Chapter3
1050 Words
Friendnemy
One day, while leaving school, Terry met Chima, a fellow Nigerian who had been abroad longer. Chima was smooth talking, well dressed, and carried the kind of confidence that only money could buy.
“Brother, how long have you been here? Chima asked Terry. “About a year now,” Terry replied to Chima. “Give me your contact, we need to link up and have fun.” That was how they became friends and brothers in a strange land.
“I have not been opportuned to have good jobs around, brother show me the way,” Terry complained to Chima on a Friday night at the club.
Chima smiled. “My guy, wake up. There are faster ways. Nobody respects a poor man, and you cannot live a luxurious life with pennies.”
Terry tried to ignore him, but the seed was planted. Faster ways, quicker money. He thought about the life he had planned for himself. He wanted to live large.
And so, when Chima offered him a side hustle, doing dirty jobs for quick cash, he hesitated only briefly before agreeing.
Mama Terry move
The moment Terry traveled abroad, his mum made her move. She brought the child into her home, without a DNA test, renamed her, and immediately paraded her as her granddaughter.
Jennifer watched from afar. “Dear, I thought we agreed you would run a DNA test before making any move. And you never mentioned you were going to bring her from her mum.”
“My mum insisted on bringing her immediately, and she said she looks so much like me,” Terry replied.
“So you dared to ask Terry to reject his child, is it because you do not have any child in your womb?" Terry’s mum said to Jennifer over the phone.
Terry had told her that Jennifer was not so happy that the child was brought in without a DNA test.
Jennifer stayed silent, though she tried to show love to the girl. But deep inside, she feared one thing. What is her assurance with Terry? This was also a reminder that she would never be enough for Terry in the eyes of his mother. No matter how deeply she loved him.
The Waiting Period
Initially, it was going on well, and Terry started earning money. He got expensive things for himself. But his attitude started changing. He no longer had time to talk to Jennifer.
“Dear, it's been three days since we last spoke. I keep on calling, yet no response from you. Hope you are OK? Jennifer said to Terry. He replied to her, saying he was busy.
Silence turned into abandonment.
Years passed, her heart longed for a family of her own, for stability, for love that was real. Each morning, she woke up hoping for a call, a text, or an email from Terry. But nothing came. People mocked her.
“Maybe he has forgotten me, or found someone else there,” she said to herself.
“Jennifer,” her friend Judy whispered, “You can't keep breaking yourself for a man that doesn't care about you. You are worth more than this pain. You need to move on.”
The Call
It was the beginning of another year, Jennifer was home relaxing, and she got a call.
“Jennifer.” It's me, Terry
“You still remember me?” she replied.
“Please, don't speak like that. I know I have wronged you. I have been drowning. My life here is miserable, Jennifer. I have made mistakes. Please forgive me.
She wanted to hang up, wanted to shout. But she still loved him very much.
“You abandoned me, Terry. Do you know how many times I cried? How many times have I prayed? You broke me.”
“I am sorry,” he said. “I can't undo my wrong, but I need you. Please.”
“If you want forgiveness, come home. I can't keep living on empty promises. I am tired of waiting.
The Secret Return
Terry agreed to come if that would be the price to pay to be forgiven. Three weeks later, he was back home.
At the airport, she ran into his arms. The world disappeared, and there was no pain. She cried tears of joy.
Terry had come secretly. No word to his family, no explanation to anyone else. “Why in secret?” Jennifer asked Terry that evening. “If your mum finds out you came without seeing them, she will be so angry. At least go see them, even if it's for a day or two.”
He looked away. “My mother. She won't understand, she still thinks she knows what's best for me. If she finds out I came back for you, she will fight us both. I don't have the strength for that battle now.”
The Court Wedding
The lawyer suggested they get married so she could travel to meet him with ease under his visa.
They both thought about it for a while, but the thought of securing their future made them push through.
The courthouse was plain. No drums, just a registrar, and their signatures linked on a piece of paper.
Judy stood as Jennifer's witness; she was worried, but she had to support her friend. “You deserve joy, Jennifer. I hope this gives it to you.”
Jennifer smiled, though worried. She had dreamed of a wedding where her family would dance. Instead, she wore a simple gown and simple makeup. Just a hurried vow between two broken hearts.
“I take you, Jennifer, as my wife,” Terry said softly, his voice carrying both guilt and longing.
“I take you, Terry, as my husband,” she replied.
When the registrar pronounced them husband and wife, Jennifer exhaled. She was no longer the waiting lover. She was his wife. It felt like victory.
They later went for a light refreshment and went back to their hotel to relax.
Plans for Terry to return began, and also to start Jennifer's visa process immediately.
Meanwhile, back in the country he came from, his name has been flagged due to all the shady deals he has been doing.
- Writer
