FARIDA
PART 59
Tomiwa and her family called for an out of court settlement. They were not interested in dragging the case about custody of Morenike. Wale had come across some videos on social media which showed Tomiwa doing drugs and acting funny when high. How can someone like take care of a child? This was not the Tomiwa he knew; he never dated girls that do drugs.
They met at the lawyer’s office. Tomiwa was present looking all saintly. Present also were her parents and her lawyer. Wale was alone with his lawyer. He knew why they were there. He commented on the video of Tomiwa. She knew it would come out in court and was trying to avoid it.
Wale’s lawyer opened the conversation “We have decided to settle this case amicably. Our decision will be taken to the judge and then signed off by both of us. Let us hear what you are offering”
Tomiwa’s mother responded to Wale, “We know you are angry with Tomiwa. What she did was very wrong; we have admonished her for that. Please Wale, do not separate mother from child. Let Morenike come back and stay with us; we will take care of her whether Tomiwa is there or not”
“What you are saying is, I should release my daughter to you her grandparents?” Wale asked.
“No, not to us but to Tomiwa and we will help take care of her” Tomiwa’s father replied.
“What does Tomiwa want?” Wale asked.
“Mgbo, what do you want?”
“I want my daughter” Tomiwa amswered.
“If I give you Morenike, I am going to cut ties with you and her for the rest of my life. She’s not entitled to anything or right from me” Wale responded.
“Why would you talk like that my son? The child is still yours. You are her father, why would you want to cut off from your offspring?” Tomiwa’s father answered.
“I had an agreement with Tomiwa. She would leave the baby with me after six months and go on her way. She was free to visit her child with notice. But she stopped bre@stfeeding my child when she got back from America. She has no utter of love for the baby she deceitfully had for me. A child she insisted on having. She couldn’t obey simple rules. I can never leave this child with Tomiwa”
“Then leave her with us. We will take care of her” Tomiwa’s mother suggested.
“I can’t leave my daughter with either Tomiwa or my mother. Who brought up Tomiwa? Well, I don’t want a daughter like Tomiwa so I can’t leave my child with you” Wale replied.
“Ah! Tomiwa! It is because of you this boy has insulted us. I asked you if the boy responsible for your pregnancy wanted it, you said yes, even the mother insisted you kept it. See your life now? You can’t even take care of your own child. What do we do now?” her mother asked.
“Tomiwa is an adult. Tell us what you want, we need to reach a compromise”
“I want to relocate. I want to travel to Australia”
Tomiwa’s mother interjected, “What does that have to do with what is on ground?”
“Allow me say my mind. This is the first time anyone is asking what I want. Wale, I have learnt my lesson. I am sorry for everything. It is your mother, she caused it. I called her and told her I want to move on but she won’t hear of it. She made me believe she can still make you marry me even before this incident. Now my parents have started their own. Wale, listen to me, I want to relocate to Australia and start a new life. I have seen my mistakes and I want a fresh start in life. If you can get me the visa and then give me some money then I will not come back for Morenike. When she is five, I can visit her but I will not take her away from you and Farida. Your mother will do anything for Farida not to have Morenike but from what I have seen she might just be better off with her. Your father told your mother and I Farida came to Nigeria to help Morenike settle in Abuja. I prefer her being with Farida than with your mother or mine. Let us agree how much you will settle me and I will sign off any document you want”
“Tomiwa! You are selling off your child” her exclaimed.
“Wale doesn’t love me and will never love me. I went back to someone whom I thought loved me but that video was a wakeup call. I don’t want that life anymore. I want a fresh start. I can get that in Australia. Wale make that happen”
Sam wondered why Farida’ mother hadn’t gotten back to him since her return. He had called her several times but it never connected. Did she remain in the UK? He had to call child care services and he was informed that Farida did not allow his proxy have access to the children. He felt she didn’t have the opportunity of seeing the kids. He didn’t bother to find out he couldn’t reach her. He made assumptions and moved on.
Campaign was in full swing. Sam still couldn’t create the time to see his children. His opponent saw he was a very strong contender and decided on smear campaign to pull him down. The video of Farida and Wale k!ssing at the airport resurfaced. It was released with a caption “A man that cannot manage his home cannot legislate properly”. His father advised him to ignore the smear campaign and focus on winning the election after all, the people are aware he is married to a daughter of the soil who is in full support of her husband.
