10| Bonafide

Henry stopped at the entrance to the gents, and called out to Daniel, “Daniel?”

Inside, Daniel had his nose buried into a piece of paper. Hearing Henry’s voice made him to look up from what he was snuffing as he faced the door.

“C’mon kid, open the door,” Henry begged.

Reluctantly, Daniel staggered to the door – the effect of the drug already evident on him – and pulled the door open.

Henry’s eyes widened on seeing the state Daniel was in, and his jaw fell on noticing the rolled out paper on the wash sink.

“What are you doing kid?”

Daniel ignored him, and returned to the snuff – he took a deep inhale, and closed his eyes as he felt the substance rush into his brains, causing him to float in mid-air.

A hand came on his arm, and he shot his eyes to Henry at once.

“What do you want, Henry?” Daniel questioned.

A striking pain ripped through Henry chest as his heart burned in pain upon seeing the state Daniel was. He just couldn’t bear seeing Daniel wasting away. However, he pulled himself together, and pulled a smile on.

“We’ve got to go now,” He said.

Daniel scoffed under his breath, before taking another long inhalation of the substance.

Henry hated to see Daniel vulnerable, and wasted. Ever since he had held Daniel in his arms, when he was just few hours old, Henry had vowed to protect the boy for as long as he lived.

“You are a strong man, and a fighter, Daniel. You are not a quitter, and you’ll survive this,” Henry whispered to the almost unconscious Daniel as they were escorted out of the hall by the military.

Karen, Daniel’s mother, paced in the living room – several thoughts running erratic in her head – she just couldn’t believe the rumors that her son was an addict.

Yes, she was well aware that Daniel wasn’t the perfect son, and that sometimes, she had caught him with drugs.

However, never in her wildest dreams, did she think that he had blown into a full addict.

“Ma,” Derin’s voice cut through her thoughts.

Jumping back to her surroundings, Karen turned to Derin – bewilderment etched unto her face – but on meeting with her daughter-in-law’s gentle eyes, she immediately relaxed.

“I don’t believe a thing they say about my son,” Karen stated, as she crashed into a nearby couch.

Derin moved to Karen’s side – crouching beside her – and cupping her slowly aging hands in her smooth palms.

“It’s going to be alright, Karen,” Derin assured with a smile.

Forcing a smile on, Karen nodded once. Yet, the guilt in her heart kept stabbing her back, and she gazed into Derin’s crystal eyes.

“Derin, have you noticed him taking any drugs lately?”

Taken aback by Karen’s question, her eyes went wide, and she blinked back. “Uh, not really,” Derin replied.

Karen’s shoulders sloughed, as she sighed.

Still, despite her shortcomings as a mother, Karen wasn’t ready to watch her son go down the road to hell. She had to save him, and the only way she could think of was using Derin.

Recalling the man she had met with Derin earlier, her gut instantly went sour, as she realized that Derin might also leave Daniel, and all her plans would be ruined.

“Do you like that boy?” Karen suddenly asked.

Derin’s eyes went wide. Was Karen referring to Bayo?

“Uh, I don’t understand, ma,” Derin chuckled.

Karen’s lips pulled into a sad smile, and she said, “I wasn’t born yesterday, Derin. So, I could definitely tell that you both fancy each other.”

Derin looked away from the woman.

This confirmed Karen’s suspicion, and she took a long sigh, before continuing, “I know your involvement with Daniel is rather complicated, but I don’t want you to leave him, Derin.”

Derin looked up at the woman, and caught the droplets of tears that hung around her sad eyes, and her heart fell.

Yes, she liked Bayo, but she would never think of hurting a mother, by leaving her son.

No matter how fucked up Daniel is, Derin couldn’t bring herself to leaving him, for Karen’s sake.

“Daniel has always been used to being alone, and I have to admit that this is partially my fault and that of his father,” Karen confessed, “We have loved him, but he just never let anyone love him.”

