How to Find a Husband in Abuja

continue please

@fb-itzonome check this out

Lol,,, this is nice

@ryder thanksss for the invitation nice story...

just like that? that statement is funny

It’s been almost a month since I joyfully accepted Kayode’s proposal. He has been a doting husband-to-be. Always taking me out to cinemas and eateries and sometimes we would just sit at Jabi lake talking about life, future and random things while enjoying the cool evening breeze. Other times, we would just cuddle like lovers do. Things were going really well between us. He even got me a beautiful engagement ring . Trust me to flaunt it on Instagram. On this particular day, the weather was so cool and I had just little work to do. Thank God; because Shola went home earlier with the excuse that her son was sick and in the hospital. She knew I understood it was a lie the moment the words left her mouth, but she didn’t care. Neither did I. I heard a gentle knock on the door and whoever it was came in before I could respond. I raised my head to see who the intruder was. “Kay?” I asked, really surprised. He usually doesn’t show up at my office during work hours. For him to be here, then it must be a matter of urgency. “Baby,” he simply said and sat right opposite me with his hands on my desk. I could clearly see the worry written all over his face. “What happened?” I skipped the part about asking if there was a problem and delved straight to this because I was so concerned. “Can you get me a bottle of water?” I stood up to get him water while he sat quietly. Whatever it is must be real terrible, I thought. I soon returned and handed the water to him. He gulped it down immediately. “Tell me what the problem is,” I prompted again. He didn’t hesitate in tabling all the problems before me. Not too many problems though, just one in many parts. “So what do you say?” he asked, the moment he finished speaking. I just sat staring at him with wide eyes. A thousand and one thoughts flashed in my mind at that point. Oh no, I lamented inwardly, this is exactly what I’ve always prayed against. “Baby?” he called. I still refused to talk because I didn’t know what else to do. Should I cry or should I jubilate? Which one of them? Definitely not the latter. Kayode didn’t strike me like a man that could boldly spit out all he just said. I started to have mixed feelings about the whole relationship stuff, even the black and white striped shirt he had on was not attractive to me anymore as I was too focused on what he was insinuating. “Err sorry would you mind repeating yourself again?” I finally found my voice. How could he even think of such a thing talk less of saying it to me? He sat up. “I said, some major renovation is going on at my house right now and I will need some place to stay,” He repeated, keeping a straight face. I was glad Shola wasn’t around to hear this part. This would have been the death of me and I would never be able to face her and talk again, not to talk of giving her orders. I pulled myself together and tried to be cool. Dutiful me. “Okay, what about one of your friends? At least one of them should be able to help.” I hope I wake up from this bad dream soon, I thought quietly. “That’s the problem, my best friend is out of the country and the other ones, I’m not too close to them.” “Okay, quite understandable. But what would you do now?” “The question is what would we do now? Baby we are now one and so we should act like one.” I tightened my lips. This wasn’t how I planned this day. I thought we only become one when we get pronounced as 1 plus 1 at the altar? I almost asked but then Kayode was kinda right. The moment he put that ring on my finger, I agreed to be one with him. “True. So what would we do about your situation now?” “Surely I can’t put up in a hotel now, wasting money when I have you. That’s a no no. We need to save money for the future.” At the sound of future, I unconsciously grinned, flashing my 32 teeth. When I snapped out of my reverie, I saw him smiling and nodding