“I always knew the daughter of a prostitute would become a prostitute. When my husband picked you from the dustbin, I warned him, but he refused to listen. Mark, have you seen the girl you were protecting? That madness ends today. Get out! And if I ever set my eyes on you again, you’ll only have yourself to blame.”
Catherine turned and walked out of the compound, tears blurring her vision.
She walked and walked, night falling around her like a heavy blanket.
She had nowhere else. No one else. Her family was gone, her father was dead, and the streets were cold and unwelcoming.
What would become of her? Who could she turn to?
She reached into her small bag for her phone, and her eyes fell on Nathan’s card—the man who had been the beginning of her trouble. Yet something about the way he had spoken made her believe he was not a ritualist.
At that moment, he was her only option.
She whispered a quick prayer to the only God she trusted.
“Daddy, I know you’re watching me from heaven. Please protect me.”
Catherine dialed the number and held her breath as it rang.
“I… I’m the sachet-water seller,” she said quietly when Nathan picked up.
Soon, Nathan arrived at her location.
Catherine was already drenched from the rain.
He didn’t ask what had happened as he took her bag from her hands, but from the corner of his eye he could see her sorrow—the weight of her life etched into her posture, in the slump of her shoulders, in the way her eyes avoided his.
He knew this woman had been through a lot.
When they reached his house, Nathan led her inside.
“This is your room,” he said. “Everything you’ll need is already here. I’ll speak with you tomorrow morning.”
And with that, he left.
Catherine stood there for a moment, taking in the warmth of the room.
She didn’t know what the future held, but she was thankful for a soft bed. For once, she wouldn’t have to sleep on the hard floor in the back corridor, where the cold nearly froze her every night.
For that night, she was grateful.
The next morning, Nathan and Catherine sat together in the living room.
“My mother’s fiftieth birthday is this weekend,” Nathan began. “I need you to look the part. In the next few days, I’ll teach you everything you need to know about class and society. I’ll help change how you look and act so that you’ll match the kind of woman I want by my side.”
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