A woman's worth

By Mponeng Nada Moraba-Poulsen

A BOOK ABOUT FOUR DIFFERENT WOMEN, BROUGHT TOGETHER BY CIRCUMSTANCES, TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES IN THEIR DAILY LIVES!

 

"A WOMAN'S WORTH" CANNOT BE CHALLENGED WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES.

 

DOROTHY: raised by a dominant father and a submissive mother in a tight-knit Afrikaans family. Her only means of escape is by throwing herself into an abusive relationship.

 

MILA: raped, assaulted in the most brutal way, and left for dead by a well-known & influential business-man. She overcomes her humiliation by opening a "Center for abused women", ensuring herself that no woman would ever have to stand alone again.

 

CHANTEL: coming from the wrong side of the trail, born from an alcoholic mother and absent father. She overcomes all odds to get to the top, inspiring all women across boundaries.

 

PHINDI: an orphan married into one of the most powerful families around. Hers is a Cinderella story that ends in tragedy. There she learns that the word "family" is earned.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mponeng Nada Moraba-Poulsen
• Release date: Feb 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393526636

Mponeng Nada Moraba-Poulsen

I am a hairdresser/stylist/blogger and author and have a very big passion for writing. I have my own online clothing workshop where I also write blogs about different things - mostly Inner strength and quantum healing. I am an Entrepreneur and everything I do is done 100%.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

She woke up in the middle of the night, reeling with pain and shock. Dorothy Engelbrecht panicked, then realized that he might still be in the house and if she so much as moved, he would pounce on her again. She recalled the argument that they had earlier; it was always about the same thing. He blamed her for getting pregnant and ruining his rugby career, and now he was reduced to driving a dump truck, squandering all the money they had on alcohol and drugs. He always told her that if not for her, his life would have been perfect. After all, he was the great Loui van der Merwe, star Captain of Rustling High’s rugby team. They met fifteen years ago, fallen head over heels in love. She was  every young man’s dream girl, with long blonde hair, pretty face and  piercing blue eyes—leader of the cheerleader’s squad with the perfect smile and body.

Now when she looks at herself in the mirror, tears start falling involuntarily, she realizes that her reality has become something else. Maybe she should go home. Indeed, they would welcome her back, but doubt starts creeping in as she recalls her last visit to her parents’ house. Her strict father, with his unforgiving gaze and her forever weak and obedient mother, things could never go back to how they used to be, and now it was too late.

Barbie!!, are you awake? his voice cut through her frantic thoughts, and she shook to her very core. She could smell alcohol in his stinking breath as he staggered closer to her, peering in her eyes to see if she was awake. ‘Bloody bitch! always sleeping lazily and never doing anything.’ He shouted angrily to no one after realizing that she was snoring deeply. Dorothy knew that he had been drinking heavily and taking drugs. Shit was bound to happen, so she did the only thing possible and pretended to be in a deep sleep.

With all her dreams shattered, she knew that the only thing left of her was the baby, and it needed to be protected at all costs. So she lay there, with her arms around her tummy, recalling their earlier, happier times together . Oh! How beautiful it all had been to be young and in love. Indeed, this could not be the end of it; her life could not just be over. Could it?!

That night she cried until she had nothing left; she emptied everything! This was it!!! She had not felt like that since her brother’s death ten years ago. Maybe this was a sign that things were finally over, and she had to let go of Loui and move on. Did she have the courage, though?

After all, it had been years of living together, where would she go, and what will she do, how will she survive? Her mind was in turmoil as she realized that she had never done anything for herself in her entire life, just like her mother always told her; ' a woman looked after the house and raised the kids while the man worked and provided for his family.’ Although the baby changed everything now, and Loui hated it. He felt that he was not the centre of her attention anymore, which made him angry and needy. He showed his displeasure at every chance he got.

A couple of months ago, he had thrown her down a flight of stairs in their two-story house. She had landed right at the bottom. He then continued to use his fists, hitting her all over the body, eventually punching her into unconsciousness. She had woken up in the hospital four days later, a neighbour who had endured one too many of her cries had called the police. Loui got arrested, but when she regained consciousness, and they asked if she wanted to lay charges for assault, her answer had been, NO!. She still believed that he would change, and thankfully, everything was alright with the baby, and she only escaped with minor bruises on the ribs, jaw, and face.

