CHAPTER 5
As I boarded the train, I sat keenly. The moment my back touched the seat, I felt sharp pain surge through me. I began crying, not minding the woman who sat directly opposite. Soon, she waved her hands to me in sympathy, and then my teary eyes saw her scribbled some words on a piece of paper.
She raised it, and these were the words:
"Whatever you are going through, just know it gets better with God. You have never been this version of you before, so give yourself grace. You will enter a period you never thought would come through".
I cried at these words. "Thank you very much", I said gently.
She nodded and began pressing her phone.
The ride was a long one, and then finally, I got home.
I smiled expectantly, hoping to find Daddy sitting in his usual rocking chair. But he wasn't. I noticed the front door was closed, and that's unlike him. Since he is blind, he would make sure to keep the door open for free passage while he sat on his rocking chair all day.
I approached the door, still excited to meet my father. We hadn't seen each other in a while because I've been busy with work and my lover.
I leaned slightly to peep through the window, but I didn't see anything; only its usual setting was visible.
"Daddy," I called out, standing in the living room. My father still didn't respond. That's unlike him, I exclaimed.
The kitchen smelled of burnt bacon, and the refrigerator was slightly open. It was then that I began to feel anxious. I was born with my Father blind, but not for once did he burn his food, and he couldn't leave the refrigerator open. Because of his character traits and attention to detail, I saw my blind father as a perfect man.
My home was a duplex, so getting to his room quickly was easy. I strode past my large portrait. And glanced at it for a while.
As I barged into his room, I was frozen, I couldn't move or speak. The sight of my blind and weak father shattered my emotions.
"Please don't hurt him", I shouted at the man who was surrounded by big and muscled men, clothed in black wears.
My father lay down, both hands clutched together, pleading with the man.
The man was tall, with a round face and a tiny beard. His suit made him look chubby. I could tell he was angry by his impatient panting.
"Please don't hurt my father", I pleaded again as the first one was ignored.
"Hannah!" My father called in his shaking voice.
The man didn't move, he turned his face in my direction, and his men did the same in unison. "And who are you?".
"I am Hannah Watson, his only child," I say as I enter the room fully.
The man chuckled at my face. He turned to my father and kicked him aggressively, "How come you never told me you had a daughter?". My father screamed as I ran to him, the muscular men held me back.
"So you have a grown girl…", the man turned to me, "a girl this beautiful".
I clenched my fists at my sides. "Who are you, and what do you want with my father?" I asked boldly.
The man moved toward me. He caressed his hands through the bruised mark my lover had left on my shoulder.
I shifted uncomfortably.
He steadied his gaze at me. "Your father owes me a huge amount of money. He used this house as collateral, but it still can't pay me, and I am here to get my money back."
I looked at my father in disbelief. "Is this true, Daddy?"
"Please forgive me, I had no option", my father responded.
"How long has this been going on?".
"Long enough for me to know your father's net worth can't pay me", the man responded.
I took a deep breath, "You could have told me about this, Father".
"I am sorry".
I slammed my feet on the floor. "Daddy, this is not about you apologizing, he needs his money".
"And for me to get my money, I am taking your blind father with me. He will work until his debts are cleared". The man said, signaling his men to lift my father.
I watched in terror as they dragged him.
"Wait! Please," I cried, unable to hold back the tears.
The man looked sternly at me, "Speak, young woman".
I steadied myself and said, "I would pay all his debts. Let me make sure his debts are cleared."
The man walked around me. The only expression I could read on his face was anger. "And how do you intend to do that?".
I stuttered, "My job. I would pay with my job".
He smiled bluntly, "You are about to toy with fire. It's obvious you don't know who I am. Ask your father about me."
"I am not joking. I possibly couldn't do that with the involvement of my father."
"What if?" he paused, steadying his gaze at my father and then back to me. What if you couldn't pay me my money? What should I do to you and your father?"
I glanced at Daddy, who couldn't see me but steadied his head in my direction.
"Then you should marry me," I said without hesitation.
"No, Hannah, don't do that", my father cried.
"And what if I don't want to marry you?" He asked, still pacing around me.
His question came as a shocker. I didn't know he wouldn't want to marry me. I stood quietly, searching for the right collateral to bid before I would open my mouth. His words struck me.
"If I don't want to marry you, I would kill you, Hannah", He said firmly.
I stood unmoved for a moment, I stopped feeling the pain from the belt strokes, and I went slightly deaf. I wanted to say something, but I could only keep my mouth wide open.
"The documents shall be prepared and sent to you. You will sign and keep your part safely."
He said firmly as he signaled his men to release my father.
They waited until he reached the door and stopped turning his head to me. "I forgot to tell you my name. Pardon my manners. I am Favour Albert, the CEO of Wells Enterprise Limited."
The CEO of Wells Enterprise Limited? Is that the Unknown and wealthy millionaire Favour I know? Unbelievable. I suddenly drifted to my thoughts.
"You have 10 months to pay me, and every month until it's complete, you shall come for a contract check. That's me making sure you're healthy and still alive for me until I get my money", Millionaire Favour said as he walked into his bullion van.
I paced to my father and helped him to the brown sofa.
10 months? To pay off that massive debt? My love life? Or me being alive?
"That is heartless", my father interrupted.
"I will do it. I have nothing to fear. My job has increased my salary since I keep getting promoted," I reassured my father and myself.