Too Precious Episode 33
TITLE: TOO PRECIOUS
WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI
CHAPTER 33
On this trip, Chief Rotimi went with his wife Titi. PB couldn’t believe the transformation. Chief and Titi were close; they spent the night together in his room. The private conversations she used to have with her grandfather had reduced. She knew the end of near and he was trying to make things right. She cried herself to sleep most nights.
Chief and his wife were away for two months. While they were away, Chief instructed PB to move her law firm to his office complex and take over the running of the entire group of companies. He told her she had a responsibility to him, her grandmother, her mother, her uncles, aunt and her cousins. She had to ensure the business grows.
“But I am not interested in running the business. Let uncle Ope takeover” PB insisted.
“He will run it to the ground. He doesn’t know how to run a big business. He can’t hold his management staff accountable for deliveries of commitments and doesn’t scrutinize doc-ments he signs off on; he is too trusting. These were my observation when I took over the running of his company. I had to get a Managing Director and set targets for him to achieve, I made Ope the CEO while I am the chairman. He sits back and reports are brought to him. I have told him he needs to have audit checks on his company every quarter or bi-annually without informing the staff. It plugged looph0les. Niyi would have been a better candidate but he is over-ambitious and therefore doesn’t take a calculated risk. He has lost money in his business because he dabbled into what he heard was profitable without proper investigation. He runs his business well on its own but when he tries to take such a risk, he must pass it through me and I investigate thoroughly before giving a go-ahead or dumping the idea. The business he is doing should make him a billionaire if only he can focus. He is distracted by fast money. He wins some, he loses some. Those two cannot run my business together or singlehandedly. I want this business to outlive generations to come. Putting it in the right hand is what will ensure that. Now, I want to make it clear, you will hand over this business to a family member whom you have coached from the beginning to take over from you. The child must be an Adeoye. You cannot hand it over to your direct child; it must come from a great-grandchild of Rotimi Adeoye. That way, it doesn’t reside with only one family. Do you understand?”
“I do, grandfather. What if my uncles refuse me taking over?”
“They wouldn’t. There is a catch. I know you can handle it.”
“What if I get married?”
“Don’t change your surname. Have as many lovers as you desire but do not marry a man who will be a thorn in your flesh. You need to be loved and cared for. Unfortunately, any man you marry will have no stake in the family business. He can’t work for the family, he has to build his own business”
“You know that’s what I want too. That is if I find a man. I don’t intend to get married again. I feel lonely most times and I would love to have a man to call my own. I felt so alone when I found you in the bathroom and had to rush you to the hospital. If I had a man of my own, he would have held me in his arms and assured me everything will be ok. I miss Biodun for that. Sometimes I wonder; if he hadn’t been fraudulent would I have forgiven him? Or if he was fraudulent but didn’t betray me, would I have gone back to him? This loneliness is killing me. I don’t want to date married men and make their wives unhappy. I don’t want to be a mistress.”
“Precious my child, there are many single men out there that want you. Unfortunately, you have turned yourself into a from work to home mother. You can’t have fun that way. Treasure is old enough to be left with Mirabel and Caleb in the house. Go out and meet people. I was told there are dating sites people use to meet friends, try that. Go on vacation by yourself, you might just get lucky. Create time for yourself. Maybe you should get some toys too while you wait for the real man” PB eyes opened wide while she hit him lovingly.
“I love you grandfather. You are my best friend and closest confidant. What would my life have been without you in it?”
“I won’t be here for much longer. I want to believe I have equipped you for the task ahead. If you need help, call your aunt. She has a good head on her shoulder, she will help you. I have spoken with her privately and she agreed with my decision. She called me wise. She is smarter than her brothers”
“I have always liked her. I pray I don’t fall out with the family when they get to know”
“You wouldn’t. It has been doc-mented. Trust me, they will gladly let you be”
“I hope so.”
When Chief and his wife came back from that trip, Titi continued to stay with him but there was a rift between them. When PB asked what the problem was, she told her nothing was wrong. When she probed further, Titi snapped at her; she became irate calling her names. This hadn’t happened in a long time.