His opponent found out Farida was in the UK with the children. They did their digging and discovered the house was in Farida and Wale’s names. They also discovered Sam was not a part of the lives of children. They found the court rulings and the DNA result. They got a copy of the restraining order and the divorce notice. Further investigation showed that Sam had not paid any child support and had not seen the children since the DNA result was released. That was when it started.
The private detective took pictures of Farida and the twins. Took other pictures of Monica with Farida and the children. Then, he had the rare opportunity to capture Farida and Wale together. They went on a stroll the night he arrived. Luckily, they went out to discuss something important so there were no very intimate pictures. All they had were implicating and damning evidence that could make caricature of Sam and his candidacy.
Before it hit the internet, the chairman of the party got wind of the information and even copies of the evidence. He invited Sam and his father to his house and showed them. It was shocking to Sam but not his father.
“This will be an embarrassment to us. Why didn’t you divorce your wife when you discovered she had been unfaithful?”
“It is a long story ….” Sam tried to explain but his father cut in.
“She has been separated from Sam before she graduated her friendship with the said man. She has asked for a divorce even before then. Sam didn’t manage his woman well. The problem here isn’t the other man but the fact Sam is not a responsible father to his twins. That is why she has refused to negotiate or talk to him. But it doesn’t mean anything. Sam will claim they are separated at the verge of a divorce and he questioned the paternity of his children. That’s all”
“They have it on good authority Sam doesn’t want a divorce” the chairman said.
“Well, he wants it now. He has to choose between the woman and the house of reps seat. I think he is wiser” his father replied while looking at him. Sam didn’t say anything.
‘If that is the case, he should expediate action on the divorce so it will be out before the elections proper. I know a judge who can make it happen”
“We will require his services. Thank you. We will get back to you. How long can you hold up the pictures from getting to the internet?”
“Two months”
“My son will see his wife and agree terms for the divorce with her and then we will finalise it. He will take up responsibility as a father of the twins and then leave the rest to me”
“I trust you to handle this. Get back to me soon”
After the left the chairman’s house, Sam’s father asked him to book a flight immediately for both of them to travel to see Farida. While there he put a call to Farida and asked her to meet him at his house in London the next day. He asked her to come with the twins. Sam was surprised his father had a direct contact with Farida.
Sam’s father hadn’t seen the twins since she had them but he spoke with Farida often and she sent pictures and videos of the twins when they met milestones. She never asked for anything which he saw as a plus. He refused to come and see the twins because according to tradition, the twins were supposed to come to his home and see him. Because of what was on ground, he decided the London home will surpass.
Farida arrived the house with Monica and the twins. Farida was excited that at last their grandfather would see them. They were not prepared for the shocker they met when they got in. Sam was seated beside his father feeling fly cool with himself. His father welcomed Farida he knelt to greet him as she has always done. They twins were much older now and could move around by crawling and holding things to stand.
Sam’s father carried the beautiful children in his hands with so much joy. He prayed for them and hugged them tightly. He could see they have been well taken care of. Sam made no attempt to come close to his daughter, he only held his son. Farida watched with an irritated look on her face. She didn’t want to talk to Sam or have anything whatsoever to do with him. He was just riding on the opportunity of his father.
“So this girl is not your child too” Monica asked Sam disgusted at his behavior.
“It is one after the other” Sam replied.
“It is not your fault. Father gave you this opportunity. Your children in Nigeria with all the money do they look anything like these children? Look how healthy and beautiful they look. All these without anything from you. Now you are choosing who you will carry. Shameless, that is what you are. After how many months that’s when you came to see your children. Shameless” Monica concluded.
Before Sam could continue, his father stopped him and asked everyone to calm down.
“Farida, we need your help. Sam is ready to divorce you and we want it done very fast. We will need your lawyer to join forces with ours to get this done”
“It will make me glad. Pleae give me a minute let me talk to my lawyer and get back to you” Farida replied as she stepped out of the room to make the call.
