Belina 2 – Last Batch

Belina

Season 2

EPISODE 44

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**********
It is the naming ceremony
day. Saying that I am the
happiest woman alive is
definitely not an
understatement.Our extra-
large compound seemed to
have become a market
place because everywhere
was filled with people.
Everyone in Nigeria seemed
to have their eyes fixed on
Richbel’s Estate as
journalists came enmass to
capture the event.
The large and beautifully
crafted events centre in the
estate is the venue for the
naming. The crafts and art
works were inspected by
everyone that came. The
flowers gave the
environment a sweet smell
and those who were not
flower freaks started
developing interest in them.
My native attire dazzled and
accentuated my body as I
went from one place to
another greeting people. It
is certain that I would not
be able to greet half of the
guests but I still went about
welcoming people. My mum
was taking care of the baby
and Richærd has been held
down by a group of friends.
I saw some of those friends
coming with Richærd and I
smiled. Richærd and I had
the same costume on and
my heart swelled with pride
as I gazed at my handsome
husband. They took me
before I could even protest
and placed me beside
Richærd, with their cameras
in hand. I laughed as we
both tried to find a
wonderful position and
style. I ended up standing
right in front of Richærd. He
had his hands on my wa-ist
and my hands were placed
on his, my back resting on
his broad chest. Everyone
around joined the friends,
bringing their phones and
Ipads out and clicking
away. We laughed and
smiled as flashes of
cameras continued to
beam.
“How are you feeling today
after close to three years of
no issue” I heard a
journalist say, standing
right in front of me.
I smiled at the camera as all
the journalists gathered
round to capture my
speech.

“I feel ecstatic. I am
so grateful to God for a day
like this. I feel I am the
happiest person alive.
Nothing compares to the
joy of being a mother. To
my loving husband who
stood by me throughout
the waiting period, you are
the best husband ever. I
owe it all to God. Speaking
of children, I have to get
back to my angel. Chao” I
turned back and hurried
in,side.
The ceremony was very
interesting and wonderful.
It ended after about two
hours. Our pastor was the
one that did the naming. My
son was giving three
names: Roland, Samuel and
Promise. We were asked to
dance after the ceremony
and we danced and danced.
People came around and
danced with us.
Immediately after the
dance, someone stood in
front of Richærd and i.
Richærd’s mum was
glowing in her native attire
and her beauty was evident.
How could she not give
birth to someone as
handsome as Richærd? I
wondered. Even at fifty, she
easily turns heads. I looked
at Richærd, reminding him
of his promise with my
eyes. He smiled. The
reconciliation is long
overdue. He went forward
and hugged his mum
tightly. Cheers filled the air,
as cameras clicked. Tears
flowed from the eyes of
Loretta, as well as Richærd.
They helped wipe the eyes
of each other and held on
to each other again. Tears
threatened to go down and
it flowed down unhindered
as I looked at them. She
took little Roland from my
hands for the first time,
beaming with the joy of
being a grandmother.
“I am proud of you” I
whispered to Richærd and
he beamed. We both
watched as my mother-in-
law held Roland with so
much love. Richærd’s friends
came and took him. It all
happened within the
twinkling of an eye. Loretta
let out a scre-m and before
we knew what was
happening, a gun was
placed against her head.
“Nobody moves or I’ll blow
off this woman’s head
along with this thing she is
carrying” I heard a familiar
voice say.
I saw with horror as
Oyinade’s face came into
view. Richærd was moving
closer slowly, I saw from
the corner of my eyes.
“Don’t you dare move. Don’t
dare me. I would blow her
head off. I swear” she yelled
at Richærd. Obviously, she
had seen him.
A sickening dread covered
me. A fear I had never felt
before.
“Leave my child out
of this Oyin, your problem is
with me.”
She laughed. “Really? He is
the reason why you won.
Tell me something: don’t I
have the right to be with
the man I love?”
“You don’t have the right to
be with another woman’s
husband” I said quietly.
She laughed. “Well, I don’t
have the time to banter
words with you. Since I
can’t have Richærd, you also
would not have the chance
to be with him. Bye”
My face grew pale.

“No”, I
heard Richærd yell as he ran
towards me. The gun shot
echoed, shattering the
silence that had once
engulfed the air.

EPISODE 45

Ronke and Pastor Adetutu
arrived at the massive
building which obviously
belongs to Chief Rammon.
All through the extensive
drive from Abuja to Lagos,
Ronke hadn’t been able to
stop her racing heart. She
was exceedingly grateful to
have the pastor with her.
She had explained
everything to her pastor
who had encouraged her to
meet the man to confess
and give him the remaining
money. It had been so
simple earlier: arrive at the
house, kneel down and cry
till she is forgiven and walk
out with a light heart and a
peaceful smile. Now, staring
at the gate, she doubted it
would be that simple.
They were let in by the
house help and seated at
the reception while the girl
went in to call the chief,
they were lucky to meet him
at home. Chief Rammon
took one look at Ronke and
yelled. He was in front of
her in a flash, lifting her
with his arms and shaking
her like a ragged doll.