PB asked Chief about the issue. Chief assured her nothing was amiss. “Titi isn’t happy with some decisions I took. I have asked the entire family to be here on Friday. The meeting starts at 9 am with breakfast and would end with dinner. Titi will come around on that day; trust me”
PB believed her grandfather. She trusted him and decided to ignore her grandmother’s tantrums and focus on the task ahead of her. She continued to work while grandfather stayed at home. He got tired easily and would fall asleep while talking to people. For the first time, PB realized her grandfather was old. Age had caught up with him. He was also tired. He stayed on to set his family aright.
Friday morning, PB came out of her room at 8 am to the tantalizing aroma of different delicacies. She rushed into the kitchen where she met her grandmother giving orders. She hugged her from behind just to reassure her. When Titi discovered it was PB, she tried to wriggle out of her embrace but PB held on tighter.
“I love you grandmother. You have been wonderful to me during my trying period. We were a team when grandfather was ill. Whatever might be the cause of this dislike of me, please push it aside and forgive me. I ask for forgiveness regardless of what it is. Love me and my babies again”
Titi stopped struggling. “This girl is still as wise as ever.” She thought to herself. Then she said to PB, “Do you want to eat something?”
“Something little, I will eat with everyone else.” She pecked her grandmother on the cheek. This was something new to them. PB wanted as many people on her side as possible if she was going to succeed. Titi was one person she really needed.
A few minutes to 9 am, the house became bubbly. Aunt Enitan arrived. She had stayed in her husband’s house after arriving the night before. I was happy to meet her. She came with gifts for everyone. I told her we had a lot to talk about. “We won’t discuss here. We will meet before I go back. Be careful”.
Grandfather came downstairs. The family sat at the table and we all had breakfast together.
“Where is Seun?” Chief asked.
“She was not invited for this meeting, she is not a member of this family” Ope replied him.
“She has to be here. I am also expecting the lawyer and one more person. Let’s eat up”
After breakfast, Seun arrived at the house. She was also surprised she was invited. Then the lawyer came. Finally, Gbenga walked into the house. Everybody was shocked to see him. He looked very different. He was clean, wore a nice suit and smelt nice. He looked like a millionaire. He looked like a million bucks. It was surprising to everyone.
Titi almost fainted, “Is this my Gbenga? This cannot be my Gbenga. My Gbenga is this good looking? My Gbenga is no longer a drug addict? I can’t believe this. Chief, you said you will surprise me. You promised to compensate me. Chief, you did well.” She knelt in front of her husband and hugged him.
Chief Rotimi smiled and said to her, “Stand up, your son is waiting for a hug”
Titi went into her son’s waiting arms. “This is you Gbenga. Ah! Olorun, you have given me cause to smile. My son, where have you been? You abandoned your family. What you did was bad o. I can see you have changed. You have departed from your evil ways. God is merciful”
PB couldn’t move from where she sat. She had never seen her father look so handsome and well put together. Even Seun was too shocked for words.
“Precious, see your father. Seun, that’s your husband” Enitan said.
Neither Precious nor her mother moved from where they were seated. Gbenga came to meet them there. “I owe you both an apology. Chief told me everything I did while under the influence of drugs. Please forgive me. I also caused friction in Precious marriage, I am sorry about that too. I am a changed person; I have been clean for three years at a stretch now. I have a job, a girlfriend and we have a son together. My girlfriend is a nurse at the facility I went for rehabilitation. She helped me get completely sober and showed me another way of life. I can never touch drugs again”
“But how did you get released from prison?” Ope asked.
Chief stepped in at this moment. “I bailed him out. Biodun went to meet him in prison to dig dirt about our family to use against me and Precious. He brought him drugs and your brother sang like a canary. I knew I needed to get him out of there and get him genuine help. I sent him to a witch doctor in South Africa who they claimed cured drug addiction. I wanted him tortured and dealt with. He was there for some months but he was still able to have access to drugs. When I travelled out, I saw an advert for a health wellness centre that deals with all forms of addiction. I was interested. I made my enquiries and sent him over. Within a year he was clean. He did some training there and then worked for them. It is a long story but here he is today completely clean. I am proud of you, son”
“Thank you, father”.
