THE BROKEN HOME

Chapter I

Ariana was just thirteen when she ran away from home due to the violence and lack of peace in their home. She had an elder sister named Thani. She was seventeen. Their father hated both his daughters and their mother too. He never wanted a female child, as all he was after was a male child. He was a poor man and drank excessively to irritating levels. When his wife, Samsiya gave birth to Thani, he disliked her because she was a girl but with his mother's words, he was convinced to accept the child as she was his first child with the hope that the next would be a boy.

Samsiya took in and when her husband found out, he threatened her not to think of giving him a girl child again otherwise, he would kill both of them. Eight months after she took in, she put to bed to a beautiful daughter and named her Ariana, meaning very holy as she gave birth to her in a holy month. All hell was let loose when her husband got to know about her delivery and what she got. This forced them to accept their fate as it was in the house.

Ariana grew up into a brave girl while her sister was just as scared and easily intimidated as their mum. Most of the times whenever her dad used to beat her mum, she always supported her mum and sister and fought back on their behalf. She grew up with hatred for her father but still referred to him as her father. This made her father to reduce his harsh behaviour towards them because he was scared of her. He always referred to her as a boy because of her behaviour.

Things got worse when she tried separating her parents from fighting which left her mother badly injured due to her action. This made Thani angry and she threw her out of the house. She told her never to come back to them again as she was the cause of everything from the start. Their mother tried to stop the girls from fighting but she was too weak. Ariana then packed her things and ran away from her home.

Chapter II

Going from somewhere to nowhere was the journey of Ariana. She went to the bus park with no idea of where she was heading to. She joined other passengers board a bus and arrived at another city, far away from her home. At the park of her destination, she saw a young boy running away with the purse of a rich looking lady. Being a brave and tough girl, she dropped her things and went after him. She was lucky enough not to have sustained much injury as she returned the purse back to the woman. She was about going when the woman called her back and asked about her after thanking her.

The kind lady, whose name Ariana got to know as Mrs. Becky, brought her to her home after she learned that she had nowhere to go. She accommodated her and also admitted her in one of the schools in the city. Though starting late, she was able to pick up with time. She graduated and got married to Mrs. Becky's last son named Chris.

Chris was the CEO of Taemin company which was his father's. His wedding with Ariana was a blissful one. After a month of their marriage, Ariana began to see the real side of Chris. She noticed that he had some bad characters like pride, arrogance and never had a listening ear. She tried to talk to him sometimes but things just don't work out well.

Chapter III

Ariana took in and gave birth to a boy. There was celebration everywhere for the welcoming of the new child. He was named Seth. Seth grew up in a life of luxury. He was loved by both his parents and everyone that set their eyes on him. He had everything he ever wanted. He was enrolled in the best school in the city when he became of age.

After five years, the peace of the house was stolen little by little. Chris started to drink and smoke to the surprise of his wife. When Ariana confronted him, he denied most of the time but when he couldn't take it anymore, he told her out of annoyance. He also started keeping out late till midnight. This brought about a lot of misunderstanding in the house. Little Seth didn't get to see his father most of the time as he would leave very early and come back late to avoid his wife's questioning looks and questions too.

Things went from bad to worse as they even started arguing and quarrelling in the presence of their little son. Seth one day asked his parents why they were always fighting during dinner on a friday. His mother, being a wise woman saved the situation and changed the topic after convincing him that they were not quarrelling but having a little misunderstanding.

Things never got better as Ariana had thought. One day, she made up her mind to visit her in-laws' home and complain about their son's newly founded attitude. She reminded his mother that they believed so much in her and made them to get married despite them not knowing each other well. She then went to pick Seth from school and on reaching home, she met her husband burning with anger. Seth went to his room without saying another word to his dad after he greeted him and he didn't respond back. He gave her the beating of her life that day and threatened to throw her out of the house and bring in his new family. Ariana was dumbfounded after hearing that. Her husband had left the house before she recovered from her shock.

Chapter IV

Ariana didn't understand what her husband meant by what he said. She kept thinking about what he meant by a new family. Was it what she thought? No, she didn't want to jump to conclusion first. She thought of questioning her husband when he comes back that night but unfortunately, he didn't.

The next day, he came back home in the afternoon and when she asked him where he was, he told her that he was with his new family. Ariana felt like dying that moment. She was so shocked and didn't know what to do. She thought of going back to her inlaws' home and report the whole situation but she didn't want it to end like before.

