EPISODE 1
“Do you remember the promises
you made to me before we got
married?” Jenny asked not
taking her eyes off Michael.
Michael could not understand
her anymore. He was sure she
ought to be furious at him but
she was calm all through, which
scared the hell out of him,
praying within himself that she
had not lost her mind. “Michael
I am talking to you. Look at me,”
she said, making a failed
attempt to raise her voice due to
the pains resulting from the
swelling at the right corner of
her mouth. She adjusted her frail
body from resting on the wall
into a better sitting position on
the cold tiles obviously ready to
unburden her heart to him no
matter how difficult it would be.
She was fed up with bottling her
misery and pains since her
return from the hospital two
days ago. Michael wondered
how he suddenly became the
cause of her anguish. He could
not look her in the eyes knowing
fully that the pain in there would
consume him. “Well, since you
have forgotten so soon, I’ll help
jog your memory,” she
continued.
“This marriage will not pull
through and that’s final,”
exploded Deaconess Comfort
Obiora, Michael’s mother,
storming out of the dining hall
without batting an eyelid about
Jennifer’s feelings. She had
made it clear to Michael on
several occasions that he the
scion and sole heir of the Obiora
dynasty cannot marry a girl
whose family was way out of
their league. And to make
matters worse, Jennifer’s father
was just a trader that owned a
stationery shop. Mrs. Comfort
regarded her as a gold digger
and an opportunist after guys
from stinking rich families with
the sole aim of enriching her
family. In as much as she was
not the type to match make her
son with the daughter of a friend
or business partner, she was not
willing to accept a pauper as her
son’s wife.
Jennifer’s feet suddenly became
heavy as getting to her feet
became a herculean task. Her
eyes could not contain the tears
anymore as it flowed on its own
accord. Michael could not bear
to see the harbinger of his joy in
an emotional turmoil. He cupped
her face with his hands and
reassured her of the magnitude
of his love for her, making her
realize that his mother’s opinion
and threats had no bearing to
their future together.
“Michael, I can’t do this,” she
said as she suddenly pulled
away from him.
“What are talking about?” he
asked with a look of surprise.
He quickly foreshadowed her
response and shuddered at the
possibility of losing her.
“Michael I can’t marry into a
family where I am not welcome.
Can’t you see that if we proceed
with the marriage your mum will
never see me as a member of
the family? Mike, let’s just forget
about the wedding plans,”
Jennifer said with pain in her
eyes.
“Look into my eyes and tell me
that you’ve been lying to me all
this while that we have been
together. When did my mother’s
opinion suddenly become God’s
opinion? Saying I love you is an
understatement Jenny, I adore
you. I’ll treasure you today,
tomorrow and even when we
become stricken with age. I
promise to be your friend, lover,
companion and protector at all
times on the condition that you
promise to walk with me through
life by my side. My love, will you
still marry me?” he asked
searching her eyes for a
favourable answer.
Without uttering a word, Jennifer
nodded and slipped into his
loving arms.
Despite the overwhelming
resistance from Michael’s
mother, the wedding still took
place four months later amidst
cheers from friends and family
members. Being married to
Michael Obiora, the love of her
life was Jennifer’s dream come
true. He showered her with
unconditional love and affection
and was always there to shield
her from his mother’s torments.
As far as Michael was
concerned, Jenny’s love tank
would never run dry of genuine
love and care. However, several
months into the marriage,
Jennifer’s world began to fall
apart as she got to discover
another aspect of Michael’s life
that became her worst nightmare
– his fierce temper. At the onset,
she attributed it to work-related
issues and hoped that he would
change but not until he started
hitting her at the slightest
provocation, which eventually
resulted in a miscarriage.
The loss of her first pregnancy
took its toll on Jennifer. She
became apprehensive and
distant to her husband who
outdid himself in trying to get
her to forgive him. She equally
withdrew herself from her family
and friends, not even sparing
Sarima and Melody, her closest
friends, for fear of laying bare
her husband’s archilles’ heel.
She decided to mask her pain
and fears from them, all because
she knew that opening up to
them would make them lose the
respect they reposed in her
husband. Michael on his part
repented of his actions and
fought hard to win back
Jennifer’s love and trust. That
was more than a year ago, the
beginning of the battery.
“Michael, is this the love and
protection you promised me?”
she asked fighting back the tears
that threatened to rain down.