“Let’s all be seated. Back to why we are here. I am handing over my group of companies to Precious Adeoye. She is taking over as the Chairman and CEO of the company. She is free to employ a Managing Director. The board members remain. She will earn a salary as endorsed by the board of directors. Profit will be shared as follows:
Precious will get 25% of the profit as Chairman.
Titilayo, my wife will receive 15%
My four children will share 40%
My grandchildren will share 20%”
There were some mumbling and calculations. PB didn’t say a word neither did her mother. Titilayo was very happy with what she got. PB noticed he didn’t mention great-grandchildren.
“Titilayo will continue to live in this house as long as she desires. She should be well taken care of. That is Precious’ responsibility as I am willing this house and everything in it including my personal effect to her. Precious will move into my bedroom the moment I depart this world. This particular conversation is not negotiable”
There was silence. Ope had eyes on the house. “Why would he will everything to Precious? What was going on here?” he thought himself.
“I have fifty properties within and outside Lagos. Ope, my first son will have seven of those properties, his wife will have one. Niyi, my second son will have six of those properties, his wife will have one. Enitan, you will have five of those properties and your children will have one. Gbenga, you will have five of those properties and Seun will have two. The remaining will be managed by a trustee for the rest of my family. The rent or lease received from those properties will be shared amongst my remaining children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. This has been stated in my will.”
The sons were very happy. They didn’t even know how many properties their father had and with what they had received, they were excited.
Enitan spoke up. “I am uncomfortable with what is happening here. How can someone alive be sharing his properties? Father, what is going on?”
“I don’t want any rancour or bitterness after I have departed this world. That is why I am making it open what everyone is getting. I know what I am doing. I have moved all my monies in the bank and given them to those I so desire to give. They will be informed about their deposits and amount at my demise. They are not to reveal this information to anybody. We will go on break to have lunch and reconvene”
Titilayo went into the kitchen to supervise the serving of lunch. PB wasn’t interested in having any meals. She wanted to talk with her grandfather privately. He had given her three properties in all which he had the title doc-ments. She worried if they were amongst the houses being distributed. She didn’t want her family to know she was given the gifts by Chief.
After lunch, Chief took a break for an hour to rest before joining them. He continued from where he stopped.
“When I die, I want to be buried in my hometown. I have shown Baba Kenny where I will be buried. The lawyer will work with my family to make it a successful event. Everyone will contribute financially, physically and be dedicated to making it a success. Where there is a disagreement, Titi has the final say.” He paused as though he remembered something. “Titilayo, I have given the land which houses your school to Seun. You have retired, it is best run by someone we can trust. Hand it over to her officially. The land title has been transferred to her name therefore the school belongs to her. Do the right thing.”
Ope wasn’t happy about the decision. “Father, that land belonged to our mother. She started the school. When she died, you gave it to mummy. I agree, she grew the school and made it what it is today. Why then do you want to give it to Seun who has moved on with her life? It should be given to us, our mother’s children”
“The land belonged to me and not your mother. She started the school but she couldn’t grow it beyond Nursery school before her health took a tow on her. Titilayo grew that school to what it is today. I know it has been suffering as she got older and since Seun left the school. Seun has a passion for education and has proved herself worthy of taking back the school to its enviable height; I believe she can. Therefore, she will inherit the land and the school on it. She can only hand over the school to Precious or any of her offspring. It must remain within the family.”
“Precious seems to be the one highly favoured here. While Precious is running the company and pocketing most of the profit, her mother is inheriting the school and would pass it down to her. What’s going on here? Something doesn’t sit right. Why is Seun even a part of this discussions when our wives aren’t here too?” Niyi asked.
“Well, I don’t know why your father is passing down the school from one wife to another. Thank God it is moving from wife to daughter now”
“Wife? Who is the wife? I don’t understand” Enitan asked while others looked at each other confused.
