Hi guys?. I pray you guys are all doing well. I love the positive feedback I have been receiving from you guys these past days A very warm welcome to all my new readers, welcome to the family ?? I know you guys are going to have lots of fun here. This week’s episode is dedicated to all the newbies on my blog. Nana Yaa episode 16..enjoy?
Broken Promises
Stephen decided to live in Ghana, he didn’t want his family traveling to and from Dubai just to see him. He saw how close his wife is with her mother and he wasn’t ready to break such a strong relationship. He discussed it with Jeffrey and George, after long hours of debating, Jeffrey understood. He put him in charge of the branch in Ghana, it was a budding branch and it needed a lot of supervision. Jeffrey thought it would help if someone he began his company with could help him grow the branch in Ghana, a lot of work needed to be done but he trusted Stephen.
Nana Yaa got to her office earlier than she usually does, she needed time to draft a letter for her leave. She had to convince her bosses at the head office why she needed the leave. She prayed as she typed, she knew she had just resumed from leave and it wasn’t right to ask for more days off but she wanted to give it a go and hope for the best. Her phone vibrated, it was Anthony, one of her best friends at the office. He called to check if she was on her way to the office.
“I am already at the office. I have a lot of work to do”
“That sounds like music to my ears. I can’t wait to see you,maafe wo papa*. Today we shall go and eat fufu at Auntie Akosua’s restaurant. You know she asked of you?” Anthony said excitedly.
Nana Yaa chuckled. “I really missed her tilapia light soup, we must surely go there this afternoon. Anthony, I need to finish what I am doing. We will talk more when you get here. I skipped breakfast I was in such a hurry, what did Leila fix you for breakfast today? Nana Yaa asked.
“I haven’t checked. But I am sure it would be her usual oatmeal and wheat bread” Anthony said unenthusiastically.
Nana Yaa shook her head. ” You need to let her know how much you hate oatmeal Anthony, you can’t keep pouring it away and making her think you like it. That is a waste of everything”
“Nana Yaa, I should tell that tigress that I hate her food? You want me to die? I need peace in my house” Anthony said.
“Anthony,you always say this yet you are still not at peace. Anyway when you get to the gate, please get me some sandwiches. I am very hungry”
Anthony Jamal is from Muslim descent. His father Alhaji Ibrahim Jamal was born and raised a Muslim but fell head over heels in love with a young catholic girl. He knew the moment he laid eyes on her that he would marry her, they fought long and hard against their families who were against their relationship. After close to a decade of fighting each other, they realized their children were really in love, so both families reluctantly agreed to bless their union. They got married and had a bouncy baby boy whom they named Anthony Ibrahim Jamal. His mother didn’t want him having just a Muslim name, she wanted to be a part of him. Anthony was her father’s name so she named her son after her father. Even though Ibrahim’s family were strongly against the name, he wanted to make his wife happy.
When Anthony turned thirteen, his mother decided to be a Muslim. He was surprised, because all of his life she was the one who taught him how to be a good a Christian, she always went with him to early morning mass and now suddenly everything felt like a lie. For months he was forced by his father to be a Muslim too but he stood his grounds at home, even though he wasn’t very sure about what he was doing at thirteen, he knew he wasn’t ready to be a Muslim just yet. When he turned twenty-two, he was told by his parents that he had been betrothed to marry Leila Majeed. The daughter of a family friend he had grown up with, he saw her like a little sister. There he was again caught in the middle of yet another fight with his parents. He was Christian and old enough to choose his own Christian wife. He felt like a joke, he had a Muslim name yet he wasn’t a Muslim, and now he had a Muslim wife. He had a private meeting with his father hoping he would let him see reason but his father threatened to disown him if he ever brought shame to his family. His father was a very rich and powerful man and came from an equally powerful family. Anthony knew for a fact that without his father’s help he couldn’t really survive, he was who he really was because of his family. After months of battling within himself, Anthony agreed to marry Leila Majeed. Nana Yaa and Anthony became fast friends the day they came for an interview. Anthony noticed her anklet and asked if she was really wearing that for an interview, Nana Yaa had completely forgotten about her anklet, she rushed to the ladies room to take it off. They both did well on their interview and studied together for their aptitude test.
