Chapter 47

"I said sit down. I do not have the patience for your antics." I plopped my ass down on the chair, facing him like a chastised little girl. "I am highly disappointed in you, Debby Regina Odion. I did not raise you to be a liar. How can you give this man's child to another?"

"I did not lie to you, Pops. Martin is her father. I only met Samuel a few days ago, and I am sorry to say that he is lying. Everything he is saying is not true. I know I am the most troublesome of all your kids, and I have done some pretty wild things, but this is not one. I am not demented enough to give my daughter to another man who is not her father."

"Are you blind? Or stupid. Why do you refuse to accept the fact? That boy looks like he is the one who gave birth to your baby, and you are still trying to deny it? Your child does not look like either you or Martin, so are you trying to tell me this is a coincidence?"

"I know how it looks, but I have never met this man until a few days ago. I know who I was intimate with, and it was Martin. No other man was between my legs before or after. He is the only man I have ever known. Maybe God is trying to give me the middle finger for having sex before marriage by playing this sick joke on me but…"

"Shut up! I have had it up to here with your lies. We all stood by you when you got pregnant at a very young age. Do I have to remind you of what we lost because of this pregnancy? Now I understand why Martin was so adamant about not being her father. He was telling the truth all along. We were too blind by our love for you and our trust for how we brought you up."

"She is Martin's daughter, and that is my truth. I am getting sick and tired of this misconception, and I understand Samuel made it worse, but if you still do not believe me, then we can go to the hospital right now, and science will back me up since my father will not. I am disappointed that you are treating me as a liar, Pops."

"No, I am the one disappointed in you for the incessant lies. Now I understand why you chose this town and why you insist on naming her as Samuel. You are still going to claim that is a coincidence too?"

"Believe whatever you want to believe, Dad. But just know I am innocent. I am in this town because it is nice. I do not see why that is so strange. So, what if Martin and I birthed a baby who looks nothing like us? She is an albino, Pops. It is a straightforward reason that she looks like the first redhead you see."

"Deborah Regina Odion! I am convinced you are slow or just a compulsive liar. Your daughter is not albino. We initially thought she was albino because we could not explain the strange look. But now, the truth is unmasked." My Dad continued to lecture me with pure anger and disgust flowing out of him. "I cannot believe you claimed you were naming her after your uncle. God rest his soul. How could one person lie so much? I feel like I do not know you, Debby."

There is no use reasoning with him when he is this riled up.

Something changed in his eyes, and his demeanour shifted from anger. He sighed heavily, and his shoulders slouched.

"But I understand you were scared that no one will believe you. All this..." He gestured around, showing Samuel's wealth. "... Would be scary even to an adult, and you were just a child… You are still a child… my child. He is a child as well... you must have put that into consideration when you lied. I am just happy you made corrections before it is too late."

I could not say a word to disappoint my father more than he already is. He would not believe me, anyway.

"Oh, my poor daughter." He gathered me in his warm embrace. "I can imagine what you went through keeping this enormous secret to yourself. Why did you not talk to me? The young man is deeply in love with you… enough to forgive you and accept you back."

Gosh! This is silly. Why won't anyone believe me?

"I see the way he looks at you and talks about you. He spoke of only great things about you, even after all you did and is only looking forward to the future."

Way off, Dad. Way, way off.

"The irony of Sam looking exactly like her father is shocking. I think she already knew what you were planning to do and came out fighting to meet her biological father." He shook his head. "Blood is thicker than water… Do you know how miraculous this is? We must thank the good spirits for forcing you back into the right path."

Believe what you want, Dad.

"I think you need to seek Martin out and apologize. You will cease being a coward henceforth because I thought you better."

Aahhhhhhgggrrr! I am going to fucking kill you, Samuel.

I cannot reason with him right now because he would not believe me, anyway. The best thing to do is go straight to the hospital the second he leaves and get some proof. I will even go to ten different hospitals to will convince you all before things get out of town.