his head. I realized that he was referring to putting up with me. My eyes widened. “You mean you would be staying at my apartment? I asked, just to be sure that my ears were not playing tricks with me. “Yes baby,” I guessed he noticed that I wasn’t thrilled by the news, “or is anything wrong with that?” I almost ran mad, in my mind though, hearing about the renovations and all his problems. But, putting up with me? Hell yeah! Everything is wrong with that, I wanted to scream. But I had to act like a ‘perfect’ Fiancé Seeing that I wasn’t about to say anything, he murmured, “So you should expect me by weekend, Saturday to be precise, since I have to prepare a sermon for Sunday.” Now I was dumbfounded. There was nothing I could do anymore. “Oh, okay that’s great ” I said, dismissively. “You know baby,” he held my hands, captivating me with those cute eyes I’ve always admired. “When this storm is all over by end of April, I should go and see your parents so we can do the wedding proper.” My eyes almost popped out of their sockets, I couldn’t believe my ears. Is this for real? Well, I had to act natural and not appear desperate. “Great,” I said, with my most neutral tone. “Yes baby and that is why I feel we should bond a little bit you know, get to know each other properly.” I nodded in agreement with my lips pressed against each other before I embarrassed myself by smiling sheepishly. I was too engrossed with thoughts of future to even think about our living together. “Okay baby, I have to go. I have counselling sessions by 3pm. See you soon okay?” he kissed my cheeks and stepped out of the office, leaving me to daydream about our fancy wedding. *********************************************************************************** If marriage was the state I saw Shola in, then I was definitely scared of going into one for the first time in my life. I ended up going to check on Shola on Saturday afternoon and I was right. Shola was the one on the hospital bed not her child. And she was badly battered. In fact, it was as though she lost a tooth or something. Her right cheek was swollen. The most touching part was that she was wearing the same black trumpet sleeve dress she had worn to work the previous day before she took an impromptu leave. “How long will you continue to live like this?” She didn’t need a soothsayer to tell her what I was talking about and thankfully, she didn’t deny it this time. I was not happy with the sight before me. The chubby Shola I knew was looking so frail on the hospital bed. I pleaded with her to let me involve lawyers and human right activists but she refused. After spending some time with her, I finally called it a day and drove home, with the thought of her and the condition she was in, filling my mind. I sighed as I pulled into my compound; the one I shared with 6 other tenants and very soon, my Kayode. The first person I saw was Tiwa, my neighbour whom I secretly called ‘Sharer’ I didn’t like her, not even a tiny bit. The girl was a good for nothing prostitute who was never ashamed of frolicking about with both single and married men. I almost ignored her but the fact that she stood just by the tree close to my flat kinda bothered me because she was with a man, laughing uncontrollably. “Madam Tiwa, please you should take your rendezvous elsewhere. As you can see, you are directly facing my window.” “Ahn, see me see wahala o. Can you imagine? Rita, do you own this compound? I’m asking, do you own it, ehn? Ashawo!” What! If there was anyone to call a prostitute it was certainly her. I was boiling with rage and ready to fight back but the voice from the guy behind the tree halted me. “Kayode?” I asked in surprise. I totally forgot all the endearment we usually used. Tiwa was just as surprised as me. It was written all over her face. She had to turn to face him. She opened her mouth to speak, “Kayo…” “I don’t understand what you are doing here, Kayode?” I interrupted Tiwa. I had to ask because the last time I checked, I didn’t show him my house I