Tanure forever episode 4 – 5

💞TANURE, FOREVER💞

CHAPTER 4

AUTHOR PAMELA.

It occurred to her that this was
Richærd’s girlfriend,she quietly walked up
to him at his study.
“You have a visitor”She announced,
calmly.
Richærd stood up from his chair and
str-de towards the living room,he frozed
seeing Christine.He stared at her then at
Tanure.
“Christine, let’s talk outside”He
muttered holding her hand.
“Let go of me,I demand we talk
here”She yelled.
Tanure quietly excused them.
“So she’s the reason why you’ve been
coming up with different pointless
excuses so I wouldn’t come here, Richærd,
please tell me you have nothing to do with
that pregnancy, she’s a relative,
right?”Christine asked with tears filled
eyes.
“Please, don’t cry, Christine,I can
explain”Richærd begged.
Christine sat on the couch.
Richærd sat beside her and told her
that when he had traveled to the
village,she was one of the village girls running after him and she sed-ced him
when he was drunk,he wasn’t thinking
straight so he slept with her.
His parents forced him to take her
in.
He hid the fact that he had paid her
bride price.
“You’re my world, Christine.Tanure
means nothing to me”He said trying to
hold her hand.
“Don’t touch me”She choked out,
sobbing.
“I’m so sorry,we could still be happy”
“Happy? you’re expecting a child
from another woman, how can I be
happy?”She yelled and stormed out of his
house.
Knowing Christine very well, going after
her won’t change anything.He glared at a
closed bedroom door.
He stormed into Tanure’s room
slamming the door hærd that it startled
her.
“Congrats!You have succeeded in
ruining my life,if I had known that you
were nothing but badluck, I wouldn’t have
gotten involved with you”Richærd growled.
Hurt ripped through Tanure’s chest.
“I never asked you to get involved
with me”She snapped.
“I thought you were just gullible,I
didn’t know you were also very stupid”
“Just please leave me alone,
Richærd.I’m sick and tired of this insults,I
know I deserve all of it but can’t you just
allow me live a single day peacefully in
this house?You don’t know how it feels to
want freedom,you have no idea how much
I loved you….all you think about is yourself
and what you want, you’re an arrogant and
self-centered jerk. I don’t want to be with
you so please avoid me like a plague”She
yelled.
Richærd gulped,why does she keep on
talking back at him?
“I’m tired, I’ve had enough,if your
mother had just let me stay at your family
house in the village,it would be more
bearable than this. I don’t want this cursed
marriage too, I told you before, I won’t be
an obstacle to you and your lover, I will
cook,wash and clean the house,you just
have to provide for this child, I don’t need
anything from you”She said and lay down
to sleep.
Richærd slowly walked out of her
room.Did Tanure really feel nothing for
him?He slumped on the couch.Why did
she believed so much in him? whenever he
was with her then,he always talked
smoothly and he sometimes wonder if she
hadn’t heard the saying that
‘smoothtalkers were great liars’
Richærd sighed,he suddenly wanted to
know why she held on to every word he
said.He wondered what was going
through her mind right now.

***************
Days ran into weeks, Richærd felt
lost,he knew he was in the time of his life
when he had to make a decision that he
wouldn’t regret later.
There was no way of getting rid of
Tanure from his life, and he still didn’t
want to lose Christine.He had to choose
between his lover and his wife or both and
then eventually be a polygamist.
Christine wasn’t picking up his calls
neither did she reply to his messages.He
didn’t plan on hurting her like this.
Richærd walked into the mall,he
stared at the shopping list,he was tired of
going grocery shopping every week but he
pitied Tanure, her baby bump had gotten
bigger,she only managed to cook at times
because she always felt tired.
He took a shopping basket,as he
stared at the list,he went about the mall
looking for the listed items.

