CHAPTER 5 – “THIS FAMILY CALLED MINE: COLOUR US UP”

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde

“What Will?” Morayo asked sharply.

“Our father’s Will,” Tobe replied with a mocking smirk, enjoying every bit of the tension.

“He was never your father,” Morayo snapped.

“Yes! You were just an orphan he took in,” Setemi added, her voice rising with anger. “And what’s all this talk about a will? We all know our father always made it clear he would never leave one. He said it repeatedly…that when he dies, whatever he left behind would be shared amongst his children, which you’re obviously not a part of.”

Tobe let out a dry chuckle. “That just shows how little of his children you truly were. All those speeches were tactics…just threats to make you all serious and not depend on his wealth. As his first son…even if he didn’t birth me…I knew him more than any of you. He made a will, and his lawyer, Barrister Femi, is on his way as we speak.”

“You lie!” Morayo scoffed. “The same Barrister Femi that just happens to be your father-in-law? I laugh in Spanish!”

“You must really take us for fools,” Setemi added. “We’re girls, not idiots.”

“Argue that with your dead father,” Tobe sneered.

Morayo didn’t like the sound of that. She charged at him with the knife in her hand. This time, I was the one who held her back.

“Morayo! He’s not worth going to jail for,” I pleaded.

She walked toward him but brushed past him, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

“Adeori, where is your brother? We are here to talk about our father’s death and the sharing of his properties, so we can all go our separate ways…forever,” Morayo said, marching toward the living room.

“And who are these?” she asked, glaring at Adeori’s two friends.

“My friends,” Adeori replied casually.

“Your friends came to mourn your father and they’re drinking?” Setemi asked in disbelief.

Just then, another car drove into the compound.

“I guess that’s your brother. Or is it another unwanted wannabe?” Morayo muttered, pulling out a cigarette.

“Kettle calling pot black,” one of Adeori’s friends whispered with a smirk.

Morayo’s head spun.

If only that young man knew who he just insulted…

Without warning, she lunged at him and pressed the knife against his neck.

“Morayo… abeg… do the calms, please!” Adeori begged. He knew Morayo could harm his friend.

Tobe pulled up a chair and sat down, his eyes fixed on me. I could feel his stare like fire on my skin.

My phone rang just then…it was my husband. I had to make a split-second decision: pick up the call and save myself from another round of marital drama, or stop Morayo from committing murder.

I chose the latter, because knowing who my Sister was. She could end the boy and run off. She had a degree in running off. She ran off when we were younger and it took me three years to track her down.

“Mo’, please!” I pleaded, my voice trembling.

“Never…ever….in your life put your mouth in my matter! Who are you? Do you know my family story?” Morayo yelled, pressing the knife harder.

I saw a drop of blood drip from the guy’s neck.

“Mo’, please,” I cried again, barely holding it together.

Morayo couldn’t stand tears…especially mine. She paused… then slowly stepped back.

The guy touched his neck, saw the blood, and without a word, ran out of the house.

“Crazy mad b*tch!” he cursed under his breath as he fled.

He bumped into the person who had just arrived.

Tobiloba.

My second half-brother. A walking example of a misfired arrow.

My stepmother should be crying in her grave because the two sons she proudly bore for Stephen Clarke turned out to be minus signs in life.

Tobiloba staggered in. He was a shadow of himself…drugs, alcohol, gambling… all had eaten him up.

“Sweet faaaaamily! It’s goooood to be home,” he slurred.

“Where’s the cash? Have you shared it yet? Where’s mine? I have a sure one tonight! Whatever I get today, I’ll triple it, I swear. In fact, we can use the whole bulk and multiply it together!” Tobi rambled.

“And for all the stress to have a son, this is what he got,” Setemi said under her breath.

“Now that everyone who matters is here, let’s go straight to business,” Morayo announced.

Tobe laughed mockingly.

“I can now see why your father felt like a failure after having four girls. You all lack wisdom and common sense,” he spat, pulling out his phone and dialing a number. He put it on speaker.

The person picked up.

“Hello Tobe, I’m sorry. I’m held up in traffic. Should be there in about 45 minutes.”

“Oh Daddy, take all the time you want,” Tobe said sweetly. “I just needed you to confirm something for these daft people here. Are you still bringing the video of Daddy reading his will?”

Video?

The four of us exchanged looks.

A video of our father reading his will?

We hadn’t heard anything about that.

We had believed there was no will. We were banking on that. We assumed we would share the properties by age. That way, we wouldn’t be cheated.

But if there was a video…

If this was real…

We were very sure now…we would get little or nothing.

Our father hated us.

And yet… we needed something.

I needed money to fund my foundation and support my family.

Setemi needed capital to expand her fashion business and provide a better life for her five daughters.

Yes…five daughters! That’s another story for another day. She has been living her life practically as a single mother. Let’s just say she inherited Mum’s fate…and ended up with a man just like our father.

Morayo needed the money too…if only to stop relying on sex to survive.

Pamilerin, Setemi’s baby, had dreams of relocating and living life as a free, single woman. Marriage wasn’t her thing. In her words …

“A man made my life hell growing up,” she once said. “I couldn’t control being born into that, but I can control the rest of my life. And that control is choosing never to have a man over me.”

We all needed something from our father’s legacy.

But here was Tobe… talking about a video will.

To be continued… GOOD NEWS!

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