only gave him my address. He had never had any reason to come to my apartment, I was always the one doing the visiting. “I thought you were expecting me? I came like I said. You gave me your address, remember?” he gave me a quick kiss on the cheeks. I swear I wished we could stay longer in that position, so I could keep perceiving his masculine cologne. It smelt like my Celine Dion perfume Wait a minute, this wasn’t his normal perfume. Did he use my perfume? How did he get the key to my flat? “Wait how did you get the…” “Tiwa, meet my wife, Rita. Babe, let’s go in first you need to freshen up.” I was almost going ballistic. I thought I should be the one doing the introduction and what’s up with him calling me his wife? Well, wasn’t that what I have always wanted? I thought. Kayode and I walked into my one room and a parlour apartment, leaving my crazy neighbour probably staring at us and wondering if something was wrong. As soon as we got inside, I flared. “First, how on earth did you get the spare key to my flat? And why on earth were you discussing with Tiwa like you already knew her?” He touched my chin, “babe, relax. First take a sit, okay?” I nodded and proceeded to sit. I needed explanation and if I was to get it, I needed to keep calm. That was when I noticed that the picture I hung on my wall just beside the Samsung screen TV had been removed and replaced with his. I wanted to speak but I decided to ignore it because I needed to address the issue at hand. “I got the key from you, Rita. Remember on Thursday when I took you out? You handed me your spare key “But I..,” I interrupted. I don’t remember giving him anything. …and about Tiwa. She is an usher in my church.” I couldn’t hide my astonishment. “Tiwa the prostitute, an usher?” “Yes, and you really need to stop condemning people. You are now a pastor’s wife” “What’s up with the wife stuff, Kayode? Last time I checked we were only engaged not married.” He frowned, looked at me like I was crazy, scoffed and entered the bedroom. I followed him into my, oh, our bedroom. “Wait, did you also change the position of my bed?” Oh lord, God knows I was more than angry already. I threw my handbag on the bed and opened the wardrobe. About one third of the wardrobe was filled with his clothes while mine was pushed to a tiny space in the wardrobe. I turned to him, at this point, extremely furious. He also looked furious but I didn’t care. “What is the meaning of this, Kayode? First you removed my picture from the sitting room, next you changed the position of my bed and now this?” I pointed shakily to my cramped up clothes. He stood up, towering over me. “You know what? If you want me out of your house and life just let me know! I have a house, remember? But I’m glad you are revealing to me that you will not be able to put up with me as my wife! Great! Just great!” he picked up his phone, “I would rather just sleep in the church and wait for my house to be completed, you selfish nagging woman!” With that, he stormed out. He must have left the house entirely because I heard the front door bang. I sat on the bed as tears streaked down my cheeks. Was I truly selfish? Did I nag him? I couldn’t tell, all I knew was that I was sorry I acted that way and sincerely regretted my actions. I knew he was rich and he had a house of his own. Then, why was I acting selfish? I quickly picked my phone to call him so I wouldn’t lose my husband. Yeah husband, we were already engaged so I had better start getting used to that before the likes of Tiwa would snatch him from me. I called thrice but he didn’t pick and then I texted him that I was sorry and he should come back home. I matched to the kitchen to dish my remaining Jollof Spaghetti. But when I opened my cooking pot I was hit with the sight of an empty pot. I groaned. Was this what married women faced? I didn’t dare complain, things were already too messed up. Instead, I soaked Garri for the night while I sat in the sitting room waiting for my husband to come back to me. To be continued…

