CHAPTER 20
SWB: Akinsehinwa Oluwaseun
I could hear someone praying silently beside me.
“Father Lord God Almighty, please have mercy, I didn’t make a covenant of death with You over my children, it is the covenant of life that I have with You.
Nothing evil must happen to Nifemi o. She is the apple of my eyes, she is the garment of honor I wear, this garment must not become torn…..”
That was definitely my mummy praying for me. I felt a slight weakness and my head ached.
I had just regained consciousness and though my eyes were still closed, I knew for sure that I was in the hospital.
The drip passed into my veins and the familiar smell of medicines were obvious signs that I was not within the comfort zone of my matrimonial bedroom but on the hospital bed.
I deliberately didn’t want to open my eyes because of shame, what if Richard already told Mom about my escapade?
“You’re welcome doctor” I heard my Mom welcoming a doctor into the ward.
“Thanks Ma. Good Morning Sir” he greeted another person. Who could that be? I wondered.
“Good Morning Doctor” he responded. Oh my goodness! That’s Richard.
Richard is in this ward with Mummy? I had better shut my eyes still then.
The Doctor came closer and tested my heartbeat.
He checked my pulse and then turned to my husband to confirm my worst fears.
“Sir please you have to keep your wife away from doing any strenuous work.
We took her blood for a test and it was confirmed that she’s pregnant.
It’s still in the early stages and she’s not supposed to go through any stress at all.
I think she stressed out a lot and I guess that was the reason she fainted…..”
Finally it has been confirmed, I’m truly pregnant, I didn’t know when tears rolled down my closed eyes.
My Mom jumped up and I could hear her singing.
“Eh He has done it for me, what my Father can not do. He has done it for me.
Eh Nifemi is pregnant, I’m going to be a grandma soon” Mom probably noticed the tears in my eyes, she came closer to me and wiped them gently.
“Eh tears of joy. You are awake already my baby. Stop crying jare, I know it’s the tears of joy but what you should be doing now is laughing for joy. You know when a woman gets married and gets pregnant almost immediately, ah! It’s really a good thing “
I had no option than to open my eyes now that they know I’m awake.
The doctor smiled and left.
Richard was sitting with his head bowed, his hands were placed on the back of his neck.
I couldn’t look at him for long but I kept taking short glances at him at intervals.
“Look just like the doctor has said, no more stress. You know you got your husband and I worried. I couldn’t even tell your Dad that you collapsed and were admitted in the hospital because he’s hypertensive and I don’t pray to lose him now, if not he would have come here with me. But I thank God , it’s all for good”
I wished Richard didn’t call my Mom to inform her that I was admitted in the hospital. I wondered how the fight between Richard and Jude ended. I just hope what has been damaged could be repaired.
“Let me go and get you and your husband something to eat. I’ll prepare nice vegetable soup with semovita. I’ll be back in a moment” Mummy said and patted Richard on the shoulder before leaving. I wish I could tell her to stay and not bother about food for now, I didn’t want to be left alone with Richard.
Right now I’m not just ashamed of myself but I’m also scared of what decision Richard will take.
What if he files for a divorce, how do I face the shame? How do I come of the traumatizing incident?
I was expecting Richard to say something but he maintained that position still.
He didn’t utter a word. His head was still bowed with his hands on his neck.
I know I have really disappointed my husband, I have stabbed him from the back.
I have made him felt lesser than a man.
I have ridiculed his masculinity before the man I committed adultery with.
“Ri…..chard” I was afraid to talk to him but I knew I needed to say something.
He didn’t answer me, neither did he change his position.
“Richard please forgive me. Have mercy on me, please don’t hate me. I know I have hurt you. I know I have……”
He stood up immediately, as if to say my voice was beginning to irritate him. He walked to the door, opened it and slammed it behind him, leaving me to weep the more in my unhappy state.
My phone rang but I wasn’t in the mood to pick any call. A message dropped on my phone, I refused to check it. I wasn’t in the mood to pick calls or read messages. The phone kept ringing and when it was becoming really disturbing, I had to pick up. It was an unknown number.
“Hello Oluwanifemi. I’ve been so worried about you” That was Jude again, how many numbers will this guy continue to use to call me, just so that I may pick his calls?
“Are you happy now?” I said gently but yet angrily.