Sam watched Farida walk out of the room. She looked like when he first met her at the airport in Uyo. That was when he first desired her. She was slim, tall, had a shiny dark, a pointed nose which luckily the twins had and a beautiful face. She looked like a modern Fulani girl. She didn’t look like she has had any kids at all. He could just imagine how she would be right now in bed. This was what they all wanted him to give up. He was angry inside of him. Wale was the one enjoying this body now. He couldn’t get the thought of what they could be doing together out of his head. He was still in his thoughts when Farida came back into the room. Her breasts seem to have grown bigger. He didn’t notice them earlier.
“He said we have to agree on terms before we conclude”
“What are your terms?” his father asked.
“I don’t want anything except full custody of my children. Sam has children with Idara so he should continue with her and build a family with her. That’s all I want. I can take care of my kids myself”
“You have my first son and I should have access to him whenever I want. There are rights a first does where I come from. He must do it. Forget about Idara. I don’t even want the divorce but for peace to reign I will agree to it on my terms. I want to have my son; you can have the girl but I want to be with my first son” Sam fired back.
“You are a joker. Who is this clown sitting here? You will take my son from me? Never. It can never happen. Go anywhere, I promise you, you won’t see this boy again in your life if you try it. Stick to Idara’s son. My son is mine. You didn’t want him and you can’t have him” she continued on the phone, “I want the divorce to expediated. I have wasted enough time. I will come back to Nigeria to get this done. I want all the evidence of bigamy brought forward and I want sole custody of my children”
“I won’t grant you that divorce so you can be with that fool. I knew you Yorubas were wayward but I thought you were different. I thought I was marrying someone who was intact but you weren’t. Then you keep a lover while being married to me. Giving my property to that useless guy to use as he wills. I want my son. Go and have a son for Wale, I don’t care but this boy is mine”
“There is a big difference between you and Wale. Monica, I will tell the truth now. Yes, I wasn’t a v!rgin because I was r@ped when I was nine years old. I hadn’t had s*x until I gave myself to Sam. I had to use s*x enhancers to please your brother. He didn’t know how to please me and I didn’t know anything about s*x. I watched pornography so he wouldn’t complain. He wanted me to do all the work and I had to be innovative to keep him. It still wasn’t enough to keep Sam. You married a woman while being legally married to me. You didn’t want children with me so you could please your new lover. You did everything to stop my progress so I could be your s*x slave. Wale pleases me. He tells me his duty is to satisfy me. I have never used anything with him and still I am happy and very content. I am willing to wait for months for him. He hasn’t even experienced any of the things I did with you; you can imagine what will happen if I do. I can never leave him for you. NEVER!”
“Farida, you are looking for trouble. You will get it. Stop this foolishness and come back home. I forgive you for everything you did. Because of sex you are giving up your family and eight years of marriage? Isn’t that stupidity?”
“Where will you keep Idara if I may ask?” Monica asked Sam.
“I have two wives. There is nothing wrong with having two wives. I want Farida back with my son”
“And where will you keep the girl?” Monica asked.
“With the twins” he corrected himself.
“If Farida goes back to you, she will be the biggest fool of the century. Anyway, It is Farida’s call”
“Daddy, you sent for me. I have come to see you. I wasn’t expecting Sam. We both know Sam is unreasonable. I was never unfaithful to him when we were married. Wale and I became lovers after I had filed for a divorce and the children were born. All I want is my peace of mind and I can’t have it with Sam around. Please, talk to him. I do not love him anymore. Let him divorce me and we go our separate ways”
“I am happy you have invited me now. Farida, Sam will divorce you, that I promise you. But he wants access to his children especially his son. It is unfortunate he is the first born son of the family. What we can do is agree on custody terms. Just like Sam was doing, your son can be visiting every Christmas to know where he is from” Sam’s father advised.
“My son will be visiting anytime I am him to. I am soon to be a member of the house of representatives. I can not have my son only during Christmas” Sam insisted.
“This is how you muddled up your relationship with Farida. I told you to come and make peace with your wife but you refused. Now you want to reap where you did not sow. What bills have you paid since these children have been born? Negotiate with her you are showing arrogance. Ok, let’s see how this works for you. Your brother Daniel is a better politician than you. Even at such a young age he is gathering followers and associating nicely. He has no scandals and knows how to mange his ladies. If you refuse to listen to me, do whatever you like but also enjoy the outcome” he turned to Farida, “I am happy you have found someone to love you. I have been following your relationship and monitoring the man in Abuja. He has remained true. I know about his daughter and your visit to help him when she joined him in Abuja. Both of you have a good understanding of each other. Do not allow anything or anyone come between the two of you. You have my blessing. One last plea I would ask of you, if I can guarantee you your safety and those of your children, can I have my grandchildren come for Christmas? I want to celebrate them and the best way is if they can celebrate their first birthday with the family in the village. If you agree, I will build a house just for you and it will be secure. You know my word is my bond. Sam won’t come anywhere near them unless you approve”
“Can Wale come too? We have to spend Christmas as a family” Farida added.
