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About an hour after Amara went back to Cynthia’s room to beat her until she passed out, Obi returned home and saw Cynthia lying almost lifeless in the corridor. Amara and Ndidi had dragged Cynthia to the corridor after she passed out, and they left her there.

With all the maltreatment that had been happening, Obi had grown fond of Cynthia over the years, and he loved her more than he loved his biological daughter.

“Amara, why is Cynthia lying in the corridor like this?” Obi asked in shock when he saw Cynthia from a distance.

“Leave that stupid girl; she will stand up when she is tired,” Amara said.

Knowing what his wife was capable of, Obi walked briskly to Cynthia to help her up, but on getting closer to her, he was shocked to see that Cynthia had passed out, and her face and body were covered in bruises.

“Amara, what did you do?” Obi growled,” this girl is not responding and her temperature is very high,” Obi added.

“That one is her business. Next time, she will know better than to talk anyhow to me in my house,” Amara said.

“Amara, if anything happens to this girl, eh. You will not like what I’ll do to you,” Obi said as he carried Cynthia’s weak body to his car. 

“Look at him; he’s more concerned about someone else’s daughter than his daughter,” Amara said, but Obi didn’t answer.

About 30 minutes after leaving his house, Obi arrived at a teaching hospital and rushed Cynthia to the emergency ward. Luckily for him, he found a doctor who was willing to attend to Cynthia immediately.

“Mr Obi, your daughter is in very bad shape, but she will be fine. Also, I wanted to ask you about the cuts and bruises on her body?” Did she get into a fight?” The doctor said.

“Hmmm! Doctor, you will not understand. Her mother did that to her. She hits the girl at the slightest provocation,” Obi said.

“You’re lucky you brought her here when you did, or else, it would have been an entirely different case. As for her mother, you need to make sure that this does not happen again,” the doctor said.

“I have heard. How is she? When will she be discharged?” Obi asked.

“Right now, I cannot say. She is extremely stressed, and she needs a lot of rest. So, she might have to stay here for a while so we can monitor her closely,” the doctor said.

“Okay, thank you very much, doctor. I will return in the evening to check on her. That poor girl has been through a lot, and if anything had happened to her, I would not have forgiven myself,” Obi said.

“I understand. It’s a good thing you brought her here on time. Please excuse me; I have another patient to attend to,” the doctor said before leaving Obi.

“Ah! Amara will see the other side of me today,” Obi soliloquized as he walked out of the hospital to his car.

Back home, Amara and Ndidi were laughing and making fun of how Cynthia passed out when they ganged up against her.

“Mummy, you need to see the way she was breathing. We beat her so bad that she couldn’t even speak again. Next time, she will not think of disrespecting you,” Ndidi laughed.

“Don’t mind her. Instead of being thankful that I didn’t throw her out of this house long ago, she was there saying rubbish about me. I’m waiting for her to return; we will continue from where we stopped,” Amara said.

While Amara and Ndidi were laughing, they had no idea that Obi had returned, and he had overheard a part of their conversation.

“Amara, I give you and this your spawn of satan 20 minutes to go inside and pack your things. You are leaving my house today. I cannot live with a demon like you,” Obi yelled immediately as he entered the living room.

“Or else what? Obi? What will you do if I do not leave?” Amara barked.

“You’re tempting me, o. You want your people to say that I put my hands on you, abi? Obi yelled.

“Look, Obi, or whatever you call yourself, you cannot do anything to me. Is it because of that small rat that you want me to leave my matrimonial home? That can never happen,” Amara yelled. My daughter and I will not go anywhere,” she added.

“Yes, Daddy, we are not going anywhere. I cannot leave here because of that witch,” Ndidi said. Immediately Ndidi spoke, Obi turned in her direction and gave her a very hot slap, and she began to cry.

“Obi, did you just slap my daughter because of that bastard?” Amara yelled at Obi.

“Look here, Amara. I am leaving this house now, and I do not want to see you here by the time I return in the evening. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Obi said before storming out of the house.

“Look at him; why don’t you come back and talk to me? Stupid man. You think I don’t know you have been sleeping with Amara? You want to send me out so you can do as you like. That will never happen, “Amara beat her chest and yelled.

“Mummy, is Daddy really serious about kicking us out because of Amara? I can’t believe he would do a thing like that,” Ndidi said.

“Don’t mind him; he is just making noise. We will not go anywhere. In fact, if there’s anyone who should leave this house, it’s Cynthia. I cannot leave the home I suffered to build because of her,” Amara said.

Later that evening, when Obi returned home and saw Amara eating with Ndidi in the living room, he was livid.

“Amara, what are you still doing here? Didn’t I tell you to leave my house?” Obi growled, but Amara did not respond. Instead, she hissed at him and continued to eat.

“You’re hissing at me, ba? I’ll show you who I am today?” Obi said as he charged into the room. About a minute after Obi left, he returned to the living room with a machete, and as soon as Amara and Ndidi saw it, they ran out of the house.

“No o, why don’t you come and continue eating? I talked to you, and you hissed. You and your entire family must be mad,” Obi said.

The remainder of that evening, Amara and Ndidi spent it begging Obi to let them back into the house but Obi refused. He had even thrown some of their backs outside the house. When Amara and Ndidi realized that there was nothing they could do to change Obi’s mind, they packed their bags and left.

