Rebecca took a seat next to Lola. Lola who felt her grandmother's presence had not looked up from her phone. She typed a message on Whatsapp and sent it.

"How is he?" Rebecca asked.

"Stable. Better now"

"I saw Joshua with you. Any problem?"

Lola looked up from her phone, pressing the power button to make it sleep. "No!" Was Lola harsh reply. "None at all!"

She saw a low sparkle in her grandmother's eyes. Lola nearly sneered. All because of that good for nothing. Why is this old lady hell bent on bringing them together?

"I heard you did not attend the date. Instead you had come into that restaurant with another man"

"Do you always have my every move being watched, grandmother?"

"No but I got eyes and ears everywhere"

"Grandma" Lola called with a sigh. "Please, do not bring up anything about Joshua. I have other and better things to think about than him"

"He is a good man" Rebecca rested a frail hand on Lola's hand. Lola glanced at their hands then at her grandmother whose sunken eyes pleaded.

"Because you have married him abi? Because you are his grandmother? Just because sister Shola's marriage to Brother Dolapo had worked out does not mean you have to arrange mine. Can you just be a sensible old woman for once?"

"Lola?" Came Rebecca's shocked reply as if she could not believe her granddaughter had just thrown such insult at her. "You..."

"Granny, please" Lola begged. "Can you just respect my decision and make me happy. Stop thinking about yourself alone"

"I am not the one who is thinking about herself. You are also doing the same thing Lola"

"What do you mean?"

"Your grandfather is lying in there because of you. He has been worried about you so badly that he could barely sleep. All because of you"

"Are you trying to say him being in there on that bed is my fault?"

"It's mostly your fault!"

"Grandma! You are blaming me for his illness"

"It is the truth because if you had said yes to the marriage, he won't have to worry much"

"You are just too much. I thought you understood! Did you ever understand! You still expect me to go into a relationship despite what that man did to me"

"It's in the past. It's something you are to forget" Rebecca said nonchalantly.

"You expect me to forget I was....." Lola started to bark as she rose to her feet but stopped. "Do you have any compassion at all?" She asked, as a wave of disgust swept through her. Is this old hag really her grandmother? "Why do you have to think about yourself all the time? You thought about yourself when you had daddy have an affair with that bitch called Pelumi. You thought about yourself when you had Aunty Dammy stay in a marriage she's not enjoying. You thought about yourself when you arranged Sister Shola's marriage with Brother Dolapo. It's always about you! All the time! What about us? Your family? Do you ever care about our feelings? You are a selfish, old hag, who is self-centred and...."

Her words were cut short when Rebecca's hand made contact against her cheek. Lola's head snapped to the side, the impact of the slap causing her ear to ring. "Enough! I am your grandmother!"

Lola lifted her wet eyes to grant her grandmother a murderous look. The white of her eyes had turned red. The brown glossy. "Then act like one and stop driving me mad!" Her voice shook.

-----

Shola had wanted to be a journalist. It was her dream, her passion. She was a talented writer. She was good on camera. The camera loves her. Cynthia had supported her wholeheartedly. She had kept pushing her through, encouraging her but Richard was against it. He wanted Shola to be lawyer. He wanted her to study in Harvard law school. He was ready to fund everything for her education in Harvard but if she wanted to be a journalist, he had no hand it.

He thought the only way to get Shola to do that was get a way to take her out of the country. Shola was a fresh graduate from secondary school. She had passed JAMB and WAEC including the Post UTME for University of Ilorin. Everything was perfect. Richard was happy she had gotten admission into the university but it was all an act Cynthia had not seen through. He told Shola her reward for such was a trip to United Kingdom. He lied he had a business trip in UK. Together, both father and daughter left Nigeria.

There, he threatened Shola into writing the bar exam. He had said he would disown her, cut her from the family and will throw her on the street if she does not do what he wanted. The frightened teenager had agreed and written the exam. His parents knew about it but they had said nothing.

Those old hags! Cynthia's grip was hard over the smartphone she held as she marched down the hospital corridor. Rage rippled through her in waves. She found Richard outside the hospital, in the parking lot talking to his mistress. The lady clung to his hand, a seductive smile on her face as they spoke.