****************
Richærd walked into his house,he
found Tanure sitting on a couch, watching
a program on TV.
“I bought everything you listed”He
said announcing his presence.
“Thank you”she replied, dryly without
staring at him.
He stared at her belly still amused.It
looked like a big watermelon.
Sometimes, he’d get frightened when
he watched her cooking and moving
about.
He wondered if her slender body could
support her belly.
He headed towards his bedroom, Baba
and Maami had been calling him alot
always asking when the baby would be
out,they were just too excited to see his
baby.
His? Maybe they weren’t the only
ones excited.He was, even if he hadn’t
planned on having a child this soon but
the thought of holding his baby and things
he could do with his child especially if it
was a male made him feel so
enthusiastic.He had already
written some names down.
Just like himself,he wanted both
English and Yoruba names for his kid.His
uncle who was based in America had
named him Richærd,he was sure that if it
was someone else,Baba wouldn’t let him
bare that name, but he had so much
respect for his brother.
If it was a boy,he wanted him to be
called,Max Olamide Boyowa,if it turns out
to be a girl though he was praying
strongly against that,she would be called
Catherine Temitope Boyowa.He smiled
staring at the back of a magazine where
he had written the names.
He was still quite baffled that
Tanure’s father has never called to check
up on her, didn’t he care about his
daughter’s health?
Richærd sighed,it was just two months
remaining and the much awaited baby
would be out to the world.

***************
Richærd received a call from
Christine,she wanted them to meet up and
talk things out.
After the day’s work,he met up with
her in a restaurant.For a tensed
moment,they were both silent,each trying
to come up with a perfect deduction to
save their relationsh¡p.
He held her hands.
“I missed you”He began.
“Me too. I thought I could forget
about you Richærd, but I can’t, what’s
going to happen to us now?”
Richærd didn’t know what to say to her,a
part of him was saying it was best to let
her go, but he could never come to terms
with having a village wife.
“Say something, Richærd”She pleaded.
“I don’t want to lose you”He
murmured.
“Your parents already chosed her,if I
had known, I’d followed you to your village,
that girl is such a cheap slut”
Richærd wanted to make her feel at ease
so he spoke without thinking.
“I hate everything she represents,I can’t
even imagine myself touching her again,
what holds us together is the child in her
womb”
Christine smirked.”What if she loses the
child?”

💞TANURE, FOREVER💞

CHAPTER 5

AUTHOR PAMELA

Richærd frozed, just thinking about
losing his child hurts.”Well, Tanure and I
would go our separate ways. I know I hurt
you badly but the child is mine and I won’t
certainly wish my own child death”
Christine smiled warily.”I know”
‘I will do anything to make sure that
it’s just the two of us again’She thought
and hugged him.
She loved Richærd a lot,she knew
about her shortcomings, but she wanted
to change for him,they had been together
for two years now and she was already
seeing her future in his eyes.
Richærd was hers alone and the
bond she had with him was eternal so that
village girl and her unborn baby would not
ruin it.
Richærd walked into his house,it was
clean as usual since Tanure started living
with him.
He walked into her bedroom,she was
asleep and lying down in a way that her
stomach was facing the wall.
He slowly sat on the bed and gently
ran a hand through her hair, loving how
soft it felt against his fingers.She was
beautiful, more beautiful than any woman
he had met before and Christine couldn’t
compete with her natural features.
Her meals were the best,it always
reminded him of his mother’s.Did he really
feel nothing for her despite the fact that
he never wanted a life with her?
He walked out of her bedroom and
and str-de into the baby’s room
beautifully decorated by Tanure and
himself.It was painted with blue and
pink.The baby’s cradle, bath and other
necessary things were neatly arranged.He
grinned staring at the baby’s shoes and
clothes.Tanure had insisted that they
bought unis€× clothes and shoes but he
strongly prayed for a boy.
To him, girls got tired easily and all
they would want to do would be to play
with dolls and watch those silly barbie
cartoons.
But boys….they could play football
together, and run around… and watch
those action movies….there were so many
things he wanted to do with his son.
Why didn’t he want a kid in the first
place?
In his head,he could just picture his
child, Tanure and himself, there was no
room for Christine.He realized he was
self-centered as Tanure had said,he
should stop thinking about what he
wants,the deed has already been done,
Christine was too perfect to be his
mistress,he didn’t want to compromise
things but to give up on one and face the
other.

