CHAPTER 18: WHO IS MY FATHER?
CONTINUATION FROM THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER.
Raphael stood there in front of the family, his head bowed. He wanted to cry at that moment but he was doing all that he could to prevent the tears from falling. He was a man…he was supposed to man up! There was nothing a tear could do for him at this moment to not experience his father’s wrath.
“I can’t believe this! Another failure! Another disappointment! I can’t believe this! I really can’t.” Micheal screamed. He was sweating profusely as he walked to and fro while talking.
“Never in my life have I disrespected my family name this much. How could you have done this, Raphael? I thought that I should not just make you jobless or allow you to work for another company because of what people might say, I gave you a chance to showcase your talent but you went ahead to showcase how dumb and stupid you are.
I warned you, boy! I warned you about this step of yours that you were about to take! I told you that this girl that you are dying all over for isn’t worth it but not only did you drag my business through the mud, but you also dragged the family name as well. What a disappointment! Can’t you be more like your brother, huh? Instead of you learning from him whenever you are corrected, you go all around picking fights with him. Disgraceful! I bet your so-called mother will also be disappointed in the son that she has given birth to, what a waste of strength during labor.” Micheal said in a fit of rage.
“Dad, you should calm…” Josephine tried to create peace but her words were shoved up her throat when Micheal gave her a disturbing look.
“You’d better swallow those bitter words of yours now, silly girl. Don’t talk when the elders are talking. Do you know the damage that he has caused? Now our family is brought to the limelight, not because of something wonderful but terrible. He was duped by a girl. Half of what he earned…even more than half, everything is gone and the worst of all is that we can’t recognize who the girl is anymore. Very stupid! Love indeed is the stupidest thing I have ever heard, I never witnessed it until now.” Micheal spat out his words before leaving the sitting room. Everyone else looked at him with either pity[Josephine and Jeremy] or happiness at his misfortune [ Vegas and Mandarin]
Raphael was confused. Who could have leaked the information? His men wouldn’t do it, would they? No one was aware of it even until he left last night for the hotel. Did she also plan all of these? Wow, he was more than devastatingly impressed by her devilish handwork.
“Boss…”
“Brother…”
Jeremy and Josephine both called but Raphael turned his back and left. He entered his car, started the engine, and zoomed off before Jeremy could stop him.
He was driving with all sorts of turbulent emotions. Anger, fear, frustration, heartbreak, etc. He has been fooled all this time. He was such a big fool…a very big one, he told himself. Amidst the waging sea, the calm and sleeping face of the woman he slept with last night flashed through his eyes and miraculously, he was able to calm himself.
Who was she? Was she sent to his room to get him too? What kind of mess had he gotten himself to? He picked up his phone and searched for his name.
Unfortunately for him, his name was the current hashtag that was popular in terms of searching. How incredible! By the time he got to the hotel, many people there were looking at him strangely and he could hear them mock him with their snorts, laughter, and whispering even when they knew that he was within earshot. He climbed the stairs hurriedly and went to his room but by the time he got there, the lady in question was nowhere to be seen.
There were no traces of her anywhere in the room, only her faint perfume was left lingering in the atmosphere. He took off his shirt, he was stressed out already that he couldn’t even think. All he wanted to do was to get away from reality but he did not know how to.
PRESENT TIME.
Evelyn was once again chatting with Ralph’s ghost in the evening. It seemed like he was the available person that she could talk to online. Kira had been going crazy about her work and hardly had time to take care of herself so she was unavailable.
“Did the Raphael guy disturb you that much?”
“No, it went well. I am just stressed out for another personal reason, that’s why.” Evelyn replied with a tired emoji.
“That’s understandable, Evie. Everyone gets tired too. Just take some rest and let the Raphael guy know when he is crossing his boundaries in worth ethics. He is not even supposed to give you a killer job if not because his life is as stiff as a block of ice.”
“Lol. Like I would always say, he has a good side but if there is one side that I am not particular about, it is the fact that he might be a womanizer.”
“A womanizer? That is new. What made you come to that conclusion?”
“We talked today and he revealed that to me.”
“I never thought that he would be this flexible with his staff. Maybe he isn’t that bad after all but he is handsome, right? [Winking emoji]”
“Lol. To be sincere, he isn’t bad at all.” Evelyn texted as a form of her reply. She flashbacks to the closeness she had with Raphael in the office and her face burns. She wasn’t a teenager in love yet she was behaving like one. Every single detail about him kept hammering in her head that she had to drop her phone and just scream into her pillow.
“Stop thinking about him!” She screamed but the pillow helped muffled it.
“Calm yourself, Evelyn. There is nothing more to it. You are just appreciating God’s handwork, that’s all and it’s not even considered illegal. You can admire a man and a woman or even anyone that you wish to so that was just what she had done.
When she came back to her phone, she only met Ralph’s ghost message.
“Hey, I am sorry but I need to go right now. My friends are here for a party, you know how guys roll, right? I will chat with you later, okay? Have a wonderful night, dear.” He had gone offline.
She typed and sent him a simple message, “Goodnight”
Just when she was about to sleep, Tom knocked on her door.
” Mom, are you sleeping yet?” He asked.
“Come in, Tom,” Evelyn replied and the cutie opened the door and entered. He was already dressed up in his fluffy rabbit ears pajamas and was holding a dinosaur toy as big as he was. She bought that for him so he could find something to snuggle with.
“Come to momma.” Evelyn opened her arms wide and he climbed the bed, Evelyn pulled him in and kissed his forehead.
“How are you?” She asked.
“I am fine, mum. Thank you.”
“You look sleepy. Was there any problem today in class? Did anyone bully you?” She asked as she dressed his smooth hair. He shook his head and received another forehead kiss.
“That’s my boy. He is always a good kid.” Evelyn praised and played with his cheek.
“Mum.” He called and looked at her.
“Yes, my dear?”
“Who is my daddy and where is he?” He asked innocently. Evelyn became stiff when she heard this. The smile on her face turned frozen. She looked hesitant but then tried to cover it up.
“Why did you ask? You have never asked me such a thing before.” She pats his head, She did not want him to see her terrified face at that moment.
“Today in class, our teacher instructed us to tell her one thing that we love about our fathers. Everyone was saying theirs but when it came to my turn, I had nothing to say and everyone laughed at me when I said that I had only mummy and not daddy. My teacher told me that it was okay to have one and also to have both so mum, do I really have a daddy or it’s just you?” Tom asked, his voice getting drowsy.
Evelyn was trying to hide her sobs. What answer would she give this little man? Should she tell him that ‘Oh, I don’t know who your father is? I slept with him due to carelessness’ or ‘Your father is dead. What if he asked for his father’s picture? What then? What would she give him? She knew that he would ask her one day and she wouldn’t have the courage to reply.
He was a kid and kids are sensitive at a young age. They won’t be able to handle information that can bring a negative effect on their life, it might open them to bullying at all costs and she just wants to prevent that for her son.
She sniffed and wiped her tears before adjusting Tom so he could sleep comfortably on her bed while clinging to his dinosaur. She ran her hand over his forehead back to his hair repeatedly as she said softly.
“You won’t even understand no matter how I try to explain to you, my dear but when you get older, I will answer every one of your questions.”
She got under the blanket and scooped him in her embrace as a tear slid down her eye.
TBC…