Amanda, go get the burgers" Tina said sitting on her armchair.
Amanda rushed to the front door to receive the delivery, which arrived an hour late.
"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience" The deliveryman said breathing heavily.
"My motorcycle had issues on the way, so I decided to walk all the way here instead," he said, trying to be as remorseful as he could.
"It's fine, I hope you're OK and I can give you a lift back if you want"
Amanda suggested in pity that while being handed the package, it was a bag stained with grease from three burgers and a pack of French fries,
"Thanks so much but I think I'll do just fine" he responded with a forced smile across his face.
"Alright, well, thank you for the package", Amanda said and instantly shut the door.
"Ouuhh, these look delicious, " Amanda said while dishing the burgers into separate plates for herself and Tina, her sister.
Amanda is light-complexioned and quite skinny; she is in her early twenties but still lives with her parents.
Tina, on the other hand, is the eldest; she is married with twins and is currently pregnant with another.
"I have been craving these for days", Tina said while munching on the burgers.
They were both seated at the balcony of the room they shared upstairs. It was spacious and adequately illuminated. And the sun always rises there.
The room had two king-sized beds and a very aesthetically pleasing setup; the dressing mirror, closet, shoe cupboard, etc., all came together to make up every girl's dream room.
"I knew you would like it,"Amanda said, grinning at Tina.
"So, about the job offer you proposed, have you gotten any feedback from the company? " Amanda asked, looking at Tina in suspense as if wanting to rip a response from her throat.
"I gave them your resume and everything but they said you should hold on for a week because the position available is currently occupied by someone who is to resign in a week then they'll see if they can get back to you."
"I really hope they do come around, I need this job a whole lot because I'm noticing mom's attitude towards me is becoming unbearable, I need to leave this house and build a life for myself."Amanda said,
"Don't worry I'll make sure to keep you informed, but you can always move in with me in Abuja, I'm sure Milton wouldn't mind." Tina suggested empathetically
" No please I wouldn't want to be a burden, he might just be uncomfortable but unable to speak because of you,"
"Oh don't bother about that, it's a huge house and I bet he'll barely even notice you because he's mostly occupied these days.
And besides I need someone to take care of the kids.
I haven't been able to pay much attention to Bola due to my condition".
Bola and Titi are the twins she had during her second year of marriage to Milton.
She could remember it just like yesterday, how her in-laws were giving them silent pressure, how she thought it was malaria, and how the doctor announced that she was having twins.
She remembered the joy that filled her hearts when she heard the news. And the excitement Milton had when she told him he was going to be a father.
God made it up to us for two years of waiting, her mother would always say.
And now, she's being blessed with another child.
"Babymm, babymm, where is my beautiful daughter, my achalugo, see the way you are glowing."
Mrs Agnes, their mother, said walking towards their room. She rushed out of work immediately she was called that Tina came for a visit and even bought some food stuff to make her favourite meal.
Mrs Agnes is a tall, dark-complexioned, woman with a shape that makes her look as though she were in her early 30s.
Even people who had come across her thought she was a sibling of her daughter, Amanda.
"Mummy how are you now? You are looking fresh oo ah ah mama la hot"
Tina said laughing, "My dear, we thank God oo, your father has just been spoiling me since, look how heavy you are, are you sure you're not pushing out five this time?"Mrs Agnes said in a jocular tone.
"Haa! Five keh! Do you want to finish me" Tina responded laughing"ehen my daughter let me make your favourite, banga soup with catfish and starch, I know you will be craving it."Mrs Agnes said rubbing Tina's back.
"Ohh mummy you know what I like." Tina said with joy, "How won't I, abi didn't I birth you?"
"Amanda oya to the kitchen come and assist me, since you have decided not to get married let me make good use of you."
Mrs Agnes said sarcastically while handing Amanda the bag of groceries, "Mommy don't be hard on her now, you know she's trying her best and besides you wouldn't want to force her into an unhealthy marriage,"
Amanda reached out for the bag and left for the kitchen to clean the fish and boil the banga ignoring everything that was going on in the room.
She decided a long time ago that any abuse that won't leave bruises on her skin will be ignored.
She wasn't really affected by her mother's rude behaviour, seeing everyone happy gave her joy.
"Please don't tell me that, I never planned to have any child living with me at this old age, and eating all my food.
All her mates have birthed at least two kids, look at Chioma, last week she dedicated her third child, third!! Amanda is even two years older than her, and she's here wasting my time.
It's about time she found a companion and left my husband's house for me."
Mrs Agnes said in a tone loud enough for even passersby to hear, and that was her intention.
"Mummy, calm down don't be harsh, remember God's plan is the best, most of her mates that you're comparing her with might not even be happy, marriage isn't something you rush into because it's for life."
Tina responded, trying to calm her mom down. Meanwhile, Amanda heard all that had happened and started feeling really bad for herself,
but she thought it was best for her to conceal her pain and act happy as she normally did in order not to start another fight with her mother.
Dinner was finally ready, and everyone was at the dining table except Mr Samuel, their father, who was occupied with work.
"How is your husband? I haven't seen him for a while now", Mrs Agnes said licking her fingers.