“You
this thief. You have the guts
to show your filthy face
here. We are going to the
police station now” he
yelled.
Pastor Adetutu tried to
break his hold and finally
succeeded after almost two
minutes.
His wife appeared before
they knew what was
happening.

“What is going
on here?” she asked.
Obviously, the chief hadn’t
told his wife the truth about
what happened. The money
Ronke stole had caused
serious financial crisis and
they had to sell three of
their properties and
withdraw almost everything
in the family account to pay
off the debt. He ranted the
lie he had told his wife
months ago; that Ronke
was the one he had given a
lift in his car who stole his
briefcase. Ronke yelled,
stating the fact that
everything he said was a lie.
She narrated everything
that had happened even
though the chief tried to cut
her shut every now and
then. The wrath of his wife
turned to him immediately,
and for a while, she and the
pastor could as well be
invisible because they just
sat there looking. The
pastor settled the raging
war between them in order
to face the reason why they
came.
Ronke knelt down and
pleaded. She presented the
remaining money. After
explaining all the events in
her life right from the time
she was born; how that she
never knew her parents
and that she was picked up
from the dustbin by a good
woman who later died
when she was ten,
everyone became soft-
hearted. She explained that
she had since then learnt to
survive on her own,
depending on men for her
food, hereby becoming a
harlot since she had no
certificate to tender
anywhere apart from her
school cert. The pastor
intervened and explained
how she had become born
again and had since then
stopped spending the
stolen money. God used the
wife who stated that if her
husband gets the girl
arrested, she would also file
for a divorce. Ronke left the
house, not only forgiven
and light-hearted but also
with some money to start a
small business.
**********

EPISODE 46
FINAL EPISODE

The silence that greeted the
gun shot was deadly. I was
not seeing well, my face
was blurry and everyone
seemed to have frozen in
their various positions.
Slowly, like in all those
action movies I usually
watch at times, I watched
as the gun slipped from
Oyinade’s hand and landed
on the floor with a thud.
The fact that no one was
talking made the sound
louder than usual. Just then,
Richærd, who had covered
me, left my arms to look at
what was happening.
Suddenly, I was seeing
clearly and what I started
seeing became confusing.
Oyinade slipped to the floor
in pain as she grimaced.
She hadn’t even pulled the
trigger when she felt a
searing pain go through
her. Someone emerged
from the croud, gun in
hand. I looked at the man
as I remembered when I
had seen the man. It was
weeks after I found out that
Mr Jegas was my real father.
Mr. Badmus, my step-father
had introduced him to me
as Inspector Sule. He was
the one who investigated
Tunji’s murder case and
detained Mr Badmus as a
suspect. They had become
friends after the incident
and luckily for everyone, Mr.
Badmus had invited him for
the naming ceremony. How
Oyinade had passed the
security men we had
around to guard the place
was still a mystery.
Inspector Sule apparently
goes everywhere with a
gun and I thanked God and
am still thanking God for
that attribute. I ran towards
my mother-in-law and took
my baby with tears in my
eyes. Richærd came and held
me tenderly, whispering
comforting words. After
some minutes, he went to
hold his mum who was
trying to be brave but was
still physically shaken.
Everyone started
murmuring at the same
time and we watched as
Inspector Sule and some of
the police officers dragged
a hurt Oyinade out of the
premises.
“D–n you all, d–n you”
she yelled with very little
strength as she was being
dragged out.
Everyone started thanking
God, all at once and I
decided I had had enough
for one day. That such a
wonderful day hadn’t been
turned to a day of
mourning is something I
would forever be grateful to
God for. I swallowed as
Richærd k-ssed my head,
k-ssed little Roland
affectionately and led us
in,side. Family members
came in,side some minutes
later to help us drive away
the thought of what just
happened. Trust Prisca in
such a situation, she made
a joke that had everyone
laughing. Before we knew
it, the incident was almost
forgotten. Roland woke up
and demanded his food
and I excused myself and
made for the bedroom.
After br-ast-feeding him, I
placed him on the bed,
staring at him for
sometime. His smile and
everything he did
fascinated me. I swallowed
as I remembered the
incident that just occurred,
and then something told
me that God allowed it. God
must have allowed Oyinade
to come in order to get her
out of the streets and into
the net of the police. I felt
happy that she would not
be bothering us anymore.
“Sweetheart” Richærd called
as he entered the room. I
looked up with a smile as I
tried to zip the gown I had
changed into. “Let me help
you with that” he
whispered, coming over to
my back to pull the zip.
“I was scared, so scared” I
whispered. He turned me
around and I faced him. “I
was much more scared.
Come here” he held me
against him affectionately in
a tight hug like he was
trying to glue us together.
“It is all over now”
*****
‘On our wedding day, I
never thought we would
experience any itch in our
marriage. It was so perfect
that I felt it would always be
like that. But every marriage
has its own tests, ours is
the issue of children, others
can be financial problems
or even trust. The most
important thing is sticking
with God through it all. The
devil would always try to
scatter a union and he
would not come personally
but would use agents. Just
like I love my Richærd, love
your husband dearly, even
more. It is not enough to
love, tell them regularly,
show it in your actions. Let
the love in your house grow
instead of diminish.
Whenever something goes
wrong, discuss it and trash
it out immediately. Don’t
keep ANYTHING from your
spouse. To all the singles
who are in love with
someone but their love is
not reciprocated, it
happens. Don’t try to force
your love on them. Love
cannot be forced. It comes
on its own. If one person
does not love you, another
person will and would love
you more than you can ever
imagine but until you see
that person, respect
yourself. Don’t jump from
one man’s bed to the other
because you think that
abstinence is old-fashioned.
Many things happened and
would still happen in our
family. Even Prisca has gone
through so many things in
her marriage, no one has a
perfect marriage without
troubles. Through it all, the
most important things are:
God, trust and love. With all
these, you can overcome all
things’. I closed my diary
and carried my plate of
snacks.
Richærd woke up from his
nap and came over to join
me in the sitting room
where I was eating prawn
crackers and drinking juice.
He grabbed the plate from
my arms and stuffed his
mouth with prawn
crackers.
I scoffed. “That was unfair”
I tried to collect the plate
from him but he would not
give it up.
“Are you the only one that
loves enjoyment?” He asked
with a cynical smile. I finally
gave up and resigned to lie
on the chair, with my head
on his lap. He fed me
crackers and fed himself
also.
“Roland is still asleep?” I
asked and he nodded. I
shook my head and sighed.
“That is good. He hasn’t
given me a minute of rest. I
am sure he took his crying
habit from you” I said.
Richærd scoffed.

