Jeremiah

"Welcome home sir."
I was in a good mood. I had been in a good mood for quite a while ever since my life started to get good again. It would have been better if Kora and I had just finished the movie together but I understood why she had to leave. I had only come back home after forcing myself to see the end of the movie and then went for coffee with Kingsley so we could just talk about random stuff since I wasn't exactly ready to go home yet but then Mum called, Kora was home with my Dad and it made me wonder why. She never mentioned coming to my house all the time we were together, had Dad called her?

Kora made me understand that Lunch with Father had gone well, maybe he had called her to stop by for lunch with her Mum or something, who knows? But still, Kora would have told me. Mum said she didn't know why Kora was there and with her mum as a matter of fact, so it was safe to come to the conclusion that she wasn't there for lunch.

"Mum." I noticed how my mum was pacing a few inches from the door leading into my father's study, wringing her fingers around each other. I could see how nervous she was. Mum rose her head to mine the moment I started to walk to her.

"Jerry." She reached for my hands when I got close and then drew a deep breath. I turned to the door, it was still shut, did it mean Kora was still inside? I turned back to my mum.

"Mum, what's wrong?" I asked her. "Is Kora still in?"
She nodded.

"I'm worried." My Mum told me "I think something is going on."

I heard a creaking sound and I turned to the door the moment it opened, letting go of my mum's hands as Lilian walked out first and Kora next. Mum was right, it looked like something was wrong. Whatever it was they had come for, it obviously wasn't a friendly visit. There was something about their moods, her mood, Kora's. She had her gaze buried into the ground as she walked out and then the door closed right behind them. Something wasn't right.

"Jeremiah," at least aunty Lilian recognized my presence. I watched Kora slowly raise her head to where I stood and it was then that I saw it, her eyes, surprise and the sadness in them, coupled with the tears that made them glossy. Had she been crying? Kora looked away a few seconds after our eyes met. She was fine a few hours ago, what had happened to her after she left the cinema?

Kora slowly lowered her gaze to her wrist. She was hesitating. Why? I turned to aunt Lilian,

"Is anything the matter?" She let out a weak exhale. It looked like none of them were going to say anything to me. I noticed how Kora started to walk to me, taking out our couple bracelet from her wrist. Why was she doing that?

"Hey," I told her when she got closer. "Are you okay?" I was really concerned and worried at this point. I needed her to talk to me. Why had she just walk out of my father's study looking the way she did? Kora slowly reached for my hand, taking a shaky breath and I let her, slowly lowering my eyes to my palms when I felt something cold in it. It was the bracelet. She was returning it back to me and then she wrapped my fingers around it. I rose my eyes to her, now I was scared. She sniffed, still trying to avoid eye contact.

"Let's end it." She said after a few seconds. "It was good while it lasted, let's break up."

Huh?

What was she talking about? Why was she saying all those things? I rose my head to aunty Lilian again, hoping someone just explained what was going on to me because I was having a hard time wrapping my head around it. I turned back to Kora when I found out no one was going to tell me anything.

"W-why?" My voice was literally trembling. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said. "I'm just tired and I don't feel like dating you anymore. I've been going through a lot and I need some time for myself. I don't think I want to be in a relationship with you anymore."

"I don't- I don't understand, we were okay, we just went to see a movie three hours ago, why are you being like this?"

"I'm sorry." She turned to leave. How could she just leave after saying all those words to me? How could she break up with me and leave like that without an explanation? Without telling me the reason? No, I couldn't. This wasn't her, something was wrong. The Kora I knew would never say things like this without a reason. I ran to her and grabbed her arm so she didn't walk away anymore, circling around her until I got to face her.

"What is it?" I asked her. "It's my father isn't it? Did he say anything to you?"
She scoffed as a lot of tears began to form in her eyes, I could see it. That was the confirmation I needed. It was Dad, Dad must have done something. There had to be a reason why she just walked out of his office looking the way she did. It had to be him. He asked her to leave me, I just knew it. I could feel it.

"It was the lunch the other day wasn't it? It didn't go well did it? Did he force you to do this? Did he ask you to break up with me?"
If there was one thing I knew about my father, this was it. He was capable of anything, he never ceased to surprise anyone. Kora pulled her arm from me.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" She asked me.