Cynthia could feel her head burn. She would swear she could feel smoke emit her head. She stomped to them.

"Femi!" She barked out her husband's other name, her voice sharp that he had jolted around to meet her. Richard understood what it meant. She was angry. What has he done this time? "What rubbish are you plotting with your parents again?" she growled at him, halting in front of him without acknowledging his mistress's presence. "The ones you had plotted years ago are not enough and you keep plotting more. Lola is not interested in Joshua, why force her on him? Se dandan la fin fe yan ni? (Do we date people with force?) Na by force? (Is it by force?)"

"What is it this time, you this woman?" he asked, angry at her for being so rude while his mistress, Pelumi, was with him. "I do not understand what you are saying"

"You won't understand and you can't understand! Ko le ye e! (You can't understand!). So, the reason behind that dinner we had with the Erinosos was to make my daughter meet Josh"

"It is not what you think Cynthia"

"Femi! Femi! Femi! How many times did I call you? I do not like what you are doing" she pulled her ear "Leave my daughter. Do we date someone against our will? You have a matured daughter somewhere else" She gave Pelumi a bad eye. "How old is she? Seventeen? Eighteen? Nineteen? Use her! Leave my daughter alone. The nonsense you did with Shola years ago, I won't let the same thing happen. The stupid plot you and your parents made in getting that woman as your mistress, I will not allow it repeat itself. Use your mistress's daughter for what nonsense you want to do and leave me and my children out of it!" she turned around and treaded heavily to the hospital to look for the good for nothing mother-in-law.

Cynthia's head buzzing. Her veins pumped hard with ferocity. These people are testing her patience. Just because she had cooled down does not mean she is not still the hot fire they knew her to be. Her in-laws knew about everything especially that old hag who calls herself a mother. She hissed, gathered the end of her Dubai lace in her hand then stormed out to the VIP section. She does not care if they are in a hospital. She will only feel better after telling that old hag her mind.

Shola had to get married immediately she graduated law school. Rebecca had been the master mind behind it. She had brainwashed her son for God's know why and had him hell bent on making Shola marry a man of his choice. Those people will never stop scheming. She had fought hard for that marriage not to happen, to make her daughter happy, to prove her worth as a mother but she failed. Shola had to marry Dolapo, a family friend's son.

Their marriage had been successful but that does not mean every other arrange marriages will be. Her useless mother in law had thought since the matchmaking had turned out to be successful for Shola it would be for anyone but she's wrong. She won't allow Lola go through the same thing. History will not repeat itself. She found Rebecca alone sitting on one of the benches in the corridor. Cynthia released hot breath from her nostrils then strode like an angry Rhino to the old woman, who looked lost and pained.

"Mama!" She bawled out, startling the old lady. "What I did to you in the past had not taught you lessons right?" she shouted as she dashed to Rebecca. Rebecca sat up, puzzled.

"Cynthia, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice cool.

"Oshi" Cynthia let out a loud hiss through her teeth. "Leave my daughter out of all your bullshit. I have been cool for many years now. Do not allow me show you that wicked side of me you disliked"

"What wicked side do you have that can be as wicked as mine?" Rebecca asked, wide-eyed. "I am doing it for her own good. Lola needs a man in her life. She can't keep hating them all"

"Then why does it have to be this particular Joshua? Why does it have to be any man? Leave her! She is not ready"

"I am just trying to encourage her to be interested in someone"

"And forcing her into marriage is the way to do it?"

"Someone needs to show her that men are not who she thinks they are. They can be good and..."

"Shut your mouth! Oni ra nu! Nonsense! Tu le tu le! (Home wrecker). And your son has proven to be a good man abi? Iranu! Lola said she is not interested. Are you deaf to understand that? Why don't you use your son's mistress's daughter? You like her. You know about her. Use her! She is not a small girl again. You can force her into marriage. Mama, you better stop all this nonsense you are doing if not, if not, ah, I will show you pepper!" she stormed away muttering insults while giving the old woman a look full of hate.