“Definitely
not. I was as gentle as a
dove” he said defensively.
“Dove? I barely had two
hours of sleep when I was
nursing you” we heard
Richærd’s mum say,
approaching us. She had
been in our house for
about a week now, since
the naming. My mum is still
around and has been
around before I delivered,
to monitor me, being my
first child. I was very
grateful to have both
women around. My mother-
in-law has proved to be the
best woman to have as
your mother-in-law and I
am very happy everything is
settled between her and
Richærd.
I smiled at Richærd. “Told
you” I murmured
victoriously.
Richærd’s eyes rotated from
his mum to me. “I feel a
conspiracy here. The ladies
in this house are conspiring
against the men.”
I laughed. “Just accept the
fact that you were a big
mouthed crying baby”
He frowned.

“Definitely
not”. I laughed heartily.
“Well, let me leave you two
to your argument. I am
hungry” she marched into
the kitchen.
I looked at Richærd with a
smile on my face. He threw
his hands up in surrender.
“Well, poor you. You would
have to deal with many big
mouthed crying babies.
What are we going to do
about that?” he looked
sympathetic.
I sighed. “Nothing,
fortunately”. We laughed at
our little drama.
“Honey, what do you think
about having a business of
your own? I mean, being in
BRP would not be very
convenient for you now
that there is a baby but if
you have a private business
like Prisca does, you would
enjoy yourself and also have
enough time to yourself
and Roland; also the other
big mouthed crying
children on the way.”
I shook my head as I stared
at him. “You know the
problem with having two
sisters marry two best
friends, they all think the
same way”.
He shook his head, “This
has nothing to do with
them baby”. I smiled. I had
thought of it, only I did not
mention it. My assistant in
BRP Hospital is doing a
good job.
“Is your account full
enough to accommodate
what I have in mind? It
would be very capital
intensive” I said, sitting up
with a grin on my face. He
squared his shoulders,
adjusted his body hugging
top to present the posture
of a rich man.
“Try me”. I laughed and
hugged him.
“Thank you darling” I
whispered k-ssing him all
over his face. He looked at
me and I knew where this
was going.
“I was thinking of
something else to deliver
your appreciation” he
whispered.
I  raised my brow. “Hmmm…
I guess we could really do
something before your son
wakes up” I breathed.
Roland’s piercing cry rang
out just then and I smiled
faintly.

“I guess not” and
ran to the room, leaving
Richærd to brood over his
loss.

its been a long ride.Thanks for reading the story.
Hope you enjoyed it?

Please comment!

**THE END**

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