When Anthony suddenly got very quiet at the office, Nana Yaa knew something was really wrong because Anthony is a talkative. He wasn’t teasing anyone and spent most of his time on his phone. It took a lot of pushing to get Anthony to talk, Nana Yaa stayed late after work one night because Anthony usually stays late to work in the office. When everybody had left, Nana Yaa ordered pizza and went to his cubicle. He was surprised to see her because, she was usually the first to leave the office everyday so she can get time to watch the movies she had downloaded in the office that day at home. But she sacrificed her movie time to talk to Anthony and even though Anthony didn’t tell her how much he appreciated that gesture, Nana Yaa knows he did, because after that night their friendship grew stronger.
Anthony poured his heart out to Nana Yaa that night, it felt like he had wanted to do that for such a long time. He looked very happy on the outside, everyone in the office loved him but on the inside he was really struggling. He cried as he narrated his life story to Nana Yaa, he spoke about his family and also about a girl he was in love with but couldn’t be with anymore because of Leila. They had just started dating and he couldn’t believe he had to ask them to breakup because of his betrothed wife. That night was the first and only time Nana Yaa saw him cry, he didn’t cry when he lost his father in a plane crush. He didn’t cry when he heard the woman he was in love with was getting married. She only saw his eyes fill up with tears when he read a letter about his promotion.
That night, Nana Yaa also spoke about the death of her fiancé, Anthony was surprised she had to deal with that, most women wouldn’t have survived such a tragedy. Nana Yaa advised him to fight for the woman he loves but Anthony just couldn’t. He went on and got married to Leila but a few days after the wedding, they had a little misunderstanding and Leila spoke very disrespectfully to him. She has a quick-temper. Anthony walked out on her after she said what she said and they haven’t spoken to each other ever since, they are married for five years and they still sleep in separate bedrooms.
Anthony arrived to the office with a broad smile on his face, he had really missed Nana Yaa. “Wow! Nana Yaa Osei-Danquah. You look stunning! And you are glowing. I am sure Derek is stepping up his game”
“Derek and I broke up” Nana Yaa said and hugged him. “I missed you buddy” she added.
“You broke up with Derek?” he asked. Nana Yaa nodded and sat down.
Anthony had a surprised look on his face. “Why? I thought you guys were working through your differences?”
“We weren’t working out, we tried.The big news is I am pregnant. His baby. But he doesn’t know and I want to keep it at that”
“Who are you? and what did you do to Nana Yaa? Because the Nana Yaa I knew was reasonable and not selfish”
“I am not being selfish Anthony! Where are my sandwiches by the way?”
Anthony gave her the sandwiches. “What you are doing is selfish. I wouldn’t appreciate it if someone kept my baby away from me.
Nana Yaa sighed and took a big bite of her sandwich. “I got back together with Jeffrey, I want to be with him, we are going to be happy. Finally he is all mine. I don’t need Derek messing that up for me” she said with her mouth half full.
“Jeffrey? Who is Jeffrey?”
“Ebo’s twin brother? I told you about him. I met him when I went to Dubai”
“Oh yes! The mystery man. He is Ebo’s twin brother? Are you sure? That whole story sounded weird to me.”
“I know what I want Anthony. I am never going to love Derek the same way I love Jeffrey. Never. Jeffrey wants to take responsibility for the baby. I can’t bother Derek with it, he needs to live his life. I can’t tie him down because of a baby. We are going to be fine. Right now I am trying to draft a letter asking for some more leave days. I know it’s a big risk but Jeffrey wants me to come to the states to be with him and I really want to go”
Anthony knew his friend was making a mistake. She sounded like a completely different person but he knew there wasn’t any talking her out of this, so he wished her well.
” I really do hope you know whatever is it you are doing Nana Yaa. At least you are fighting hard for the person you love. We both know I didn’t get a chance to do that. So I am the last person to tell you who to and not to love. My apologies”
“Come on Anthony. You really did what you could to fight for Kukua but the battle was way beyond your strength. Kukua is happy now and that’s a good thing. What really matters now is how to get you out of the hell you call a marriage. Sometimes I really wonder how you do it, go for years without speaking to your wife.
“You make it sound like I am some heartless person”
Nana Yaa laughed. “You are pretty heartless Anthony. A talkative like you who suddenly turns mute at home. Your wahala* is too much”
“Are you not going to share your sandwiches with me? You see what pregnancy has done to you. You are now a foodie. Just look at your fat cheeks”
“Anthony, leave my office! I can’t get any work done if I keep talking to you”
They both laughed and Anthony left her office.
