(Episode 5)
Oto frowned. She'd spent the last month gathering information on everyone Omodot was close to.
"He is a good man. He is born again, he gives to the poor and needy and also he is a philanthropist." One of Omodot's friends SamSam said. He was thirtyish, of medium height, stocky, and unremarkable at first glance. A closer look would reveal that his clothes were mostly high quality and he was fastidious.
Despite the fact that she'd kept seeing Omodot in horrified scenes in her dreams, she felt it was her mind, telling her what wasn't true. Her mother had convinced her that good things never come easy. "When I married your stepfather, I saw him in my dreams chasing me with cutlass. But in reality, he was never that kind of a man. Do not believe in negative dreams." Her mother said to her at a time she confided in her again. Oto shook her head, she wasn't excited anymore about getting married to Omodot. When she decided if she was making the right decision, her heart wasn't righted.
Omodot had told her that sex before marriage is a sin. He'd said this to convince her that he was indeed a good man, not after her body.
He was a lot more cautious now than he was then. He'd never imagine losing her. Falling in love with her was the best thing that ever happened to him, and he wasn't ready to let go.
Her brows rose fractionally when she visited Omodot's house for the first time.
It was the biggest and finest house she'd ever seen all her life. Omodot walked her around the entire yard, showing her the swimming pool, the flower garden and the small chapel he built for God outside the main building.
Oto was impressed about the chapel.
She'd expected that he was going to try making love to her like other men, but he disappointed her expectations. He didn't touch her, he only looked at her admiringly.
"You own this whole house all by yourself?" She asked. He nodded proudly.
Oto had wanted to ask if all that money came from his offshore work, but she took a deep breath and watched him as he was putting on his shirt, adjusting his tie.
"You and I are seeing my pastor today for counselling." He said.
"Okay..."
"I booked an appointment with him."
"Oh great..." She sipped her wine and made effort to converse intelligently with him.
Moments later, they were at a church that seemed more like a cathedral. A man dressed in an expensive suit had four hefty men, dressed in army uniform walked behind him.
"That's my pastor." Omodot said as he held her hands and led her. "Good day sir, meet the woman I told you about." Omodot said.
The man of God who was later known as revered Bobsman smiled sheepishly as he held Oto's hands. "Bless you my daughter. The lord just ministered to me that you will bring more favors to my son."
Oto smiled. In spite of the discomfort she felt within, she managed to speak reasonably in a calm tone. "Amen sir." She said.
"When the wedding date is fixed, you let me know." The pastor said. And then they both knelt down before him, and he prayed a long prayer that lasted for almost an hour, leaving Oto to wonder if it was really necessary to pray that long.
The smile on Omodot's face faded the moment Oto demanded to meet his family.
"I want to meet your parents. You don't talk about them, not even your siblings."
"That's because I don't have any."
"You dropped from the sky?" Oto asked sarcastically.
But Omodot didn't find her words funny.
"I do not have parents, my parents died in an accident with my two sisters many years ago. I do not like talking about my parents, I do not ever want to talk about them again."
Oto was alarmed at the change in Omodot's tone. His face was so set, it was like a death mask.
"I am so sorry, I won't ever talk about them anymore."
"You don't have to be sorry." He said as he held her hand to his chest. She felt safe as he held her hand and gave her endearments for the first time. She made pact with herself. She wasn't going to let anyone or anything destroy her peace of mind. Omodot was her peace. She'd stopped seeing him in horrified scenes in her dreams, to her, it meant he was the one the lord had chosen for her. She thought with a kind of determine defiance, she was never going to listen to Diana anymore. And if she made her maid of honor and she declined, she would walk down the aisle only in the arms of her stepfather.
Few months ago, she was heartbroken, searching for true love and almost became suicidal in a home she was being abused and molested. And now, Omodot had appeared like a star and changed everything. It was as though her world had tilted on it axis. She had never known such joy.
Planning her wedding was easy, Omodot gave her millions of naira to plan an exclusive wedding. She'd given her mother part of the money to make preparations for various types of food.
The wedding was well planned. It was a society wedding, the type that Oto had never imagined.
But on the eve of the wedding, something happened. He'd driven her alone to an empty building by his house.
"You will have to tie this." He said boldly has he handed over a white sheet to her.
"Why?" Oto asked bewildered, as she looked at the white sheet he was holding, and a ghost of smile touched his lips. When he looked up at her, his eyes were unguarded. "Because, you and I are getting married tomorrow, and it's a tradition in my family that a new bride must drink from this cup of wine." He said as he took a cup filled with drink and showed to her.
Comments
Post a Comment