I returned to the hospital all tears and sucked into my gloom. My head heaved upon me and I felt withdrawn from this world. What was that? Can somebody remind me what just happened at the Fanny’s mansion?Am I dreaming or what? God forbid that I marry a mad man. How could they be so cruel and heartless? They knew I was in dire need of the money. They perceived the money meant the whole world to me right now and the only way they could rip me off it was to give me the condition of marrying their mad son.Who does that? Can you imagine! I can’t picture myself settling down for a mad man all in the name of marrying a billionaire’s son. I was often niggled by its impossibility whenever I thought of it.Mother’s health was plunging me into all this. I didn’t want my mother to die. Neither did I have money for burial. I was naïve and rudderless at the moment. I would be twenty two in few days and the last factor on my mind was marriage.What would become of me now?“You could still scuttle
“How would you feel if the son of a billionaire whose sanity is not impaired is given to you in marriage because his family sees you are in need of money and marrying their mad son is the only price to pay?” I almost chafed at Nurse Stella.At the time, I had taken my time to know most of the names of staff at the hospital.And it was the same Nurse Stella that took me to the Fanny’s villa some days ago to see if the billionaire could be of help. She was the only one I could complain to. I wanted to seek her opinion.All my life I have grown to be jaunty but this time I was losing it. What was going on in my life at the time was more than being trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea.“I would feel bad and even go crimson. Why would they do that to you?” she intoned, gritted her teeth and let a sullen look on her face.“The billionaire feels I can’t pay back half a million dollars so the only way I could do that was by signing to a contract marriage agreement with his mad son,
Nurse Stella and I stood staring at the Fanny’s villa while I was still all tears, with heavy sob which shook my entire body. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt sadness cloud my features.I felt like a kid that was about to be sold for slavery. I was daunted, naive, stolen and abandoned to an impending fate. I gazed upon my scruffy self and swallowed hard at the thought of the decision I was about to make.Nurse Stella grabbed me into her embrace, only wishing she could really be of help to me at the time. Had it been she could afford the half a million dollars, I believed she would have given it to me without a tinge of rejection.Although I saw no sense in the advice yet there was an awakening that accompanied it. Yes. My thought was opened into an unfathomable recognition of the fact that once my mother ‘kicked the bucket,’ I would never set my eyes on her again.She was all I had at the time, my essence, my now and future. She may not know the sacrifice I was about getting to becaus
“Who do we have here?” Fanny, who was the first person to catch sight of me, said. His face lit with uncertainty, and he gave a lopsided grin.Instantly every eye came upon me and I lowered my gaze and pressed my lips tightly in exaggerated shame. I paused at the door post, shivering and fondling with the torn hem of my dress. Certainly my intention was stated and I wondered with which face I would used to behold this wealthy family to remind them I was eager to sign to the contract marriage now.The entire Fanny’s and their laborers were having a delightsome dinner at the time, so everywhere smelled of roasted prawn, almond and strawberry. Heavy chuckling and clattering hung over them too.The hotness that churned in my stomach wasn’t inspired by hunger but by thought of what awaited me. All my life I had lived with sane people; people that reasoned properly and behaved with absolute rationality. I never associated with the rich having such short coming.What was I getting myself int
I sat elegantly yet shyly as I was superbly decorated more than the former. This time diamond bracelets piled my neck and wrist. On my feet was a pair of Italian stiletto and my wedding gown was shapely made from the Royal Home of England. The tailor-made wedding gown caught my shape so invitingly that my curves and hour-glass shot out at the right edges and corners.“Wow this is so much for a wedding gown that would worn by the mad man’s wife,” one of the maidens gossiped with another by the corner as they gaped at the POS slip for the purchase of the wedding gown.“How much is it worth?” another asked cheerfully.“Eightmillion dollars!” the maiden replied, and cast an inspective gaze at me, probably expecting my reactions.My eyes almost burnt with tears at the thought of my attribute hence forth; mad man’s wife. That was what I was brooding about inwardly not even the worth of my wedding gown. I wondered how I was going to deal with the reserved emotional trauma this marriage was g
I halted my step and could hear voices whispering from ear to ear over the reason for my tears. Fanny Luis’s jaw dropped upon seeing my teary face and I doubted if it was for me or for his reputation.The voices were as the chirping of innumerable bees; they were murmuring about my fallen countenance. I just wish I could chin up and be matured before these gusts.“Why is she all tears?” a voice among the guest queried.“Isn’t she happy?” another replied coldly.“Oh it could be tears of joy,” another suggested.“Who wouldn’t be emotional? She is fortunate to marry the billionaire’s mad son,” that was another voice which sounded even more offensive than all the voices.The guests whispered among themselves, while the waited for the next line of action.I stood in my gloom, locked and pressed my hands in front, with my gaze lowered, at least with the intent to hide my sullen teary face from any careful onlooker.All of a sudden a lush silence hung over the entire building as piles of cha
