For Worse: LIFE SERIES

By Nyasha Rwodzi and Nyasha Clementine Rwodzi

Special Award Winner in Southern African Countries for the 'Merck Foundation More Than A Mother' Africa Media Recognition Award for 2020, For Worse is Nyasha Clementine Rwodzi's debut novel which explores questions about identity, faith and what it means to be a parent.

 

Abbigail Grey loves her husband with all her heart. Married for three years they are ready to take the next step in their marriage. Things, however, take an unexpected turn leaving Abigail to put the dreaded 'D' word on the tables: Divorce.  But she has no other option.

 

Brandon Grey cannot imagine spending a single day apart from his wife, and yet a few weeks is what now stands between him and the fate of his marriage. He has tried everything he can think of to keep Abbigail from leaving him. Only one last option remains. Everyone says it's his very best last chance. But if it fails, then all other hope is lost, right?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nyasha Clementine Rwodzi
• Release date: Jan 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781779299239

Book preview

FOR

WORSE

Book One of the LIFE Series

––––––––

NYASHA CLEMENTINE

RWODZI

Copyright © 2019 by Nyasha Clementine Rwodzi

ISBN: 978-1-77929-923-9 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or   transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper,   magazine or journal.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the   author’s imagination or are used fictitiously from research. Any resemblance to actual persons,  living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, New International Version and Good News Translation. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Nyasha Clementine Rwodzi

Editors and Proofreaders: Ropafadzo Dube, Gwinyai Dube, Isaac Jengwa, Tanaka Mhlanga and  Dora Manyika

Printed in Harare, Zimbabwe

You can obtain additional copies of this book by emailing [e-mail]

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to say thank You to You God the Father through Your Holy Spirit without which this book would not have been possible. Thank You for the many wonderful whispered thoughts from Your heart that helped shape this book into what it is today. It was tough going at times but You were always ahead, amazing me and opening my heart and eyes to things that still amaze me about this book even today.

Father, I would also like to thank You for my family and friends whom You sent as encouragement and direction to ensure this book fit the purpose and readership it was meant for. To mention a few of these people: my sister Ropafadzo Dube, my brother Gwinyai Dube, my cousins Isaac Jengwa and Tanaka Mhlanga, my uncle Bryne Rwodzi, my friends Yvonne Kudakwashe, and Mapula and many other people that it would be impossible to mention as the list is endless. Thank you for your patience in reading this manuscript and giving me useful feedback to write this book. Thank you also for the advice and wisdom which have allowed this book to finally come to life.

To all those who have only ever wished to start their own families and to those who feel they do not belong or fit in, and to those who believe they have been forgotten by the world.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

EPILOGUE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER ONE

‘And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.’

2 Corinthians 6 vs 18

(King James Version)

ABBIGAIL GREY CRINKLED HER nose in irritation as an unpleasant smell assailed her nostrils. She knew that if she did not take matters into her hands soon, whatever was left of the little breakfast she had eaten during that morning's flight would soon end up on the car floor. So, she pressed down on the car's window switch and let the fresh air sift in. The rotten tomato feeling seemed to lift a little. Nothing, however, could curb the anxiety that churned inside her stomach since making an important discovery a few days ago. It is this discovery that had prompted her more than ever to board a flight back home to Harare.

She stole a tentative glance at her husband Brandon, who she affectionately called Brad, on the opposite end of the seat but was not quick enough in pulling away. Their eyes met and held for a split second before she quickly turned away averting her gaze. Another tight knot formed in her stomach and to ease the tension, she wrapped her hand around her stomach and let it stay there in a comforting stance. Brandon continued to look at her, hesitant to speak, afraid to ask if she was alright. He reached out a shaky hand towards her, thinking that perhaps this would be an easier gesture to make than talking to her. But even that intention to connect soon came to hang miserably in the interim as once more his hand remained mid-air, unable to complete the task he had set it out to do. Where was the bravado he appeared to have conjured up only a while ago when she arrived at the airport?

Abbigail turned full on her side, the passing greenery and dotted houses on the highway becoming more interesting from her view through the car's open window. Brandon realised he had hesitated too long and finally withdrew his offered hand, but the action was done with regret of his failure to reach out and comfort his distressed wife.

Their driver, Mr. Takunda, an African man in his late fifties looked out at the road ahead of him and did not bother to turn his head or talk to them through the dashboard mirror like he normally would. With a face set in a serious frown and hardly any hint of the laughter lines that often graced his features, there was no hope of him sharing something particularly funny about his day today. His attention focused on getting them home and nothing else mattered. Perhaps he had read the memo of today's looming topic and was quiet, respecting her and Brandon's privacy. But as much as Abbigail appreciated the silence, it only served to heighten the anxiety already brewing inside her. Today alone she could make an exception and would not mind the older man's warmth or funny jokes. In answer to her unspoken prayer, Mr. Takunda turned up the volume on the radio, and at last, sound filtered through the uncomfortable silence. At least now she could regroup her thoughts, even a little.

She had barely spoken to Brandon since climbing into the car that morning and, for good reason. She sighed as the thoughts once more threatened to steal and destroy her short-lived peace.

Brandon was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a green cotton shirt. The shirt highlighted his penetrating green eyes that had constantly come to haunt her mind with their sweet and sometimes mischievous glint. When she thought about all the good and happy moments they had shared, he always managed to make her heart flutter. He was a handsome man, confident, broad shouldered and tall, but that is not what drew her to him the very first time they met and came to know one another. It was his comforting smile that captured her heart and not to mention how his presence always seemed to give her ease. She recognized finally that it was his unwavering love and trust in God that attracted her to him the first time they had met and the reason he could easily draw her out. She sighed into the silence and the sound did not escape Brandon's notice. How had she managed to go on and make such a big mess of things, she wondered disappointedly?

Abby thought back to earlier that morning when finally, the two of them stood face to face again at the airport in Harare. How much time had passed since she last saw him in the flesh? Four weeks and five days to be exact. An eternity for her. She had not