Exhaustion, both physically and mentally, gnawed at Vanessa as she dragged herself and her bags through the door of her mother’s bakery shop. The aroma of freshly baked pastries enveloped her, but her senses were dulled by her physical and emotional fatigue.
She had expected to find her mother busy at work, and indeed, she was there, busy. But she didn’t expect to see Tanisha, her half-sister, at the bakery shop.
As she entered, she watched how her mother, Tanisha and another lady were caught up in the morning’s chaos, their hands moving swiftly as they worked to fill the display cases with pastries.
Clara was the first to notice the silent intruder. Her movement halted, and her eyes widened when she saw her daughter, Vanessa, standing there with her luggage by her side.
Tanisha observed her mother’s movements, and she moved her gaze to the direction her mother was looking and saw Vanessa. She was also taken aback by Vanessa’s unexpected visit.
Their eyes widened in unison, and they gasped in shock, as if they had seen a ghost. Her mother and Tanisha exchanged worried glances and their faces filled with unspoken questions as Vanessa walked into the shop.
A sudden silence filled the bakery shop, and it was a stark contrast to the warm, inviting atmosphere of the bakery.
“See who we have here, my little sister.” Tanisha masked the surprise look on her face with an indifferent comment.
Despite the weariness in Vanessa, she still had the strength to roll her eyes at Tanisha’s comment. It seemed like her break wouldn’t be a break anymore.
Clara rushed to her daughter’s side, concern etched on her face. “Vanessa,” she said, her voice trembling with concern.
As Clara moved closer to Vanessa, she noticed the exhaustion on her face. She noticed the eye bags under Vanessa’s eyes and her gloomy mood.
Gently, Clara pulled Vanessa to the small office behind the bakery shop. “What’s wrong?” She asked Vanessa as they settled down on the chair in the office.
“A lot,” Vanessa said. She didn’t know how to begin with the story of her life. To be honest, she didn’t know how her mother would react to the news.
Clara’s gaze moved from Vanessa’s face to her body, then to her bag, which was carefully placed on the floor before her eyes landed on the ring on Vanessa’s finger.
“What’s with the look when the wedding went well?” Clara asked.
A forced smile played on Vanessa’s face as she heard her mother’s comment. Only if her mother knew half of the things that had happened on her wedding day.
“This is the most anticipated event for you, and you didn’t get the chance to attend it. How do you feel about that?” Vanessa’s words came out like venom, and she avoided eye contact with her mother.
“Look here, Vanessa. I might be desperate to get you married. I have my reasons. All I want is for you to have a lovely family of your own, but since things didn’t go as planned, I couldn’t help it.” Clara took Vanessa’s hands in hers as she explained.
“How can you say this now when you were the one that agreed to the marriage without thinking about what I wanted. Since you wanted the marriage more than anyone else, I’m here to rub it on your face.” Vanessa said as he pulled her hands away from her mother’s grip to flaunt the wedding ring across her mother’s face.
Clara noticed an emotional imbalance as Vanessa spoke to her. She could tell something was wrong with her. “What happened to you?” She inquired.
“What else would have happened to someone who had the most eventful and memorable wedding in the world?” Sarcasm laced in Vanessa’s voice.
“Vanessa, can you be serious for once? If something is bothering you, you can talk to me about it. How would I know what happened to you if you didn’t tell me about it,” Clara said, causing tears to well in Vanessa’s eyes.
Vanessa wished she could act serene about everything that had happened, but she just couldn’t, even if she forced herself to.
“Ignorantly, I got married to Darryl Peter, who already had a woman carrying his child.” Vanessa paused as she tried to stop herself from shedding tears.
“Oh my…” Clara’s eyes widened in shock.
“Don’t be surprised yet, because that’s not even the gist, mother.”
Clara nodded her head as she controlled the surprised look on her face. If that was not the gist, whatever Vanessa wanted to say must be terrible, Clara wondered as she waited for Vanessa to continue the conversation.
“The problem is that Darryl’s mother doesn’t want him to get married to anyone else aside from the woman carrying his child. If I had known about it, I wouldn’t have agreed to the marriage and Mrs Peter wouldn’t have the chance to humiliate me in front of her family.”
“Wait! Did you just say Peter?” Clara asked.
“Yes, Peter, the family that owns D’Peters.” Vanessa answered frankly, unaware of the impending storm brewing in her mother’s head.
Clara almost stumbled out of her seat as Vanessa confirmed her curiosity. Since her daughter had been talking about Darryl, her mind never suspected anything, but when Vanessa mentioned Mrs Peter, she remembered her encounter with Gloria Peter.
“Why do you ask?” Vanessa asked, but she got no answer from her mother.
“Do you know them?” Vanessa asked again but she got no answer.
“Mother, say something.” Vanessa tried again but this time, she shook her mother’s shoulder, pulling her out of her thoughts.
“Of all the people to get mixed up with, you got yourself entangled with D’Peters,” Clara muttered under her breath.
Confusion etched on Vanessa’s face as she watched her mother’s reaction. Before she could talk, Tanisha’s voice interrupted her.
“Did I just hear someone say D’Peters?” Tanisha asked as she entered the office with her messed-up apron.
Vanessa’s curiosity doubled as she heard Tanisha’s question. So, her mother and sister knew D’Peters before she did and, with the look on their faces, she was certain they had a history. Either good or not, something must have happened between her mother and D’Peters.
“Can someone tell me what is going on here?” Vanessa said, feeling a mixture of panic and curiosity boil within her.