“Seun is not my wife. You are my family and therefore I will confess to you. But before we start, we all have to take an oath of secrecy with what I am about to reveal to you”
“Do you want to tell us that you have been sleeping with her? We already know that. Gbenga told us about it.” Ope replied.
“Gbenga told you I was sleeping with his wife? That’s not the truth. I had one encounter with her the night I was drunk. I am a dying man confessing to you that it was one encounter and I was drunk. She couldn’t fight me off. Gbenga saw us and made a fuss out of it. He told his mother. I didn’t even know what I did until Titi told me. I gave Seun money to take care of herself after the apology.”
“Father, why then is she inheriting from you? Are you sure you didn’t continue the relationsh¡p?” Niyi asked.
“Gbenga was raping this girl often. How would I have s€× with someone that was being abused? I tried to help her but Titi claimed I wanted a relationsh¡p so I stepped back. She was ill-treated under my roof. The reason she is inheriting is that I want to compensate her for what she did for me.”
Titi cut in and said, “Stop beating around the bush and tell them what you want to tell them. You are wasting our time”
“Titi, calm down. I need to explain this to my children. When Precious had issues with Biodun, he threatened to expose the s€×ual encounter I had with Seun and he said this in Precious’ presence. He got this information from Gbenga in prison. I knew Gbenga was talking too much where he was for favours. My enemies could have used him to destroy me.
I sent someone to find out what he had told his inmates and one of them said Gbenga had mentioned that Precious wasn’t his daughter. I was shocked. It had never come up. I didn’t even know they were having s€×ual relations until he caught us and made it obvious. I decided to find out if he was right. I took hair samples from Precious without her knowledge. I took a sample from Gbenga too. I took those samples to Germany for a detailed DNA evaluation. I found out Precious was my daughter and Gbenga’s sister. I had lived with my child under my roof. I watched helplessly while her stepmother ill-treated her and her mother. It took the Adeoye in her to fight for recognition. She is more of me and less of Seun. It will come to all of you as a shock including Seun who didn’t realise she was pregnant for me. I asked Seun when I found out if she treated herself after our encounter. She said she didn’t; Titi took the money I gave her away from her and gave it to Gbenga. If Titi had allowed her to treat herself by taking a pill the next day, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now. Her son’s drug abuse made her a paranoid and wicked woman. That one encounter produced Precious. She is my daughter. She didn’t have as much advantage as four of you had therefore I will compensate her the way I want.”
There was complete silence; you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was dazed. Precious couldn’t believe what she heard. Her grandfather was truly her father? She was aware of the encounter and was also aware Chief gave her mother money to treat herself and it was taken away by her grandmother and her son. But how could that singular encounter produce her? Was that why he handed everything over to her? Was he compensating her? She wasn’t interested in his company or wealth. All she wanted was the house because she had lived there almost all her life and she would love to continue to live there. She knew this information will cause serious problems in the family. She will be despised and she didn’t want that.
“Now, Precious has a very good head on her shoulder that is why I want her to take over from me. I am sure, without any single doubt, she will keep to the sharing formula I have stated. Ope, Niyi, Enitan and Gbenga, Precious is your sister and your blood. Give her all the support she needs. Seun isn’t my wife or Gbenga’s wife. She is free to marry whom she wants to marry. For the hurt I allowed to happen under my roof, I have compensated her. As I said, anyone who goes against what I want will lose their entitlement and it will be shared amongst the siblings who obey the instruction.” Chief turned to Precious, “my child, I have always loved you like a father and grandfather not knowing you were my daughter. You remind me of my younger self. I have never met a young lady as hærdworking and content as you are. You never ask for anything. I want you to open your heart again so a man who will treasure you will come your way.”
“We should talk about the issue on the ground; you knew you were my father and never told me? I could have sworn we were close. Why hide something as delicate as this from me?” PB asked.
“What did you do when you discovered I had s€× with your mother? You ran away and didn’t speak with me for months. Do you know what that did to me? By then I had found out and I would have told you if you had behaved more maturely. If I had told you when we reconciled, you would have run away for good. Instead, I compensated Gbenga by helping him get clean and giving him a fresh start. I told him when he fully recovered that I am your father. That’s why he refused to return to Nigeria.”