Having no other option, she did just that. His parents came over and settled them but he lied about everything. His father was tired of his situation already. They just told Ariana to do what was right for her marriage as he blamed his wife for everything. Despite knowing their son's attitude, his mother still went ahead with marrying him off to Ariana.

Being a patient and humble wife, she didn't give up on her marriage despite the advices she had received from people who knew about her situation to remarry for her son's sake at least. They both loved their son even though the love that existed between husband and wife began to grow thinner day by day.

Chapter V

Things began to go out of shape as Seth's parents marriage went sour. Ariana received a divorce letter from her husband one morning while Seth was away to play. She was shocked that it had reached that level. She pleaded with her husband to give their marriage another chance. She didn't know what to do as his mind was made up already. All he wanted was her signature on the paper.

She informed his parents about his action but was shocked at their response. They told her to accept it because she can't live with a jerk anymore as that was how they thought she referred to their son. Unknown to her, Chris had brainwashed his family already. Ariana had no where to go and no one to complain to. She wished she had her family with her. Her in-laws started to ill treat her too.

They tried to hide their divorce case away from Seth but it wasn't for long. Seth found out and when he confronted his parents, his mother tried lying again but this time, it didn't work as Chris told him the truth. He blackmailed his wife in the presence of his son and tried to convince him that she was a bad woman. He told him that he would be living with another woman who would love and care for him unlike his mum who was a bad person who always scold him and never allowed him to live like other children.

They got their divorce but had an issue. Both wanted living with their son but none wanted leaving him for the other. Ariana decided to leave the house but she allowed his father to see him. At school, Seth couldn't concentrate anymore because of what was happening in his house. His graduation from nursery III party was drawing near and he wanted both his parents to attend. That was not possible now as they had divorced. His mother came for him and was there through out but unknown to them, Chris was also there. When he was called upon for his gifts, both his parents came to snap with him.

Immediately the programme was over, he gave his son gifts and left after giving him a big hug and went back to work. Seth was left with struggling tears in his eyes. He missed his father and wanted both his parents back. He sat all alone while his mates were playing. His class teacher came by and asked him what the problem was. Her name was Ms. Stephanie and she knew his parents well. She asked him if he was suffering from a broken home but his respponse shocked her. He said "nothing is broken, is just that they just are not husband and wife but still my parents. It's not a broken home when you still have thesame love from your parents."

Chapter VI

Chris got married to Anita, who was already heavily pregnant for him. He didn't know how he got so attached to her. He never loved her or thought of her as a wife. But here he was, getting married to her because of her pregnancy. Anita was a rude, arrogant and cunning woman who knew how to manipulate people to get what she wanted. She never liked Chris but was attracted to him because of his wealth and after knowing his weaknesses, decided to take advantage of that.

Chris' marriage with Anita was a hell. She doesn't cook for him or perform her wifely chores. He didn't complain to her again as she always threatened him with the pregnancy. It was becoming obvious that Chris wanted the baby more than anything. He did whatever she asked him to do including serving her. She made him the wife of the house while she, was the husband. Whenever people came to visit, she denied them entry or pretend to be a good wife but when they leave, she punished Chris.

Everyday he left for work with an injured body. He was really suffering and started losing weight. He regretted all his actions and wished he was with his first wife, Ariana. He really loved her but he let his pride, arrogancy and ego to be his master which ended up ruining his marriage. He regretted everything. Things didn't end well for him.

Chapter VII

Ariana lived her life as a single mum raising her only son. She got a work where she struggled to make ends meet. She was the breadwinner of she and her son. Due to her well mannered attitude, patience and humility, she was favoured by people especially her new boss. He was a single man who was the only son of his family and was also wealthy. He admired Ariana so much, her intelligence, bravery, humility, patience, kindness and the rest. She was also a friendly person but wasn't interested in making much friends.

Seth fell ill on a Thursday night. His condition worsened that night and Ariana had no one to call that night. She stayed awake through out the night with him, hoping that by daybreak she'll take him to the hospital if he didn't get better. Morning came but instead of him to become better, his condition worsened. She took him to a clinic in town where he was attended to. All her attention was on her son that she forgot to phone her work place. She didn't go to work and when she received a phone call from a colleague who was also a friend to her, it then occurred to her that she was late already. She explained to her why she couldn't make it to work that day after she heard that her boss asked of her.

That evening, her boss and her colleague came visiting. Their names were Ashana and Ryan. Ashana escorted him because he didn't know where she lived. She left after some minutes, leaving Ryan. Ryan later found out about her child's illness and what had and hadn't been done. He decided to take up the responsibility of taking care of her child. He bought foodstuffs, clothes, etc for them.

