Chapter 4 The root of evil

✨Third person's p.o.v✨

Some years ago....

At the Roberts...

10:00pm,

"Why is the soup salty?!" Mr Jake Roberts authoritative voice burned in rage.

"It's not darling...."

"I gave you money to prepare a sumptuous meal and this is what i get in return?!" He snapped, cutting his wife off.

"How dare you place this rubbish in front of me?!" He slammed his hand on the table, making her jolt in fear.

"Shh... please lower your voice darling, I'm really sorry...Kayla and Thomas are still awake, they might hear us". She said in a low tone.

"Just listen to yourself!!" He slapped her across the face and she screamed.

Little Thomas watched in tears as his father pounced on his mother and began to beat her up.

"Daddy!" Eleven years old Kayla rushed out of her room and went to separate the fight.

"Daddy, please no!" She cried, grabbing her father's arm and trying to pull him off her mother.

"Get off, you useless child!" He scowled at her and continued hitting his wife who was pleading for her life amid sobs.

"Daddy please, you're hurting her". Kayla cried and tried pulling him one more time.

Thomas stood, glued to the floor as he watched the awful scene before him, he was totally powerless and didn't know what to do, he just kept on shedding tears while he hugged his robot toy.

What could a seven years old wimpy kid like him do?

He watched with red, puffy eyes and a running nose as his father boxed his mother's face.

"Daddy? Stop please....Mommy....I'm so sorry". Kayla's voice broke.

"Daddy...stop it, stop it, stop it".

"GET THE FUCK OFF BITCH!!" Mr Jake thundered as he pushed his daughter off and she crashed to the floor, hitting her head hard against the edge of the glass table, shattering the whole of it in the process.

After the sound of the shattered glass, Jake stopped beating his wife and turned to look at the body of his daughter, lying helplessly with a pool of blood under her head.

"What is this?" He kicked her legs but she didn't budge.

"Kayla?" His wife gasped on seeing her in that state.

"Kayla...Kayla, baby it's mommy, mommy is okay". She shook her body vigorously. Still, she got no reply, then she felt her pulse.

It finally dawned on her that she had lost her daughter.

"Kayla!!!" She screamed and bursted into a loud wail.

Thomas watched in horror as his mother wept over his sister's corpse.

"She fell, and just like that... she's gone? How pathetic". Mr Jake scoffed.

"How can you say something like that Jake? Your daughter is dead for crying out loud". His wife sobbed.

"I never wanted a female child in the first place.... they're weaklings....you all are..". He scoffed again and shook his head.

"Women...bunch of useless stuffs".

"K...Kayla". Thomas voice broke and his parents turned to look at his direction.

"Come Thomas, you don't have to cry buddy, be a man okay?" His father said, gesturing for him to move to his side.

"M..my si..sister is..d..dead". He stuttered, wiping his eyes.

"That's because she's weak Thomas, you're a man and you shouldn't cry, men don't cry okay? Suck it up buddy, I'll teach you what a real man is". He went close to his son and patted his head.

"J..Jake...how could you?". His wife sobbed.

"Y..you killed her!" She bit her lip in agony.

"Hey! She fell down you crazy wench! I didn't kill anybody!" He yelled back at her.

After the incident and burial of her precious daughter, Mrs Rose Roberts, ran away from home, leaving her son to the care of his father. She felt she couldn't take him along because she had nothing and she didn't want him to suffer with her.

Thomas lived with his father who taught him all sorts of things about being a man. He was brought up to detest women and was made to believe women were to be used and treated like slaves.

✨Thomas✨

I sat at the waiting hall with folded arms as i waited for whatever it was they were doing to my wife to end in the emergency room.

News blasted from the television that was hung in front of me and then 'Just in' came on with the reporter talking about the sudden fall of the Prime Minister at his bathroom and he was currently being rushed to an hospital.

The sudden noise i heard from outside the hospital was clear that reporters swarm the area. Then there was a sudden rush and some nurses transferred a body from a stretcher to a push bed, running as they pushed the bed towards my direction.

"Doctor! We have an emergency situation!!" They called out.

While they passed me, I took a peek and discovered it was the prime minister they were trying to save.

