“He’s lying,” Dija stammered, giving Chizzy a look of disgust.
“Since you won’t talk, I’ll do the honours,” Chizzy retorted. Then he began his story. “About a year after I married my wife, Helen,” he said, pointing at the woman who had answered the door, “we realised she wasn’t getting pregnant. We decided to go to the hospital to find out if there was something wrong. The doctor ran a series of tests on both of us. After which, it was discovered that the problem was from my wife.”He continued, “Based on what he suspected, she had to go through a surgical procedure called laparoscopy, which enabled the doctor look into her abdomen and pelvis using a special camera. The procedure confirmed that she had a condition called endometriosis. Her case was so serious that it had caused damage to her fallopian tubes, making it difficult for her to conceive.” Chizzy narrated all this while looking at an obviously embarrassed Helen.
“He explained that endometriosis is a usually painful disorder in which tissue called endometrium that normally lines the inside of the womb is found outside the womb in areas such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bowel, or bladder,” he continued.“He also said that while some women may not experience any symptoms, others may experience symptoms, such as very painful and heavy menstrual periods, bleeding between periods, pain while having sexual intercourse, pain in the lower abdomen, or pain while passing urine usually associated with menstrual periods and difficulty getting pregnant.
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He made us understand that there is currently no known definitive cause for the condition,” he added.“However, there are risk factors that could predispose a woman to having it, such as positive family history of endometriosis, starting menstrual period at an early age, and delay in giving birth or not giving birth at all,” Chizzy explained, looking around to see if they were still listening to him. He could tell from the look on their faces that they were waiting for him to finally get to the point of the story.
“When we asked about our options, he told us that the condition could be treated using certain drugs andsurgery.But in her own case,she would need a procedure called invitrofertilisation (IVF) to help her conceive,” he continued.“I think we’ve heard enough,” the detective interrupted. “Wait, I’m getting to the main part of the story. Just give me a few minutes,” Chizzy begged, then continued, “We tried the IVF treatment a couple of times, but it failed. That was when I remembered that Dija had gotten pregnant shortly before I put an end to our sexual escapades and decided to find out if the child could be mine.”“What sexual escapades?” Charles interrupted, charging towards Chizzy.“Let him finish!” the detective ordered, holding Charles back.
“Thank you, Detective,” Chizzy said. “I decided to take a trip to the town where Dija resided. I began stalking her for a few days, and that was how I got to know her usual daily routine and the school her daughter attended. I went to the school to make enquiries on their operations. I told them I was thinking of enrolling my child and wanted to be sure of safety. That was when I was informed of the procedures that must be met before a third party can be allowed to pick your child.
“Luckily for me,I was still with Dija’s drivers’ licence,which had dropped from her bag during one of our escapades. I found it in the hotel room after she left and put it in my wallet, hoping to give it to her later. But I kept forgetting. I assume she must have gotten a replacement by now.“With all the necessary things in place, I picked a date and went to the school to pick up her daughter. I went very early before the time Dija usually picked her daughter up, and that was how I succeeded in taking her away,” Chizzy finished.“So why did you take her away?” one of the detectives asked.
“My plan was to take her to do a paternity test and return her to her parents if she wasn’t mine. I knew if I asked Dija, she would never allow it. That was why I secretly took her. The results didn’t come out until weeks later, and when they did, I was confirmed to be her father. So I vowed never to return her. Instead, I sent Dija a message with a new number I recently got. My wife was initially not comfortable with the idea, but after much persuasion, she agreed,” Chizzy explained.
“You’re heartless!” Dija shouted, breaking her silence. “Didn’t you care about how we’d feel?”
“I couldn’t care less. As far as I was concerned, you both deserved to suffer for betraying me, especially Charles,” Chizzy replied.
Chizzy was eventually arrested but was released on bail. Charles filed for a divorce from Dija, who was devastated. Chizzy took the opportunity to file a lawsuit to claim custody of Zara. He eventually won the case on the grounds that Dija, being recently divorced, might not be emotionally and psychologically stable enough to take care of Zara and that a broken home was not the best environment for raising a child her age. Dija was, however, allowed to visit Zara anytime she wanted and take her to stay at her place for one weekend a month.
“I curse the day I met you, Chizzy!” she shouted, weeping, when the judgement was pronounced. “You’ve ruined my life!”
THE END
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