The Bonny Island Massacre - S01 E19

10 months ago

The Bonny Island Massacre - S01 E19

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 19

Femi: “Marriage plans, you must be out of your mind” he said vehemently.

Mira: “You weren’t expecting that I would be comfortable with being a baby mama, were you?”

Femi: “Look here Mira, I cannot marry you. I don’t love you, to be sincere, what I feel now for you is disgust” he thundered.

Mira: “The love I have for you will be enough for the both of us” she replied.

Femi’s father watched the banter with practiced eyes. It became clear to him that Mira was desperate to get married to his son, it was probably the reason she let herself fall pregnant. But he still did not blame her; he saw a fire in her eyes, the kind of fire that pushed people to go after what they wanted. He already liked her, even though he could see that she was backing his son into a corner. His belief was no woman could push a man into a corner unless the man gave her the chance. What was his son thinking, having intercourse with a woman without protection?

Femi’s father: “My dear, you are welcome to the family. I will not allow my grandchild and my heir to be born out of wedlock. So I advise that you guys pick a date” he said that last part, eyeing his son.

In his heart, Femi did not want his child to be born outside wedlock also. He was at a crossroad; if he married Mira, he would lose any chance of getting back into Yvonne’s life, and at the same time, he could not forsake his child or allow it be born outside wedlock.

Femi: “I want to do my own test, in a hospital that I shall recommend” he said.

Mira: ‘What are you saying, that I would lie about this? You know what? Do not bother about this child. You will never see it again” she said and hurriedly left the house, despite calls from Femi’s father.

Femi’s father: “I don’t know how you are going to do it. But you have to bring that girl and my grandchild back into this house. I suggest you go shop for a ring” he said and walked away, leaving Femi to his misery. However, Femi was determined to have the last word.

Femi: “Don’t get carried away, sir. That baby is not your grandchild, because I am not your child. So, stop acting like my father!” he yelled. His father just looked at him sadly, Femi was not sure, but he thought he saw tears in his eyes.

Mathias after meeting with Prince Ngegwu flew to Abuja to meet with Yvonne. When she was brought before him, he felt this great urge to hug her, but he restrained himself.

Yvonne: “I don’t know you, are you another reporter who wants to ask me again if I poisoned twenty people?” she asked sarcastically.

Mathias: “I am not a reporter, I am a senior advocate of Nigeria, and I am interested in your case” he said simply.

Yvonne: “I have lawyers representing me, even though I wonder if they are really helping. Perhaps they are just there for show. I won’t put it past Prince Ngegwu to tell them to just go through the formalities without really helping me” she said looking at a spot in the ground.

Mathias: “Why would you talk that way, I have met your father and he is really concerned about your case, he wants to help but this is beyond him”

Yvonne: “But not beyond you?” she retorted, arching her brows in disbelief.

Mathias: “I have had years of practice with difficult cases. I have gone head to head with the government and won. I can do it again, but I have to know, did you really poison that cake?” he asked, staring into her eyes.

The swelling and purple patches had gone, and he could see how beautiful she was. Her eyes were the same light almond colour, like that of his newborn daughter of years ago.

Yvonne: “So you are just like the rest, you want to know if I did it” she said with a crooked smile.

Mathias: “Yes I want to know. But it is not to satisfy my curiosity, it is to prepare a better defense”

Yvonne: “I did not do it” she said simply. Mathias searched her eyes intently and then slowly nodded his head.

Mathias: “I believe you, and I am going to do everything to set you free” he replied.

Yvonne: “Hmmn, I am not going to have hope. Do what you must” she said and signaled to the prison guard that she wanted to leave.

Mathias: “Before you go, just sign this form, it shows that you want me to be your counsel” he said and pushed a form towards her. Without reading, Yvonne appended her signature. That action worried Mathias, what if a bad person had given her a form that would implicate her to sign. He realized that, she did not care anymore.

When she left, Mathias sat and brooded on what just transpired. He did not miss the dead look in her eyes, like that of someone who had given up on life. He swore to himself that he would do everything within his power to help her. But first, he was going to bail her, she had been granted bail by a magistrate court, and yet the NSS had apprehended her. So he took the case up to the High court of the FCT.

