Zara

“From what I’ve gathered, you’ve been divorced for five years and even before that, you didn’t have much of a marriage.

Zara winced, Jada’s statement sounded so harsh but it was true. Jada continued.

“Your daughter came to me because her marriage is on the rocks. I listened to her and this is what I’ve deduced. She doesn’t know what being married is about. Do you know why?”

The question didn’t require an answer.

“She has never seen a marriage work. You may have felt you shielded her or that she was oblivious to all that was going on between you two. Sorry to burst your bubble, she wasn’t. She saw both of you struggle, now, she doesn’t know how to handle conflicts in marriage and now she’s faced with issues that seem insurmountable to her.”

Zara didn’t like the way this conversation was going. She had thought that by staying with Aden until Richessa got married, she had demonstrated her desperation to give her daughter something she didn’t have; two parents under the same roof. She couldn’t believe that despite all the hardship she had endured in this marriage, she had still failed. Zara steeled herself, she wasn’t going to cry. She would not allow Aden the satisfaction of seeing what he had done to her.

Aden had mixed feelings of shame and anguish. He knew he hadn’t treated Zara right but that was because he hated the marriage and had not been ready for it. He was so mortified that his own daughter knew that he had repeatedly cheated on her mother.

Zara found her voice first.

“Is there a way out of all this?”

Jada hesitated, studying the two people before her.

“I don’t know if you are ready for the solution to this problem, both of you don’t seem like you want to hear it.”

Zara could hear her heartbeat in her ears. Aden mentally blocked his ears.

“Both of you have a history of broken marriages in your families; Zara, your mother moved out of the house, your grandfather left your grandmother, your father cheated on your mother. Aden, your father and grandfather married two times. Your lineage on both sides has no idea of what a wholesome marriage looks like.”

“Please get to the point!” Aden interrupted’

Jada smiled and continued, unhurried.

“I’ll get there but it’s important you know the consequences of your actions and decisions you have made. You will continue to have a history of broken marriages unless someone stops the cycle. If there’s any hope of that happening, it starts with you.”

“By that you mean?” Zara asked. “She wanted to be sure she was hearing right.”

“If Richessa’s marriage is going to work out and if you want to see happy marriages in your family’s future, then we need to prove that a marriage can work in the family. The ball starts with you. Your marriage working is the key for your generations to come.”