Ryan started to become close to them and Ariana noticed this. She tried to caution him but he told her not to worry. Seth too began to like him and was fond of him. Ryan sometimes took him to school and brought him home whenever he was free. He took him out, hanged out with him and made him feel loved. He replaced that empty space in the heart of Seth that Chris was supposed to fill. He performed the responsibility of a dad to Seth.

People who didn't know them began to think that Ryan was the dad of Seth. They sometimes referred to Ryan as the husband of Ariana even in their presence. This made Seth to ask his mum to marry him. Everyone was taken aback by the little boy's request. But before he asked his mum, he made her to promise that she will do whatever she asked him to do and she accepted. This made her unhappy. She told Seth to go into his room but he refused as he sounded more serious. Ryan just stood there, checking for her reactions.

Seth started crying when his mum shouted at him and slapped him of asking such. She asked him what he ever lacked, what didn't she for him to request such? Wasn't her love enough? He told her that since the day his dad left them, he felt lonely and was often teased at school. When other children's parents both came for them for their school party and end of term ceremony, he only had his mum. But when Ryan came into their lives, things changed for him. Nobody teased him again because he too had someone who looked after him and he looked up to him as his dad.

Chapter VIII

Ryan tried to calm Ariana down and at the same time, Seth. Ariana walked out of living room and locked herself in her room. Ryan, after calming Seth down told him that he shouldn't have said all what he said to his mum. He reminded him of how she single- handedly raised him up and provided for him. He said so much to the little boy and convinced him to apologize to his mum after he had spoken to her. They left to her room but it was locked. They begged her to open the door but she refused.

Ariana was crying and thinking at the same time. She had no other option than to open the door. They entered and with Ryan's help, Seth apologized to her. It was already late so Ryan went home, promising to check on them the next day and left.

That night, Ariana had so many thoughts running through her mind. She couldn't sleep, she just watched her poor son sleeping. How much pain had he gone through that she wasn't aware of? She blamed herself for everything. If only she had stopped Ryan from visiting and shouted at him from the beginning, this wouldn't have happened. So many thoughts ran through her mind. Marriage was the last thing on her mind and here she was, stuck. She managed to get some sleep.

As promised, Ryan came visiting but things didn't go well. Seth was gradually falling ill but no one noticed at first. After he was dropped at school, his mum was called back from work to pick him up. He had a very bad fever and running temperature. She was very worried. Ryan too got to know about the situation and took him to hospital. He was attended to and was diagnosed with severe fever.

To the surprise and amazement of everyone, Ryan had prepared to propose to Ariana already. He went to their house as usual, to check on Seth's condition. Her friends were also there too. He was feeling uneasy for the first time. Ariana noticed this and asked him if all was well. He told her he needed to use the bathroom and he left. He was troubled in his mind on what to do. He didn't know how to start asking for her hand in marriage. He wasn't going to propose to her because of her son, but because he deeply loved her.

He made up his mind that he would win this and she will accept him. He went to meet them in their room, where Seth was lying. In the presence of her son and everyone, he knelt down and asked her to marry him. It was surprise for everybody in the room. Everyone was smiling and begging her to accept his proposal. Her son too was watching with happiness. She was about rejecting when Seth started crying, this made her to say....yes.

Everyone was happy and instantly, Seth's fever left. He was well again and hugged his mum so tight. He also hugged his new to be father and thanked both. It was a nice moment. Her friends took pictures and videos of every scene that occurred from the beginning for remembrance.

Chapter IX

The love between Ariana and Ryan grew stronger day by day as Ryan spoiled her with love and gave her every reasons to be happy. Time for him to introduce her to his family also drew near. He happily took her to his family's home while Seth was left with one of her friends. They immediately liked her and accepted. Everyone was happy.

Meanwhile, Chris was really frustrated with life. They kept having quarrels in his house and Anita dropped the bombshell about her pregnancy not belonging to Chris. He was shocked and thought that she was just making up stories as some women would do but she sounded so serious. She even narrated everything to him. She was a married woman who left her husband in search of money from wealthy men. She left her home with the pregnancy of her husband and used it to hook up Chris with it. He was drunk on the first night they met but he never remembered anything. She took advantage of his unconsciousness and lied that he was responsible for her pregnancy.