You didn’t do anything wrong, he is just too annoying what right does he have to change things in your own house, he is too... how will i put it? [i][b]“Oppressing”[/b][/i] I can’t live with this kind of people

Gosh! that man is definitely not a husband material, they must be something fishy about him and that ur neighbour I just wonder why most selfish men hide under the umbrella of [i]“Men of God”[/i]

Becareful, he is not yet your husband.

Ur husband has taken over Ur house entirely

Being desperate 4 marriage has led rita to an unknown fiancée. Jumping into this marriage with kayode without a reasonable inquiry may be a waiting havoc.

Shola has not gotten out of the troublesome and painful marriage she's into and rita is moving into another suspected marriage of trouble.

The lies from kayode about tiwa as an usher should have given her a signal of the marriage she's getting into. It's a surprised encounter between tiwa and rita. It seems like there're some kinda pretense from kayode.

When Kayode finally returned home that night, he didn’t say a word to me. I was sitting on the couch when he walked straight into the room and laid on the bed. I mustered enough courage and went to apologize to him. I was really scared. I didn’t know what to expect from this new him. “Baby, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. This house is ours, do whatever you want. I’m sorry.” Initially, he ignored me but I refused to give up. It was too early in our relationship for us to start keeping malice. “I’m sorry, baby,” I kept on repeating till he deemed it fit to answer me. We ended up having sex and sleeping peacefully that night. I was so glad I was able to handle our first major quarrel like a mature adult. The day after was a Sunday. We drove in my car to church. We would have taken his Venza Jeep but he had told me that it was at the mechanic’s shop. I saw nothing wrong with that. I didn’t even stop to think why all his properties were undergoing repairs. We drove past several big church buildings and I was expecting his to be just as big as them. You can imagine how disappointed I was when we got to my husband’s church. It was totally different from what I was used to and not what I’ve ever dreamed of. Before now, I was an Amazing Grace member. My church is located in central area. It was a big church where the members were very wealthy. So seeing his church, I reacted like a normal human with blood and hormones. My jaw dropped open and I stared at him in disbelief with my eyes asking the questions I didn’t dare open my mouth to ask. The church was just a corner shop situated amongst other corner shops. You know what I mean? The area was too cramped up. I didn’t even know people had churches in such areas. The church had just one door and 2 wide windows. At first I remained in the car while I watched Kayode get ushered in by the ushers who stood in white blouse and blue skirts/trousers. They collected his bible as a sign of respect, I presume, and they all walked into the church. After 10 minutes passed, I summoned the courage to walk in. I stood tall in my stilettos, adjusted my Ankara gown attire, held my handbag in my other hand and wore my dark shades . I kept on telling myself that I’ve wasted my fine dress. As soon as I walked into the place, I was ushered to sit at the forefront beside Kayode who kept nodding like an agama lizard to whatever the man on the pulpit was saying. Hushed voices filtered into my ears. Some were asking, ‘Is this the pastor’s wife?’ “She looks beautiful.” “She looks arrogant.” I could hear most of what they were saying because the church wasn’t that large. I should be able to count up to 30 to 40 members in the tight church. Most of them looked hungry and the ones that looked well fed dominated the space with their weights. I sat on the chair and placed my bag on the side table; ignoring all their murmuring. “It’s time for praise and worship,” The man at the pulpit announced. A few seconds later, he stepped down, faced Kayode, bowed slightly to him and went to sit behind us. All the while, instead of me to be shocked by his hypocritical gesture, my eyes were fixed to his oversized suit. I wouldn’t call that cotton, it must be leather because the suit looked shiny and his purple tie on a red shirt made me realize that he probably wasn’t okay, mentally. He poked me and I turn to face him with a neutral expression. “Please ma, remove your glasses. We are in church,” he forced a smile and faced the altar almost immediately like he had said nothing. Dazed, I looked at Kayode to see if he saw what had transpired and of course he did because he was staring pointedly at me. “Babe, please remove it. Like he said we are in church.” He turned, faced the pulpit and raised his hands up as a sign of worship. I was embarrassed. If I was the pastor’s wife like they claimed, no one should be able to talk to me about removing my goddamn glasses. I reluctantly took off my shades and forced myself to get lost in the euphoria at the moment. From the praise and worship to the sermon which Kayode took, I wasn’t feeling it. He just kept dabbing his face with his Superior 900 GSM luxury face towel. At a point, the place grew too hot that even the two standing fans were not enough to calm the heat. Soon enough, I saw Kayode remove his suit jacket and hand it to his assistant. I didn’t even know what he preached about but when it was time to announce me as his wife, I stood up for recognition, threw on a forced smile while the people applauded