“He can spare me this Christmas. He has many more to come” Sam’s father replied.
“I was just teasing you” Farida laughed.
“Monica, when will you bring your white guy home? Haven’t you two dated long enough?”
“You know about Hugh?”
“I am your father, I know everything. He is a nice guy and he treats you with respect. Bring him in December. I know you will prefer to stay with Farida so I will make your place comfortable”
“Will Idara be comfortable with Farida there?” Monica asked.
“Idara is now very sensible. I will have that discussion with her. Once she knows Farida doesn’t ever want to have anything to do with Sam, she will accept and play her role well”
“That settles it. Once the divorce is finalized then we can talk”
Sam’s father stood up and called Farida to come with him. They went to his study. He gave her an envelope.
“This is a gift for honouring me. You have not treated me like a father-in-law but like a father. The Sam I am seeing there is not ready to divorce you but I will do everything possible to make it happen. Is Wale ready to settle down immediately?”
“No sir. We are not talking about marriage for now. We just want to be together, that’s all”
“It is Sam that needs the divorce urgently; let him fight for it. Please my daughter, take care of yourself and the children. I will let you know when I will be booking your flight to Nigeria. I know you would want to Land in Abuja before coming to Uyo. Don’t let Sam see the envelope”
Farida showed Monica what her father gave her when they got home. He had packaged £50,000 in the envelope for her.
“My dad loves you. He has never taken sides with Sam over you. I wish he could love me the way he loves you”
“You can’t say that. He loves you much more. He feels responsible for me. How far Hugh? Will he agree to come to Nigeria in December?”
“I will mention it. I’m not sure he will since he has never been there”
“Hugh is a nice guy”
“Yeah he is. His work is his love, that’s the only problem”
“And your work is your love too. Both of you will make a great couple”
“Really? Two people in love with their work? He asked if we could buy a house together. He has the money but wants my financial input so it will be ours”
“How much is it? And the location”
“I wanted a place close to you. I suggested Northampton. He has found a house but it is above his budget if we split it”
“Someone mentioned a house which had been abandoned for some time. He said the owner died and her son hadn’t done anything about the place. Just recently, He contracted a realtor to sell it off. I could connect you”
“Please do. We can renovate and have two offices like we so desire”
“It has a barn which can be converted to an office or two”
“I have to tell Hugh about this”
“I have you know you have turned to a nerd now”
“I know. Who would have thought?”
Eventually Wale and Tomiwa sat down together to agree. He agreed to get her a visa to Australia and they both agreed on N50million. The money will be transferred to her when she is travelling. Wale went to work immediately. He got her a Master’s degree programme in a good university. He paid the bills. In less than three months it was sorted. She signed the agreement and signed off her custody rights to Morenike. Immediately Tomiwa left Nigeria, he packed up Morenike and they left for London.
Morenike was welcomed by her new family. Interestingly, she recognized Farida and didn’t allow anyone else touch her except the twins. He stayed for a week to make sure she had adjusted. Morenike began to allow Kufre attend to her because the twins did. It was interesting watching them. He wanted to get an additional nanny to help out; Morenike’s nanny said she couldn’t relocate because of her family. Kufre assured them she can manage the three children. Farida was at home most of the time now. Her doctorate didn’t require her going for classes all the time.
Monica was also available. Although her attention was divided. She was overseeing the renovation of the house she bought with Hugh. She brought half of the total cost which surprised Hugh. What he didn’t know was that she was a rich kid. She never told him. He loved her for whom she was which she appreciated about him. He was also making his money from creating games and apps. She was making money from her research and analysis work. Her father gave her the money for the house without blinking an eyelid. He liked the guy. He also knew her mother would oppose but then, he trusted his Ekaette; she could handle her.
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