Pulse Nigeria Poll: Readers say Valerie should allow her father marry her friend

74% of Pulse Nigeria Poll voters say Valerie should allow her father to marry Ruth if that would make him happy.

Valerie is an only child and lost her mother when she was only 12 years old. Since then, her father had refused to get married despite pressure from friends and family.

But now he is ready to settle down again and the person she has in mind is Valerie's best friend and close confidant, Ruth.

And despite her protests, her father is insisting on getting married to Ruth and Valerie's problem is how to adjust to living with Ruth as her stepmother.

Read her story here:

"My name is Valerie, a 26-year-old  lady working in one of my father's company in Lagos. I am an only child and dad who is in his late 50s, had refused to marry after my mother died when I was 12.

But now, against all odds, he is bent on getting married to my childhood friend, Ruth. I am not against his getting married but the idea of Ruth suddenly being elevated from being my best friend to my stepmother is something I can't stand.

Despite pressure from family members and his friends for dad to get married after mum died, he had insisted on remaining single, saying that he did not want any woman to come in and maltreat his only child.

Even when I was of age and kept begging him to get married so that I would have a mother, he had remained adamant but now, he wants to marry Ruth, a girl who is a year younger than me and wants me to understand he is so much in love with her.

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I never knew when they started dating till dad informed me that he had made up his mind to get married as he can no longer live alone, coupled with the fact that I would be getting married soon and leave him all alone.

I was very happy for him and kept urging him to bring the lucky woman so that we could create a bond but he kept telling me the time was not right.

Then out of the blues, dad told me that he had a special visitor who would be coming that weekend and made the house helps to turn over the house, clean everywhere and make special meals for his special visitor.

I was also looking forward to the mystery woman who had stolen my dad's heart and knew that whoever she was, dad must be seriously in love with her for him to put so much effort while expecting her.

He was like a teenager in love for the first time. At 2 pm, he sent his driver to go and bring the lady but before then, he had pleaded with me to be on my good behaviour and whoever the woman turned out to be, I should just accept her.

You can then imagine my shock when the mystery lady turned out to be Ruth, my best friend, and my closest confidant.

When Ruth came in, I initially thought dad had also invited her to see the woman he wanted to marry because she was more like a family member but when dad introduced her as the woman he was telling me about, I almost had a fit.

I stood there and looked as he kissed her, told her how much he loved her and how he could not wait for them to get married.

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I could not stay in the sitting room with them and left for my room. later, Ruth came in and was telling me to understand that she was madly in love with my dad and that nothing would change between us.

I just told her to leave my room and was ready to force her out and she took the hint and left. In all my life, I had never had a serious disagreement with dad but on this, I have made my mind clear to him.

But he has always had his way and I know he will still have his way but for crying out loud, the idea of having Ruth as my stepmother is so nauseating.

Valerie."

The teaser for the day was:

What should Valerie do as her father is bent on marrying her friend?

How Nigeria voted:

Valerie should allow her father to have his way if that will make him happy - 74%

Valerie should do everything to stop the marriage - 13%

Valerie should not try to stop her father's happiness - 4%

Valerie should leave her father's house - 9%

How would you vote here?