Jeffrey and Zuri had the big talk. Jeffrey needed to let Zuri know about Nana Yaa, he had kept it a secret for way too long. His mother advised him to hold on a little bit and talk about Nana Yaa when Zuri had delivered the baby but Jeffrey wanted to clear things up with her before Nana Yaa came to the States. When Jeffrey was done talking, Zuri sat on the bed. A part of her knew something was really going on between Jeffrey and Nana Yaa even before Jeffery got into a fight with Derek. Jeffrey looked at her waiting for her to say something, he knew it was a bitter pill to swallow but he needed to know something, anything about what was running through her mind because it was obvious she was thinking about something.
”Zuri? I am very sorry. I want you to know that I would do right by you and the baby. Trust me I would. Nothing changes, the only thing that would change is us identifying as a couple”
“All because of Nana Yaa? What is it about her Jeff? This is so unfair!!”
Zuri was getting upset. She promised she wouldn’t over react but Jeffrey was working on her last nerve.
”I don’t have time for this. The plan is ruined. What am I going to tell Randy now. He is going to kill me!”
Jeffrey was confused. Zuri was sounding like a crazy person.
“What are you saying??! Who is Randy?
Zuri noticed she has said too much but it was too late to take everything back. Jeffrey stared at her waiting for her to answer but she pretended not to have heard his question.
“Zuri? What is going on? Who is Randy and why is he going kill you?”
Jeffrey saw fear in Zuri’s eyes. It was obvious she was hiding something. He moved closer to her and asked her again who Randy was. That was when Zuri opened up about her dark secret. She was sent by one of Jeffrey’s competitors to try and sabotage his business but Zuri ended up falling in love with Jeffrey after getting to know him better and wasn’t fulfilling her end of the bargain. Randy convince her to pin the pregnancy on Jeffrey so they can extort money from him.
“I thought you are an upcoming actress? You were going for all those auditions”
Zuri shook her head. “It was staged, for you to believe I am really an actress”
“So who are you? Is Zuri even your real name?
“Zuri is my real name. I used to be an escort but got pregnant by my boyfriend and wanted out of the escort agency, but I needed to make a lot of money to enable me cater for my self and my boyfriend. So on my last night, I met Randy he was my last client. We ended up talking and your name popped up. That was the first time I heard anything about you, didn’t even know you existed. When he devised the plan to destroy you, I wanted nothing to do with it. But he offered a lot of money, and I really needed the money at that time. So I went along with it and seduced you but after weeks of getting to know you, I realized I had made a terrible mistake but Randy threatened to kill me if I don’t give him what he wants”
“And what does he want?” Jeffrey asked.
“He wants any scandalous information about you he could use to drag your name in the mud, things that could destroy your reputation. I took photos of you when you fought with Derek in Ghana, I wanted to send them but I couldn’t. Because I love you Jeffrey”
“Zuri, please tell me all this is a joke? I trusted you with my life. I trusted you with my family and with my friends. So are you going to blackmail me with those photos?”
“No. I deleted them”
“I don’t believe you. I don’t want to. I can’t believe I fell for this. You were in for the money. I should have you all arrested. Just take a look at yourself, you are not going to survive in jail! You are evil Zuri! Evil!”
Jeffrey wished he could strangle her with his bare hand. He was very upset. Zuri cried and begged him to help her get out of the mess she had gotten herself into. If Randy found out she has told Jeffrey the truth he was really going to kill her. Jeffrey couldn’t let that happen to Zuri and her baby. He saw how helpless she was. He made a few calls to Dubai, he called one of his client who had a good relationship with the inspector general of Police in Dubai and reported the case. Even though he was very upset he appreciated Zuri for being honest. He told his parents who Zuri really was, they were very disappointed. They asked if she had any family, but Zuri is an orphan. The many struggles she faced in Kenya led her to being an escort. Jeffrey discovered a whole different Zuri that night. Everything she ever told him about herself was a lie, she painted a pretty picture of herself but truly she was just a sad, lonely girl. His parents didn’t want her living in their home anymore, she was now a stranger. Jeffrey had no choice than to let her leave their home, he booked a hotel for her and arranged for her to go back to Kenya the following week.
maafe wo papa*- I really miss you
wahala*- trouble
Issa wrap guys…ooh poor Zuri?. Let’s see how the story goes next week?