me. Some with wide grins on their faces, some with visible disgust, others with lust and genuine happiness on their faces. I was so happy when the service came to an end. However, my happiness was cut short as soon as I saw some people lined up for pastor’s consultation. “Babe, please I will be in the car,” I made to stand up but Kayode pulled me down and whispered to me. “Many people are here to see you for counselling as the pastor’s wife, so remain here. We are in this together.” “What?” I whispered in shock. You know that feeling you get when you are told to do something for the very first time and it’s something you don’t want to do? Well, that was how I felt. I developed cold feet but I sat still like a mute. I didn’t know what it meant to be a pastor’s wife. In fact I wasn’t even a good Christian. I rarely prayed. What would I tell a woman who comes to me for counselling? “Ah mummy, thank God you are here. I’ve got a lot of issues on my chest that I’ve wanted to share.” A small woman approached me and knelt down. I almost told her not to kneel down for me because I presume she must be older than I am as a result of her shrunken eyes and few strands of white hair that could be seen on display on her head since she wasn’t covering it. Plus she was putting on a wrapper and blouse that made her look much older. Kayode glared at me as if to remind me not to do something stupid and so I sealed my mouth. “ I wanted to share it with pastor but when he told us that his wife, our Mother in Israel, would be here by Sunday, I decided to wait,” I urged her to continue. “I’ve been staying with this man for eight years now. He is jobless, and all he does is to eat my food, have sex with me, quarrel with me and sleep with other women. Is it fair? I keep labouring for the family and he hasn’t even made a move to pay my bride price and we have 3 children together!” she sobbed into her hands. I couldn’t cover my shock. I mean this woman had brought a problem I couldn’t solve because half of her life sounded like mine. Perplexed, I took my bag and quickly walked out of the church, not bothering to answer the woman who kept calling. “Mama! My mother in Israel!” I flagged down a motorcycle and went straight to my house. *********************************************************************************** I was so sure my nosy neighbours heard the heated argument Kayode and I engaged in. He came in about 2 hours after I left the church. I was in the room when he entered. I sat up in bed ready for whatever he was going to say to me. I heard Kayode bang the door. I swallowed uneasily, bracing myself for the worst and by the time he entered the room my heartbeat tripled. He didn’t spare me a glance. He simply threw my car key on the dressing table and started tugging at his tie. “Erhm, I was a bit sick that was why I left.” I waited to hear his reply but he said nothing. He simply cleared his throat and continued taking off his clothes. “I made your favourite. I made Amala and Ewedu,” he didn’t reply. I sighed and got up from bed. I moved towards the dressing table where he was seated. “What…” “Take your filthy hands off me!” he snarled. I took back the hand I had placed on him. I was startled by the anger emanating from him. “Wait, why are you even angry? Is it my fault that I don’t…” “Don’t what? Know how to counsel a woman going through problems? Huhn? Just counsel you don’t know how to! You know what Rita?” he took a step closer to me. “You are so dumb. You are just all beauty with no brains!” Now, that hurt me. But as usual, I ignored it and faced him, unfazed by his insults. “Well then thank you! At least I’m better than a man who calls himself a pastor and lies to his congregation that he is married!” I moved to sit on the bed but he pulled me back to himself. He laughed. “Okay, then why did you accept the title if you weren’t desperate!” “What! I’m not the only desperate one here. You are! You are the broke idiot who uses my money, my car, stays under my roof! You are just desperate to be with me!” determined to get back at him for calling me a desperate woman, I was almost saying more when he cut me short with his laughter. “I own a house, remember? I came here for bonding, so we could save up for the future otherwise I would have put up in a hotel, you nitwit!” “Oh look at you,” I clapped. “You call me a nitwit but yet you are attracted to the nitwit, sleeping with the nitwit and eating her food. Shame on you!” My voice had started breaking at this point, his insults were starting to tear through my inner walls. “How can a man be this ungrateful?” I screamed in frustration. “You must be daft to think you are attractive enough to keep me, Rita. Look here, there’s nothing, I repeat, nothing, that attracts you to me. Your food is always tasteless, you are not hospitable, and you know the only thing you are good at?” At the point, tears had started forming in my eyes. He held my face tightly in his hands. “You’re only good at sex!” This is where I should slap him but before I could even raise up my hand, he slammed his mouth on mine and kissed me forcefully, thrusting his tongue against my teeth to gain entrance. He kept kissing me until he pushed me down in bed. I struggled but he tightened his hold on me. I should scream but I couldn’t because my neighbours already think he is my husband. So that was how I stayed, with a tear-streaked face, waiting for the most torturing 15 minutes of my life to end as Kayode raped me, bruising me inside and out. To be continued…

