CHAPTER 48

Mica and Richard have not been in good terms for a while now because of a new job which Mica wants to undertake. Richard does not want her to do the job because she will have to act as the man's lover and he does not want to see her in the arms of another man since they are now back together but Mica is still holding his marriage with Candace over his head as she kept telling him that he is selfish because all those years when he was married to Candace, making love to her to the point that they even have a daughter, she was patiently waiting for him without saying anything but now when it's her turn to do a job, he does not want to support her in it because he is jealous and he is letting his jealousy get in the way of their job and money which has never been a part of the agreement in the first place. 

Mica does not know that Richard is not angry that she wants to become someone else's love her because he already knows that their relationship has hit a rock a long time ago but he is only worried as he feels that the job is dangerous and can put her in harm's way. Mica does not see the danger but only see the money which is what really worries Richard. He knows that if she goes down, the rest of them will narrowly escape if they don't go down with her and as the leader of the group, he feels that it is his responsibility to keep everyone safe. Richard does not trust the source of this business and his mind does not feel at peace. He wants them to decline the offer but the others seem to be too greedy for money and are seeing him like he is an outdated con man who can hold a little danger anymore. Richard tried explaining to Mica that his instinct has been the thing keeping him alive all these years and also his carefulness not to accept every job that comes his way.

Because Mica was making much noise and trouble, Richard told her that she can go ahead and do the job but she should never involve him and when any problem arises, she should also not remember his name because he will forget that he loves her and do the unthinkable to her. He reminded her that during the time of Candace, he wanted them to do things quietly so that he can get the money and disappear quietly but the same her came around and ruined everything because she always want things to go her way and when they don't, she begins to throw tantrums.

In order for them to dupe Candace and her family, he had a perfect plan in place but Mica couldn't go ahead with the plan because of the hate she had for Candace. He wanted to prove to her that he still loves her so he let her ruin the plan and now he can't see his daughter whenever he wants to anymore as Candace now keeps the girl very protected because she is expecting him to look for the girl at any moment. He also knows that Candace does not mind using their daughter as bait to set a trap for him.

Ima's father was in a meeting when his assistant walked up to him and told him that his wife and daughter has been arrested by the police but he pretended like nothing was going on as he continued with the meeting because to him, the meeting was more important than a useless wife and an irresponsible daughter who can not help his situation right now. He even breathed a sigh of relief as he felt like the two problems of his life have been locked in the police cell and he hopes that they rot in jail and never return because he promised himself that he will not send his lawyer to bail them out or even represent them in court. He whispered to his assistants not to do anything and let Justice take its course. He continued speaking to the investors by assuring them that he has no hands in what has been going on and to prove that to them, his wife and daughter have been arrested and he will do what's necessary by the law but he will not tamper with justice for their sake.

Ima and her mother where in the police cell for the night and the next day they were charged to court. Since her husband refused to produce a lawyer for them, the police told them that the state will give them a lawyer but she knows that the state lawyer will rather help the state post them to jail than defend them. She shed tears and told herself that all her years of hard work and trying to make their marriage work has come to nothing. All the games that she played in order to have a child for her husband and keep him trapped to her has finally backfired and there is no one that she can run to, to help her. She sat in the holding cell where the were and the cried that night. She cried to the point where she had no more tears to shed and when she was done crying, she finally came to terms with her situation and told herself that she will not spend a long time in jail even if she goes there. She consoled her self by saying "people always say that whoever commits a sin must pay the price and I think it's high time for me to pay the price of all the sins that I have committed in the past. Even if I go to jail, I will come back a new person without any record or guilty in my heart and no one will be able to hold any offences against me because I would have paid for it all by them.

 As they were preparing to take them to court for their first hearing, a young lady walked into the holding cell where they were and said "hello, I am Amelia. I am the one who will represent you in court today and I would like to go over a few things with you if you don't mind." Ima's mother felt that there was nothing needed to go over because she has settled within herself that she will go to jail and there is nothing that will change that. She told Amelia that she has nothing to discuss with her and she should just go to court and tell the judge that they are guilty because she works for the state and she wouldn't want to lose her job in trying to defend them any more than is necessary.

Amelia smiled and should looked at Ima's mother and said "oh my bad. I am sorry that I did not introduce myself properly when I first came in because it seems that you have confused me with someone else. I do not work for the state and I was sent by your old friend to defend you. Ima's mother was surprised as she tried to remember if she had any old friend who would even care to send a lawyer to defend her but she couldn't think of any. "I am sorry but I can't think of any friends who will want to stand by me in difficult times like this especially now that my husband has abandoned me to my face I don't think there's anyone who will want to associate themselves with him so that they will not offend him." Amelia smiled again and said "he told me that you might not remember who he is but I don't know if the name can help you remember. He said I should tell you that his name is Rainbow." Immediately Ima's mother heard the name Rainbow, she became very surprised and wondered why he would want to help her and still call himself her friend after what she did to him many years ago.