" He's fine, the work he has this period is really overwhelming, he's in Ghana working as we speak."
Tina responded, it was as if her mum had triggered her worries,
"That's really good, but he has to find time for family, you're pregnant now, and he can't just leave all the responsibilities for you only, and who's taking care of my grandchildren?"Mrs Agnes asked raising an eyebrow.
" Oh yes I forgot to tell you that we hired a new maid, the housework is much so I asked Milton for assistance.
I would have loved to bring the kids here but school is still in session.The help's name is Ada and she's taking care of the kids at home."
"ok, if you say so, hope you put my grandchildren in the right hand, I don't want to hear any nonsense."
Just as they were talking, Mr Samuel walked in and was surprised to see his daughter.
"Tina, wow, how are you, my baby girl? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" He asked taking off his coat and walking towards the dining,
"I wanted to surprise you, how is work?" She asked, embracing him,
"It is going very well, we thank God, I can see you are about to make me a grandpa of three" Mr Samuel said, smiling at Tina's swollen stomach.
"Daddy, welcome. How was work?"Amanda asked, "Thank you, dear. Work was great", he replied to Amanda with a smirk.
Mr Samuel has never pressured Amanda to get married as her mother did; he would always caution his wife to stop abusing her, but he wasn't always at home to protect her from the derogatory lips of Mrs Agnes.
"Do you want to take a shower first or will you have dinner immediately?" Mrs Agnes asked taking his suitcase from him,
"I'll take a shower first dear, you know I like eating clean" he responded in a soft tone.
"Alright, let me reheat the food before you finish taking your bath," Mr Samuel then went upstairs to freshen up and came down to have his dinner.
"Tina dear, have you gotten any response from the company you sent Amanda's resume to?"
Mr Samuel asked washing his hands, "Not yet, the person holding the seat is to resign in a week after which they will consider hiring Amanda."
"Alright that's good dear, I pray they consider giving her the position, finding a job in this country has become somewhat of a nightmare even with Amanda having a first-class degree all these old men are still refusing to give her a job." Mr Samuel said .
It had become an unspoken rule for everyone to be at the table while he was eating, so he could ask how everyone's day went, no matter how late he got home.
It was really considerate that he always found time to talk with his family, even with the excessive demands of his work.
"Daddy, you know I Milton and the kids are moving to Abuja soon, I suggested that Amanda came with us for the time being,"
Tina said looking directly at his face, he continued eating thinking of the appropriate response.
"Ehen that's a delightful idea, maybe she'll find a rich husband that suits her taste there", Mrs Agnes said eying Amanda.
"She hasn't even finished completing her sentence and you've already pounced on Amanda, please leave this child alone, or do you want her to marry a man that will bring her dead body home?"
Mr Samuel yelled furiously and immediately lost his appetite. He went upstairs to sleep, and the whole house was covered in loud silence for some time.
" You see how you want to cause issues between my husband and I, that your evil plan will not work, you stupid girl. I regret the day we decided to take your bastard soul out of the orphanage."
That exact phrase struck Amanda by the heart like a bullet, she retaliated for the first time.
"Well this bastard soul never wanted to be your child, you have never loved me as a child and always mistreated me like I was a slave,
I feel so bad whenever I remember the death of my parents because if they were still alive I wouldn't be with a heartless woman like you."
Amanda screamed out, wailing, "Mummy, why would you say such words? Is this how you've been treating Amanda during my absence? Please stop this it's not fair."
With this, Mrs Agnes pounced on Amanda, slapping and biting her to the point that her husband heard the screams from his sleep and ran downstairs to separate them.
"You witch, you want to turn my entire family against me, I will kill you before you try, I'll make you join your useless parents who couldn't take care of you in hell, in this house it's you and me don't worry, I'll bury you with my bare hands."
Mrs yelled, breathing heavily, her husband held her back from jumping on Amanda again, while Tina tried her best to console her.
"Would you stop this rubbish, look at the words that are leaving your mouth, and later you will be acting like you birthed Jesus, what exactly is your problem with this woman? Why do you have such bitterness for our child?"
"Whose child? Please don't put me in the position of her worthless parents, she has suddenly grown wings that she can talk back at me,
or is it because she is privileged to live this comfortably that she can insult me? What nonsense!!"
At this point, everyone was in shock. Mrs Agnes had been insulting Amanda for a while but she had never gone this deep.
Amanda ran upstairs and lay down on her bed, looking up to the ceiling, thinking of everything that had just happened. It was still so difficult for her to believe all her stepmother said. Tina walked into the room and sat by her.
"Are you feeling ok? I'm so sorry for all those hurtful words that mom said,
look how your eyes are swollen stop crying my dear it's ok, sometimes life doesn't give us everything we want"
Amanda looked at her and could no longer hold back the tears, "I miss my parents so much, if not for the loan my dad was owing I wouldn't have been going through this torment, this is just too much for me." Amanda said in a painful tone.
"Be calm, my dear, soon enough you'll get a job and marry a good man, and all this will be part of your testimony."
Tina said trying her best to calm Amanda