The moment Charles heard his wife had been recovered he drove like he had never before. Esther had to tell him to slow down occasionally if he didn't want his corpse to meet Victoria.

When he got to the hospital his daughter and Victoria's mother were already there. Aaron and Christy were locked in an embrace and Christy seemed to be sobbing.
It was not until that moment that he realized that Christy and Aaron were cousins. How had he forgotten something so important, he silently thanked God that the fiasco that held in his house that day was stopped by Christian.

Victoria's mother was also crying, Nasa, Christian and his family seemed to be involved in the expulsion of ocular fluids too. Christian did well to hide his tears but his eyes had turned so red that he would have been mistaken as someone high from smoking.

The environment was so tense that even the looks the nurses gave were also of pity. Charles became very much afraid, even Esther appeared tense.

Charles didn't want to think about it, he just didn't want to hear that he lost Victoria, he'd run mad.

He managed to regain composure before he asked them what happened.

Christy left Aaron and flew into his arms. He held his daughter and patted her back while she sobbed.

Aaron moved to where his mom stood and hugged her.

Vicky's mother could not talk she kept sobbing. The poor woman was at the verge of losing her husband and no one knew the condition her daughter was in.
Christian finally drew Charles aside and spoke to him.

"we were talking to father and he kept asking of Victoria, he fell asleep and we thought he was fine. Two hours later he started screaming he said someone hit him. The next thing we know he's having seizures and they took him into the operating room. It wasn't long before they wheeled Victoria in too. She was... She was bleeding, she looked pale and had bruises on her hands. The doctor told us few minutes that Vicky has a hemorrhage in the brain. She also had a miscarriage, they're not sure if she'll make it. They're trying their best to stop the bleeding but she's lost too much blood. I can't lose two people in a day. Do you have any idea what happened to Vicky? "
Charles understood how Christian felt, he had always been so protective of his baby sister, now he was losing her and there was nothing he could do about it.

Charles' breathing became hitched and he couldn't even fight the urge to cry so he walked away from the crowd.

There had to be something he could do, anything to save his wife. It was his fault that he she was in that predicament.

He remembered how they had fought before they left his house. He remembered the look Vicky had given him after he doubted the paternity of their baby.

listen Victoria you have no right to judge me, you were also whoring about with their husbands. I'm no Saint but atleast I'm not a hypocrite, a liar and a slut!." 

" Jude seemed very taken by you, did you enjoy Chris too? "

"How would I know, when I never slept with any of them. Maybe that's what I should have done. You don't even seem to be sorry for what you did! "

"Nasa showed me a text sent from your phone to her husband. I took a shot of it, which is still on my phone. This accident was horrible but I thought it would help us get through this thing. Clearly I was wrong, no matter how deep the truth is buried, it'll always seem to surface. I wanted you to vent for so many years, I wanted you to ask me why I did the things I did. But instead you start sleeping around too. Do you know how I felt when you started working for Jude again? I knew you had started remembering then, It made me doubt... "

" The paternity of this pregnancy" I finished the sentence.

"we tried years before our issues to get another child, I found out it was my fault. I couldn't tell you of course, I felt it would crush you."

" well now I know and I want you to get out of my sight Charles!. I hate you!

The words drove out the tears he had been fighting, Victoria might die with that thought. She might die hating him and it was all his fault. Now she had lost the baby that he almost denied.

The pain was so much that he staggered a bit as he scoured the hospital in search of the chaplain. God could take him for all he cared, his life was not worth living not without his wife. All he did was cause pain to the people he loved. God had taken his child, He could take all his unborn children too, the only thing Charles wanted was his wife.

As he knelt down in front of the small altar, he couldn't even make any prayer all he did was cry.

Victoria! Victoria bịa! (come)

This heaven she found herself in had a weird way of making angels sound like the people she knew. This one sounded just like her father. She couldn't make out his face clearly but she was sure he sounded like her father. The other one had sounded just like Mr Ajayi. Victoria knew her mind was playing tricks on her, her father was still in the hospital and she had been shot.

The angel walked to where she stood and held her hand. She looked at him and saw that it was really her father.
She threw her hands around her father and cried. If she was dead, it meant her father was dead too.

"I've been looking for you Victoria" he said

"I know, some women took me away and they shot me, after I found out about Esther and Nasa I left..

He didn't let her finish, he cut her off with an apology.
" I should have told you all these years, but I was just too ashamed to. When your mother and I found about them,it almost tore us apart and I didn't want to lose you too. Their parents had insisted on keeping it a secret which we did till their mothers decided otherwise. My job led me to many places and I made mistakes but I was a coward for not trying to fix them. I abandoned my responsibilities and when I thought I had lost everything they showed up. They actually came to see me, I don't know if they forgave me before now but I was very happy to see them. I even have four grandchildren. " he smiled

Victoria had never thought of how her father really felt till now. She was mistaken by feeling angry towards her father. She noted the mistake her father had made about his grand children. He only had three

" How did you and mother get through something like that, because I have found myself in a similar situation" Victoria chuckled

"similar you say, do you have step daughters?" Victoria shook her head in response

"I don't think I know how, your mother knows it all. She said" we are humans" that was what she said the say she forgave me. I am going to miss you all so much, your mother, your brother, your sisters and my grandchildren. "

He wasn't the only one going to miss them, she was going to miss them as well.

"You are so much like me Victoria, I can remember when you were little and you and your brother would get into these fights. Your brother was carefree just like your mom but you, you were just too sensitive. You'd hide in your closet and cry then pretend like everything's okay. It made me realize that I must have passed this part of myself to you. You have a good heart, a kind heart don't let your fear for vulnerability lock you out from living. Don't forget we are humans. "

Victoria smiled at him, before he stood.

" it's time for me to go Vicky, I love you "

She wanted to go with him but he told her to stay. He walked a little distance from her and then spoke to her.

" don't worry he'll stay, he won't leave you! "

Victoria didn't understand what he meant. But she thought of Charles, why would Charles want to leave her.

Victoria kept watching as her father began to disappear, she vaguely saw him wave four fingers. Then he wasn't there anymore.

She wanted to walk away from the spot but some strange force pulled her into the dark. She woke up in a room filled with men and women in blue clothes running helter skelter. They seemed to be crowding someone who lay beside her.

Was she in a hospital? It seemed strange but she felt she was in an operating room. The men and women in seemed to have stopped whatever they were doing because they all became quiet.

"Time of death, 4:0pm" one of the men said

She kept looking around and finally she saw what they were crowding. Whom they surrounded.

His hand dangled from the place where he lay and she couldn't help but notice how he kept his hand. He must have hidden his thumb because she could only see four of his fingers as they dangled in the air. Victoria wanted to scream, to say something but her lips wouldn't move. She was too weak to utter a word and her father was dead.

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