Tolerating The Player

“I’m not your daughter, you might have given birth to me and you might have been my mother but that woman has been dead to me the moment she abandoned me!” I fired at her.

“Would you at least listen to me Isabella, I did what I had to do at that moment and trust me I haven’t been happy either. I’ve been living in guilt all this while!” She yelled.

“It was hard for me too and I couldn’t bring myself to face you all these while because you would hate me but…”

“But what the fucking hell, what’s there to be all but about, I was little and so was Joe but you didn’t even consider that or how we would survive without you. But guess what hag? We did survive and we’re still surviving without you!” I yelled and watched how tears started to stream down her eyes.

“Don’t you even want to hear me out Isabella, you’re grown enough to understand the situation I’m in?” She cried. A lady walked in the store and motioned to the staff to leave the store, I guessed it must have been her personal assistant whom I talked to earlier.

“I don’t want to understand anything!” I said and reached to leave the store before she sees me crying. I did not think I could hold the tears back any longer.

“I care so much about you and Joe Isabella” She cried and I stopped walking.

“You care about us? How dare you use that word “care” about us, if you cared about us then why did you leave me alone to take care of the little boy you claim to care for all by myself knowing full well that your husband was a mental psych.”

“Where the fuck were you on those nights when we had nothing to eat but would sleep with just water in our stomach, where were you on those days I would work hard to earn just some couple dollars to pay for Joe’s book and to feed on us, where the fucking hell were you when I was diagnosed with depression at a little age! Tell me!” At this point I couldn’t stop the tears from rushing down my eyes because memories of the past made it hard for me to be strong.

“I begged for food Fiona, I begged to survive and cater for Joe as well while you were flaunting your money and enjoying, did you care to ask me how I was? Now you’re back to claim us? The fucking audacity Fiona” I wiped the tears off my eyes.

She was now holding a shelf for support as tears kept flowing down her eyes, “I’m sorry I had no choice” were the only words she kept on muttering.

As much as I hate her and hate the fact that she gave birth to me, I remembered the promise I made to Joe and the sad words Joe said to me. I had to hear her out even if I won’t listen to her but I’ll do it for Joe.

“What the hell do you have to say to me?” I looked away from her but I could tell she had a smile on her face when she heard I wanted to listen to her.

“We couldn’t possibly discuss here, follow me would you?” She requested and I considered it for a while before accepting her offer.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

We entered her expensive Range Rover as a driver drove us to her house with her personal assistant sitting in the front seat while we sat at the back. Another driver was coming along with my car in the back and I kept on staring back just to make sure he doesn’t do anything to it else Zach would definitely be grumpy although I doubt.

She tried to start up a new conversation but I wasn’t into any funny facts until we got to where she wants us to be. She noticed I wasn’t interested in what she was saying and she kept quiet throughout the awkward drive.

Even though I didn’t want to listen to her, I was still very curious to know the reason why she decided to abandon her two children and get a divorce. Perhaps she did it because she wanted money from the divorce and from her surprising new rich husband who turned out to be a politician.

We finally arrived at her mansion which was a little bit far from where I lived. We entered the building and into her office where she gestured to her personal assistant and some guards that she wanted to be alone with me.

“I’m sorry madam, I can’t leave you alone because the election is fast approaching and we wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you” her personal assistant said back immediately the guards went out.

“She’s my daughter, it’s okay” Fiona replied and her personal assistant reluctantly left the room after giving a long death stare and at that moment I just wanted to stick my hand into those eyes of hers and pluck it out.

“Let’s get it over with, what do you have to say to me?” I asked immediately and she took in a deep breath before bringing her eyes back to meet mine.

“Fiona! I just want you to know that I love you really much but then sometimes bad things happen and the good person gets caught up in the bad thing but ends up taking the blame because that’s life”

“In this case I’m the good person that got stuck in the bad person’s web but I got blamed for everything instead..”

“Stop talking in riddles and just go straight to the point” I interrupted and she sighed before continuing.

“I just want you to know..” she said but I cut her off.

“Just go straight to fucking point because the last thing I want is to be in the same room with you Fiona!” I yelled and her personal assistant immediately rushed in but Fiona gestured at her to leave us alone again and not to come back.

She stood up and walked to the door where she locked it. For a second I thought I should be scared but I knew she wouldn’t and couldn’t dare to hurt me. I felt like I should have told Zach about my plan and where I would be but then what could he do from Brazil.

“Joe isn’t my son Fiona!” She calmly said after inhaling a deep breath and my eyes widened but this time with disgust in my face.

“Really? This is the lowest you can stoop? Denying your own son” I laughed but it was filled with obvious sarcasm.

“I fucking saw you being pregnant and giving birth to him so what the hell do you mean?” I yelled and she sighed.

“You really have to calm down if you want me to explain all of these to you” she said and I scoffed. I was calm alright.

“It was all an act and I never was pregnant for Joe, Your father cheated on me with someone else and she got pregnant for Joe even though she had a husband. We were really close friends then and even though I was upset and depressed that your father and my best friend cheated on me she came to me for support and help claiming that she couldn’t afford to let her husband know that she was pregnant”

“Trust me Isabella I was weak and fragile, I was vulnerable and it really hurt hard that two of my loved ones cheated on me but then despite what she did to me I still helped her secure her marriage with her husband”

“You were so little then Isabella, my friend and I both left for another city when she was six month pregnant for Joe, luckily for her the baby bump wasn’t easy to notice at that time. She came up with an excuse to her husband and we ended up leaving for another city for three good months Isabella.”

“She gave birth in the city and handed the baby over to me, your father brought you to the hospital and you were happy to see a baby boy who wasn’t my own child but your step brother.”

“I would have told you all of these earlier but you were still young and wouldn’t understand any of these. Eventually I couldn’t bear the pain anymore, I was sad and depressed most of the time because I was catering for a child that wasn’t mine but was as a result of my husband cheating on me with my best friend. It was really hard for me Isabella especially when Ezekiel started to drink and misbehave in the house”

“I have a lot of scars from the times he would come home to beat me despite the amount of times I helped and forgave him, I was vulnerable Isabella. He lost his job and our lives became tougher. I had to work all hours while taking Joe along with me when you would be in school”

“Ezekiel would fucking steal the money I worked hard to earn to buy drinks and cigarettes. I was depressed Isabella and I wanted to end my life. I left you two with him hoping one day he would change and you’d be grown enough to understand me. I never meant to leave you alone in the cruel world.

“I remembered the day I was going to leave but was considering it. He came home drunk again and asked for an intercourse, I refused and he forced himself on me after giving me severe beatings. It was that night I left with an aim to end my life” she scoffed.

“I met my new husband when I was standing by a bridge, he helped me and reassured me, we eventually moved away from our old place to Tennessee not knowing that he would also move here. That was why I didn’t die at that moment but I was dead inside with the thought of you with Ezekiel. I couldn’t come back to take you and I regret my actions.” She finished her statement and brought her eyes to mine but I didn’t know what to feel or believe, there was only a way I would know.

“Who’s Joe’s real mother?” I asked and she sighed.

“That isn’t really necessary Isabella, you need to consider what I have just told you…”

“I said who the hell is Joe’s real mother!” I was losing my temper already and she noticed.

“…. Grace”