“Why are you fidgety? Don’t you know you are married couples now, and soon you two would share same bed and roof?” Salsa snapped to me once I dared to withdraw to the wall as Brian advanced forward to sign on the agreement papers.Salsa’s words etched off every memory of what an ideal husband should look like and installed in me the belief that every husband was supposed to be insane; that I had no right to protest in this marriage.The two hefty men dragged him to come forth and he shuffled his legs, unwilling to make a move and throwing his face side ways to bite them since they seemed to be stronger than him. He was chuckling idly now and struggled violently with the two hefty men; to an extent the hefty men didn’t want to get much violent with him since this could result to hurting him.“Brian! Brian! You had better respect yourself and come forth to sign the papers. You are not going to keep us waiting. This is a time we have been anticipating as a family. You can’t ruin this mom
I wished the buzzing and merriment would continue forever, so that I could find reason not to return to my mad husband. For over an hour now I had stilled my sight upon a large mahogany door which I perceived was the entrance to our chamber. I sniffed and got swallowed into the heavy expression on my face.Shortly after we were legally joined together, Fanny approached me with the one million dollar credit card. I sobbed and dared to perk up as he spoke to me.“This is your gift for agreeing to marry my mad son,” he said and touched his face as though he was yet to forget the saliva Brian plastered on his face. “Once again, congratulations, Melissa Brant and welcome to the Fanny’s,” his voice brooded excitement even when his face said otherwise.I forced a smile yet I could barely keep the smile longer than normal. He handed me the credit card, grinned and joined the guests.“Congratulations, Melissa,” that was Opula’s voice right behind me.When I swirled around behold there she was
Now there was whirring tension in their midst. Opula flared up, feeling like to flake out within herself. At the time my husband was announced as heir, I couldn’t describe the crimson looks that wired across the face of Opula. But I could best describe it as thunderous; the image you get on the soil when birds scavenge it for food.“Father, tell me you are joking,” Opula snapped, her jaw sagged and voice shook with tension as she surged close to Fanny. “How are you going to disgrace the entire Fanny’s group by presenting your mad son as your heir? Do you realize it is a summit involving billionaires from all walks of life?”Fanny shook his head in affirmation, “Yes, I know, Opula. I know Brian is mad but it should occur to you that from day one I have been presenting him as my successor and not you…”Kate interrupted, “Yes father, because he had his sanity, but right now he is mad. He has lost his sanity, father, don’t you get it? How can a mad man become the successor of the entire F
I was in my chambers the other night when I overheard a whispering at my window, and when I cast my stare it was Salsa. I knew she was out for gossip and having discovered the rear entrance to my chambers, she often frequented my chamber these days unlike before, when one must pass through Brian’s chamber to get to mine.“You know it is the annual financial record meeting for the Fanny’s and soon Fanny Luis will invite all of you,” she mumbled and forced a smile.I raised a brow, “What has it got to do with me? I am not part of the Fanny’s.” I walked to the side of the jug, “Coffee?” I asked, and once I got a nod from her, I poured for two, and handed her a cup.“Melissa, it is high time you started seeing yourself as part of this family. Hope you know you are supposed to go by the name Melissa Fanny and not Brant. But at the hospital you still used Brant,” Salsa sounded.I paused, winked in guilt and snorted, “perhaps it never occurred to me.”“Heh, I can see it in your eyes. Obsessi
Among all the faces that gathered in the dining room for dinner, it was only Fanny’s chiseled face that has the best noticeable shades of excitement.Earlier at the hospital I overheard Salsa giving out orders to the maids and chef over the phone and reminding them of the delicacy to prepare for the warm welcome back dinner.And afterward she had whispered to me, “It is going to be the best and the warmest welcome back dinner for the both of you.”Brain was back from the hospital and it was Fanny’s ritual to have dinner with his son after so long a time. Especially now he survived a kidney disease.Salsa served the best of intercontinental dishes from her magical fingers.Everyone was well seated except the annoying duo Opula and Kate, who had vowed not to share the table with my husband after Opula’s incident.As everyone ate and chatted happily, I struggled to feed Brian who was busy playing with the food, pouring the stew on his head and spitting into his dish of cereal. I could s