"Kora-"

"I said I was tired of being in a relationship with you. You're annoying and you're easy, you're too clingy and it's disturbing and irritating, loving you is tiring."

"Kora!"

"Is it by force?!" She asked me. "What do you want me to say? That I was actually using you? That I just pretended to like you to boost my popularity status and get over Luke? Fine, if you want the truth then I'd say it."

"Why are you being like this? What has come over you?"

"I never liked you. I never loved you. I was at a point in my life where people kept picking on me and you were there, I needed someone to protect me and I knew you had feelings for me so I took advantage of your feelings for me, good thing because it came with a bonus. I got to be popular and gain a lot of social media influence, now I'm just sick of it. I'm sick of you."

I could feel how my tear glands had become effective immediately. I could feel how my eyes became glossy clouding my vision. I needed a second. A second to process everything. I sniffed. If this was her way of trying to push me away because of my father, I had seen this before, I wasn't going to let her.

"That's not true." I didn't want to believe it because it wasn't. Kora could never say those things to me. "I won't believe a thing you said."

"Believe it because it's the truth."

"It's not true!" I yelled at her. My emotions were getting the best of me now.

"Jeremiah," I could hear my mum call me from behind. I didn't care. I didn't care about what anyone said, I had my eyes on Kora.

"How can you say all those things to me? How can you be so mean? That's not you. I know you. I know what we had, you used me? You never used me, you loved me, you still do. What did my father say to you? What did he say that's making you act like this?"

"Didn't you hear me?"

"This won't do." None of it was making any sense. If there was anyone that could make all of this make sense to me, it was my father. I grabbed Kora's hand. "Come with me." I turned to walk with her to the study but she pulled her hand away from me again.

It was frustrating.

"Why won't you listen to me!" She yelled at me. I slowly turned to her.

"Kora," aunty Lilian called her.

"I said I don't love you! I hate you and I hate your family even more! The thought of even being here disgusts me." Tears began to fall from her face. "I hate you, I hate you and I hate everything about you, I hate that I've known no peace ever since I met you. Everyday, there's always something, there's always something bad to happen to me. I feel chocked and I can't breathe anymore, my life has been a mess ever since I met you. Is it bad? Is it bad to want my life to go back to how it used to be? When it was less complicated? When I didn't know you? You ruined my life and you're going to keep ruining it. Everyday is another fight for me because of you. It's either the press or your fiancée or your fans or your family and I'm sick of it. I'm not cut out for it. I'm not cut out for any of this. I'm tired and I'm suffocated! I'm about to loose my mind, every second I'm with you, it feels like I'm drawing close to madness. I can't do this anymore! I don't want this anymore!"
She was crying. Kora was crying and you had no idea how miserable that made me feel. How sad and helpless that made me feel. I was going to do anything to make her stop, to make everything right again. Did she say I was suffocating her? Was being in a relationship with me too hard for her? Had I not been considerate enough? Did I really make things hard for her? All I ever did was tell her about my problems without ever thinking about hers. I had no idea what she was going through and it hurt me even more than the words she was saying to me. I sniffed, I could feel my hands tremble as I slowly reached for her hands.

"Kora," I was pushing a lot of tears back now. I could feel how her hands trembled under mine. "Kora, don't do this to me please." I had become so drawn to this girl and I couldn't imagine a day without her. My heart was literally tearing apart and I couldn't help myself. I knew it was selfless to ask her to stay with me even after everything she said, even after she told me how toxic our relationship was to her but I couldn't help myself. I was not going to take it if she left me. I had only realized how drawn to her I was, just this second.

"What do I have to do? What can I do to make you feel better? Do you need space? Do you need some time to yourself?" I asked her, trying to be as calm as possible. "How much time do you need? A week? Three weeks? A month? A year?"

Kora scoffed.
She was having a hard time stopping herself from crying. I could see it. She wasn't saying anything anymore, she couldn't even look at me, she was just crying over and over again and her sobs were really loud. She was crying loudly that it started to bring some workers to the hallway to see what was wrong. I had never seen her cry that way ever and before I knew it I was starting to cry too. My heart had never felt so heavy and congested in a really long while. I felt my mother wrap her hands around me.

