Chapter Three

Amanda heard faint noises coming from the living room. The chatters and loud guttural laughs told her that someone had visited. They rarely had visitors as Jude always had a way of coming up with excuses whenever anyone wanted to stop by and it made her wonder even more who the guest was.

She sat up as she had just woken up due to their loud chattering. She stared at the dressing mirror in front of her and noticed how thin and depreciated she had become. Her eye bags popped out and formed even more darker circles. There was an awkward swelling on her cheek bone that reminded her of the day before and the day before that. She sighed.

None of her beauty treatment or facial creams were enough anymore to hide the scars but she kept applying them as she gracefully did that day. She attended to the wounds she had gotten from the previous day and just as she had poured out some drops of vaporizing liquid on another cotton ball, Jude barged in making her almost loose grip of the bottle.

"Tolu and Bello are here and they want to see you. Do something about your look," he had said. 

"Did you invite them?" She weakly asked.

"Why would I do that? I should be asking you," he moved closer motioning with his hands but making sure he had closed the door shut first. "You were the one who visited Tolu the other day. You must have sold me out.... Told her I am responsible for your wounds."

"Well are you not?" She asked defensively. "Are you not?" She repeated. This is something she hadn't been able to do in a long while. She knew she had the chance to talk back only because their guests were present downstairs. She wouldn't have otherwise. "Jude I'm pregnant for God's sake! And all you do is treat me bad. If I told Tolu what was happening, it is because I need someone to talk to. I didn't tell her however," she said and shifted her gaze from him and unto her bag of makeup. She began to regret her every word and wished she could take them back.

"So you are talking to me anyhow? Let them go first," he said and left the room. She tried to stand and felt weakened on her knees. She expected the worst from him and couldn't imagine what it would be seeing she had experienced all shades of maltreatment already.

She got dressed with one of her numerous house gowns embroidered with the finest beads and pattern. Somehow, her dress sense never left her even though most times, she had forgotten to look good. She packed her braided hair into a bun and applied a nude lipstick. She stopped and stared again into the mirror to see a reflection of herself and although her eyes felt sunken, she was sure she could put up a good act.

She descended the stairs and Tolu met her halfway and stretched her hand for a hug. Apparently they were all discussing a very funny topic before she arrived as they all laughed heartily. She had forgotten how Jude looked when he was happy. She repulsively sat very close to him and feiged a smile when she felt his arm lift up over her shoulder and rested on the head of the sofa. 

"Darling, don't be silly. Go and get them a drink," he said which was more like an order. Behind those words and act, she read the message and leaped as one on instinct would. Part of her wondered why he hadn't gotten the drink before she arrived, but who was she to complain? 

She sent them all a smile, and retreated to the dinning down the hall where their mini bar was and drew out a bottle of red wine from within the wooden bar with two identical wine glasses. The dinning was at the far end of the living room so she could still hear them discuss, but a bit incoherently. She dipped her hand into her side pocket and slipped out the wrapped paper Okon had smuggled into her palm and stared blankly at it for a while. Ruminating on the many reasons why she should or should not put the substance into his drink.

She heard faint steps as they advanced gradually turning into pronounced steps. She then let the paper fall from her hand and unto the floor just before Tolu came but Tolu's eyes were fast enough and traced the paper fall to the ground and then back to her eyes.

"Did you do it?," Tolu asked and Amanda shook her head repeatedly.

"Tolu I can't take it anymore!" She almost screamed but Tolu was quick enough to cover her mouth. 

"I know. Why don't we talk about this at a restaurant tomorrow?" Tolu asked worriedly dabbing Amanda's tear stained cheek.

"Jude doesn't let me go out," she said. "I got beaten the last time."

"Come up with an excuse. I'll text you an address. There's a new restaurant in town and we will meet there OK? You need to clean your face now. But you didn't do it right?" Tolu asked again.

"Amanda!" Jude yelled approaching the bar in steady steps. She heard his voice afar off and knew he was walking right past from the living room.

"Right?" Tolu asked again.

"This is not the time Tolu, you need to hide me," she said visibly shaken. 

