- New daddy
Ever since my father’s death, things have been very difficult for my mom and me.
While he was an abusive drunk who hit my mom and never really paid my school fees, his death came with a lot of blows.
We lost the house, we’re buried in debt, and Mom got fired because the debtors kept harassing her at work.
All I wanted was to graduate peacefully so I could focus on my part-time job and help out with some things, but Mom insisted that I shouldn’t work while I was still a student.
Every day when I woke up, I prayed to God and anyone who could hear me to bless my mom with true happiness and a happy ending.
So when she announced that she had fallen in love again just three months after my father’s death, I was happy for her.
Of course, I jumped up, hugged her, kissed her face, and admired her ring.
That night, we slept in our rundown one-bedroom apartment together but with smiles on our faces.
My stomach grumbled through the night because there was nothing for dinner, but I didn’t mind. The happiness was fulfilling.
That night was just yesterday.
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- Jam daddy
“I still can’t believe it’s all real,” I woke up to find my mom admiring her diamond ring.
I rubbed my eyes and smiled as I hugged her.
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“You haven’t even told me who the lucky man is,” I yawned
and rested my head on her shoulder as she kissed my forehead. “Do I know him?”
Silence stretched between us for a moment before she finally spoke.
“Yes, you do. And I’m sorry we kept our relationship a secret, but we’ve been seeing each other for a month now.”
I didn’t question the fact that she was rushing into marriage after just a month of knowing someone or why someone would want to marry her so soon. But since she said I knew him, I assumed it was one of her former office mates.
After all, I doubted that anyone from the cleaning company she worked for could afford the diamond sitting pretty on her
finger.
“It’s fine, Mom. I’m just happy as long as you’re happy. And I’m not mad that you kept it a secret from me because I know you needed Dad’s death to heal more than I did,” I said, and she jumped.
“Jemaya! Don’t say that. People might think-”
“Mom,” I straightened up. “Let them think whatever they want. Because when he hit you until you passed out and fractured your bones, all they did was think and never take any action.”
Lasche
- New daddy
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held my hands in hers. “I may not care about people’s opinions, but I deeply care about his. And I don’t think he would like it if he heard you saying this about your dad,” she said, her gaze occasionally drifting to her diamond ring. That’s when I knew who she was really talking about.
“Doesn’t this new guy know that you were in an abusive marriage? And are you planning on introducing us already?” I asked.
It wasn’t like I’d meet him and immediately blurt out how happy I was that my father was dead.
“Hmm… actually, we’re moving in with him today,” she said.
I shot up to my feet, stumbling backward and falling into our pile of clothes-our only storage since we didn’t have a wardrobe.
“What?! Mom, isn’t this moving too fast?” I shouted.
“Weren’t you happy for me just now? Why do you suddenly have that look on your face?” she countered, jumping up from our flat mattress on the floor.
She didn’t stumble like I did, but I wished she had.
think
“Yes, I was happy for you, and I still am! But don’t you one month is too soon to be moving into his house? Where’s your pride?”
I knew there was going to be an argument because I had struck a nerve. It hurt.
I had asked her this same question when I begged her to leave my dad. And now, she was rushing into another man’s house?
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- New daddy
It didn’t make sense. Hadn’t she learned her lesson?
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“Oh well, too bad. We can’t eat pride, nor can we live inside a fucking pride, Jemaya! The landlord came yesterday, didn’t he? Well, FYI, he came with an eviction notice. So whether we like it or not, we have to leave this place before tomorrow. It’s up to you whether you’re coming with me or not.”
“Mom!” I stared at her, wide-eyed.
She wasn’t giving me a choice. She didn’t even seem to care about my opinion.
“I’d start packing if I were you. He has promised to pay for your school fees and cover all our expenses. I don’t have to work at that dingy cleaning company anymore, and I can finally live my dream with someone who loves me,” she said.
And I noticed how she didn’t say someone she loved.
Was this all an arrangement based on the comfort he was offering? Were we that desperate?
A fly buzzed past and landed on my cheek. That was all the answer I needed.
“I’ll start packing,” I said, turning to gather my clothes and books.
“Are you really taking all that?” she asked, referring to my novels.
“Mom, please.”
And just like that, we spent the next two hours packing.
“Finally, we can say goodbye to this damned place,” she
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- New daddy
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sighed as I dragged our boxes after her, stepping out of the dilapidated building we had been forced to call home.
=
“Do we take a bus or the subway?” I asked, pausing as a black tinted car pulled up in front of us.
“Looks like our ride is here,” she said, ignoring my question as the driver got out and helped pack our stuff into the trunk of the expensive-looking car.
I didn’t need to ask to know she had struck it rich. But with
who?
I kept staring at my mom during the drive, wondering what kind of single old man she had managed to catch.
His mansion was enormous-many times bigger than any house I had ever laid eyes on. I couldn’t hold back my curiosity as we were led inside.
I leaned in and whispered, “Does this man’s wife and kids accept you?”
She stared down at me like… what?
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, who is the aging, dying old man who agreed to marry you?” I asked, trying to match her stare.
My mom and I had been through a lot, but sometimes I wondered if those tough times had really bonded us.
“That would be me.”
The sexiest and manliest voice I had ever heard reached my ears, and I forgot all my troubles and anger as I focused on
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- New daddy
searching for the source.
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A majestic, elegant-looking man-who looked like he was in his thirties-walked down the golden spiral staircase. And as our eyes locked, my heart started to beat so loud I could hear it in my ears.
His lips curled into a smile as he asked, “Miracle, this must be my stepdaughter, right?”
My racing heart almost shattered when I realized he wasn’t smiling at me.
His gaze was fixed on me, even as he hugged my mom and kissed her.
And that was enough for me.
“Yes, she’s my daughter. She can be really troublesome and crazy with her books, but I’ll caution her to behave, Jake,” she smiled at him. But the moment she turned to me, she was eyeing me aggressively as if to pass a message.
I frowned until it dawned on me.
“Oh… I… I’m Jemaya. I’m s-sorry for what I said earlier. I-I didn’t mean to,” I stammered, my eyes turning glassy.
I suddenly became hyper-aware of how messy I must look and how bad it would affect his first impression of me.
But everything he did and said next made me feel better.
“Aww, she’s so cute. I can’t wait for us to be a family. Come give me a hug,” he said as he kissed my mom again and disengaged from their hug.
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- New daddy
Before I knew it, my legs raced into his embrace, and my hands wrapped tightly around him.
His cologne filled my nostrils, his muscular frame firm beneath his crisp white designer shirt.
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And as I felt something stir in his nether regions, my tears distracted me from it.
Before I knew it, I was crying in the arms of an attractive stranger who was suddenly my stepdad.
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- A cold war