Never in my life had I contemplated to go under the knife, even when my mother had similar kidney failure, we were lucky to get a free kidney donor, yet regardless I was so eager to donate a kidney to my mother the same I felt for Brian now. I could feel a ravaging obsession growing in me; it was more than I thought; perhaps I was being more cautious than obsessed.To an extent I had seen fate playing and dominating this marriage. Why hadn’t I seen him all this while? Why did I see him on my way to Ohio? Why did I yell at the train operator to grant me exit when he wouldn’t; even after they warned me the mountain was the natural dwelling for deadly beasts and I could be lynched. I was yet to understand the mystery behind those decision and action I took.“Doctor, I hope my husband is much okay now,” I said from my hospital bed, under the drip bag, watching as the other bag with blood let some infusion in my veins. I had a grin face because the incision they made across my belly still
I had been skeptical since I got to the hospital. All I wanted was Brian returning to the villa to continue his madness; I abandoned myself to thinking about his flaws and how important even his shouting and violence were to me now. My mother had been a victim of kidney failure and I won’t forget how I often battled with thoughts of losing her in those stormy moments.When Opula, Kate and their husbands came out of the doctor’s office, looking blank and drawn, I thought they weren’t eligible to donate him a kidney. Nevertheless, on the contrary, I could say it to their faces that they were eligible but denied Brian their kidney.“Please let me be eligible,” I mumbled within myself.This was my duty; it was part of the contract marriage agreement; to always be helpful to him in health and in sickness except death.But right now with the way my heart skipped for him, I could give up my breath for him to live.“Hmmm!” Doctor Emma hummed once he glanced through the kidney diagnosis paper
“Medical diagnosis according to the medical ethics had always been a thing of privacy and whenever organ donation was to be considered the parties involved are handled privately and not to be bought over with money or by pleading traceable to emotional blackmail,” that was the voice of Doctor Emma which ended up installing fear in me than I had thought about.Just then I lowered my gaze to stare at the sizeable picture of Brian which had been in my hold from the moment I stepped into the limo to drive down to the hospital. Gently I sniffed at good memories and it was as though I had lost him; as though I was just seeing the last of him. at such thought my heart had skipped and I began to administer life into him. And Firmly I rebuked thought of losing Brian; such thought had panged at me more often these days.Doctor Emma went on to tell us although we were family and wanted the wellbeing of Brian, any donor found eligible would only agree to donate his or her kidney based on willful
The entire Fanny’s gathered at the dining when I peeped out through the window. All the while I had been in my chamber, wailing silently as I beheld the large frame picture of Brian. Upon gazing on that picture I began to relive moments with him; his shrill shouting; his unrest and constant violence on the his life and those around; his countless escape to the street; and finally the striking moment he stood at the summit of a mountain, stared down from it and about to fall over.I shook my head, “Why kidney failure now. How did it happen?” I queried within myself and returned my gaze on the picture, wondering what could have led to it; since they had been sneaking weapons into his chambers, they could have as well poison his kidney. My thought was just running and daring to proffer solution to my ailing husband.When I came out and wanted to take a seat Opula barked at me.“No!” she shot her dark, gloomy eyes at me I flinched and questioned her with my stares, I wanted to speak but
“It gets me batty to wonder how Brian got hold of cleaver knife. I perceive you don’t know what cleaver knife is. That piece is a damn weapon; I mean one of the most dangerous tools for butchers. Who gave that shit to him? How did he get hold of such devilish weapon?” Doctor Emma queried, stared at the both of us and narrowed his gaze in an inspective manner.Fanny gave a questionable stare at me, expecting some satisfactory, implicating reply that would put an end to everything or open a new page of war.I lowered my gaze, fondled with my fingers, processing within me; all that Salsa told me about Kate and Frank being the people sneaking weapons into our chamber. I was yet to verify her assertion and although I had lost trust in Salsa yet I found unverified truth in what she revealed; I wish I had evidence. I wish I could call names with evidence. The Fanny’s were powerful people I wouldn’t want to toil with at the moment.“What do you have to say Melissa?” Fanny’s husky voice came a
Ever since I became Brian’s contracted wife, I hadn’t seen him chant and pummel against the walls and door in such manner. I was yet to believe he was the same person that was sick the other day. Had it been I gave him the green tea the other night I would have accused Salsa of drugging the tea. But it was far from it; my husband’s ranting had doubled and although I was excited that it was evidence of quick recovery yet I couldn’t stand the mind-seizing rant that sounded from him.At dawn, Brian woke up with a strange kind of violence that stirred everyone to panic and peep from their chambers; wondering if it was another Brian or the one that was sick.I was yet in my state of confusion when I got a call from Fanny asking me what was happening. Fanny feared that Brian was out to either pull down the entire mansion or to cause havoc because the vibration if the walls and the door whenever he pummeled on them. I was only peeping from my chamber and strategizing effectively.I told Fann