Loui had been different for a couple of days after. He was more attentive, full of apologies, massaging her back, and even gave her a little belly rub. She had regained herself and blossomed but was still cautious. Dorothy had become a master- sensor to his moods, knew when he was happy and when to tread carefully. But as soon as she spoke about the future and marriage, he had given her a smack she would never forget. Things had quickly gone back to how they were before; she a punching bag and him drinking heavily and doing drugs. ‘I should have listened to my father, she thought sadly.’

Dorothy Engelbrecht had been the apple of her father’s eyes since the day she was born. He had been a bit disappointed that she was a girl, but that quickly changed when he took one look into her angelic eyes. Peter used to sing war songs to her and read bedtime stories. There was nothing her father would not do for her. He was an ex-soldier who had gotten injured on duty and was now getting paid by the government. Peter Engelbrecht could not use his right side of the body properly, but that did not stop him from running a successful farming business. They were a tight-knit Afrikaner community who lived by a specific set of rules and a rigorous background. Women cleaned, cooked, and raised the kids, with not much of a say.

Dorothy’s childhood was like that until her younger brother, Paul, came and rocked their world. Everything changed; she found herself being second best in everything, competing for her father’s attention. She missed her father, who was now spending all the time in the world with Paul; her Mother, Noler Engelbrecht, only gave her attention by shouting or criticizing. The only thing that was more important to her was how the community viewed them and their social standing.

––––––––

When she got to High school, Dorothy rebelled against any form of discipline. She became Captain of the cheerleading squad, hung out with the wrong crowd, was frequently in detention, drank alcohol, and smoked weed during school hours. It was during this period that she met Loui. He was a few years older than her and her senior, which made him more attractive. He represented everything her parents disliked, he was rebellious, ample built and famous for all the wrong reasons. There were rumours that he once punched a freshman student unconscious, sending him to hospital for almost a month.

Raised by his dominant aunt and extremely abusive uncle who used to beat him to a helpless pulp. By age ten, Loui ran away from home, never looking back, and practically raised himself on the streets. Dorothy’s parents hated him at first sight. They wanted the best for their only daughter, and he was not it. Loui was never welcome at the house.

Dorothy stayed on with her parents while seeing Loui on the side, which caused many arguments. The problem was the more her parents pushed, the more determined she was to be with him. She moved in with Loui as soon as she finished High school. In the beginning, all was wonderful, Loui had a job as a bartender, and he played rugby too on the first level. She was home playing housewife, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of their little nest. They both knew that Dorothy could always move back with her parents, which was important, especially for Loui, who could not see himself saddled up with a chick. The arrangement was not permanent.

A call from her mother, which would change Dorothy’s life forever, came one Sunday afternoon as she and Loui were lazing around in his apartment. Paul had been in a truck accident and got killed on the spot. There were no witnesses; it was a hit & run. She moved back with her parents to be closer to them as they grieved the loss of their beloved son and brother. There was too much emptiness in the house, and her father never recovered. Dorothy just wanted to go back to Loui as she missed him too much.

The pregnancy came as a shock and sent her reeling to her parents, who did not take the news well. Her father expected her to abort the baby or risk being disowned and cast out by the community. When she refused to grant his wish, her father took an envelope from a cabinet and gave it to her. It was a two-story house, fully paid for and owned by her parents, and she could move there and never come back.

The last thing she saw was her bags, neatly packed on the porch, and her father’s parting words, I wish it was you who had died in that accident and not my beloved son.

So, here she was, stuck with an abusive man, with nowhere to go. Her father had seen what Loui would become and had tried to protect her, but she had been too blind.

She had heard on TV and read in magazines about this program, which helped abused women like her. They took them in, raised orphaned children, and provided study opportunities for the under-privileged. They had shelters all over the country, and Dorothy felt relief as a plan began to unfold. She touched her bruised lips, which had broken when Loui had backslapped her just a couple of hours ago. The hard smack had sent her flying across the room and her face connected with his shoe as he kicked her hard. Wearily, she began planning her escape as her mind went to the woman who was the CEO and Founder of the Center. Her name was Nomila.

