ACE My hands were shaking when Jake turned on his laptop. "Thankfully, she was taken here, I don't think she knew you had cameras in here." He clicks on the video, and I suddenly forget how to breathe "Aella mo... you know her?" I was suddenly sweating, "Not as Aella's mother." We would have found her sooner if I ever took the initiative to request pictures of my woman's mother. I slightly open my mouth to assist myself with breathing. "She was there that night Jake." Jake pauses, staring at me like I might have lost my mind. "We have never seen any woman in any of the videos sent to us all these years. You confirmed that they were all men." I sit, I fear I might fall if I don't. "I think my memory has been messed up all this while, I might have gotten it all wrong. But I swear to you, I know her," I look back at the video playing on the laptop. "Her hair, voice, that smile, how could I ever forget it? She had the same smile on her face when she killed my mother." "You said
AELLA I push her hard when she tries to punch my stomach. I have blood all over me, but I take consolation in the fact that they are hers. She screams furiously when she lands on her butt. I am getting dizzy from all the hair-pulling. I yelp when she grabs my hair. "You should never have left your cage whore. You caused all of this, you drove me to this point child" She shouts, pushing, me to the floor and kicking me accurately. Pain slices through me and my eyes tear up, flowing freely. If I could get my mind past the pain and shock, I would fight back, she is trying to kill our baby. She draws her leg back and kicks me, I scream, my body folding over protectively, my arms wrapping around my tummy to protect my baby. Her first connects with my thighs in an angered, frenzied scream. "You will die with this bitch inside you, I will save the world from another whore like you." She sounds breathless. I don't know where I found the courage, but I suddenly got on my feet, punching
ACE EPILOGUE I frown, holding my tongue when Aella carries a chair outside, Ryker is whispering to North beside me, he must be saying something funny because it has her giggling. I lose it when Aella comes back inside to carry the second chair "Baby, let me do that" "Christ Ace, I am four months pregnant not handicapped!" North laughs beside me, and I give her the side eye. "You might shake the baby up with all those lifting" Why can't my wife see that I am making a lot of sense here? I have more than enough men around to help arrange, but Aella is hell-bent on doing things her way. When I confronted her yesterday, demanding that she let an event planner do it, she cried her eyes out and told me she wanted to plan her daughter's third birthday party herself, like she didn't plan the last two. "Dada, dada!" The smile on my face widens when Mia runs towards me. I bend to carry her, and she yawns. Aella immediately abandons everything, giving her attention to our daughter. "D
AELLA I hate going to church, I think it is a building filled with judgemental humans who constantly think they are superior beings. The church bell rings again, startling me for the third time in two hours. The bell reminds me of my misfortunes, Mama always made sure I chanted them for hours when I failed to recite a particular scripture or misbehaved. Mama was a religious fanatic. I roll my eyes when Mrs. Agatha wails and rolls on the floor. Her daughters kneel beside her and cry too. One could easily mistake them for the deceased family. Her daughters Pearl and Diamond look like dolls today, dressed in a hot red gown and pink heels, I pity people who sacrifice their comfort for fashion. Mrs. Agatha was Mama's favourite human; her daughters to my mama were a perfect example of God's creation. I try to hide my laugh when Mrs. Agatha rolls and hits her head on the hardwood chair, Pastor Jerimiah with
AELLA Christ! What kind of mother leaves her only daughter alone with no inheritance? She was never a good mother, never spoiled me with the things I deserved, she never did anything for me, but still, a tiny part of me was always convinced she loved me but didn't know how to show it, but this...this has made me certain that she never loved me. "Do I have a college fund?" How would I continue schooling if I can't pay my fees? I take her silence to mean no. "What about the house, is it going to be given to charity too?" "The house was your father's" I am dumbfounded. Mama never spoke about my father, and she got irritated when I asked so I stopped asking. "He bought the house in your name." "She would have taken it away too if she could." I let another tear fall; I am comforted by the fact that I still have a roof over my head. "Do not think poorly of your mother, she loved too much, that was her only flaw. You of all people should understand her, she wa
AELLA I wake up exhausted, the curtains are up, and the lighting is blinding. My head feels like it could crack open anytime.Mama is dead. I rise to my feet instantly with a smile on my face. what does one do to celebrate one's freedom? lazily, I drag my feet to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and aspirin. I drink greedily from the bottle. "Let's do some cleaning shall we". An hour later I moved to my room. I grab my phone from the nightstand, scrolling through my messages. There are a bunch of condolence messages and missed calls from John. I met him last semester, he is a very cute guy with a nice smile. I know he sort of has a thing for me, Mama would have had my heart for dinner if I as much as entertained thoughts of a guy. I called John back. My revenge on Mama would start by losing my virginity, I have never liked John in that sort of way, but I know he is
ACE I have had a very long day; it all started this morning. I got to the office and met a crying Venita. She has been my secretary for less than a week and decided to quit. I have had five different secretaries in less than a month, and none would ever be like Joey she worked for me for five years but had to quit because of some medical conditions, and since then, I have been forced to work with confused humans with a certificate they can't defend. I know I am a very difficult man to please. I had to start sorting out documents myself, it took hours of course, Venita has successfully ranked the first position being the worst secretary of the year. I am operating on less than two hours of sleep, I almost snapped when Max my business partner failed to give me a detailed record of every transaction of the past year. My head starts pounding, I snap my eyes open when Kevin stops the car. "We are here boss." Just when I thought my day was ending,
ACE The morning light gently peered through the sheer curtains, illuminating the room with a warm and ethereal glow. With an elegant grace, Aella slowly emerges from her slumber, like a blossoming flower. I watched her like a hawk, even in my exhausted state I couldn't sleep a wink. Watching her wake up is like witnessing the birth of a new day itself. Her every movement, every breath, awakened an indescribable feeling of awe and appreciation in the depth of my soul. She finally opens her eyes and those blues land on me. She screams dragging the bed sheet to her chest, even her screams sound like a moan, I stand up disgusted for sexualising everything she does. I didn't bring her here for this, I am a principled man and right now my need for that file comes first. "Hello, Aella." She moves to the edge of the bed, trying to get as far away from me as possible. I don't like it, but I also don't say anything. She hugs her knee and tears fall d