"Jidenna," she called my name in an attempt to get my attention and comfort me. I could tell what she was trying to say. She wanted me to let Kora go, to give her some space and time to get herself together. It was obvious I was only making things worse for her by holding on to her like that? How could she cry so hard if she meant all she said? If she really didn't like me? Then why was she crying like that? How was I supposed to believe anything she said to me? I felt my hands slowly let her go. I had never felt so weak, so powerless. Aunty Lilian rushed to Kora immediately and wrapped her hands around her.

"Let's go." She told her. I watched how she turned Kora around and they made for the exit while she held on tightly to her. They were leaving  and I couldn't stop them, I didn't know how to. I couldn't bring myself to. I could feel how my mum rubbed my arm to give me all the comfort I needed.

I was holding it in, I was holding so much in. I needed an explanation and I was going to go to the only person I knew could give me one. I let a frown cover my face as I turned around quickly, detaching myself from my mum's hold. I started to storm towards the brown door, towards my father's study.

"Jidenna!" My Mum went after me.

I pushed the door open immediately and stormed in.
There he was, my Dad, sitting in his huge chair with his eyes glued in a book in front of him. It looked like he was busy but I couldn't care less. I started to walk to him, keeping my eyes on him and on him only. I walked up the stairs as fast as I could. He knew I was there, there was no way he didn't know but he was intentionally acting like he didn't. I narrowed my gaze on his desk, looking for something, anything at all that could explain what had just happened. If he wasn't going to talk to me, I just needed to make him. I could see an envelope on his desk, a big brown envelope and for some reason, I felt drawn to it. Something in me wanted to know what was in it. I picked it up quickly, I still didn't remember him move or try to stop me. I opened it and poured its content on the table.

There it was, a small paper that looked more like a cheque leaflet and then there was another one. I grabbed it and looked in it. I felt like time had stopped when I saw the amount in it. Twenty million. I slowly reached for the other one, a hundred and twenty million, both written in Kora's name. My heart beat stopped. I couldn't believe what I was looking at. I lowered my gaze on the table so I could see the plane tickets on it. There were three tickets, all of them, first class to London. There were names on them of course, Kora and Aunty Lilian's, Michael's too. What kind of an atrocity was I looking at? I could feel air disappear instantly from my lungs, my hands were trembling but I took a second, I needed one if I was going to breathe again, or find the strength I needed to move on. I rose the cheques in the air so he could see it.

"What's this?" I was giving him a chance to explain himself. A chance to tell me it wasn't what I thought it was. To tell me that he didn't have a hand in what had just happened outside that room, to tell me he hadn't just tried to give Kora money to disappear like he made everyone else in my life do.

"What does it look like it is?" He asked me, not even bothering to look my way, "You're disturbing my reading, whatever it is you need, we can talk about it some other time."

I scoffed.
Was he even serious? What was so important about what he was doing? What was more important than what had just happened? Than Kora? I had no idea what had come over me but the next thing I knew, I had my hands on his desk, pushing everything on it to the ground, including his book, phone and laptop. I didn't care. I was sick of it, at least now he was going to give me the attention I wanted.

I hit the cheques on the desk in front of him and took my hands off them so he could see.

"Explain this!" I yelled at him. He was going to talk to me whether he liked it or not. He had to because I wasn't going to leave without an explanation. "What happened when you asked Kora out to lunch? What did you tell her? What did you tell her to make her so scared of you? To make her say all the things she said to me out there? What did you do to her?"
I knew the answers I was looking for but I just wanted him to say them to me himself. "Did you threaten her? I'm asking you!"

"You fool!" My father hit the table immediately, standing up to face me. "Who do you think you're talking to?!"

"Chief!"
My mother ran to my defense. I felt her grab my arm and try to pull me behind her. I pulled myself from her. I didn't need her protection. It was high time I put an end to my father's madness, it was high time I stood up to him.

"Who gave you the right?" I glared at my father. "Who said you had the right to meddle in my life and decide who walks in and out of it? What gave you the right?!"

