Chapter 8
"Are you sure? Is it Sharon's place or Sharon's brother's house?" Mama Tina asked again, wanting clarification. Tina shuddered and replied, "Sharon's place."
"Hm... If it was just Sharon's place, then why are your eyes so red? What happened, Tina? Did anyone touch you?" Mama Tina asked worriedly, moving closer to examine Tina. However, Tina stepped back from her mother, staring downward.
"Tell me the truth, Tina. What happened?" Mama Tina insisted, but Tina shook her head, unwilling to reveal the truth. "Nothing happened, Mom," she said.
Tina thought, "How can I tell my mother the truth? That Sharon's brother slept with me? No, I can't do that. I won’t break Mom's heart." She remained silent.
Mama Tina sighed and said, "Fine then, go inside and take your bath. I will be leaving soon with Jude for the market. I'm just waiting for Jude to finish his breakfast."
Jude stepped out after finishing his meal, smiled at Tina, and glanced at their mother as he went down their front steps. Mama Tina addressed Tina again, "We will be leaving the house now. Since you're back, take care of the house and don't let any friends visit or enter this compound again. Is that understood?"
Mama Tina warned, pulling her ear as if to emphasize her point, while Tina remained silent.
"Are you even listening to me?!" Mama Tina yelled again. Tina replied, "Yes, Mom."
"Good. Let yesterday be the last time you go out with Prisca or anyone else. I don’t want to see Prisca here again or anywhere near you. And you shouldn't go to her compound either. Come on, Jude, let's go." Mama Tina left for the market with Jude, leaving Tina alone at home. Tina cried after her mother and brother left, locking the small gate leading into their compound from the inside.
She wept as she walked back into the house, remembering everything Patrick had done to her. In less than 24 hours, he had slept with her, and in an instant, she had been deflowered. She felt irritable, recalling how Patrick had kissed her lips hungrily, and how sweet her moans had sounded to her ears.
Tina remembered how Patrick had previously pursued her, asking her to be his girlfriend. But she had refused, focused on her college studies and preparing for a scholarship exam. She valued her independence and didn’t want a boyfriend.
After her tears subsided, Tina removed her clothes and went to take a bath in their bathroom to wash away all traces of Patrick, as his masculine scent still lingered on her. She felt sour, pained, and irritated remembering how he had taken her pride while moaning. She had never been with a man before and didn’t want to accept him—or anyone else—as a boyfriend until she was legally married. But that deed had already been done, and Patrick had taken away the precious gift she wanted to present to her husband on their wedding night.
Tina silently prayed that nothing bad would happen to her again as she cried and asked God for forgiveness for her sins with Patrick. She bathed quickly, then stepped out of the small bathroom to dress before having breakfast, as she felt exhausted. She retired to her room to sleep.
When Prisca Jonathan returned home after rushing out of Patrick's house, she felt bitter about why some men couldn’t be trusted. She recalled that Sharon hadn’t believed her claims that Tina would never sleep with Patrick or willingly let him take advantage of her.
She had told Sharon, "Tina and Patrick weren't even talking, let alone for Tina to now go into Patrick's room to give him her pride. No, I can't believe that." However, Sharon disagreed and called Tina a pretender. So, Prisca left Patrick's house, determined to confront Tina herself, wondering what truly happened.
"Did Patrick drug Tina and rape her, or did Tina consensually agree to give herself to him? No." Prisca doubted that Tina would have willingly given in, knowing her stubbornness about having a boyfriend. She sighed, concluding it was likely forced but still needed to see Tina to find out what truly occurred.
When Prisca got home, she greeted her mother first. "Good morning, Mom," she said, and Mama Prisca paused to look at her, as usual not asking about where Prisca had been. She simply replied, "Welcome, Prisca."
Prisca sighed and rushed into the house to drop her handbag, only to immediately rush out again. Her mother stopped her and asked, "Where do you think you're going, Madam? You just got home and haven’t even explained where you were! Now you want to rush out again? What’s wrong with you, Prisca? Is it because I don't punish you or reprimand you that you behave this way?"
"No, Mother," Prisca frowned at her mother's questions.
"Then first explain where you went with Mama Tina's daughter. Her mother was here, so start explaining!" Mama Prisca yelled. Prisca stepped backward away from her mother and replied, "We just went to see Sharon, that's all. We would have returned yesterday, but Sharon wasn't around, so we waited for her. When we were about to come back, the rain started and didn't stop until night fell, so we couldn't leave—there wouldn’t have been any bikes at that late hour."
"A bike!" Mama Prisca exclaimed. Prisca shuddered at her mother's reaction while she asked, "Where does your friend Sharon live that you had to take a bike to visit her? Doesn't she live in this village?" Mama Prisca inquired, but Prisca frowned and remained silent.
"Answer me!" Mama Prisca demanded.
"Mom..." Prisca frowned deeply and began to fabricate her story. "Mom, Sharon lives in this village, but she recently moved to her family's new house in the neighboring village."
In reality, Sharon hailed from the neighboring village but had grown up in the city with her parents. When Mr. and Mrs. Scott could no longer live in the city, they returned to their village house, which was still far away. However, Prisca wouldn't dare tell her mother the truth—that they had gone to Sharon's brother's house. Although the neighboring village wasn’t far, Patrick had moved out and lived in an open city, which was quite far from their village.
She felt compelled to visit him, as he was wealthy and well-off. Patrick had allowed Sharon to live with him ever since she complained about not wanting to stay in the village with their parents.
Sharon was the second-to-last child of their parents, with two older brothers—Victory and Patrick—and an older sister named Cindy. Sharon also had a younger sister, Amanda, who still lived in the village with their parents. Sharon moved in with Patrick because he was more accommodating than their eldest brother, Victor, who was an army officer living on base. Victor didn't permit Sharon or any of his sisters to visit him.
Sharon had revealed to Prisca that Victor wouldn't be able to monitor her movements or look after her when he wasn’t home. Therefore, Sharon chose to live with Patrick, who's friends visited often, and he never complained about her behavior. Patrick was aware that Sharon dated and slept with several of his friends behind his back, yet he never reprimanded her. He even allowed it to slide, preferring not to hit a woman.
Once, Patrick returned home and caught Sharon in a compromising position with one of his friends, but instead of reprimanding her, he took Sharon back to their parent's house. Nonetheless, Sharon stubbornly found her way back to his apartment, providing silly excuses for why she had been there.
Sharon had secretly taken a spare key from Patrick's set of keys, allowing her to enter his apartment whenever she pleased.
Mama Prisca stared at Prisca for a moment before saying, "Fine, go back inside first and change your clothes to freshen up. You just got home, and you can't rush out again. Go inside!"
"Okay, Mom," Prisca agreed and returned to the house. However, once she noticed her mother had left, she immediately sneaked out, locked the door properly, and headed straight to Tina's house, determined to find the truth for herself.