Fighting for love

Chapter 7

Clytia was suddenly uncomfortable again. They both had neutral expression on their face, but the atmosphere was tensed. The man came straight to her and took her in a side hug.

"Hey young girl, how are you?" He asked nicely.

"Good night madam, sir. I'm fine thank you. And you?" She asked politely now facing him and his wife.

"We're good", answered the man. "I'm Gordon and the lovely lady over here is my wife Janice."

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"How was the flight?" finally asked Janice.

"It was okay, thank you madam" she answered, uneasy. She saw from the corner of her eyes Nolam coming toward her with a glass in his hand.

"No need to be formal around here. We all go by the first name. Loosen up a little young lady. After all, you're my son's wife, you're part of the family."

"Mom, go easy on her." Intervened Nolam who was now standing by her side. "You good?" he asked her then with a comforting smile. She nodded yes, before turning to Janice.

"Thank you for having me at your house."

"You're welcome. Now that you're arrived, we can have diner. Can you help setting the table while I finish in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, sure."

Clytia was not comfortable at all. She wished she had not accept this invitation. She helped the boys, i.e. Nolam and Chris. After everyone was sitting down enjoying the food, the family started to discuss between them. She remained silent through the whole diner, only answering when interrogated directly. From time to time, she could sense Janice piercing brown eyes on her, which made her self-conscious. She was praying for the end to come, so she could go to the hotel to have some rest. When they were done, she helped Chris with the dishes before joining the rest of the family in front of the TV. She could either sit beside Nolam or his mother. She chose Nolam, not without keeping an appropriate distance between them. He didn't try anything and respected the space. However, Janice didn't seem happy by that, thus decided to speak.

"Katia?" she started staring at Clytia.

"Hum, no it's Clytia." She said squirming a little.

"Oh, sorry. Kratia?"

Clytia tried to hide how annoyed she was. She knew Janice was just picking on her to push her, but she would not fall for it.

"Clytia. Just call me Cly or Tia, if it's easier for you." she replied with a smile.

"Cly then! I watched you all over dinner tonight. And not once did you open up to us."

Clytia felt Nolam getting tense by her side, Chris giving her a sorry smile.

"I'm won't lie by pretending to be happy about your situation. You guys were stupid for getting drunk enough to get married to strangers. But I'm thankful you're not some kind of stripper or gold-digger, for what we know at least. I'm won't say I don't like you, because I don't know you yet. But I will talk to you like I do with my kids."

She began, her eyes digging holes in Clytia's soul.

"You have to take responsibility for your actions. Young people are always in a rush, running away from their problems and what they did. This is not the solution. You have to face the consequences of your actions. You got married to someone you barely know. I can understand the apprehension you have. It's scary. Let me tell you something: Marriage is scary. Even when you marry someone you love. You have to fight every single day to make it work. It's not a running river. Why don't you try to know the man you got married to? And try to build a relationship with him? You have nothing to lose. If it doesn't work, then you can say that you've tried. But you don't throw the towel without giving it a chance! Fight for what you have." She continued, passionate.

"Fight for your relationship. Not everyone got love at first sight. We all learn to love our partner. It's a decision, conscious or not. You have to decide to love. You might be waiting for prince charming, but you never know. He might be the frog sitting by your side, just waiting for you to kiss him back to Mr. Right for you. I know you might think I'm being harsh on you right now, but I'm talking to you like I did with Nolam and like I would for my daughter. This is how I see you now. You're part of this family now. You'll be treated as so. I hope you can trust me enough to come to me for whatever you might need in your journey, advices, and a shoulder to lean on, a mother to talk to. I don't want you to see me as the evil mother in law. "

Clytia knew all the eyes were on her. She hated being on the spot like that. She had listened carefully to Janice. She didn't know what to expect when she came in that house, now she was confused. They really wanted her to work on the marriage. This was a surprise to her. She was a nobody black woman married to a famous, wealthy actor. They should have stressed her into divorce, not be so... accepting and welcoming. She understood their concern. They didn't know her. She was just a stranger. Yet, they were ready to give her a chance. Somewhere, during the monologue of his mum, Nolam had taken her hand in support. Why was he so relaxed about the whole thing? Why wasn't he freaking out like she internally was? This wasn't right she couldn't do it. She had to break the news to them. However, she was tired. She wanted to be alone now to think and have some rest before telling them.

She took a deep breath. "Janice, thank you for being so understanding. I don't know what to tell you right now. I need to think about it all. There's a lot to take into consideration. I hope you don't mind me leaving it there for tonight. We can talk about it tomorrow, time for me to digest everything. I've had a long flight and I'm a little tired."

"Mom she is right. I'll take her to the room", intervened Nolam.

"Oh no! Don't bother, I'll just call a cab."

"What for?" asked Chris.

"I haven't been able to go to the hotel before I got here. I've already confirm my presence there. It's getting really late. I won't asked of any of you to drive me. I'm fine with a taxi."

"Hotel?" asked Nolam surprised, his eyebrows furrowed. "You're not going to a hotel, you're staying here Cly."