Ours was an arranged marriage. We couldn’t stand each other but our fathers believed that Barry Jnr and I would grow to love each other. My supposed husband is a medical doctor. Everyone knows that he is a chronic womaniser who isn’t ready to settle down, so when Chief Barry Snr saw me at a party, he concluded that I would make a good wife for his son.
My father is a politician who needs all the support he can get and Chief Barry Snr is a kingmaker and a very respectable politician. Being his friend was a good thing but having him as an inlaw was even better. My father was elated at this new development. The union would mean a lot to him.
I didn’t like the idea of being married to Barry but I saw it as an opportunity to live the good life, hobnob with who’s who in the society, ‘pepper’ all those girls who think they are better than me and also choke my manipulating step mother who thought so much of herself. I didn’t mind being sacrificed on the altar of my father’s political ambition as long as I got what I wanted. Love could come later.
Barry grudgingly succumbed to the pressure from his father for fear of being disinherited and so..we were married. Our wedding night was memorable for all the wrong reasons. I wasn’t expecting fireworks to happen but what happened wasn’t what I envisaged either. Barry had too much to drink at the after wedding party and he was drunk. He raped me several times that night. I cried. I begged him to stop but he didn’t listen. My body and my heart was bruised. I was sore all over.
I couldn’t stand the sight of him afterwards and I guess the feeling was mutual. It wasn’t long before I discovered that I was pregnant. I was a few months gone already and I didn’t even know. I wasn’t happy about the pregnancy but I was happy when my father in-law stunned me with cash gifts and a house when he heard that I was pregnant.
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In the other side of town, things were looking good for my father. He finally got what he always wanted. He rarely had time for anyone or anything except politics.
I suffered postpartum depression after the birth of our son and this was the only time my husband showed interest in me, albeit with ulterior motives. He gave me medications that turned things from bad to worse. I became suicidal at some point and had to be remanded in a home. It was clear that Barry was out to get rid of me and no one would believe me when I tried to tell them that there was nothing wrong with me.
A new doctor was assigned to my case. He looked through my files and found loopholes. It was obvious that someone powerful had paid the management to tamper with my medication. He had my drugs changed and I was up and about within a short time.
I was discharged from the hospital and my first concern my son. We were separated for almost one year and I desperately wanted to see him. No family member came for me so I had to find my way home accompanied by a kind nurse. There was another shocker waiting for me when I got home. I learnt that the tabloids had had a field day talking about me abusing drugs and how I was sent to rehab because I tried to kill my husband and my son. This is definitely what Barry had told them. I also leant that my marriage had been dissolved and I was no longer allowed into my home. No one knew where my son was or maybe they knew but didn’t want to tell me. And for my father, staying as far away from me as possible was good for his political career.
This is not how it was meant to be. I had plans for myself…plans to be rich and famous but now I have lost everything. I was still lucky to have the house and the cash from Chief Barry.
I don’t even know where to start from to pick up the pieces of my life. I don’t know what to do.