"Jidenna that's enough." My Mum tried to stop me but I didn't care. I couldn't care about anyone at that point.

"I don't owe you or anyone an explanation for my actions." My father told me. "As long as you're a member of this family, as long as you're my son, you'd do what I want and exactly how I want it."

"What?"

"Oma is your fiancée and the only one I approve of. Did you really think I was going to let you date that girl? Someone who answers her mother's last name? Someone without a history? A nobody? What good is that to me? What good is that to this family?"

"What good is it to you?" I couldn't believe my ears. "A nobody? What do you know about Kora? You know nothing about her!"

"I know enough!" He yelled back at me. "I can never let her be a part of your life or destroy your relationship with Oma. She might be a Richard but she's illegitimate, she's not good for you. She can't secure your future."

I scoffed. I couldn't believe it. Was that his excuse?

"She's not good for me because she's illegitimate?" That had to be the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. "That's really funny." I let myself laugh just to spite him. "I had no idea I have the right to be so picky considering the fact that I'm illegitimate too."

"What?"

"How can you look down on someone when you're not any different? When I'm not and different? She's illegitimate? That's exactly what I am! She's not good for me? I'm not good for her! I'm nothing without her!"

"Jidenna!"

"Who said you could send her away? Who said you could decide who I end up with?! You're just going to stand there and judge her? Now you want to be a father to me? Who said I cared about being your son? Since when were you ever a father to me? Why do you have to decide how I live my life after ignoring me for ten years and acting like I was invincible? Like I wasn't your son and now you're trying to use me to increase your power? Cut it out Dad, we both know the reason you want me to end up with Oma and it's not because you care about me or her or my life or future, it's because of you! It's because of those damn oil wells you want for yourself and you're trying to use me to get it! You're only doing this because you're selfish. You don't care about me or anyone, you only care about yourself! I shouldn't have even bothered with you, I should not have saved you weeks ago, maybe Christian was right after all, I should have just let him take you to that old people's home, I should have let you die because you disgust me!" I glared at him.

"Jidenna!"

"Jidenna! Jidenna! Jidenna!" I turned to my mother immediately, I was sick and tired of hearing her call me, call my name. "I'm sick and tired of that name!"

My mum let out a shaky breath.

"You don't have the right to call me by that name when you abandoned me all those years ago too! How different are you from him?" I pointed at my father, still looking at my mother. "All you do is kiss his ass all the time, you let him do whatever he wants and get away with it, you remain faithful to him even when he doesn't deserve it just because of some silly love you have for him! Why don't you ever tell him? Why don't you ever tell him the kind of a person he is? How sick he is? Why don't you ever do anything! You both abandoned me all those years ago, what makes you think you have the right to be a parent to me now?! This is your fault just as much as it is his, Oma and Kora's parents. All of you destroyed our lives and made it so miserable and difficult, trapped us and forced us to live the kind of lives you lived, to live for you, to live up to your own expectations because you were complete failures in your own lives! Oma won't even accept the fact that I'm not good for her, that she doesn't love me no matter how I treat her and push her away because she has been brainwashed by her father and mine into thinking that she has some sort of responsibility to her family and a legacy to protect. My life is a complete mess because of the both of you but Kora, she had it best, she's better than all of us and it's because she didn't have a father like mine or Oma's to control and twist her life, to make her miserable! Say whatever you want about who aunty Lilian is, but she's a better parent than any of you. All you people do is look down on them and make them feel less than themselves treat them like we are better than them!"

My Mum exhaled.
She didn't look surprised. It was like she had seen it coming. Like she had expected it.

"So now you learnt to talk back to your parents?" I heard my father's voice from behind me and I held my breath. "Did Kora ask you to talk back at us? Is that what she thought you?" I rose my hands to my hips, he was frustrating me. I turned to him so I could look at him while he talked. He slowly sat in his chair.

"Fine then," he folded his hands. "It looks like I just need to tame you again, to make you realize that I am in charge and that as long as you're under this roof, as long as you're my son, and you're a part of this family, you're going to do exactly what I want and live up to my expectations." He exhaled. "Get ready, we are going to commence with your traditional wedding with Oma."