Mira paced her room with a phone in her hand. She had waited for a call from Femi to no avail. She had left the house hoping that he would be scared of not seeing his child and call her back. But he had not said a word. For days, she waited for him to call, but he didn’t.

Mira: “What if he doesn’t bite?” she asked aloud, to no one in particular. Her phone rang and she hurriedly looked at the screen, but the caller ID was not Femi, it was her mother. She grudgingly picked up.

Mira: ‘Hello mom” she said with a lack luster voice.

Mira’s mother: “My daughter, I have not seen you for months, and we are both in Port-Harcourt, why?”

Mira: “I am busy, I will come this weekend” she said rolling her eyes.

Mira’s mother: “Make sure you do, something has come up concerning your late father’s documents”

Mira: “Father’s documents? Alright, I will come on Saturday” she replied and hung up.

Mira put her hand under her chin and pondered over the call she had received. Her father had been a civil servant and though they weren’t rich, they were comfortable. When he died, the government had paid a huge amount of money as gratuity, but her wicked uncle had gotten everything including his documents and even a letter he had written to his family on his death bed.

“Now that uncle is dead, perhaps the gratuity money owed father, will be ours. Well, good for mother and the rest because, as for me, I got bigger fish to fry” she thought as she paced.

Her thoughts were of Femi and the wealth and fame that would come to her as Femi’s wife. She reasoned that she would never be poor again, and then she would ask Femi to sell off his stocks in Coveteur, so that they could build their own company, or better still buy out Yvonne. After all, what did a dead girl want stocks for?

Mira: “Why build from sc ratch, we could buy Yvonne out and make Coveteur ours” she said aloud. Then she heard her door bell ring, she walked nonchalantly to the door and peered at the small viewing hole. Her eyes widened when she saw it was Femi. She flung the door open and glared at Femi who ahd a resigned look on his face.

Mira: ‘Femi, what are you doing here?” she asked feigning anger.

Femi: “Can I come in?” he asked, Mira moved aside for him to enter.

Femi looked around the house and felt a sense of nostalgia at the familiar surroundings. He remembered when he used to spend all his free time here, that was before he found out about Mira’s true nature. Hhe began to think that perhaps they could have a semblance of the good rapport they had before, that was certainly enough for a good marriage, even though his heart would forever be tied to Yvonne.

“I am sorry Yvonne”he said within, and then he turned to Mira with a resolute face. He dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out a box.

Mira had her back turned to him because she had been expecting that he would hold her from behind, and beg her to accept him. But when she didn’t hear or feel anything, she whirled around in anger.

Mira: “If you are going to keep shut, you might as well…” she was saying but didn’t finish as her eyes fell on the red box in Femi’s hand. She went closer in astonishment as Femi opened the little box, to reveal a big diamond rock nestled on the soft pillow in the box.

Femi: “Marry me” he said. Mira didn’t mind the coldness in his voice, or the sadness in his eyes, she rushed with excitement, and took the ring off the pillow. She slipped it into her fourth finger, turning it this way and that way, so that it could catch the light. She realized that it was real diamond.

Mira: “Oh my God” she breathed out. She had not expected that Ffemi would go through the motions of proposing to her. She said to herself that, he loved her, underneath all that aggressiveness.

She was still admiring her ring when Femi’s phone rang, he picked it and listened. Mira stopped looking at her ring when she saw a smile spread across Femi’s face. She wondered what news had made him so happy. Something told her it had to do with Yvonne, aand that made her heart rate quicken.

Femi: “Yvonne has been bailed, and the trial date has been set. This is a new milestone in this case and now I have hope” he said happily.

Mira: “We should set a date for our wedding” she said. There was fear in her heart, she saw the hope in Femi’s eyes and she wondered if he wouldn’t call off the engagement, now that Yvonne was out of prison.

Question: Will Femi go through with the wedding now that Yvonne is out? Is there any hope for Femi and Yvonne to come back together?