By Sunmola Olowookere

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Most family dramas are centered around evil stepmothers. The Cinderella story is an apt example. However, society has not opened our eyes to the evils being perpetrated by evil stepfathers. Some of these men are not contented with receiving ‘favours’ from their mothers. The devil soon opens their eyes to the newer and fresher version of their wives in their daughters. Why would a husband stoop to sleep with their daughters and stepdaughters? it must be purely the devil’s work.

A mother in our neighbourhood was having none of that. She was not ready to sacrifice her daughter’s future for a new marriage. She could not care less who heard their sordid tale as she threw decorum ànd godly woman character out of the window.

Her shrill voice could be heard down the lane. It was obvious that trouble was brewing in the mission house. It was the voice of the prophetess who owned a church in the neighbourhood. She was known to be a woman of peace and has many members among the residents of our neighbourhood.

However, she was not towing the path of peace on this fateful day. She was shaking with a negative reaction. Anger, hurt, sadness, and distaste were evident on her face. She was on the warpath as her usual calm voice was fraught with tension.

“Leave my house this minute! You filthy pig.” She shouted at “Daddy” hysterically. “Daddy” was her new husband.

She dragged him out bodily from inside the mission house.

Her eyes were spitting fire. She did not care who may be hearing her among the members of the church living in the mission house. She seemed to have had enough.

“I cannot continue to sleep with my roof on fire” she reasoned. She had thought it through and decided that the right course of action would be to let him go.

She refused to listen to her church members who were suing for peace. ” how could I stomach it? I can not conceive how my husband could be making passes at my daughter. It is not the first time and she is not the only one.

“It is easier to break up now and we have not even formalized the marriage so please let him go. I have had to forcibly restrain myself from putting a curse on him as its effects could be disastrous. But enough is enough “.

A deadly hush fell on the whole group. It was a very distasteful secret. They looked at the man with new eyes. He had always seemed to be holy and perfect. Now his Achilles heel had been exposed for all to see, The prophetess was beyond caring what people would say. She too was shocked that a man she considered her husband could stoop so low.

‘Daddy’ packed his bags hastily and left without a word.

It was a tough pill to swallow for everyone present there. It was indeed a terrible development and the future of such a union appears bleak.

Middled aged and with her beauty fastly diminishing, she had felt humiliated and degraded at her fiance’s increasing and indecent interest in her daughter and other young women around. She now believed that he was only after her money.

Hence it was not only anger she felt but embarrassment and humiliation.

He had been very close with her daughter and she had been thankful for the good rapport, thinking that he would serve as a father figure to the girl. Little did she know that he had plans.

Before the ruckus, she had always felt left out and jealous whenever they were discussing; they had such a beautiful rapport. however, she was thankful that they could hit it off because any friction between them would have had a detrimental effect on their relationship.

The prophetess began to have an inkling of something sinister when some of her faithful members had been dropping hints of seeing her daughter and “daddy” together mostly at her school, and sometimes outside her school. Although their hints had been innocent and devoid of any suspicion, she began to smell foul play.

She could no longer contain it, she called her daughter and asked her.

“Seun, is it true that Dapo comes to take you out at school without my ‘knowledge?” She asked in a voice that brooked no argument. She answered with her eyes on the ground.

“It is true mummy,” she said and rushed on like a dam.

“Mummy please, I did not want to tell you because it would hurt your feelings. But yes, Uncle has been making passes at me whenever he takes me out.

‘But I always refuse him. You trust me that I would not do a thing like that. Mummy, don’t you?” She concluded, pleading with her eyes that she should believe her.

She drew her daughter into her arms and hugged her tight. “Nobody will separate us, never!” She vowed to herself.

She had cornered Dapo in his room. Under her intense scrutiny, he squirmed like a politician on a hot seat. She knew that he would have heard of her confrontation with Seun.

“Why are you doing this to me? After all I have done for you, you are an ingrate.”

He cut off her tirade with a snarl. “That is enough! What did you expect me to do? You have been neglecting me shamefully. Whenever I want to touch you, you will reject me with one excuse or the other. Are you the only prophetess around? I am tired of your frigidity. Now let me be!” He finished brusquely.

That was when she lost her temper and ordered him out of her house and church.

Dapo was a widower who joined the fold eight years ago. He was very close to her. He made her feel like a woman, and she came to rely on him, she never knew he would ever treat her in such a cavalier fashion.

He had been very active in the church. He ascended the rung of the ladder to be made the General Superintendent. And she had come to trust him until he broke her trust. However, she was determined that she was better off without him.