“Nifemi you know I’ll never do anything to hurt you. I’m so sorry things had to happen that way, it was never my intention. In fact I regret my actions, I regret making you to pass through all this trauma. I should not have blurted those things out before your husband but my emotions got the best of me. I should have done it in a more matured way. Please forgive me. I’m really sorry, I’ll do anything to make it up to you. Just tell me what you want and I’ll do it right away”
“What I want is that I want you out of my life. Please Jude leave the remaining broken pieces of my life alone, let me see if I can still gather something out of it”
“You know that’s not possible. You know I love you so much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Those times while you were preparing for your wedding, I told you if your husband didn’t treat you well, I’ll steal you away from him, though I made them looked like jokes but I was being sincere Nifemi. I really meant those words.”
“Jude please get me off you mind, I’m begging you not to ruin the remaining broken pieces of my life. Just let me be. Leave my husband and I alone. Forget about me leaving my husband to marry you,it will never happen” I said but he would not listen.
“There was a time I thought I could get you off my mind and I really tried to, I kept fighting the love because you were married but the love kept waxing stronger. After what happened between us, I realized we were destined to be together.
Nifemi I am the man who broke your virginity, your heart should be towards me.
You are supposed to be connected to me powerfully”
“What happened was a mistake. What you feel for me is lust not love. Jude aren’t you even afraid? You slept with a married woman, that’s a sin. We have both sinned against God and man, what we should be doing now is asking for God’s mercy and forgiveness”
“I have prayed and my mind tells me I’ve been forgiven. My mind also tells me to go for you that you are the right person for me. Come to think of it why did you think our sexual intimacy brought up a seed, it was just once and you became pregnant, you are carrying our child, our Daniel”
Jude’s heart is really hardened, he has even given the baby a name already. Daniel!
“I said I am not pregnant, are you a doctor? If it’s about what you saw the last time then you are making a mistake, I vomited because I had malaria” I lied.
Jude laughed a little before responding.
“Nifemi, my very own Nifemi, please ensure nothing happens to my baby. I was really scared when you collapsed on the ground. I thought something would happen to my baby. I was afraid you might have a miscarriage. Your husband and I stopped fighting immediately, he rushed you to the hospital and warned me not to come anywhere close or else he’ll get me arrested. Well I trailed him down to the hospital that he drove you to. I hung around for a while and did not leave until I was able to confirm that you were perfectly alright. I would have come again but I’m trying to be a perfect gentleman, I don’t want any unnecessary show between your husband and I. All the same,I’ve forwarded some money into your account balance,that’s for you and our baby , I’ll send another before that finishes”
This guy is really crazy. So the message that dropped on my phone the other time was a credit alert? Well I don’t need his money,I know it’s just a bait. He wants me to leave my husband for him, which is not possible. If Richard forgives me, we’ll keep the baby and find a way of getting Jude out of our lives completely. We’ll probably travel out of this country to start afresh and no one will ever knows anything about what happened.
Those were the thoughts running through my mind but what if Richard refuses to forgive me? What if he ends this marriage?
“Nifemi I want you to know one thing whatever I am doing now is all because I truly and strongly love you. I have told Mom about us, I told her about our unborn baby too….. ” He said bringing me out of my reverie and shocking me too.
“What!” I exclaimed.
“Though she wasn’t happy that I didn’t do it the right way, she has accepted you. She’s happy she’s going to be a grandma soon. She can’t wait to meet you”
“Jude what have you done?”
“The right thing Love. I love you, I have lost you once, I don’t ever want to lose you again”
I hung up the call and switched off immediately. I didn’t check the amount he transferred to my account but I knew it’s going to be a huge sum of money. I will surely find a way of returning it.
But for now,I need to find a way of seeking Richard’s forgiveness, so that together we can fight to save our failing marriage.
Jude is just an intruder. I must not give him another chance in my life.
I was later discharged the following morning. I was reluctant to go home with my husband, I wanted to go with my Mom to my father’s house, but Mom said she wasn’t going home. She said she would follow us to our house and stay with my husband and I for some days until she was sure I’m perfectly fine. Though grateful that Mom will be around, I didn’t want her to know anything was wrong in our marriage.
Richard played his games well, he left home for work before I woke from sleep and came back only when I was already fast asleep.
Mom asked me if that was the nature of his job but I told her it was because they were planning to do some restructuring, so they had to work extra hard.
What Mom didn’t notice was that not only was Richard leaving too early and coming back so late but he was also sleeping in a separate room.
Since I came back from the hospital, Richard has not been sleeping in the same room with me.
He left our bedroom for the room next to it. I knew this marriage was about to hit the rock but there was no one I could confide in.
