THE CHILD I REFUSE TO LOVE Episode 4

Nemesis did not announce itself with thunder or lightning.

It crept in quietly, like a thief in the night.

David gained admission into the university, and I celebrated as though he had already become a great man. I organized a small party at home. I bought him new clothes, a new phone, and gave him more money than I could truly afford.

“This is just the beginning, my son,” I told him proudly. “You will make me proud.”

Anita had also passed her scholarship examination despite my resistance. The school authorities had insisted, and with pressure from extended family members, I reluctantly allowed her to go.

She left home with one small box and a heart full of gratitude.

“Thank you, Aunty,” she said before leaving.

Her humility unsettled me.

University life changed David.

At first, it was small requests for extra money.

“Books are expensive, Mum.”

“I need to contribute to a project.”

“I have to settle some departmental dues.”

I sent the money without question.

Then the calls became urgent.

“Mum, please send money now.”

“Why?” I would ask.

“Just send it!”

His tone had changed. The sweetness was gone.

One evening, I received a call from an unknown number.

“Are you David’s mother?”

My heart skipped.

“Yes.”

“I’m calling from the police station.”

The world went silent around me.

David had been arrested with a group of young men involved in online fraud. My son the boy I defended against every accusation was sitting in a cell.

I rushed to the station the next morning. When I saw him, he looked tired, irritated not even ashamed.

“It’s not that serious,” he said. “Everybody does it.”

Everybody does it.

Those words echoed in my head.

I sold my gold jewelry to hire a lawyer. I borrowed money from neighbors. I swallowed pride and begged relatives for help. The same relatives who once praised me for how well I treated my son now whispered behind my back.

Meanwhile, Anita, now in nursing school under her scholarship, heard about David’s situation.

Without hesitation, she came home.

She found me sitting in the living room, surrounded by unpaid bills and fear.

“Aunty,” she said softly, kneeling beside me. “I am here.”

I looked at her the child I had denied, the girl I had treated like a burden.

“I have some savings from my stipend,” she continued. “It’s not much, but we can use it for the lawyer.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

“Why would you help?” I whispered.

She smiled gently. “He is my brother.”

Brother.

Not cousin. Not stranger.

Brother.

When David fell sick shortly after his release his body weakened from drugs and reckless living it was Anita who stayed up at night checking his temperature. Anita who administered medication. Anita who spoke gently to him even when he ignored her.

One night in the hospital corridor, she held my trembling hand.

“It will be okay, Aunty.”

Her kindness felt heavier than punishment.

For the first time in years, I saw clearly.

I had poured love into one child until it spoiled him.

I had poured bitterness into another—and somehow, she turned it into grace.

And as I sat there, watching Anita care for the son I had nearly destroyed, I realized something terrifying.

Nemesis had come.

Not to destroy Anita.

But to humble me.

continue reading Episode 5