"Nsisong was among those who believed that Bassy forced her pregnancy on Edu. However, after living with her for the past four months, he was no longer certain of what to believe. Bassy seemed like a decently good girl who was ready to do anything to survive without relying on a man. The fact that Edu was her boyfriend but never got her pregnant while he had been in the village until he traveled made things complicated for him to believe her either. He took it upon himself to find out the truth if Edu is really the father of Gabriel so as to know the next news to spread to the villagers, which is the main reason behind his offer to help Bassy. Plus, the rate at which Bassy seemed eager to meet Edu intrigued his curiosity.
Bassy was amid a mixture of thrill and intensity all through the night as she went inside to take a nap, preparing herself for tomorrow's work. The weight of meeting Edu once again hit her, just like every other day. The memory of the last day they met vividly appeared in her head: how he stood at the window glancing at her with admiration while she walked shyly to meet him. The honesty in his tone when he gave her the thirty thousand naira to use for whatever she needed, stating it was the money he had been saving for a very long time, made her hug the pillow tighter. Recalling the unexpected kiss they shared in front of other students made her heart race, prompting her to get up and search for the wristwatch he gave her after the encounter that turned her life miserable.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, she held the wristwatch in her hand, recalling how innocently sincere he looked while promising her he would never forget her, let alone dump her for another woman. "Why did you do this to me?" she held her chest as if cradling her wounded heart, which felt like it was set on fire once again. All of Nathan's words started replaying in her head, as if she recorded them while he was saying them. "Stop daydreaming. Edu will never go back to you. Edu has a more beautiful, classy woman in his life now. His securities won't give you a listening ear." Ceaseless tears rolled down her cheeks while her heart beat rapidly in the back of her chest. "Why did you do this to me, Edu? You said you loved me unconditionally," she yelled out, crying unable to hold back her emotions.
The following morning, when Bassy woke up, she did all her necessary daily work before taking the children to school. The fact that she was sleeping in the car on their way back from dropping the children at school caught Nsisong's attention, prompting him to ask her if she hadn't slept the night before. He noticed how reddish her eyes were and how swollen her face seemed when Bassy managed to say, "I'm not feeling fine." She observed she was avoiding looking at his face, which led him to pay attention to her facial expression.
"Wait, have you been crying all night?" he asked in an unamused gesture.
"Not really, it's just that I'm feeling feverish," she uttered, harassed by what Nsisong had asked her.
It was obvious from her face that she had been crying all night. Before she realized, it was already a few minutes past four in the morning, and she had to compose herself to start getting ready for the day.
The truth is, all these years Bassy had always hoped that someday Edu would have a unique reason for what he did. It was hard for her to believe he dumped her and denied her pregnancy, even if she overheard Bassy on the phone the day he made his mother throw her out of the house, saying he was not responsible for her child. She still had the feeling that he did it for a reason and everything would be rectified in a matter of time. After all, Oyo had already told her about Edu's father, which was why she thought Edu was only under his influence.
Her heart raced rapidly upon hearing that the same Edu who had assured her that having sex would make them never forget each other now had another woman in his life.
Nsisong's cold tone brought her back from her chaotic turmoil. "We'll find Edu together so that you can hear from him. You don't have to rely so much on other people's words."
She found solace in the calmness of his tone, the assurance of his words, and the deep meaning they contained. She nodded gently, appreciating his kindness, as they continued driving.
Three days later, while Bassy was at the backyard washing clothes, Nsisong approached her with an alluring smile curved beneath his chin.
The alluring smile on Nsisong's face made Bassy wonder about the good news, as it's only pleasant sentiments that warrant such a smile.
But she wasn't amused when Nsisong mentioned that the reason behind such a huge smile is that he just confirmed that Edu would be performing in one of the biggest shows coming up this Sunday.
It's not that Bassy wasn't happy about it, but at the mention of Edu's name, something fluttered in her heart and stomach. It was like a shiver running through her spine as soon as Nsisong mentioned that Edu would be in the biggest hotel in Abuja, performing live this Sunday.
She had already had a rethink if she was really ready to face Edu or not.
The fact that Nsisong had advised her to hear everything from Edu first before jumping to conclusions gave her a wave of relief that Nathan might be lying. He probably said that just to get between her legs. But considering how painful it would be for both her mental and physical health, she thought it would be a nice idea to let it slide while she continued to face her fate.
She had already explained it to Nsisong, but since he was already curious to find out the truth for himself, he declined the idea, saying she should push further to settle her doubts so that her heart, body, soul, and spirit would be relieved from constant thinking and questioning.
When Nsisong came to give her the good news, she reminded him again that she felt like backing off. But he looked into her eyes with a serious gesture and said it's too late to back off. Perhaps Gabriel deserves to know his father.
The sound of "Gabriel deserves to know his father" gave Bassy a new reason why she must hear from Edu, realizing that Gabriel would grow up someday and become even more desperate to know who his father truly is. So it's best she finds out now before it gets too late."