Derin squeezed the woman’s palms gently, and said, “Karen, it’s not your fault or that of Daniel’s father. No one is to blame for how Daniel chose to accept life, and the choices he made.”

Karen looked away from Derin – unable to meet her eyes.

“I abandoned him when he needed me the most, Derin. I was never really a mother to him. I never gave him the care and love he needed to grow up with. All his childhood was spent away from me, and he grew up knowing his nanny to be his mother,” Karen said.

Surprised at this, Derin gaped, “But, why did you abandon him?”

“I had to support Lake, and ensure that he never went after another woman,” Karen admitted – her eyes glistering with the tears that had swelled up in them.

“Lake loved me, yes, but he was under a lot of pressure to be with a woman who would add value to his life. I was just a regular hustler when I met him, and so, to keep him, I just had to ensure that I was always with him.”

“At the detriment of your son?” Derin mumbled.

Fidgeting, Karen said, “There’s a lot you don’t understand, Derin. I’ve done a lot of bad things in my past.”

Sighing, Derin smiled. “It is okay, Karen. I understand you.”

However, Karen shook her head, as she held Derin’s palms. “Derin, this is what actually happened.”

Explaining, Karen said that she used to be the secretary to Lake Hartley, and together, they worked in his father’s firm in the United States.

She was an illegal worker in the states, as she was only living with a student visa, and desperately, she wanted to become a citizen, and to make a name for herself.

So, when she met Lake, and found that he took a liking to her, she accepted to become his mistress, even after learning that Lake was married to Daisy, and they had a little two year old daughter named Ashley.

Despite this, she kept her affair on with Lake, but unfortunately, Daisy found out about them, and this broke her poor heart.

Shattered at her husband’s deceit, Daisy drove off in tears, and met with an accident, which claimed her life immediately.

This was what made Karen to rethink her actions, as the guilt built up in her, as she realized that she was the cause for Daisy’s death, and Ashley’s broken family. She was also shocked to learn that Lake had always loved his wife, and he was greatly broken with her death.

Seeing this, Karen wanted to leave, but she found that she was with child, Lake’s child. This made her return to Lake, and luckily for her, he asked her to keep the child. He even went ahead to ask her to marry him, and become a mother to Ashley.

Karen accepted this, and even if she knew that Lake would never love her as he did love Daisy, she ensured that he never went after another woman.

But, karma wasn’t going to spare her. Yes, she managed to stop Lake from being with other women, but she lost as a mother to Daniel and his sister, Katherine.

Derin gaped as Karen explained this to her.

“Oh my, I never thought you went through all that, Karen. More still, I never knew that Daniel was conceived outside wedlock.”

Karen shook her head, and said, “No, Daniel wasn’t the outcome of that pregnancy. I had a miscarriage due to the stress I got myself into after getting married to lake, but about Daniel, I had him a year later. Although, he was born premature, and the doctors presumed that he would not live past his first birthday, he survived, and pulled strong. Despite my negligence, Daniel managed to make a life for himself, even if it isn’t the best life.”

“You’re right, Karen. Despite everything, Daniel would be fine. I’ll try my possible best to ensure he does,” Derin promised.

Karen sniffed back her tears, as she placed her palm over her mouth in disbelief.

She was so glad that she had chosen Derin over the other girls, and somehow, she could tell that Daniel would find his happiness with her.

“I lost as a mother. I lost in love, but I don’t want Daniel to lose in life and in love,” Karen expressed her mind, “I do not want to lose my children. I know I have made the worst of mistakes, but the heavens shouldn’t use my kids to punish me.” She articulated, as she broke down in tears, unable to hold her pains in.

Derin was taken aback by Karen’s outburst.

“Karen, it will be fine,” Derin cooed, as she embraced Karen – stroking her back gently – while Karen sobbed into her chest.

Whoever said that the rich also had pains was absolutely right. Derin had no idea that Karen had this much to say, and she also had no idea that Daniel had a hell of a webbed childhood.

Guess this explains his crooned attitude.