“Baby I’m truly sorry. Please
forgive me. Just give me another
chance. I… I… I promise to be a
better man,” he stuttered as he
pleaded on his knees in a broken
voice.
“Please spare me all that. Your
apology now sounds like a
broken record. What should I
forgive you for? For pounding me
whenever you couldn’t keep your
anger in check or for beating out
the precious seeds God blessed
us with? Three miscarriages in
two years Michael! Not one, not
two but three babies have gone
down the drain, all thanks to
you. You know what? I think you
deserve a medal for being an
outstanding infant murderer,” she
said and laughed him to scorn.
Michael was dumbstruck as
Jennifer laughed as though
entertained by a seasoned
comedian. The laughter
continued and gradually turned
into a heart wrenching cry. He
couldn’t take it anymore. He had
seen her in pains before but not
in this state. He took her in his
arms and began to smooch her,
wiping the tears that ran down
her cheeks while trying hard to
conceal his turmoil.
The office was spacious in every
sense of the word and furnished
with an exquisite taste befitting
of the pastor of a large flock.
The clergy’s office housed two
compartments – the normal
office section and the mini
conference area. At the far right
end of the wall stood the
bookshelf that contained a good
number of Christian literature
and other philosophical books.
A silver metal hanger fixed to
the wall just before the bookshelf
bore the pastor’s navy blue
jacket. The light blue curtain, off
white paint on the wall alongside
the white tiles further
accentuated the beauty of the
office. Michael knew he wouldn’t
be here if he had a choice but he
was sure his marriage was on
the verge of collapsing and he
needed to salvage it. Jennifer
had threatened to file for a
divorce if he refuses to book an
appointment with Pastor Damian
for counseling.
He was still explaining himself
to pastor Damian who was
listening with rapt attention while
Jennifer kept mum, staring into
space. She was all ears from the
beginning of the session but slid
into oblivion when Michael’s
utterances began to baffle her.
She was totally unaware that
Pastor Damian was trying to get
her attention until she was jolted
out of her wandering state by
Michael’s touch.
“Sister Jennifer, are you sure
you really want to do this?”
Pastor Damian inquired all
smiles.
“Yes sir,” Jennifer replied,
adjusting her seat, clearly ready
to be drilled.
“Do you still love Michael after
all you’ve both been through?”
he further probed.
“I still do with the whole of my
heart but I doubt he feels the
same way. I think you should
direct this same question at
him,” she stated matter-of-
factly.
Jennifer’s response shocked
Michael who stared at her
bewilderingly.
“I never thought it necessary
since he made mention of the
fact that he loves you dearly or
is there something you feel I
should know about?” he asked
looking from Jennifer to Michael
and back to Jennifer.
“Pastor, I heard him say it is
normal for couples to have
issues but left out the part of
him constantly venting his anger
on me with his fists,” Jennifer
said near tears.
The clergy couldn’t hide his
surprise and turned to Michael
for answers. “Michael is this
true?” Pastor Damian probed.
“Pastor how can I do that? I
mean I love my wife so much,”
Michael replied, placing his
hands on her thighs as a way of
pleading with her in order to
save his face.
“Love?” she asked contorting her
face as if the word tasted sour
on her tongue. She looked him in
the face and screamed, “Liar!
Pastor he is lying. He beats me
at the slightest provocation. In
fact, I’ve had three miscarriages
as a result of that. He has hurt
me physically, emotionally and
psychologically. I now live in
constant fear of him not knowing
what the next minute holds in
store for me,” she said amidst
sobs.
Pastor Damian was speechless
as he stared endlessly at
Michael who bowed his head. He
was at loss of what to say. He
had handled several cases
among couples from the pew but
nothing of this sort before. He
was aware that domestic
violence was a serious problem
that rocked some Christian
homes and was not to be treated
with kid gloves. He looked at
Jennifer with pity and silently
asked God for wisdom in
handling their case. Having
exhausted his options, he
decided to try something out of
the ordinary.
“Sister Jennifer, please pull
yourself together. I honestly
think we should reschedule this
meeting because we are not
making headway. I would not
want to apportion blames on
anyone just yet. I need both of
you to go home and have a
rethink about this whole thing.
This counseling cannot yield
positive results if you employ
deceit and place a barricade
around your ego,” he stated
looking in Michael’s direction.
With that he stood to his feet, an
indication that the meeting was
over.
TBC