CHAPTER 2

Nomila Cele A.K.A, Mila as she was fondly known by her friends, was in her late thirties, successful and hardworking. From a young age, she had known that success was the only way for her. She wanted recognition in life and had fought long and hard to get it. Her parents passed away when she was still very young, and she had inherited what small fortune they had. Mila had an older sister, who was very conservative, but she had quickly learned to assert herself in life. Everyone who came too close saw a sophisticated, confident, strong, gorgeous, and powerful woman who had arrived at her destination. But deep down, nobody knew that she was a scared and fragile little person, and she NEVER allowed anyone to get that close. EVER!

She always woke up with the same nightmare; breathless and shaking, she could almost recite it word for word, and it scared the hell out of her. His eyes, oh! Those eyes were scary, cold, and soulless. She had spent years trying to forget what happened on that fateful night, ten years ago. It had taken almost all her willpower and a very long time to stop looking over her shoulder, pick up the pieces of what was now her life.

She recently had a reminder of his promise, as she one Saturday prepared for her morning run, found a little red envelope with her name, seductively signed, on her doorstep. Damnit! How did he find her? She got a cold shiver as she hurriedly ripped the envelope open, and there was her worst nightmare, written in a few words on a piece of paper. How had he found out where she lived and who had delivered this filth on her doorstep! She looked around frantically, but no suspicious people were lurking.

She knew that he did not live in the same city; she had made sure to come as far away from him as she possibly could. One thing was clear to her, though; he had people who could get to her everywhere. He was indeed a powerful man that she never doubted. With her morning jog forgotten, now more than ever, she was determined to stay away from her Zuzi, her only daughter.

No one knew her terrible secret and that the result of the assault had been a child, who she had decided to keep. Her sister was the only person who knew and had taken Zuzi and raised her as her own. Mila only paid visits and provided everything that her sister and daughter needed for acceptable welfare. It broke her heart, but she could never risk the father finding out.

The letter in the envelope, though, changed everything. In a few lines, he stated his knowledge of their daughter’s existence. The threat was just a reminder of how much hold he had on her, how much power he had, and she did not take that threat for granted. How had he found out about her and, most importantly, about Zuzi? Her question was answered quickly, of course, as she was a celebrity in the small community. She was the CEO and Founder of Siza Center, so of course, he would have read about her. It was not like she had had plastic surgery to change her looks or anything that drastic, she thought stupidly. The only thing she had had on her mind throughout the whole sordid ordeal had been to get as far away from him as possible. She now realized that it was impossible as he was having her followed. ‘I will live my life; do YOU hear me? I will not run anymore!’ she screamed as she squashed the letter and threw it violently in the trash bin. ‘This will NOT drive me anywhere; I am not running!’, she shouted, bitterly defeated. After so many years, the police were not going to believe her, and he was a powerful man; she would have to deal with this her own way. She screamed until her voice was hollow as she laid down on the floor.

As she lay there, she tried to block her mind from his smell and his hands crawling all over her body, remembering vividly the day it all happened. Everything had gone wrong that day and even worse after she had a fight over the phone with Sam, her ex-boyfriend, and had broken it off. So, she could not wait to get home and relax with a glass of wine and a good movie. Walking from the office on the way home, she was busy drawing a mental picture of what she would like to eat. Then someone called her name, and she realized it was one of their clients from work, some billionaire who had a reputation. She smiled and waved at him, then continued her way.

He got out of his Porsche and ran over to where she was walking. She remembered the smell of alcohol on his breath, but he did not look drunk. She had politely smiled as he asked her out to dinner and turned him down. He then took her hand ever so gently, and that was when she felt a little stinging on her fingers and jumped back. The last thing she saw before blacking out was his cold eyes smiling back at her as he steered her unsteady legs towards his parked Porsche.

She closed her eyes as she recalled how it felt waking up to find herself in a strange room, naked, handcuffed to a giant poster bed and her body hurting all over. Oh! It hurt!!!! She had burn marks on her breasts and thighs. It was as if someone had dragged her through concrete. Her whole back was burning.

She thought of how she had tried not to panic as she struggled