Four days after Amara and Ndidi left the house, Cynthia got discharged from the hospital and she returned home.

“Uncle, where are my mother and sister?” Cynthia asked when she saw no sign of Amara or Ndidi at home.

“They no longer live here. There’s no way I can allow them to live under my roof after what they did to you,” Obi said, ” For now, you have to focus on getting enough rest. Then we can talk about your school. You will be my primary responsibility from now on,” Obi said.

“Thank you very much, Uncle,” Cynthia went on her knees and thanked him.

“No, Cynthia, you don’t need to thank me. I should apologize to you. I turned a blind eye to all the horrible things your mother did to you all these years because I believed it was not in my place to interfere, and I’m very sorry about that,” Obi apologized. “I don’t think I would have forgiven myself if something terrible had happened to you,” he added.

“It’s fine, Uncle. You’re the only person in this house who treats me like a human being, and it means a lot to me,” Cynthia said.

“Now that I am here. You no longer have to be afraid or work like a slave. This is your home, and if Amara says she doesn’t want anything to do with you, I will adopt you,” Obi said.

The rest of that week, Obi did all the cooking and chores to show Cynthia that he was really concerned about her. He didn’t let Cynthia do any chores. All she did was eat and rest.

Somehow, word got out to Amara that Cynthia had returned from the hospital and she was living with Obi. Some of the neighbours who saw Obi sweeping the compound also told Amara what they had seen. In anger, Amara returned to Obi’s house to confront him.

“Come out, you stupid womanizer. Foolish man, you think you can deceive everybody but not me,” Amara yelled outside Obi’s house one evening. That evening, Amara knew that Obi was at home because she saw his car parked outside.

“Amara, what is the meaning of this rubbish? Didn’t I warn you to not step foot in this compound again?” Obi said as soon as he went outside. 

“My friend, will you shut up? Aren’t you ashamed to be sleeping with Cynthia? You that is old enough to be her father?” Amara yelled.

“What rubbish are you talking about? What’s the meaning of what you just said? Obi yelled.

“Oh please, stop pretending. I should have known you were having an affair with her. Your kindness towards that witch was very suspicious, but I was too blind to see it. Now, she has turned you into a house boy in your own house,” Amara yelled.

“You do not have anything to say. When you’re done barking like a mad dog, please leave my compound,” Obi said before returning inside his house.

“Woman wrapper o. I will tell the whole village that you sent me out of the house so you can sleep with my daughter. They must know the kind of husband that you are,” Amara said. From her tone, it was undeniable that she was bitter.

“Oh, now you remember that she is your daughter? When you were maltreating her in this house, you didn’t remember that she was your daughter. I warned you several times to stop treating that girl like an animal, but you wouldn’t listen; now you suddenly remember that she is your daughter. Mothers like you should be tied to a tree and burnt alive. You’re a disgrace to motherhood,” Obi growled.

“I am a disgrace to motherhood, but her rapist father is not a disgrace to fatherhood and to humanity?” Amara yelled.

“So, that’s your excuse for punishing her to what she knew nothing about? That her father was a rapist? Shame on you, Amara. I feel so foolish for living with you all these years. Did this poor girl ask to be born? When you found out that you were pregnant with her, why didn’t you abort the pregnancy? You should have done that instead of giving birth to a child you would resent,” Obi said, ” I am very disappointed in you, Amara, and I have nothing else to say to you. The next time you come into this compound, you will regret ever knowing me,” Obi said before closing his door.

“So, that’s it? You’re abandoning me and your daughter because of that bastard child? Is this the kind of father you want to be to Ndidi? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” Amara yelled, but Obi ignored her.

The whole time Amara and Obi were arguing outside, Cynthia was in the living room watching them from the window. All those years, Cynthia had no idea that the reason her mother treated her like trash was because of how she got pregnant with her.

“I didn’t know I was a product of rape,” Cynthia cried when Obi returned to the house.

“Shhhh! Obi pressed his index finger against his lips,” I don’t ever want you to say that again,” Obi said, ” you are my daughter now, and you have no business with what your mother said. There’s no justification for how your mother treated you other than her being an evil person. I do not want you to think otherwise; is that clear?” Obi said.

“Yes, uncle,” Cynthia said in a teary voice.

“About your education. You will travel to the neighbouring village to write your Waec again. I do not blame you for failing the first one. I blame your mother, she knew you were preparing to write such an important exams yet she refused to pay your school fees for a whole term and I had no idea,” Obi said.

“Thank you very much, Uncle,” Cynthia said.

“I have spoken to the right people, and I’ve made the arrangements. By God’s grace, if you pass this one, we will make arrangements for your university education. It is my desire to see you succeed to the highest level. Do not let your past determine your future; don’t ever make that mistake,” Obi said.

“Thank you, Uncle. I promise I will not disappoint you,” Cynthia said in a teary voice. 

“That’s my girl. Tomorrow, we will go to the bookshop at the market, so we can get you all the books and past questions that you need. I want you to prepare very well for the exams,” Obi said, “Now, do me a favour and wipe those tears off your face,” he added.

Three days after Obi had that discussion with Cynthia, Cynthia travelled to the neighboring village like they had planned. Unknown to Cynthia and Obi, Amara and Ndidi had heard about the news and plotted something evil against Cynthia.

Watch out for part 3

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