Better send him out of your house

ouch that hurts

its Ur fault oooo,,,, which kind pastor be dat

He's just camouflage, he wanted to duped you

rubbish! he is just using u. run 4 ur life my dear.

I have always loved the aftermath of rainfall. I love the wet smell it produces. But sometimes it can be really annoying, and today is one of those times. A few minutes ago, it didn’t seem like it was going to rain. But here it is, pouring heavily. My stomach rumbled and my hand unconsciously went to it. No way. Not this early morning. I have been craving for fried rice and chicken, the exact one they sell at Chicken Republic, but from all indications, the rain was going to hinder my lunch today. I hissed and started towards the elevator. “If I had my car this wouldn’t have been a problem,” I murmured. It’s been two weeks already since Kayode started using my car. At first, I thought he would return it since he knew that I would be needing it for work and mobility generally. But Kayode had insisted on dropping me off every morning and then leaving me to find my way back home after work hours. I had ignored it initially. After all, we were engaged. But now the whole thing was starting to get on my nerves. He was starting to annoy me with his attitude; almost on a daily basis. Somehow, Kayode knew exactly how to pacify me. He has my ‘mumu’ button right in his hands. For instance, if I returned from work on my own, he would shower me with praises and kisses, and then we would end up having a heavy dose of sex. Or, he would take me out and we would do other clingy and mushy stuff that couples do when they go out and I would forget my day and my car. The Elevator made a ding sound. I had gotten to my floor. It opened and I walked out; grateful to be wearing my flats , If I had worn my stilettos I would have fainted because I was running short of energy. In fact, the past 2 weeks had been extraordinarily hectic for me and I haven’t been too strong either. The worst part is, I have not even found the courage to go to the hospital for a malaria test. The hospital is not my favourite place. I opened the door to my office. Shola was at her desk; scribbling down something in her notepad. To be candid she looked slightly better than the state I saw her in 3 weeks ago. She looked better in her blue coloured gown . It suited her dark skin and brought out her lean body figure. Her face was devoid of makeup although it showed some slight bruises around her eyes, while some parts of the bruises on her face were hidden by her curly weave . I was genuinely happy for her. I took my seat and swiped out my phone to surf the internet as I waited for the rain to stop. I am one of those people that do not like to do any work while it’s raining. If I was at home, I would simply curl up in my bed. “Rita, are you okay?” I looked up to see Shola watching me. I was surprised because we hardly asked about each other’s well being. It was always straight to business. “Why? do I look sick?” “Kind of,” she dropped her pen and relaxed in her chair, “you look pale.” “Ehn, maybe it’s malaria because I’ve been feeling tired and sleepy most times in the morning, and I’ve been sweating unnecessarily too,” I explained. I liked the fact that we were talking like normal human beings. “Ah! In this middle of April? We are not in heat yet nau.” I saw concern written all over her face. She’s becoming human. I thought. “Yeah. I will try to go to the hospital.” I went back to checking through my phone again. Then I heard Shola say something I didn’t really comprehend at first. “What did you say?” I questioned, raising my brows. “I said I finally got a divorce,” she replied; smiling like she had won a lottery. “Wait, you are not kidding?” “No, I’m not!” I sat up in my chair. “You,” I pointed my perfectly manicured finger at her. “Shola, that would never leave her husband, has now divorced him? I’m surprised,” I didn’t know how to react to the news. I finally gave her a thumbs up and mouthed, “Congratulations.” She gave a nod and smiled; a smile that actually reached her eyes, unlike her former self. “Hey! Babe finally. I’m happy for you,” I got up. She deserved a hug. I went over to her corner, hugged her and returned to my seat. “How did you do it?” “Well, I called an organization that handles domestic violence and reported my case to them. They told me that they would support me. According to them, no woman should have to endure 8 years of constant battering and raping from her husband.” “Wait. What!” I’m sorry did she just say eight years? Like eight good years? “Yes. I’ve been married for ten years. I have a child for him like you already know. I can’t say exactly what happened but at a point, I could no longer recognize the man I married. He became violent, beating me today, raping tomorrow. At first, I thought it would stop but it only got worse., she smiled. “I’ve endured it ever since,” the smile on her face when she said the last part got me calling her a survivor. “Oh my goodness! No wonder you’ve always acted cranky and angry every morning at work. I’m sorry.” “No need to be,” she smiled again. I was beginning to like that smile. If there was anything I learnt from Shola’s story that morning, it was never to judge anyone because you really don’t know what they have passed through to make them react or behave the way they do. Shola and I ended up gisting for hours, catching up on the days we never got to talk but never did I tell her about Kayode. I was too scared to open up because, I was scared of hearing the truth, which was becoming obvious as the day went