chapter four.

May frowned at the beautiful, melanin-dripping figure donning a plain short red gown indicating danger standing in her doorway.

She was about to speak when her daughter shouted, "Aunty Bella!"

The girl ran towards her, hugging her, but the woman did not hug her back. Her gaze was on May.

"We meet again." Bella winked, trying to get on May's nerve. She didn't seem to know she had already been on her nerves from the second she stepped into the apartment.

May looked around for her daughter who had already left for her room. Seeing that Maryam was out of earshot, May spoke, her jaw tightened. "Why are you here, Bella?"

Bella made a poor attempt at staring at May with innocent puppy dog eyes, fluttering her artificial eyelashes. She sarcastically said, "Ain't you going to welcome me first? Oh! I forgot you're my special fan." She smirked, adding, "Well if you must know I am here with my boyfriend who happens to be your husband." She emphasized her words, shamelessly stressing "boyfriend" to add more weight.

May's heart broke, but she tried to hide it. She didn't want Bella to see that her words affected her.

"You're not welcome here," May informed the intruder coolly.

Bella's lips parted to speak, but Edric's voice cut her off. "You're wrong, May. She is very welcome."

Edric appeared beside Bella, pulling her two suitcases inside. May gave Edric a look. Her eyes looked back at Bella in time to see a victorious smile plastered on her face.

"But she can't stay here. We have only two bedrooms and I won't permit her ass to sleep next to my daughter. So?" May folded her arms against her chest.

Edric walked past her, dragging the suitcase along with him.

"She will sleep with me in my room. Just make yourself comfortable in the parlor."

Her mouth dropped open. What had gotten into Edric's head? She knew the answer. Bella.

When she was sure Edric had left the room, she grabbed Bella's hand. May snarled through gritted teeth. "Where do you think you are going, harlot?"

"Let me go," Bella cried out as May's fingers dug into her skin. She tried to free herself but May's hold was firm despite her skinny appearance.

"You're hurting me! Let me go."

Now it was May's turn to feign innocence. She touched her chest with her free hand. "Oh! Aren't I your biggest fan?"

Bella feared that her arm would bleed soon. It looked like May wasn't going to free her.

An unexpected blow landed on May's face. She stumbled, almost falling to the ground.

She touched her lip to see a small drop of blood on her finger. Her lip had split from Edric's punch.

Her eyes watered when she saw Edric placing kisses on Bella's sore hand. May swallowed hard. He stopped touching her after she gave birth to Maryam, and now he was kissing another woman in front of her.

May knew Edric, with the way he was acting towards her lately, she knew he had mistresses at his office. She never once thought that he would bring one home though. Even if he wanted to bring someone to the house, she didn't think he'd bring Bella.

He knew how much she hated her. There was something off about Bella she couldn't place.

There were few occasions where Edric had raised his hand to hit her, but he'd never gone through with it.

Well, until now. Now he raised his fist in defense of another woman. It was quite unbelievable. All these years she'd lived with him just for him to treat her like this.

May turned her back to them, staring at her shadowy reflection on the box television in front of her. She fought the tears.

She wouldn't cry in front of them. She wouldn't.

"Listen, woman, this is my house!" Edric started. "I will do whatever I want in it and you have no say. I say Bella stays, so Bella stays."

With that, May heard the sound of the bedroom door slam shut.

She shakily sat down, letting the tears that she'd been holding back fall. Throughout the night, she couldn't sleep with the thought of her husband having sex with another woman on their bed.

.....

May woke up with heavy eyes and a throbbing headache. She sluggishly walked to the kitchen, dragging her feet on the floor.

She splashed water on her face, washing away the line of saliva that had dried across her face. When the water touched her face the second time, she felt quite relieved. She had been sobbing throughout the night with a heavy heart. It wasn't an easy thing to listen to her husband's mistress moan while they made love. Something he hadn't been doing with May.

She wondered what she might have done to deserve this neglect. Was it because she was ugly and was no longer as robust as she used to be?

No matter what his reasons were, May didn't think they were good enough for Edric to treat her like that. After all, he was the cause of her fall. She made a mental note to call her mother-in-law later in the day.

As she was deep in thought, Maryam's head bobbed in through the kitchen door. "Good morning, mum."

May looked up at her. "Oh Morning, my girl."

Maryam hugged her mother, burying her face in May's clothes for a while before she pulled her away. Maryam, through her admirable observation, noticed her mother's state. "Mommy, are you crying?"

May swiftly wiped a tear with her finger before it could slip. "No. It's just the water I used to wash my face."

If Maryam didn't believe her mother's lie, she didn't push further about it. She was sure that her mother had been crying because of her puffy red eyes.

"Look who is up." They both turned to the owner of the voice. Bella was standing there, leaning against the kitchen door. She was still clad in her night wear, a red button-down top only long enough to reach her butt. Since it wasn't buttoned, one could see her nipples through the white singlet she wore. May noticed  with a certain dissatisfaction that Bella's revealing garments brought out her naturally flattering curves.

When it came to Bella's body, May knew she was no match, especially not in her present condition.

Bella smirked and slipped her hands into the sleeve pocket. "How was your night, Maryam?"

Little Maryam could feel the tension building up between her mother and the other woman and answered coolly. "It was fine. What about yours, Aunty Bella?"

A smile danced on Bella's face as she sashayed into the kitchen. "Well, mine was fine, baby girl." She took a bottle of water from the fridge and poured some into a Stainless Steel cup. She turned to May. "Very fine," she rubbed the line of the cup on her lip for a while, winking at May before taking a sip.

When May said nothing, she dropped the cup on the cupboard and walked out, adding, "But I'm sure you can't say the same."

The mother and daughter's gaze locked for a while after she left. Maryam's eyes were questioning because she knew that whatever Aunty Bella was doing made her mother sad, and her mother was not happy about it.

She decided to break the silence. "Mama, are you okay?"

"Yes," May forced herself to say. She turned quickly, grabbing Maryam's small, green toothbrush and her purple toothbrush from its container. She took the toothpaste and handed everything to Maryam while clutching her toothbrush.

"Let's go brush our teeth."

Maryam happily agreed. It didn't hurt her chances of getting to school early. They stepped outside through the backyard door and did what they were there for.

....

May dressed Maryam in her school uniform. A white t-shirt with purple stripes on it and a purple skirt with white stockings.

"You better concentrate in class while your teacher talks," May advised, buckling Maryam's black sandals. "You will become a bright woman in the future that way. You know what they say, education is the key to success."

Maryam gave a curt nod. "Yes."

May decided to tell her a little story. "You know, your mommy didn't get to finish school and she regrets it."

"Why?"

"Because she knew she wouldn't become the woman she had always dreamt to be."

"Why didn't you finish school?"

"Because by the time I was in senior secondary class two, I was pregnant with you."

Maryam hugged her mother. "But don't be sad. You will graduate one day."

May smiled, but it didn't last as a figure walked into Maryam's room, adjusting his black tie.

Edric flung some crumpled, dirty naira notes on the bed. "For Maryam's snacks. And after you take her to school, drop by the market and get some food for yourself. My Bella won't be cooking anything for your lazy self."

With that, he walked out, ignoring the presence of his puzzled daughter. May's heart burned and she tried to steady her breathing.