So they actually brought him to this hospital huh?.

As soon as the nurses passed the emergency room, there was a shrill scream from the room and i rolled my eyes knowing fully well it was from my wife.

She finally decided to wake up...tch!

The others who were at the waiting hall also, closed their ears as they scrunch up their faces at the annoying sound she made.

The bitch doesn't know it's fucking 2:00am and she's screaming like she's in labour?!

The doctor came out of the room and i rushed to him...

"Your wife is...."

"Is the baby alright?!"

He paused as he furrowed his eyebrows, looking at me... maybe because i cut him short.

"I'd like to have a word with you in my office, Mr Roberts. But after i attend to my next patient which is urgent". He left, immediately he said those words.

Old punk! You could've at least answered my question.

I got into the room and a nurse was still attending to my wife.

Immediately the wench saw me, her face became pale and her eyes went wide with horror.

I stopped in my tracks as she stared at me while tears began to roll down her face.

It wasn't because she was tearing up that i stopped.

It was because i wasn't seeing her face any more. It was a different person's.

Someone I least expected to see or imagine...

It was Kayla's.

🦋 Nathalia 🦋

The door opened and Thomas walked into the room.

The moment i saw him, it felt like a needle pricked my heart and I suddenly felt goosebumps all over my body.

Just his appearance scared the crap out of me and that was someone i loved so much?

He almost killed me....hell! I thought he would change but he was just growing worse.

He stopped abruptly and i swallowed hard as I felt tears roll down my cheeks. I hadn't noticed they had pile up in my eyes.

He gazed down at me and I thought I saw hate in his eyes... but i was wrong.

He looked like he had seen a ghost coz his face was so white and for the very first time in my life i saw something in his eyes. Something that was impossible to find in him... something that came as a shock and surprise to me.

Fear...

He looked scared.

"Mr Roberts are you alright?" The nurse asked, but he didn't budge.

He just stood transfixed, his eyes peering into mine, without blinking.

"Si..Honey..are you alright?" I asked him. It would sound weird to the nurse if i called him Sir so i was quick to correct myself.

"Honey??"

"Mr Roberts..." The nurse touched him slightly.

"Hands off bitch!!" He snapped, startling the both of us.

The nurse withdrew her hand quickly.

"Is the baby alright?" He asked her.

She stared at him, shock written all over her face.

Then she scoffed...

"Look here Mister....you don't go around calling people a bitch...okay? I mean, don't you even have some manners? Just look at your wife...while i was examining her, i saw some bruises and marks on her body and I believe you did that to her. How can you even do that to your own wife?".

"I said....IS THE BABY ALRIGHT?!" He thundered.

"This is a hospital Mister...you shouldn't be barking like a mad dog". She replied.

He raised his hand to hit her but stopped halfway and bit his lip...

"Try hitting me and I'll show you the real bitch i am". She said with scorn and walked to the door.

"You don't deserve that lady...she's a good one". Then she faced me.

"Make the right choice Nathalia, you are too young to suffer this way, you deserve someone better... who's not a dog". She smiled at me, then glared at Thomas before leaving the room.

"I'll kill that bitch! I swear!" He fumed.

Finally i was out of that hell hole... finally this was a chance for me to leave... there's no doubt about him going to kill me.

I mean he won't even hold back...

But then...

My shoulders dropped as i sighed deeply...

I had no where to go....it would mean me going back to the gutters.

It wouldn't have been a difficult choice for me to make if it was only me.

I would be destroying someone else life and future also.

The innocent baby growing inside me.

The new life God has given to me.

My new hope in life.

It was a miracle that it was still alive.

Since Thomas is so bent on getting a baby, maybe he would change if i give him what he wants and maybe the child would bring us together as one.

I don't want my baby to suffer like i did.

It was a message from God that there's still hope.

I rubbed my stomach and forced a smile.

"Is the baby alright?" Thomas finally spoke to me.

I nodded slowly.

"Good, we're leaving at the break of dawn". He said and i nodded weakly again.

He should at least apologize or ask if I'm alright...

"Go to sleep, I'll be outside". He said in a stern tone and left the room.

But at least he's close to me and is kind enough to wait up all night.

It's a good sign...

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