BETH.
I had been trying to get through to my mum on the phone since I was at the office, but I couldn’t. Her phone kept ringing, but she didn’t pick it up. I was beginning to get tense now, wondering what could have gone wrong.
“I hope she’s okay,” I said, walking around my sitting room, and trying to call her number once again. Immediately it rang, and she picked up the call. “Oh my God, mum! Why haven’t you been picking up your calls? I have been worried sick!”
I heard her yawn over the phone. “Why were you worried?” She asked. She sounded very calm and okay, and I wondered if I was just scared over nothing and overreacting.
“Uh, I guess you were sleeping when I called, yeah? Hearing the way you’re yawning like you just woke up from a three years sleep.”
“It’s unusual for you to call me consecutively like that. Is everything okay?” She asked me.
“Oh? Nothing. I… eh… just wanted to see if you were doing fine, mum.” I lied. From the way she was speaking, she didn’t sound like Lucy’s mother had confronted her yet. If she had, I trusted my mother to have called and ranted to me. But there she was, sounding calm as ever.
“Did your stepmom call you?” She asked.
“Why? Why would she call me?”
“Oh, I see she hasn’t called you. Well, she called me a few hours back and told me that she knew about our plan to scatter her home with your dad.” She said and continued. “I guess your hater friend told her that lie.”
“Lucy also confronted me in the office and insulted me. That was why I’ve been calling to make sure you’re fine. I thought you’d call to rant to me if she calls you, but you didn’t. Are you fine?”
“I’m so used to it now. It’s one of the consequences of being a mistress, and I have to live with it forever.” She said and chuckled lightly. “It’s always been me and my baby against the world, and I know it always passes after a short while.”
I sighed.
I was finally able to understand how my mother must have been feeling over the years. Whenever she called me to rant about my dad’s wife, I used to think she was exaggerating things. But now that I found myself in a situation that’s similar to hers, I understood her for once.
It must have hurt a lot to be a second choice, carrying a baby for a man who was with someone else. That was exactly how I felt when the whole Tony and Lara issue happened. It was like the whole world was against me, and at a point, it got tiring. But there she was, fighting that fight every day since she birthed me. It must have been hard for her.
“I’m so sorry, mum.” I blurted out. “I’m so sorry for not seeing your struggles through the years. Whenever you called me to rant about that witch, I’m sorry for always sounding so uninterested. You must have felt alone a lot of times, mum. How do you even do it?”
She didn’t say anything and for a second there, I thought she had hung up the call. But I could hear her breathing through the call, so I was able to tell that she was still there.
“Mum?” I called her again.
“I’m used to it, Beth. If I don’t live that way, how would you feel if you grew up without knowing your father? That was why I stayed because if I had gone to another man, he might not have loved you the way your father loves you. It pays me this way.”
“I’m so sorry you have to go through all that for my sake,” I said to her sincerely.
She suddenly giggled, making me wonder what might have been funny. “Why are you apologising? Did you place me in this state I found myself in? Wasn’t I the one who put you in this type of life by being a mistress? Now, everyone is saying ‘like mother, like daughter.'” She scoffed. “It must be hard for you too. Seeing that it’s the whole world against you at the moment.”
“Yes. It’s really hard for me.” I let out another sigh as I rubbed my forehead with my free hand and sat down on the nearest sofa to me. “I just want it all to be over, for me to be able to live my life again without being gossiped about on the streets or being pointed at to be a man snatcher at work. I want my normal lifestyle back, mum.”
“One thing I want you to understand is that you can always take breaks. When everything seems like they aren’t working for you and everyone is against you, leave. Take a break to get yourself back. Beth, people will get tired of talking. Give them a few months, and they’ll forget this issue. Nobody understands that Lara has more fault in everything, but you and I know that. At least, you have someone that believes you and that’s me!
“I’m glad you’re hardworking and you have the wealth to do as you wish. So, my dear, if space is what you need to feel better, then leave the country. Go to another place where you can live your life and breathe without anyone pointing fingers at you. And if you ever think of returning, you’ll come back stronger and happier.”
I thought about what she had just said, and for the first time since the fight started, I felt like I finally had a breakthrough, like I finally knew what to do. I was going to leave the country and get my peace of mind and sanity back. When I was ready to face everyone again, I would return. What I needed was to have at least one person that supported me, and I was glad that I did. I have my mother and Tony, and that was more than enough for me.
“Are you there?” She asked.
“Yes, mum. I’ll do just as you’ve said.”
“Now, that’s the spirit!” My mum exclaimed. “It’s you against the world and you’ll win! Go to where the gossip lies and Lara can’t get to you. Then come back stronger, like the strong woman that you are.”
“Thank you so much, mum. I honestly don’t know what I’d ever do right without you.”
“Of course, there’s nothing you can do without me!”
I rolled my eyes at her, even though she couldn’t see me. Then, I smiled as I bonded more with my mother. As soon as she hung up, I called Tony and told him about my plans to leave the country soon. If Lara couldn’t get to me, then she wouldn’t be able to hurt me or defame me further, I thought to myself.