*****************
Tanure sat down on a chaise lounge
reading a book titled ‘The wages of sin’ by
Ibe Oparandu.She had gotten used to life
in Lagos and she must admit she loved it
more than life in the village, well the
stress part precisely.She didn’t have to
cook with firewood of fetch water two
streets away.Richærd had taught her how
to use the flat plate and gas cooker.Life
was more easier here but she couldn’t
picture a life with Richærd one or two
years from now.
Tanure heard the gateman arguing
with someone then suddenly the
argument stopped and she heard
footsteps coming towards the door, it was
probably the gateman,she thought.
The door flung open, Tanure flinched
seeing three hefty men on masks
sauntering into the house.
“Who….what…..”
“No time to explain, sweetheart”One
of them probably the leaders said.
They rushed towards her, two of them
pulling her up from the chair and holding
her hands tightly,fear crept through her
veins.
Tears were already streaming down
her cheeks as the last one walked up to
her, balling his hand into a fist,he punched
her hærd on her stomach.
Pain…she didn’t know existed before
rocketed through her body.
He didn’t stop,he punched her over
and over again at the same s₱0t.
“Please……..”She choked out,her
lungs failing her completely.
He punched her with all his might,this
time,it made her feel dizzy her legs felt
wobbly.
His fist clenched to punch her again.
“Enough!We ain’t supposed to kill
her.Let’s get out of here,I think that’s
enough”The one at her right yelled.
The others nodded and let go of
her,she fell to the floor while they hurried
out of the house.
She gro-ned painfully and felt her
thighs getting w-t.She shakily stared at
it,she was bleeding.Her baby!
She tried to sit up but couldn’t then
she crawled to the landline.
Richærd’s number was written on a
piece of paper,he had always kept it there
in case she needed anything.
She blindly sought for it and with her
head spinning,she dailed his number.

**************
Richærd heard his cellphone ringing,he
stared at it to see her calling for the first
time.
He picked up.
“What is it, Tanure?”He asked,
calmly,there was silence at the other end
of the call as if she couldn’t speak.
“Ri…..Richærd…. I’m… ple… I’m….”
“Tanure, what’s wrong?Are you
sick?”He panicked.
But the line went dead,he tried calling her
again but she didn’t pick up.He sprang up
to his feet and grabbed his jacket,he
hurried out of his office,as he came by the
hallway,he ran into an elevator,she wasn’t
the type to play silly tantrums so this
might be damn serious.
When he arrived at the house, the
gateman didn’t come to open the gate,he
got out from his car and found the
gateman lying on the ground.He rushed
towards him.
“Segun,what happened?”He asked
shaking him vigorously.
Segun blinked several times and slowly
sat up.
“Oga,am I still alive?”He asked in
disbelief.
“What the hell happened?”Richærd
yelled.
“They were three armed men,they
demanded to see madam, when I refused,
the bottom of a gun collided against my
head, that’s all I remember”
Richærd grew weak..if Segun couldn’t stop
them,then they had gone………… TANURE!
He ran towards the house and
stormed into the sitting room there he
saw her beside the landline, still
breathing….. probably not.A cold feeling
seeped into him seeing her dress soaked
with her own blood.
He shakily carried her in his arms.
“Ta…. Tanure… wake up”He kept
saying as he rushed towards the gate but
didn’t get any response.He placed her on
the backseat and hurried into the driver’s
seat then he drove off like the winds.

****************
Richærd’s face was buried into his
palm,it had been two hours since Tanure
had gone into the operating theater.
He knew he had to call Maami but how
could he possibly explain this to her?how
could he face her?She would surely think
he wanted this to happen.
How could he explain that some
unknown men attacked her when she
didn’t know anyone in Lagos?

“What if she loses the child?”

Christine’s words ran through his head,he
quickly shook his head,he knew Christine
very well…..too well.She wouldn’t do
anything as terrible as this.
A doctor walked out, Richærd ran
towards him.
“How is she?”He asked, breathlessly.
“I wouldn’t want to give you any false
hope,she is in a critical condition and I
don’t think we can save both, you’ll have to
choose, your wife or you want us to deliver
a premature child whose probability of
being alive is very low”
Choose? That word sounded too
heavy for Richærd.Tanure’s life was as
important as the baby’s.who would take
care of the baby?Who would cook those
delicious meals for him?Who would take
care of his house?God! Maami would be
so disappointed.
Choose?Who?

TBC

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