Mr. Smith's voice was low and serious. "I'm coming back this week and I need to see my children at home"
Mrs. Smith's instincts screamed caution. "Why, what for?"
"Till then," Mr. Smith said, his tone firm. "After all I don't need permission from you to see my grils, so there's no need answering your questions"
The line went dead, leaving Mrs. Smith motionless. What does Mr. Smith want, and how would this affect Sonia's life? How will she tell him that his first daughter is married without any pre-information?, what would be his reaction? All these thoughts kept racing in Mrs. Smith's mind.
The uncertainty hung in the air, casting a shadow over Mrs. Smith's already troubled mind. She was still planning on talking to Becky about Sonia's marriage and now, a man that has left them for many years.
She needed to act fast and that includes telling her daughters about their father's return.
She picked up her phone and dialed Sonia's number.
Sonia saw the light coming from her bag, she opened the bag and picked up the phone. She looked at the screen and saw the caller and picked up immediately.
"Hi mum", Sonia said as she kept walking into the house.
"Are you back home?", her mum asked
"Yeah but haven't entered my room yet", Sonia responded
"Something came up….your dad called", Her mum said and went silent not knowing what else to say.
Sonia furrowed her eye brows at the mention of her dad. That was the last name she expected to hear.
Memories came flashing back and she felt so angry and powerless at the same time.
"What does he want"? Sonia asked after a little while.
"I don't really know, he said he wants to see you girl", Mrs. Smith said hissing.
"We girls ….huh"? Sonia asked mockingly.
"I know….i know, but I don't want him to know that you're married yet so let's still keep it as a secret, we can use your work as a cover up", her mum said.
Sonia agreed reluctantly "That would be so hard mum….but I guess that's what we should do". She said as she gets to her room and opened the door.
"I need to rest now mum, the day has been tiring, we'll still discuss about this tomorrow and remember to tell Becky about it too", Sonia said lying down on her bed instantly.
"Alright baby…you need to rest", Mrs Smith said and hung the call.
Sonia hissed as she dropped her phone. This week already started with toughness and stress. She needed enough strength and cool head with the right state of mind to solve all these.
She stood up from her bed and picked a journal and pen and wrote down things.
First mission- to find solution to Michael's problem.
Second mission- to find the real culprit responsible for the house keeper's death.
Third mission- to face her dad.
She kept the book and pen back in the drawer and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
After bathing, she dressed up on her night wear and laid down to sleep after having a long and most annoying day neglecting her dinner entirely.
She drifted to sleep, with her mind racing on the three important missions to be accomplished.
The next morning, she woke up determined on tackling the problems one after the other with the second mission being a secret which only her would know about it.
She took a quick bath and got dressed to go downstairs. She was glad that she was placed on afternoon duty and she has enough time to rest before going to work.
She headed downstairs and saw Michael at the dining room already having his breakfast.
Michael looked up and smiled.
"Good morning angel", Michael greeted still smiling.
"Good morning" Sonia replied, sitting down beside him.
The house keeper served her meal and she started eating.
"You have enough time to rest before going to work today", Michael said surprising Sonia.
Sonia raised her gaze on him and stopped eating for a while
"How did you know that I'm on afternoon duty"? Sonia asked still looking at him.
Michael smiled and looked at her. "Let's just say that I know your schedule for the month".
Sonia's eye widened. "Are you stalking me".
"Nahh… nah, that's not possible, I'm not stalking my beautiful wife, I just wanted to know her schedule and make sure that it won't be stressful on her", he said flirting a little with her.
Sonia playfully rolled her eyes. "You're something else, you know that?"
Michael chucked, enjoying the banter. "I'm just a concerned husband."
Just as they were still have fun, Sonia's phone buzzed. It was Becky.
She remembered she still has an unfinished business with her sister based on the marriage issue and she was surprised at her call after she vented her anger on them yesterday.
"Hey, sis! Mom told me about Dad's return. What's going on?" Becky asked, her voice laced with concern.
Sonia hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. "Let's just say it's complicated. Dad wants to see us, and Mom's stressed."
Becky's tone turned sarcastic. "Yeah, because that's not a recipe for disaster."
Sonia sighed. "I know. We just need to be careful."
"Careful?" Becky repeated. "You mean like keeping secrets from Dad? Like your marriage?"
Sonia's grip on the phone tightened. "Becky, please. Let's discuss about this later."
"Fine," Becky said, her voice cool. "But we need to talk about this soon."
Sonia nodded. "I know. We'll talk soon."
Sonia wasn't satisfied with her conversation with Becky. She knew Becky's loyalty was complicated, and she worried that Becky might reveal her secret marriage to their father.
As she finished breakfast, Sonia's mind was preoccupied with worst-case scenarios. She excused herself, trying not to initiate any further discussion with Michael.
Michael noticed her mood but didn't press the issue. "Take care of yourself, angel. I'll handle some things here."
Sonia nodded, grateful for his understanding. She knew she had to be prepared for whatever came next.
The clock was ticking, and her father's return was imminent. Sonia's secrets were fragile, and one wrong move could shatter everything.