She had a flashback so when she was fifteen years old and Rainbow was seventeen years old. They were teenage lovers until her husband came around. When Ima's father came around back then, he was the trending guy in the village and every girl wanted him so when he took interest in Ima's mother, she felt like she has won a trophy and jumped into his arms thereby dumping her former lover Rainbow.

 Ima's father showered her with money and took her to places that Rainbow couldn't take her and every time Rainbow approaches her to beg her to come back to him, she always tells him to get out of her way and let real men come and talk to her because she doesn't need boys like him. She could remember one of the most embarrassing periods for Rainbow and that was the day when she and her newly found love went to the village bar and rainbow walked up to her to speak with her. Because she wanted to prove to her new lover that there was nothing between she and Rainbow, she ended up insulting him and even calling him a poor dog.  She told him that he should stop disturbing her and go get a life. On that day, Rainbow shed tears in public and asked her that what about if she gets into trouble someday and he is the one to help her how we she feel about how she has treated him today while accepting his help? She went as far as telling Rainbow that anytime he sees her in trouble, he should please not help her because she is very sure that there won't be a time in this life when she will need his help.

That was the last time she and the Rainbow ever spoke because after that day, he stopped talking to her or even coming to beg her and their circles also changed because she was now mingling with the rich while Rainbow was down with the poor who he has always been friends with.

 Ima's mother felt shame wash over her as she was about to accept help from the man whom she told to never help her any day he sees her in trouble. She looked at Amelia and said "did Rainbow really send you here to help me or he sent you to remind me of the nasty words that I said to him many years ago? "Amelia looked grim as she looked into Ima's mother's eyes and said "do you know how much he begged me before I could come here? Cases like this are too small for me to handle and he knows that I wouldn't check it out so he had to pull the card of favour that I owe him to bring me down here. I don't know what has happened between you two in the past, but all I can tell you is that this man really wants to see you free else he wouldn't have come to my office by himself to request for my help. Since you know Rainbow very well, I guess you already know that he's a very proud man who will never stoop so low to beg anybody for a favour because of something that has happened to him many years ago which I do not know.

 I was touched and surprised when he came and said "Amelia I am begging you to take on this case for me because the person involved is someone who is very dear to me and I wouldn't want to see her in jail." So, it will do you a lot of good to co-operate with me and tell me what I need to know because getting you out of jail really depends on the information that I get from you and the ones which I have gathered on my own before coming here. I have been on this case for four days now because Rainbow knew that it will come to this ooint and I have done some investigations and discovered that you don't have any criminal records which will really help your case but for your daughter, I can't really say much because the only card that we intend to pull in court in front of the jury is the fact that she is not mentally stable and should be taken to a psychiatric hospital instead of jail." 

 Amelia began to ask Ima's mother certain questions and she answered with enthusiasm because her hopes of getting out free has been restored again and she remembered the promise which she made to herself that if she gets out of this alone, she will never go back to her husband and she will strive to be a better woman whom she and her family will be proud of. She answered every question that Amelia asked her both those that are personal and even added information which was not necessary as she feels that everything that she has to say will help her case. She does not really have high hopes for her daughter because she knows that her daughter is already a lost cause.

 She really hopes that Amelia can help Ima wave the jail term away and opt for a psychiatric hospital because Ima really needs that. She never wanted Ima to be admitted in a psychiatric hospital because Ima was a model and she did not want the world to know that there was something wrong with her daughter as that will affect her career. She really had high hopes for her daughter as she expected that her daughter will attain the heights that she never attained. She knows that the world stigmatizes people who are struggling with mental health and she did not want her daughter to go through all of that stress but if only she had known, she would have done the right thing and all of this would have been averted. She regretted her decisions and told herself that stigmatization and the psychiatric hospital is better than  being called a murderer and serving jail term.

 A few days ago, when Rainbow saw the news on television, he felt sad for his former lover who he has never forgotten as he kept track of her. He knows that her husband never really loved her and married her to spite him but the gullible Jacqueline has never seen it that way. He was able to know that she had no lawyer after she was arrested because he was keeping track of her life so he had to go and do one of the most humiliating things by begging Amelia to go and represent her in court and make sure that she does not go to jail. In the beginning, he wasn't sure if she would accept his help because he could still remember what she told him a few years ago that if ever he sees her in trouble, he should never extend a helping hand because she will not accept it.