Chapter One Hundred and Forty Two Travis_ Samantha stormed into my room. It wasn't a new thing for her to do so I wasn't moved when she entered. Even when she wasn't angry at me she always stormed into my room unannounced. “It's been a while since you sent me my monthly allowance.” She stood in front of my bed like someone whose fire was burning on the inside of her. I couldn't believe the words I heard from her and I knew that those words meant I was about to have a long morning filled with arguments and complaints, which I wasn't ready for. “What do you mean by I haven't been sending you your morning allowances? Do you just wake up every day and strategically think of how to make life more difficult for me or what is all this about?” She looked at me and hissed. “You heard me right. I have not been having money like I used to because your lazy ass has refused to go to work and fetch quality money for this family. I don't know why I ever thought something good could come out
Chapter One Hundred and Forty Three Travis_ “Why would you say something that terrible in the presence of Norah?” I yelled at Samantha. She looked at me and said, “Oh you think you think she is not going to know how useless of a man you are. You're not a good example Travis. You will never be!” She hissed and walked away from us. Norah cried as her mother left. My heart was sore to see her cry and was even more sore because I didn't know what she must be thinking about me. “Do not mind your mother. Don't take anything she says seriously. She just made them up. I don't know why she's always paranoid.” I wiped her tears again, “You don't have to cry. I've told you several times. Do not cry. You're now a big girl.” “But Dad, why does Mum say all these things about you? Why does she always say you're a cheat? Is this true in any way?” I paused for a moment and said, “No, it's not true. Adulthood is a very complicated period, you can not understand. You don't have to worry about
Chapter One Hundred and Forty Four Annabelle_ I got up very early in the morning because I felt like cooking Johnson's food by myself. It had been a while since I did that Andi knew he was going to be excited when he realized that I prepared his meal. I walked down the stairs and met Nana in the kitchen already. It was just five o clock and I wasn't surprised to see her there already. “Nana,” I called out to her in a happy tone but she seemed to have been frightened. “Oh my! You scared me.” She held onto her chest and looked like she had swollen up. I laughed. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just surprised to see you here by this time.” I knew what she probably had in mind to do but I decided to ask her so she could tell me herself. “So what are you doing in the kitchen by this time?” There was nothing on fire but I could see her arranging food materials on the table in preparation to cook a meal. “I want to make a beautiful meal for Johnson.” She responded wi
Chapter One Hundred and Forty Five Annabelle_ “Johnson, pray for us,” Brooklyn said with a smile, as we sat at the dining table to eat breakfast. I looked at him with a proud look and nodded my head as he looked at me. “Dear God, bless this food and bless the hands that cooked it.” His prayer was short yet it was such a perfect one. “Amen!” Brook and I responded. “Good one.” Brook commended him while I stood up and served the meal. I opened the big bowl and the aroma of the food was all over the house again. “Damn! I'm so hungry.” Brook said as she held her spoon in her hands and stretched to look into the bowl I was dishing the meal from. “This was cooked by Nana. It is such a very nice meal.” I said to both of them. “I love it when Nana makes my food. Even when I go to school, I always get complimented that my food tastes so good.” Johnson said with a joyful voice. “Mum, why doesn't Nana join us at the dining table whenever we are eating?” I didn't know why but even aft
Chapter One Hundred and Forty SixAnnabelle_I rested for a while before Brooklyn and I began to prepare ourselves for where I wanted us to go. “Where are we even going to?” Brooklyn kept asking me. “Why do you keep asking me ahead? It's not a big deal, I just want you to accompany me to where I would meet with someone because I don't want to go alone. I don't trust the person. I don't even know where exactly the place is for now but I made sure to let the person know that if it's not an open place and during the day, I would not be present.”Brook paused with the makeup she was wearing and asked, “Annabelle, I hope this is not something dangerous that you've gotten yourself into. What does the person want to do for you or what business do you have with the person?” “The person wants to give me evidence about what Henry had been up to but I'm not sure if I want to know because I think I rather I do not know about anything bad that he can do.” I honestly did not want to go to see th
Chapter One Hundred and Forty Seven Annabelle_ I yelled at Brooklyn while we drove into the restaurant. She apologized after that but her reactions were calmer than she was when we left the house earlier. I could feel it because she said very few words to every question I asked and insisted she wasn't going to order her strawberry croissant anymore. Left to me, I wasn't going to beg her but I couldn't just sit around and watch how she gazed at the snacks she got like she was forced to get them. “Brooklyn, are you acting this way because of the way I spoke to you earlier?” I put the snack I was eating back on the table and asked her. “No.” Her response was brief. “So what is the matter? You know I can't deal with the way you're behaving. I really can't. I wasn't saying you shouldn't have driven like that but it was during the day and you know the amount of trouble I get into because I drive like that. It's as though the police always watch out for my car to drive like that.” I sa
Chapter One Hundred and Forty Eight Annabelle _ “Dad, What's with the invitation card I'm just seeing?” I called my Dad after Brooklyn and I got home I didn't want to call him on the road because I was upset and I didn't want to say anything I had not thoroughly processed. “I had been expecting you to visit me all these days. Why are you just calling me now? Weren't you the one that agreed with Henry for the wedding date?” I was pacing around the room before I heard what my dad said. On hearing that, I paused and said, “Oh I see. So you were not the one who picked a date right?” “I mean, Henry came to me and said you both had made up your mind but you were not sure which date to pick so he gave me dates and asked me to choose which I think was suitable. I don't know why you seem to be surprised about the invitation letter.” I realized the plan was fully Henry's and to a good extent, I was happy about that because I could now fight and refuse it. I knew my dad would not agre
Chapter One Hundred and Forty Nine Annabelle _ It was past four o'clock in the afternoon when Nana knocked on my room door and said, “Can I come in?” “Sure, you can.” I recognized her voice and answered her. I was working on my laptop on my bed. Brooklyn was beside me but she was engrossed in her phone. “Is anything the matter?” I asked Nana because she looked very worried as she walked into my room. She always wore a soft grin even when she wasn't in the best of mood so I was alarmed by her facial expression. “It's Johnson.” The moment I heard that, I sat up straight. I didn't know that Brooklyn wasn't as engrossed as I thought she was on her phone because the moment she heard what Nana had said she jumped up and said, “What happened to him?” “He is yet to be back from school. I've called the school management and they said he was no longer in school and that he was picked up by a black car.” Brooklyn and I looked at ourselves and echoed together, “What black car?” I calmed