"Why do I need to hide you?" Tolu asked confused. The flaps from his slippers increased all thanks to the acoustics at the hallway and she feared Tolu would blow her cover but still proceeded to hiding behind the wooden bar forcing herself into a dark space where some old crates of soft drinks were stacked.

"Where is my wife?" She heard Jude ask.

"Your wife as in the woman you're married to?" Tolu started just as she had expected. Tolu was never good with lying. She would freak out and begin to say unrelated things but luckily, Jude bought that one.

"Yes, the woman I'm married to. Where's Amanda? She was supposed to bring the drink about fifteen minutes ago."

"She.. She had to go," Tolu said.

"Go where?" 

"To the bathroom... She has been zooming in and out. That is what Pregnancy does," Tolu said laughing crookedly.

"Right! But I didn't see her go upstairs," Jude said.

"Why go upstairs when you could use the guest bathroom at the end?" Tolu chipped.

"Oh well I guess so. Please just help me take the wine to the living room," he said and soon Tolu walked away with the tray. Jude tarried around the bar a little longer and soon walked away much to Amanda's relief as she breathed heavily. She had grown used to hiding which gave her temporary relief.

After some minutes of calculated exhalation, she met them at the living room and opted to sit at the far end of the sofa but couldn't escape the piercing stares she got from Jude. She was still seated when Junior rushed down in a lightening speed screaming "Uncle Bello!" It was true indeed that Bello shared a remarkable bond with Junior more than Junior ever did with his father. Bello and Tolu never had a kid of their own and so, Junior was the closest to a son Bello had.

"How are you my boy?" Bello asked lifting him to sit on one of his legs.

"I'm fine uncle..." He replied. "Uncle I want to be like you in the future," he quipped.

"You want to be a doctor? I thought you might want to be an Engineer like your dad," Bello teased giving a friendly wink to Jude. 

"No! I don't want to be like my dad," he vehemently opposed and Amanda was worried. She wasn't sure of the next words that followed, but she was sure they wouldn't be good for anybody. She had tried changing the topic or finding a means of taking him away, but wasn't fast enough as he quickly blurted out. "He's a wicked man and he beats my mum all the time."

******

Time skipped momentarily and her issues with Jude intensified. She still couldn't place her finger on what exactly went wrong. The very last time she had tried having a decent conversation with him, he blew her off.

She had visited tons of counsellors and prayer warriors and nothing changed. Divorce wasn't an option for her because she was a devout Christian with strong beliefs and principles on the issue of marriage. She was taught to endure longsuffering and that every marriage had its ups and downs. Truth be told, there were rarely any ups in hers.

"OK hold on! You are telling me that you will rather remain with that beast that threatens you because of your principles than actually seeing the red light and leaving him?" Toluani asked with her fingers moving about as she gesticulated.

"That is exactly what I'm telling you Tolu. He might be a monster, but I love him... Very much. I have a son too and an unborn child. I can't leave their father that way."

"To hell with love! Baby girl, a man beating you like a punching bag doesn't deserve your love. That is stupidity! You have a fast growing business he cut short because he was scared you were meeting up to him financially. Are you going to spend the rest of your life miserably? You have the money to take care of your kids," Toluani spat out downing a drink and releasing a sigh. She obviously bottled that up for long enough.

"Tolu I get your concern, but you don't have a child. What do you know about parenting?" Amanda asked indignantly and blinked repeatedly only when she realized what damage her loose mouth had gotten her into. "Tolu I'm sorry,"  she added immediately. 

"It is true. I don't have a child. But you know what I have? Common sense," she said and bent over to emphasize her next words, "Bello and I are madly in love with each other even though we don't have a child. Love surpasses all something you don't have in your family," she said and left with her purse squeaking lightly from the firm grip she gave it. When she heard her car roar into ignition, she swallowed hard and stared at the wound on her palm. Even though it slowly healed, the mark would forever remain there.

Events of the last encounter with Bello and Toluani in their house came in flashes to her. What Tolu didn't know, was that she had put in the substance Okon gave her, into one of the wine glasses just before Tolu came. She was to be the one to take the wine to them but since Jude had interrupted their little chat, she wasn't sure who used the glass. Her guess wasn't Jude mostly because nothing changed for the better between them. Probably because it didn't work or maybe it did and Bello drank from it instead. She began to fear the unknown.