We started with Leah trying to apologize to Mr. Sol for
having an arranged marriage and said that she only refused to tell him because
she did not want him to get angry.
Clark
explained further and told Mr. Sol that although they had started out as an
arranged marriage, they had fallen in love with each other. Leah asked Clark to
keep quiet because the only reason she had told her father about their marriage
was so that he could allow Clark to go. Clark told Leah that he was not leaving
since he had promised Mr. Sol that he was going to stay. The two of them
started arguing in front of Mr. Sol and Leah told Clark that they were only
pretending to be married but Clark said that no one was pretending since they were
a real married couple. Mr. Sol asked them to stop since they were confusing
him. He said that he wanted to speak to them separately so that he could
understand things a bit easier.
Leah went first and told her father that she did not want to
be with Clark because it strained his relationship with Jigs and she did not
want to be the one to break up their family. She said that they had already
broken up which was why she left the US and seeing him around was only making
things harder for her so she asked her father to let Clark go. Mr. Sol said
that he only wanted to know whether she loved Clark and she said that she did.
When it was Clark’s turn, he told Mr. Sol that he understood
the situation with his family but he knew that his Aunt would allow him to be
with Leah. The only problem was with Jigs but he also had to accept that Leah
no longer loved him. He added that Leah had asked him to give her space and he
had tried to do it but he could not stay away from her because he loved her. He
therefore asked Mr. Sol to ask Leah not
to push him away.
After hearing from both sides, Mr. Sol talked to them
together and said that Clark would not leave. He asked Leah to stop pushing him
away since he was only acting like a husband should; he wanted to stay by her
side for the times that she needed him and the ones that she did not. He asked
them to stay together and bond with each other since he still wanted to know
Clark more. Clark thanked Mr. Sol for letting him stay but Mr. sol told him
that it did not mean he was safe since he still had to prove that he deserved
to be with Leah.
Later, Leah spoke to Mr. Sol and made him understand that
she did not want to be the cause of Clark and his family having problems. She
said that she had also made a promise to Aunt Jack who had been like a mother
to her when she went to America and having Clark around was making it harder
for her not to detach her feelings since he did a lot of things for her and she
ended up loving him more. Mr. Sol told her that he understood where she was
coming from but also pointed out that
since she returned from America, her eyes seemed sad and it was because
she was preventing her heart from loving.
When Clark and Leah went to bed in the evening, Leah tried
to explain to him why she had been pushing him away. She said that finding out
about her mother’s abandonment had hurt her and made her angry and because of it she had become afraid. She was afraid of being abandoned again
because if her mother could leave her, what of someone else? Clark asked her to
trust him since he would never leave her and asked her to give him a chance so
that he could teach her to believe in their love.
The people at the Tenement announced that the mayor was
sponsoring a contest for men and they started looking for people to represent
their building. Tolayts hovered around them and his mother was able to put in a
good word for him so that he could be picked. They saw Clark walking down the
stairs and asked him to smile. Clark smiled and everyone immediately decided
that he should represent their tenement for the contest. Clark refused to do it so they went to Mr.
Sol and told them that Clark refused to help them. Mr. Sol sternly asked Clark
why he had refused and instead of giving reasons, he accepted it.
When Leah found out, she asked Clark why he had agreed and
Clark told her that it was because he wanted to win her father’s favor.
Clark worked hard at the rehearsals for the contest and Mr.
Sol commented about it to Leah. He said that he seemed too good to be true but
Leah defended him and said that he was a sincere person. She told him about the
time Clark had filled in for her at work when she was trying to save up money
for his operation and that she had also
helped her to pray for him. She finished off by saying that Clark had all the
qualities that she was looking for in a man.
Clark heard the entire conversation and when Leah turns
around, she was surprised to see him sitting there. He acted all cocky about it
and Leah had to say that she did not mean any of it and she only said that so
that she could make her father get assured about him and let him leave. Clark
commented that it would be easier for Mr. Sol to make him leave if he found out
that he was not a good person. Leah
asked Clark how his business was going and he told him that things were okay
and he was planning on staying if the business kept up. Leah told him that he
might not earn as much as he did in America but he said that he did not mind
where he lived as long as he was with the people he loved; meaning his siblings
and Leah. As they were talking, Leah got a call from the previous ad agency and
she was told that she got the job and both of them were overjoyed.
Back in America, Jigs continued in to fill in for Aunt Jack
and the two had a bonding moment together when she told him about the time Jigs
had fallen sick while she was in America. She said that it was hard for her
since she could not be with him and would not have forgiven herself if anything
had happened to him, While at work, Jigs also met his mother’s work mate who
told him about how hard his mother had worked so that she could save up to buy
him a motorcycle.
Jigs called Rico and asked him to keep a watch on Clark and
Leah but Rico said that he would not involve himself.
Mr. Sol gave Clark tips about the contest coming up and also
showed him pictures of the contest he had won when he was younger. He also
asked Clark to bring his family to the contest the following week so that he could meet them and Clark told
that his mother and step father were dead while his American father had refused
to recognize him.
Clark’s sister asked him to go home the following day since
she had a surprise for him.
It was finally time for Clark to leave and all the neighbors
made him promise to come back for the contest. He tapped Leah on her arm as he
said good bye to her and Tolayts asked why there was no good bye kiss. The
other neighbors joined in and asked for a kiss so Clark tapped on his cheek and
offered it for Leah to kiss him. When she went in for the kiss, Clark turned
his face and kissed Leah on the lips. Everyone gushed and Leah broke into a
wide smile. We ended with Clark leaving but he turned back to look at her…
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