"What?"

"Chief," my mum had a surprised tone in her voice as she walked to my Dad's table. "Chief he's still a child."

"Traditionally, he's of age. It's only best we wed them both traditionally for now to seal the deal and then when he is  finally twenty five, we'd go on with the white wedding. That way, it would take away every distraction. Oma would be a member of our family." He rose his head to me. "Prepare yourself. I'd contact your uncle and other family members, Oma's mother too, you'd be getting married to Oma traditionally in seven days."

I scoffed.

"You must be joking if you think I'm going to do what you want. If you think I'm going to live the way you want me to. If you think I'm going to get married to someone I don't love."

"You don't have a choice."

"You said you get to call the shots as long as I am in your house and a part of your legacy didn't you?" He furrowed a brow. "Well I quit. I quit being your son. I don't want to be your son anymore if it means I'd get to live like this, I'd move out of your house today,"

"Jeremiah-"

"And I'd continue to see Kora. We'd stay out of your way from now on so you don't have to worry about us." I was trying so hard to be as calm and rational as possible. I took a few steps back so he could have a better view at me. I bowed my head to pay my last respect to him. "Thank you for looking after me all those years, I'd try to pay you back when I can." I rose my head and then turned to leave. My mum grabbed my hand immediately and I turned to her. I didn't want her or anyone to stop me. I reached for her hand. I was about to pull it away when I started to hear really loud footsteps approaching the room and before I knew it, a few of Dad's bodyguards stormed inside, forming an arc around me. I held my breath.

Of course he had brought in his guards to stop me. I should have guessed he wasn't going to let me go that easily. I heard a loud thud as my father hit his table and I turned to him.

"Did you really think I'd let you go after all the sacrifices I've made for you? After all I've done for you, you think I'd let you cause a stop to my plans because of your childish tantrums and useless feelings for that girl?" He asked me. "And here I was thinking that you were the wisest out of all my sons, I can't believe I was actually considering making you the king of my kingdom and keeping you in charge of this family and it's legacy. You have failed me as my son. You'd quit? You can only stop being my son when I say so because I made you, I created you and don't think for one second that I can't take you out."

"You can try and stop me."

"Oh I will." He sounded so sure of himself. He turned to the guards. "Take him." He ordered them. "Lock him up in his room and refrain anyone from going to see him. He's not allowed to have any guests or visitors over. He's to stay in his room and sober up, reflect on his life until his marriage with Oma is over."

"What?!"

"He is not allowed to see anyone or come out of his room until I say so."

"Chief," my mother turned to him. "Chief please, is this really necessary?"

"Take him now! Use force if you have to, beat him into a pulp if you must, beat some senses into him if he resists, I permit you. Just keep him alive, I need him alive for the wedding."

The guards started to hurry to me, I tried to resist, I tried to fight them off but they were just too many, they were just too much for me. They grabbed me by my arm as tightly as they could and didn't let go. They started to pull me towards the door, punching me whenever I tried to resist. I bent over when I felt a hard punch on my abdomen. They were trying to weaken me.

"Chief please, they are going to hurt him. Stop them please."

It didn't look like my father cared to listen. My mum started to hurry to me as fast as she could. She wasn't going to let me go alone. They pulled me out of my room and up the stairs. My legs failed me. The pain in my abdomen prevented me from doing so much. Before I knew it, I was thrown into my room and the door was shut right after. I heard the lock click and tried to pick myself from the ground. To stop them from locking me in but whenever I moved, I could feel a sharp pain piercing through my skin.

I hurried to the door as fast as I could and started to hit it loudly with my fist, ordering them to open it and let me out but no one listened to me, no one was listening. I hit the door harder and tried to force it open, pushing myself on it as hard as I could but nothing worked.

My legs failed me again and it was then I realized that there was nothing I could do. I was powerless and I was trapped. They weren't going to let me out of my room. They weren't going to listen to me. I didn't stop anyway. I couldn't stop, I had to be out of that house and I was going to get out even though I had to break down that door to make it happen. I wasn't going to stop. I couldn't stop. I couldn't give up. I had to go to her, I had to get to Kora. I had to.

I hit the door again.