KASARACHI
Kasarachi - Episode 47
(Tell it to God)
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
It is someone else whose identity is Ogbodiya. I later got to find out that she is Alex's only half sibling from a mistress.
"So Alexander, you still went against me to choose this lowlife girl as a wife after all my warnings....?" Ogbodiya blurted out again for the second time as she walked to the stage where we were standing.
Without wasting time, Alex sharply grabbed the young lady by the hand and he walked alongside her towards a corner that is away from everybody's curious gaze or earshot.
Before leaving completely, he asked me to follow them and I did as he instructed because I was curious myself.
Who is this woman and why disrupt my event out of the blues....? And to imagine that she referred to me as a lowlife girl as though she knew me or something.
As I followed behind Alex, I was looking at the woman being dragged at the front.
I saw that in terms of face and body shape, I am finer than her hundred percent and yet she thinks because of money, she can insult me anyhow. Mtcheew! I hissed in my mind.
"Biko leave me Alexander. Free my hand abeg! What's your problem....? shouldn't you be holding that your lowlife girlfriend instead of me....? Free me jhor!" The woman kept saying repeatedly while struggling to free her hands from Alex's grip, but he didn't let go no matter how hard she tried.
This woman eh, she is calling me Kasarachi a lowlife girl again. She has a sharp mouth but look at her, there's no strength to free her hands from my Alex. You need to have seen how she was behaving like an earthworm without a destination.
I wonder who she thinks she is to talk down on me in such a condescending manner. Or is it probably because I am still wearing my work clothes....? I think that's what is giving her the morale to think and talk rubbish.
Chai, if not for home-training and the respect I have for Alex, I would have definitely retaliated in words.
I would have sunk it into her head that the fact she is wearing designer clothes, shoes, and bag doesn't make her bad character classy.
Abi does she think that it is only money that depicts class....? I said and hissed inaudibly.
Alex finally stopped a place that I assume is the backyard and I stopped too. Before I could ask Alex what was going on, he left the woman's hand and squarely faced her.
All this while, I was still thinking that the woman is Alex's sister named Belinda whom I have heard of several times.
It was not until Alex spoke up in reply to Ogbodiya's previous question that I realized that she wasn't who I thought she was.
"Ogbodiya, have you finally gotten out of your mind...? What's this open confrontation for....? Infact, who even told you about my event and why are you here....?" Alex asked all at once and from the displeasure on his face, I know he wasn't happy seeing the lady at all.
I was just standing there and quietly looking at them without attempting to say anything since that will mean interfering in their discussion and I didn't want that at all.
I just stood there listening as both of them exchanged words. It was actually from there, I got to know the woman's identity.
"So it is the open confrontation that you're more concerned about Alexander....? Ah, you know what's paining me the most....? It's the effrontery to ask who told me about an event which you should have specially invited me to but you didn't! And all of this for what....? a girl beneath your status.....?" Ogbodiya blurted out using her eyes to size me up as though I was a piece of trash.
"Stop it Ogbodiya!!!! I won't have you talk condescendingly about my fiancee. For your information....I don't care what you or Belinda think about the woman I want to marry. It wouldn't change the fact that she is the woman I am marrying by next month"
"You can't marry this girl Alexander. She is way below our class and standard. Anyways big brother, leave that side for now. I want you to ask you one question and I need an honest answer from you Alexander. My question is do you hate me this much...?"
"What do you mean by that Ogbodiya....?"
"What I mean is simple. Why didn't you tell me about today's event....? So if Belinda didn't tell me about it tonight....that's how you would have gone ahead to engage this girl without me in attendance...?"
"We both know that there's always party scatter wherever you go and that's the reason I didn't bother inviting you. And for the second question, Kasarachi and I are already engaged to be married soon....so I will advise you to back off and leave me alone to make my marital decisions!"
"No, you'll have to call off that engagement Alexander. I mean look at you big brother and take a look at this classless girl you are choosing as a wife. Does she fit you enough to bear the 'Ikechuckwu' family name...?"
Oh my God! Did she just call Alex her big brother....?
Ah, the revelation came as a big shock to me who never knew that Alex had another sister aside from Belinda.
Wow! Wow! Wow!
Not even Madam Ify had ever mentioned it before today and it gets me wondering why. Did both of them keep this away from me intentionally or it wasn't intentional....?