My Mom already thinks Richard is responsible for this pregnancy, how do I now open my mouth to say he’s not again?
Eventually Mummy left after staying with us for four days.
During her stay she didn’t allow me to do anything, she did the washing, the cleaning, the cooking and everything. If it were possible, she would have been spoon feeding me.
The same day she left, Richard came home at the normal time. He came home around six pm in the evening. He already bought his dinner on his way back home. I watched him as he ate in silence. I was in the kitchen warming up some food to serve him but he was already at the dinning eating the fried rice and chicken he bought for himself. He looked so unhappy, I wish I could undo the deed but it was just impossible. He stared into the space as he ate gently. I ate my own food in the kitchen, I was trying to avoid getting on his way, so I didn’t bother going to the dinning.
I wish Richard was the father of this pregnancy, he would have really pampered me and spoil me silly but now I just have to face whatever consequence my action will be bringing my way.
At night, I thought Richard will come and sleep in our bedroom but he didn’t, instead he went straight to the same room he has been using since I was discharged from the hospital. I couldn’t hold it any longer. I knew I had to act fast. This silence was beginning to kill me. Since the incidence Richard has not spoken to me, whether good or bad, yet Jude didn’t stop pestering me. To make matter worse his mother even called me and asked when I’ll be coming to visit the family. I had to hung up pretending as if it was network problem. I thought it would be a good idea if I changed my number but that will not be easy for some reasons.
I went to my husband’s new room,it was locked from behind. I knocked but there was no response. I thought of going back to our bedroom but I knew it would be a bad idea. By the time I wake up the following morning, Richard might have gone to work and I’ll not be able to see him. We have to settle this issue before the broken walls of our marriage becomes completely dilapidated. I took two bedsheets and laid it on the ground, by the door of Richard’s new room, that was where I slept till the following morning.
It was the voice of Richard that woke me up. I guess he wasn’t expecting anyone by the door, so when he saw me sleeping by the door, it startled him.
“My goodness!” He exclaimed and that jerked me out of sleep.
“Good Morning Love” I greeted but instead of responding, he hissed slightly and started walking away. He was already dressed up for work. I ran to him and held him from the back. My hands coiling round him as I soaked his shirt with tears. My head was placed on his back, I held him in a tight embrace.
“Please forgive me, Richard I am…..so sorry. Please have mercy on me”
I guess his eyes were soaked in tears too because he wiped something off his face.
“Let me go Nife” he ordered but I didn’t obey.
“Richard please I am sorry, I regret all my actions, I will do anything you want me to do, please let’s save this marriage. I am sorry, forgive me. Richard please!!! We can still save this marriage”
He held my hands, making me to release him from the tight hug. He made me stood face to face with him. I kept looking down while he stared at me.
“Save this marriage?” He asked scornfully.
“Yes my love” I answered with a shaky voice.
“Nife” he was no longer calling me Nifemi, I guess if he had another preferable option through which he can address me, he won’t even call my name at all.
“This marriage ended the very day you opened those laps of yours shamelessly for your useless Boss.
This marriage died the day your Boss came here to tell it to my face that he slept with you and you are carrying his child and you know what? This marriage was buried the day the doctor confirmed it that you are truly pregnant with that pig’s child! To me you no longer exist in this house. Hold on, are you even better than your friend Dunmininu in any way? Bunch of pretenders!”
I fell on my knees before my husband weeping hard, I held his feet begging that he will give me just one more chance in his life.
“Richard Thomas please forgive me, I am so sorry, think about the fact that I forgave you too
. We have both offended each other.
lease , my husband, my crown, my……”
“Don’t even go there! I know I didn’t tell you about my condition before the wedding but I definitely knew it won’t last forever, I was already on medication, I was already recovering though it wasn’t yet complete. Now listen if that’s your excuse , then withdraw your forgiveness, I don’t need it anymore!”
Richard was speaking angrily and I knew he meant every bit of what he was saying.
“I am sorry I brought up the issue, I don’t mean to use it as an excuse. I just need your forgiveness. Please Richard don’t hate me, don’t reject me”
“Nife if you know what’s good for you, find a convenient time to pack your things and move to your new husband’s house because this marriage is over.
But, if you choose to stay, eh, eh!” He moved his head as if it so it will be really pitiable for me, he left angrily without completing his statement.
He slammed the door and drove off on a high speed. I remained on the ground and cried like a baby. If only God can give me one more chance in this marriage to make things right again, I’ll forever be grateful. But as it is now, it appears I have lost Richard forever.