This left him shocked and angry. He hated and regretted everything and ever meeting her. He cursed the day he started drinking and keeping out late and also the day that he met her. He wanted killing her but she already ran out of the house. To his surprise, she had made away with everything he had. All his money, cars, documents, etc was signed in her name. It was too late when he discovered it and there was no way to see her. She had suck him up and left a hole in his pocket.

His family didn't even accept him back. He was left all alone. They told him unless he apologized to his first wife and bring her back with their son, he shouldn't show his face in their house. He had to hide his pride and go in search of her. Luck was on his side as he got to know about her whereabouts from a friend. Unknown to him, that his new friend was the cousin of Ryan.

He took him to their home and accommodated him there as his family allowed him to stay with them until he found a place for himself. To the shock everyone, Ryan and Ariana came visiting again as his parents asked them to. Unfortunately for them, Chris was home. On sighting him, she was already scared and felt uneasy. Ryan noticed this and asked her what was wrong but she remained silent.

As his parents welcomed her and introduced her to them as their daughter in law to be, Chris became shocked. He started shouting at her and insulting her, telling her that was the reason why she left him, because she was seeing another man. Ryan got angry at how he addressed her and how he spoke rudely to her. She was already crying. Everyone was confused and asked them what was going on. Chris then told them that she's his wife and she had a son for him. Ryan then asked her if he was the Chris and she nodded with tears in her eyes.

She had told him everything about her first marriage with him and how she met his family. He underrated her in the presence of everyone. He told them how she ran away from her own home, married him and left him. He didn't mention that he was the one who divorced her because he wanted her back. Ryan's mother questioned Ariana if it was true that she had a child. Ryan tried his best to save the situation but it was to no avail. Ariana was insulted and humiliated.

She left the house in shame and as Ryan tried to stop her, she didn't listen or stop. She made for home immediately and

locked the door. She didn't even think of going to fetch her son. Ryan followed her but as he was about reaching her house, he met Ashana, her friend. He narrated everything that happened to her and she adviced him not to see her in the condition she's in at that moment. He should give her some space. He accepted and went back home, feeling dejected. She cried that day and refused to pick his calls. He couldn't sleep that night.

Because of her condition, she asked Ashana to let Seth sleep over at her place. Ashana had to lie to the poor boy and convinced him that all was well.

Chris then left the house as he found a place to live in. He was asked to leave because his presence brought trouble whenever Ryan was home. Chris then went to Ariana's place and begged her to accept him back. He told her that he missed them so much and wanted them back. She didn't listen to him, she decided to punish him and closed her door at him, threatening him never to come back. Just as he was leaving, Seth saw him and ran to him. He missed him so much and hugged him tightly.

Ryan, who just arrived at her place saw this and they were all shocked. Did Seth actually still loved his real dad? Seth still considered him his father but not his mother's husband anymore. Chris then asked Seth to beg his mother to forgive him and they should accept him back if he still considered him his dad. He told him that it was the decision of his mother not him.

Amidst all these crisis, Ryan still went far into preparation for his wedding with Ariana. He found her family but didn't tell her yet. He had already apologized to them and made them to forgive her. He bought an expensive house in the city for them, gave her sister a job and found something doing for their mum. He did all these without Ariana's knowledge. He also narrated all the ordeal that Ariana went through to them and told them of his plans. They decided to help him into marrying her.

Everything was planned and after trying all his best to convince his parents, his father saw his point and accepted that the wedding should take place. Whether he was getting married to a divorcee' or a single mum, it didn't matter. Their wedding still took place. Chris tried everything to ruin it but his plans backfired. They finally got married and lived together as husband, wife and son. Her family were also reunited with her. It was a blissful wedding. She thanked Ryan so much and didn't know when she started crying. He knew this would happen that's why he introduced them a day before their wedding. Chris fell ill and was diagnosed with chronic lung cancer. He took drugs, smoke and drank excessively.

On the hospital bed, Seth held his hand and said to him, "you are and still remain my father because you gave birth to me. Ryan is my daddy because he gave me all the love, care and attention I ever needed as a child...when you say father and dad, they are two different things. Get well father". After hearing this, everyone was in tears especially Chris who was crying like a baby. He begged everyone to forgive him which they all did. Not long after, he passed away.

His death was a terrible one but he died peacefully. His burial was sponsored and arranged by Ariana and Ryan. His parents were also informed. He was given a befitting burial. Meanwhile, Anita had an accident when she travelled and died too. All his money and everything were retrieved and given to Ariana and Seth but they left them for his family. They lived a happy life afterwards and Ariana, after nine months gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Seth now had siblings and it was a happy ending for them all.