Ngozi and her children woke up to see the brightness of another day. She really enjoyed sleeping in the king size bed in her bedroom. Mr. Eugene had provided everything needed to his taste. He definitely had a good taste for house furniture. Gloria's love for good quality cannot be overemphasized. So, Mr. Eugene was much assured that Gloria would enjoy the splendor of the mansion but as fate would have it and probably how destiny works, Ngozi, her sister, and her children became the beneficiaries.
Seeing the look of contentment and peaceful composure of Ngozi at this moment, one would find it hard to believe she was the same woman who contemplated suicide a few months ago. . She never believed there could ever be a light at the end of the dark tunnel her life was passing through. Just then, her phone beeped, indicating an SMS. She picked up her phone from the sitting room center table to read the message sent from an unfamiliar number.
"Hello sweetheart, how was your night? I hope you had a wonderful night's rest. I must confess, I have not been having a sound sleep ever since you turned down my proposal. Truly, I may be a doctor who treats so many people but unfortunately, I can't treat my heart. You are the only one that can heal me and make me feel complete. I can't afford to lose a woman of virtue like you. Please, I am seriously thinking about you. I am down already. I have not been able to attend to patients for some days now because you took my strength away from me. I remain your truthful husband-to-be, Dr. Anthony."
Ngozi released a deep sigh when she discovered Dr. Anthony was the sender of the message. If he had used his number, she wouldn't have read the message at all. It was as if he read her mind and tricked her into reading his message by sending it through a number she wasn't familiar with. Ngozi was impressed by his intelligence. Truth be told, she was in love with the doctor and he resurrected feelings within her that she felt for her husband only before his untimely demise but she was scared of how it would feel to be loved again and kept wondering if it was not too early to dabble into a such thing because Emeka was barely two months old. She was also scared of what people would feel or say about the relationship. Another message popped on her phone. She thought it could be from him but glancing through it, she found out the message was from Mr. Eugene instead.
"Two hundred thousand Naira has just been credited into your account for you and your family's upkeep for two weeks. Please, manage it. I will get back to you soon."
She screamed for joy. Chioma who had just woken up quickly ran out of her room to check on her sister.
"Sister, I hope all is well with you?" She asked in awe.
"Yes. All is well with me. Guess what I just saw today?" Ngozi chuckled.
"You should know that I am not good at guessing things. Save me all the suspense please, just share the good news with me" Chioma insisted.
"If you can't guess, then forget about it. I am not ready to share anything with you" Ngozi feigned annoyance and made to leave but Chioma's next statement made her stop.
"Oh, I know. I just remember. That means you have finally agreed to marry Doctor Anthony" She answered and awaited Ngozi to prove her right but Ngozi shook her head.
"No. You are wrong. Besides, are you in support of me getting married to him now with a two-month-old baby?" Ngozi threw a questioning look at Chioma who buried her face in deep thought.
"I don't think that it's rather too early at the moment but I guess he was just scared that he could lose you to someone else if he had not proposed to you first. As you can see, you are still young and beautiful. Any serious man with a motive of getting married soon will want to have a lovely woman like you. I guess he has done the right thing but it was just at the wrong time if I may say" Chioma expressed her feelings about the matter. Ngozi was impressed with her sister's mature level of reasoning.
"You are a very sensible lady. I never knew that your way of reasoning has upgraded these days o" Ngozi teased.
"Haba aunty! I am twenty-one years old. I am a full-fledged adult who should be able to think outside the box. Why did I go to school in the first place?" Chioma asked.
"You need to go and ask google about that one" Ngozi replied and they both laughed aloud. Anita was awoken by the laughter of her mother and Aunt.
"Good morning, mummy, Good morning, Aunt Chioma. Why were both of you laughing like that? Have you won a Jackpot ?" She asked and yawned aloud
"It's not only the jackpot we won. We also won a visa to the United Kingdom" Anita's eyes brightened with joy as soon as the news not knowing her mother was joking. She was about to jump up for joy when Chioma stopped her.
"Oh girl, before you start jumping like a frog, come and have your bath before your school bus arrives" Chioma dragged her left hand playfully heading to the bathroom.
"Sister, you are yet to tell me why you screamed this morning o" Chioma queried.
"Mr. Eugene sent us a whooping sum of two hundred thousand Naira for our upkeep for two weeks" Chioma was overjoyed at the news and hugged her sister.
"Anita, hurry up and take your bath. Your new Aunt will flog you o" Chioma teased.
"She doesn't flog like the way your friend used to do those days" Anita answered. Chioma threw a scornful look at her. Chioma was about to spank her but Anita dashed into the bathroom to bath. Chioma hurried into the kitchen to prepare some noodles and eggs with hot tea for her niece. Anita had barely finished dressing up when her school bus arrived. She hastily dressed up, picked up her bag and food basket, and left to join other pupils on the school bus.
"Mummy, goodbye. Please, do take care of yourself and Emeka. Aunt Chioma, goodbye"
"All right. Please, do take care of yourself and be a good girl", Ngozi replied as she breastfed her baby.