“But he was having s€× with my mother and she never conceived again. How did that happen?”
Gbenga replied, “my drug use affected my seminal fluid. The child I have was through assisted reproduction. When I was drug-free, dad told me you were his child. I was hurt because I loved you so much but I was controlled by a demon. Find it in your heart to forgive me; Seun, please forgive me too. I am doing very well where I am and I don’t want to come back here. Whatever father leaves to me should be shared between Seun and Precious because I hurt them the most during my difficult times”
Seun quickly declined. “Gbenga, I don’t want anything from you. I have forgiven you a long time ago. Rather rent out the properties you inherited and leave a good legacy for your children and grandchildren just like your father has done. I know Precious wouldn’t touch what belongs to you. I don’t even want anything from your father. I am happy and content with what I have. Chief, this revelation is startling. It is surreal. How can Precious be your child? It only happened once; I swear to God, it happened only that one time. Ah, this life! Precious is a good person. Kind and compassionate. hærdworking, fearless and resilient. Brilliant. I am not most of these things. There is no single trace of evil in her being. I wondered how come she didn’t have a bit of the selfishness and wickedness Gbenga exhibited. None at all. I didn’t know she wasn’t from him. I am happy she is from Chief, I don’t know how long Gbenga will remain sober. I know what I suffered in his hands.”
“Seun, apologizing several times will never be enough. I was also happy when he told me Precious was his. I know what I put you through, I will never wish that for my enemy. I am not that man anymore, believe me. If we can repair our path, we can build…..”
“Hey, maintain your lane. You have married and I am about to get married. I can never leave the man I am with now to be with you, it will never happen. I know you haven’t changed much; you have stopped drugs but you are still the same selfish being.”
“Take it easy Seun, you didn’t allow me land. I wanted us to build a friendsh¡p”
“I don’t want your friendsh¡p, Gbenga. I have forgiven you but I don’t want to intEr×¢t with you again. Your wife knows how best to handle you. I am happy for you, that’s where it ends.”
Ope wasn’t satisfied with the conversation. He turned to Titilayo and asked, “Mummy, is this true? Were you aware father impregnated Seun? I don’t understand what is going on here?”
“I went to Germany with him for further treatment. That was where he told me. He showed me the evidence. I was shocked. Even the way he presented it threw me off guard. He asked me why I took the money he gave Seun to treat herself then. I didn’t even remember. He told me I took the money from her and gave it to Gbenga. I asked him, and so what? He then showed me the DNA result. I almost collapsed. He told me Precious was his daughter. It has made Seun automatically his wife or will I say, concubine. Father and son were sharing one woman. I don’t believe that story it was only once.”
Seun was offended by Titi’s reply. “It happened just once. You told me if I allowed your husband to touch me again I will roam the streets of Lagos and be killed by a car. You reigned curses on me if I ever went near your husband. You forbade me even seeing him. So tell me when we had the opportunity of seeing each other before Precious was born? I came to work in your house when your son turned me into his s€× slave. You knew he was raping me and did nothing about it. When your husband did the same, it was an issue. You collected the money I would have bought medicine with and gave to your son for drugs. You caused the birth of Precious. God used you to bless my womb. I will never regret birthing her for Chief instead of your son. I don’t want anything. I am leaving”
Seun stood up to leave but Chief stopped her. “Sit down. They are free to believe whatever they want to believe. I am an old man about to go to the heavens. I could have hidden this from you all but then judgement is waiting for me. Because of what I did to an eighteen-year-old girl, I stopped drinking excessively; I don’t take more than a bottle of beer. I learnt my lesson and I have made peace with God.” He kept quiet for a while then he added, “The session is over. Let us have dinner together in love and peace. I want to have all those dearest to my heart around me together; this could be the last time. Everyone here right now is dear to me.”
They went to have dinner as the aroma from the kitchen when the door was opened hit them. They sat together to eat and no one said anything negative anymore.
That was Chief Adeoye’s last supper with his entire family. The next day after the meeting with his family, he requested for the priest to visit him and it was done in private. Then he met with his attorney.