Her Baby’s Secret

ARIKE’S POV

“Well I hope so too.” I heaved a sigh.

“Come on, I know what you are thinking.” She said as our gaze locked. “It’s about Dayo right?” She added.

“I don’t even know what to think,” I said sincerely.

“You don’t need to worry -”

“I am just worried about Iteoluwa.” I sighed.

Even though I had decided to face whatever will happen during my stay here, I am still worried about my child. I don’t want her to blame me or see me as a bad mother. I don’t think I will be able to take it if my child decided to hate me for keeping her away from her father.

“Don’t think too much about it. And even if he finds out about her, I am sure he will understand your reasons.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”  She responded.

“I can thank you enough for everything you have done for us, your support and care for Iteoluwa, I owe you a lot.”

“You don’t owe me any -”

“Of course I do,” I interrupted her.

“Okay you are repaying me by coming to Nigeria to attend my wedding.” She pointed out.

“Come on! I would regret not attending your wedding.”

“The bride spirit will hunt you forever.” She joked and I laughed.

Ever since I decided to come back to Nigeria, the thought of Dayo has been on my mind. Being away from him all these years without talking or seeing or knowing anything about him still bothered me a lot and I don’t know why. I am not sure if Dayo would have the time to keep searching for me but I am sure he would have given up on reaching me. He would have moved on. I don’t want to be indecisive or selfish but a part of me wished we don’t get to meet him during our stay in Nigeria. I was scared of how I would face him if he found out about Iteoluwa.

Busayomi did a great job at distancing herself from Dayo. First, she changed her apartment and then her numbers and it was a coincidence that she quit her job too. So it would have been really hard for Dayo to ever find me since I also deleted my social media accounts.

I wondered how his marriage with Shalewa turned out though they are still together but I knew he never loved her.

But what if things was different now and he had grown to love her and accept her as his wife? A voice questioned in my mind.

Well I wouldn’t know since I haven’t followed up on Shalewa’s social accounts neither did I followed up on Dayo’s because I wanted to move on and not think about him.

A small squeeze on my hand jolted me out of thought. I looked down and saw Busayomi holding me.

“What are you thinking about?” She asked.

I managed to smile. “Nothing really,”

“Whatever it is I want you to know that I will always be here for you and Iteoluwa.”

Tears welled up in my eyes but I fought back the urge to let it drop. I am just pained because my daughter has to be the one to suffer for my selfish deeds. I knew how it felt to live without a father, now my daughter has faced the same fate. The main reason why uncle Badejo still held a grudge against me.

The tears flowed. “It’s alright.” She whispered.

I shook my head. “Thank you.” I wiped my tears.

Iteoluwa stirred in her sleep and I patted her back gently.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

I sniffed. “So what are we doing tomorrow?”

“We’re meeting all the ladies of my bridal train to try out the dresses.”

“I hope it wasn’t hard getting our measurements?” I asked.

“Ah no and I am sure there won’t be a problem.” She answered.