't afford an apartment. I poured concrete during the day, studied business at night, and spent years clawing my way out of poverty, one impossible decision at a time.Every scar on my hands had bought Ada a life I never had; A private school education, College without debt, a home where the pantry is always full, a future that should never include wondering whether the bills could be paid. Money had never been about luxury. It was protection, Security, and Freedom from Fear. And now my only daughter wanted to throw all of it away. “I love Him” My chest tightened, what did she just say? I stared at the one person who had dared said a word ADA "I love him." I hadn't meant to say it aloud. The confession slipped into the room almost as quietly as the rain. Baba stared at me. His eyes were cold. For a moment, something softer flickered across his face; Disappointment, followed by Fear. Then it was gone, replaced with anger "No." he thundered "I do, I'm in love Baba” "You don't know what love is." He said flatly My throat tightened. "I know what it feels like to be respected." The sentence landed harder than I had intended. Baba's jaw flexed and in a very swift movement he was across the table, walking towards me like a predator stalking its prey, and somehow with shaky legs and hands I unconsciously stood and moved back until my back hit the wall. It felt like I was looking at the “Almighty Mr. Richard Mofe”, the ruthless business tycoon that everyone fears, and not my Baba. My stomach churned and I immediately fought the urge to pee. I was stuck in between holding myself from peeing my pants and controlling my legs that were shaking on reflex. "And are you suggesting you aren't respected here?" He Queried “Richard you are scaring her” My Mother spoke for the first time, shocking everyone, especially myself. All I have ever wanted in situations like this is for my mother to speak up for me, or even for herself. I was expecting more from where that came from but silence followed, it was as if she never spoke. “I asked you a question,” Mr. Richard thundered, again. "I'm saying..." I drew a careful breath. "You've already decided who I should marry before you've even met the man, I'm sorry Baba, I did not mean to be disrespectful" "I know enough about who I want you to marry and my decision concerning this is final" "No, Dad." My voice trembled, but I refused to lower it. "You know what he earns." I met his gaze without blinking. "But you don't know who he is or what he looks like, You don't even know if he is an imbecile or deranged, You just know that he is the son of your billionaire business partner ." For the first time that evening, he looked away, crossed to the windows, and watched rain streaked the glass. When he spoke again, his voice had lost some of its heat. "You think I care about money? I care about what poverty does to people." He didn't turn around but he stared into space. "It steals choices, It steals marriages, it makes you little, it takes away your control, it leaves you at the mercy of others, all fingers are not equal but poverty makes you the little finger, it makes you live only in your imagination” Then I saw it, not anger but memory and it dawned on me that my father is scared, he doesn't want history of his past to repeat itself with his daughter, the reason he works hard. A wound that had never completely healed. I was moved to stand, and was tempted to walk over to him and give him a tight hug, to make him see that we are two different entities. But he spoke again. "You'll marry Daniel Brooks." My heart stopped. "No." Baba spun to face me. His restraint finally broke. His fist struck the table with a crack that sent silverware jumping against china. In a flash, I saw someone running. I only realized it was me when my mother held me in a tight embrace. "I didn't spend thirty years building this family's future so you could gamble it away! I made the right choice for you and for this family. You are a Mofe, and you will act it. I raised you to be smart, to use your brain in situations like this and it your heart, if I'm leaving my Empire to you then you must do as I say, my word is Law Ada and you don't want to break it” He faced his wife, “ You will speak to Your daughter.” He picked his phone about to exit when I called out to him. I wanted him to see me, not his daughter, not his asset but just me… “Baba” He stopped Stepping out of my mother's arms, I was shaking but not because I was afraid of him, but because I loved him. Because the man standing in front of me was the same father who had taught me how to ride horses at sunrise, who had bandaged scraped knees, who still left the porch light on whenever I came home late. And somehow… He couldn't see me "Please, Baba ." I said in a tiny voice pouting and hoping that my Father would see his little angel, praying inwardly that he would see that his little Princess was hurting. "You'll thank me one day." He said as he walked out of the room A tear escaped my eyes and I wiped it immediately . “I'm sorry Baby, but your Dad means well for you” “No, Mom, No!” “Do you want to go against your father?” She asked I turned to look at my mother, hoping that she too will see that her baby is hurting, and I know she saw me, because she couldn't look up to meet my gaze, it was almost as if she couldn't do anything but deep down, I know she can do something “Mommy, it hurts like hell. I have done everything that you and Baba required of me, studied the course you both chose and lived the way you both had wanted, this is one thing that I want to do for myself, by myself mommy, why can't you both respect my decision” I let the tears flow, held my mother with my shaking hands, hoping she will feel that my insides were burning, hoping that she could hear the sound of my heart as it broke “You will understand why we are doing this one day” she said quietly Of all the words in the whole wide world, that was not what I expected, so I picked up my coat. "I'll spend the rest of my life wishing I hadn't listened." Without another word, I dashed out. ******************* The front door slammed behind her, swallowed almost immediately by thunder. Across the street, old Margaret Carter paused while carrying groceries from her truck. She watched Ada hurry through the rain, climb into her car, and sat there for a moment clutching on her chest. It felt like her chest wanted to rip apart and she struggled to breathe. ADA I sat in the car for a moment without starting the engine. My hands were trembling on the steering wheel. I tried to breathe, but every breath felt like it was breaking inside me, and no matter how deeply I breathed, it never felt like enough Ethan’s name lingered on my tongue like a prayer I was too afraid to say out loud. My fingers moved to my phone… and stopped. What would I even say to him? “No, noooo, noooooooooo” Ada screamed She paused and looked up like she remembered something, or someone. “Dear God, I may not be the perfect worshiper, but please I love Ethan and I want to be with him, can you make that happen? Can you please soften my father's heart? she said a silent prayer, and drove away with tears she couldn't possibly see from that distance. Margaret sighed. By sunrise, Jabi would know Richard Mofe had declared war on the town carpenter. And in Jabi... Secrets rarely stayed secret for long.