Whatever it is, I just want to believe within myself that they have their reasons and valid ones as well, else I will be so angry for being kept in the dark about Ogbodiya.
"Are you stable upstairs....? It seems like you are forgetting you are not my mother or my father to be telling me who to marry and who not to....." Alex said firmly. He paused to exhale before he continued talking flatly.
"....Ogbodiya, I know you are my sister but I won't have you insult me indirectly. If you dare talk down on my girl in that kind of rude manner for the third time....I will be left with no choice but to order the security man to throw you out!" Alex said frowning.
"Oh, so because I am not your parents....I don't deserve to have a say in your life as a sister and it has even reached the point of you threatening to throw me out....? Well newsflash big brother, our father is long dead alongside your mother. It is only me and Belinda that are your family now....so learn how to come to terms with the facts!"
"Will you shut your loud mouth Ogbodiya! Ah! When did you become this insolent....? See the way you're talking to your brother who is over five years older than you as though he is your mate. Are you okay mentally....?" Madam Ify asked walking into the scenario from the entrance we came in.
"I'm sorry Aunty. It's all Alexander's fault. He knows Belinda and I do not like this girl but he still wants to marry her regardless" Ogbodiya said looking disdainfully at me.
"I don't care who is at fault because it doesn't rule out the fact that I caught you red-handed being rude to your elder brother and you had even interrupted his party back there. Ogbodiya, I want you to tender an apology to him right this instance!!!" Madam Ify said authoritatively.
I don't know if it's out of respect because Ogbodiya melted and became humble immediately when she heard that.
What was even more surprising was hearing her apologizing to Alex just as Madam Ify had instructed.
"I'm very sorry Alexander. It will never happen again. Aunty Ify is right.....you have the ultimate right to marry whoever you want regardless of what I desire for you" Ogbodiya said with her head bent.
Wow! I couldn't believe that a rude and arrogant girl like her could be this obedient to elders. I'm guessing that all three of them have really huge respect for madam Ify.
"I don't have anything against you Ogbodiya. You and Belinda are my sisters and right from onset, I have always allowed you girls to get involved in the majority of decisions regarding my life but you see the choice of whom to love....I want to make it myself without interference. Kasarachi is the woman I love and wants to marry. Learn to deal with it because nobody is allowed to stop me except God of course!" Alex said firmly as he looked at Ogbodiya.
"That's my boy! I'm glad you are finally stepping up and not allowing your deep love for your sisters especially Belinda.... make you vulnerable to their bickering and consistent manipulations...." Madam Ify said to Alex smiling and then she turned to me
".....Kasarachi, it seems like your coming into my cousin's life is a very good thing. See how you are indirectly making him sit up and take his stand as a man that he is. I love that for him because these two were beginning to do too much for my liking!" Madam Ify said eyeing Ogbodiya.
I couldn't say anything aside to nod and flash a light smile towards madam Ify. I am still very confused about everything that is happening, so the smile was merely a camouflage to cover up my confusion and was not genuinely from my heart.
"Aunty you know you are exaggerating right....? I have always stood firmly in my stance as a man when need be" Alex said chuckling and madam Ify replied to him.
"Alex, I raised three of you as my biological children after your parents died in a plane crash and Ogbodiya's mother died of a lung disease....so I know what I am saying. You love your sisters especially Belinda way too much for my liking....and for these naughty girls, complaints and control is their tool of coercing you to obey their heart desires!"
"I'm sorry once again Aunty. Please excuse me....I'm going home." Ogbodiya said flippantly and thereafter she excused herself out of our presence.
I wouldn't lie, I honestly love the influence madam Ify has over them. My God! it's so obvious that they respect and listen to her instructions and advice very much.
Well, I suppose it's because she raised them and so she is a mother figure in their lives.
"Come, lets return to the party Alex and Kasarachi. Everyone is patiently waiting for you two and I'm sure they are probably wondering why the celebrant of today's event had to leave the stage in such an absurd manner!" Madam Ify said and together we returned to the party ground.
By now, some people were done eating and were dancing to the music blasting from the speakers. For some, they were still sitting on their chairs, eating the food and drinking while at the same time gisting excitedly.
I tried to put myself together and still enjoy the party but if I am to be sincere to myself, the happy vibe is no longer in me again.
