Vincent sat in the hospital with a broken arm and leg and a swollen face. His mother broke down in tears when she saw him. His younger sister ran to his bedside. She was pained by her brother’s state.
“What happened?” Asked the sister.
“Melissa,” said Vincent before his mother cut him short.
“I knew that woman was trouble. Rest, my dear son, rest. You will get better,” said Vincent’s mother.
Given the circumstances of his injuries, he had few visitors. It was awkward for people to talk about it. This angered his mother even more. Her son’s image was tarnished, and it was Melissa’s fault. She was going to do something about it.
“Where is she?” Asked Vincent’s mother as she stormed into Melissa’s parents’ compound.
“Calm down,” said Melissa’s mother.
“Your daughter had my son beaten to near death, and she’s ruining his good name,” said Vincent’s mother.
It turned into a shouting match. Each mother defended their child. Vincent’s mother became more aggressive and almost hit Melissa’s mother when Melissa’s father intervened.
“Stop it! I will not have this in my home,” he said.
“Please tell your daughter to recant what she said about my son. It’s going to ruin his life,” said Vincent’s mother.
“Call Melissa,” Melissa’s dad told one of his sons.
Melissa had two brothers, and they were seething with anger. They couldn’t understand why the father gave Vincent’s mother an audience. However, they knew better than to argue with their father. They all sat down, awaiting Melissa.
When she came, she avoided Vincent’s mother’s eyes but was respectful enough to her. Vincent’s mother looked at her bitterly. Melissa’s father broke the tension by asking Melissa to explain what had happened.
“We had gone to do our monthly shopping. We stopped by a fruit vendor to get some when Vincent got angry at me. I was at the car’s boot trying to organize the fruits when he came out of the car and attacked me. He hit me so hard that I passed out. By the time I woke up, several men were beating him and women tending to me,” Melissa explained.
“That’s not true. Vincent says you screamed and falsely accused him of beating you,” said Vincent’s mother.
“You can ask any of the fruit vendors. They saw what happened,” said Melissa, crying.
“Mummy, you don’t have to convince us. We believe you,” said Melissa’s father.
Vincent’s mother lashed out at Melissa’s parents in fury. She accused them of interfering with their daughter’s marriage. She also argued that it was unfair that they were having that discussion in the absence of Vincent. He would have defended himself.
“Mama Vincent, your son and your family came here asking for our daughter’s hand in marriage with the promise of taking care of her. He beat my daughter in public until she passed out. Had those men not intervened, it would probably be my child in a hospital or a morgue. I have tried not to think about what else was done to her in private,” said Melissa’s father calmly but bitterly.
“My son is not usually violent. There must have been a good explanation. Now they want to jail him, and he will lose his job,” said Vincent’s mother in tears.
Melissa’s mother held her daughter’s hand. She wiped her tears and looked sternly at her sons not to talk. Melissa’s brothers had offered to go beat Vincent again when they discovered he had been beating their sister. They were angry that she had never confided in them.
“Look, Melissa doesn’t want to relive those moments in a trial but wants a divorce. Tell your son to make everything easy for everyone and agree to the proposed divorce terms,” said Melissa’s father.
Vincent’s mother left disappointed. She had hoped for a different outcome. Although she pretended not to know about her son’s violence, Melissa had gone to her a few times when it started. She had told Melissa not to tell people. She emphasized the need for secrets in a family.
When she arrived at the hospital, she relayed the information to Vincent, who didn’t object to the divorce agreement. He knew he had gotten off easy. He didn’t want the world to know what else he had put Melissa through. The mob beating he got from the men caught him off guard. He was also coming to terms with the loss of his job after a video of the beating went viral.
Melissa had a long road to recovery after the abusive marriage, but she had her family’s support. Vincent’s mother tried maligning Melissa but was shut down by people who had watched the viral video. She was in denial that her son was capable of such behaviour and tried blaming Melissa for provocation.
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