Either way, I managed to feign smiles whenever people came to the stage to say their congratulations and some gave Alex their gifts of goodwill to us before leaving.
The party soon came to an end and everyone dispersed home one after the other. It is now remaining Alex, me, madam Ify, my mother, and my sister Osinachi.
That's when madam Ify beckoned me to a quiet area and asked that I sit down beside her on a chair. After I did that, she slowly began telling me all about Alex's origin which brought Ogbodiya into the picture.
She told me how Alex's parents died in a plane crash and added that before the day of their death, they had unsettled marital issues that could have led to a divorce.
When I asked what the issue was, madam Ify told me that it turned out; Alex's father had another family outside his legal wife and two children which is Alex and Belinda.
His wife Alex's mother found out about his father's illicit affair and the result which of course was a daughter whom they named Ogbodiya. The woman was very angry but later decided to forgive her husband after much pleas from families and friends.
The problem escalated again after a month and that is because the other woman insisted that Alex's father must marry her as a second wife.
The mistress threatened Alex's father that she would ruin his public image which of course was and still is of importance to the family. Protecting their family's good reputation that is the same reason they had to keep Ogbodiya a secret from the public.
According to madam Ify, Alex's father was willing to succumb to her request. That decision of his, led to a serious disagreement between him and his wife on the exact day that they were to return to Nigeria after a business trip.
Alex's mother had already contacted a lawyer in Nigeria to begin the divorce proceedings, but unfortunately, it couldn't push through because they died on their way back from Europe.
The story is a tragic one indeed and it is planting fears and doubts in my heart.
I am wondering in my heart if Alex isn't like his cheating father. So many negative what ifs were filling my heart up.
I had to wave the fears and anxiety off when the conviction became stronger in my guts that Alex is the man for me.
I intentionally forced myself into calming down after I remembered how God had given his approval to our marital union. I am sure within me that Alex is my husband and thankfully, all my dreams confirmed it.
Madam Ify continued talking when she saw that I was back from my inner world of overthinking things. I am now ready to listen to whatever she is explaining to me.
She continued talking while I listened attentively without interrupting her.
After his parents' death, the other woman just had to give up on the marriage idea and make do with a part of the property that was given to her to care for her daughter.
Thankfully, she didn't restrict the three siblings from getting to know themselves. She had allowed them to meet and visit each other interchangeably whenever they desired to.
Unfortunately, she died of lung cancer when Ogbodiya clocked ten years old so I had to take her daughter under my custody.
They are my junior brother's children so I took care of all three of them together as though they were my own children. Thankfully, my husband was also loving and kind towards them as though they were his.
Kasarachi, I watched the three of them grow under my nose and over the years, they had built a bond as siblings although everyone in the family knows one particular fact.
Which is that, Alex doesn't really like or relate much with Ogbodiya because of her extremely sassy and overbearing attitude.
To Alex, she and her mother were the cause of his parents' constant arguments and so to him, it is only Belinda that is his sister. Well, it doesn't hinder him from relating with Ogbodiya but he is not just that close to her.
On the other hand, Ogbodiya and Belinda are very close paddies and more like 5 and 6. I suppose it's because they have similar attributes in common, except for the obvious fact that Belinda is more tactful and emotionally intelligent than Ogbodiya.
The two of them are experts in ganging up against manipulating Alex's decisions and honestly, I blame Alex for always allowing them have their way almost all the time.
But from the look of things, it seems all of that nonsense is about to change now that you are in his life as a soon-to-be wife.
You see, Ogbodiya hates the fact that Alex is yet to accept her as a part of the family because she is an illegitimate child. That's why she keeps trying to plant seeds of discord between him and Belinda. And also to impose her choices of high class women on Alex who thankfully doesn't even care!
Madam Ify concluded by telling me she's sorry to tell me that Ogbodiya and Belinda are likely not going to be the only people in the family, I will have to contend them.
According to her, there's another person that might be far worse than both of them.
Guess who the person is....? Well, it came as a big shocker to me when I heard the name!
I didn't say anything as a reply due to fear of the unknown I could already foresee.
I sat there looking at madam Ify while debating in my mind if I should still continue with this marriage or I should end things now that it is still early. Hmmmmm.
(Do not take credit or Plagiarize AMAH'S HEART stories)
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