by. Soon, we closed from work and Shola offered to drive me to the bus stop where I would get a taxi going to Kubwa. After she dropped me, I called Kayode several times but he didn’t pick up. Now, I wouldn’t lie, I was beginning to get very worried for the first time since my relationship with him. Why was everything going the wrong way? I prayed for a man with cars, a job and a lovely house, but I got the opposite; not exactly the opposite, but something close. ********************************************************************************* What if he didn’t even have a house that is undergoing renovations? What if he didn’t even have a car? What if he was just a fake Abuja pastor trying to make ends meet? What if…. I sighed. Those were the thoughts that raced through my mind as I walked home that evening. I didn’t know how I was going to go about it but, I knew I needed answers to the numerous questions I had. I groaned. I had been stupid. Stupid enough to fall for beauty rather than getting to know him first. I didn’t want to end up like Shola. That she endured eight years of sexual abuse doesn’t mean I should too. I opened the gate to my compound and stepped in. The compound was quiet; which was strange. It’s unlike my neighbours, except there was power supply and everyone was indoors. Even at that, the only bachelor in the compound, Emeka, would still disturb the whole place with his loudspeakers. It was drizzling now. I walked on, brushing the thoughts behind me. I’ve been away all day and I needed rest. Then I heard some noise, like a complain. Or was it someone ordering another? And as I drew closer to my flat, the first thing I noticed was my car. It was safely parked underneath the tree. I smiled. It meant Kayode was home. As soon as I climbed up the front porch and reached for the knob, the door opened and Tiwa, my neighbour, the ‘Sharer’ walked out. I instantly grew mad. What the hell was she doing inside my flat? She was even smiling sheepishly, but the moment she saw me, the smile erased from her lips. And before I could open my mouth to speak, she ran towards her flat. What was she doing here? Why was she smiling? My head was on fire. So many questions begged for answers of which I couldn’t provide. Only one person had the answers. I went straight to the room and met him in his multicoloured boxers shorts. I pride myself on being a smart lady and I knew how to figure out things pretty fast. If Tiwa just stepped out of my house and I met Kayode in boxer shorts then it certainly means, they’ve been sleeping together. My eyes darted from one side of the room to another, looking for a clue. While I was still carrying out my investigation, I dumped my handbag on the dressing table, removed my flats, and rolled up the sleeves of my blouse. “Babe, welcome home,” Kayode stared at me. I couldn’t tell If he was shocked or not but If there was anything I should praise him for, it was the fact that he knew how to hide his emotions well…too well even. “What was Tiwa doing here?” I asked in my most calm voice, although I was boiling with rage, so much rage that I could feel my hands shaking. “Oh, you must have met her on your way out,” he made to come close to me. I rolled my eyes and stepped back. “I ask again, what was she doing here, you cheat?” I yelled. I was surprised at myself. It was the first time I was raising my voice at him. He had never seen me angry but yet, he still maintained a neutral expression. “Relax, Rita. I have been meaning to let you know about it.” I folded my hands, waiting for his answers. “Tiwa has been disturbing me for sex ever since I moved in here with you.” I burst into laughter. Wait? Does he think I’m dumb or what? How does he expect me to believe such crap? Come on! Not in this 21st century. “Great! I know you don’t believe me, Rita. But I would never lie to you. She has been saying some funny things about you, about how you sleep around with men and all that but I refused to listen.” He came closer and held my hands, this time around, I let him. I think the last words he spoke softened my heart. That isn’t news. I knew Tiwa was only jealous of my achievements. “Why are you in boxer shorts, Kayode?” “I’ve been sleeping since I came back about an hour ago, and by the time I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see Tiwa here, on our bed, touching me!” he sounded irritated and annoyed. I was shocked. What effrontery! How could she? “Did you leave the front door open?” “Yes. I had to yell at her to leave.” That was true. I had heard a noise when I came into the compound. I believed him. I believed Kayode. He might be a gold digger but he wouldn’t cheat on me. I hugged him and we stayed that way for some time until he cleared his throat. I looked up at him; into his big beautiful eyes. “I was scared. I thought you wouldn’t believe me, babe.” I held his face and kissed him. “I trust you, Kay” “Good,” he kissed me, briefly, and then pulled back. “Sit down princess. I bought us Chinese take out. We can just eat and watch TV. Sounds good?” “Sounds great, Kay.” He winked at me and disappeared into the kitchen. I was still thinking about the moment we just shared when I suddenly felt like puking. Few seconds later, I was puking my stomach out in the washroom. The malaria must have worsened. I thought. As I rinsed my mouth, I made a mental note to see the doctor the following morning. To be continued…

isn't too late to change ur mind abt him

hmm ur husband abi,are u sure that guy is for real? to me he is not, nice start

congrats darling, u are pregnant. stupid!

u are pregnant abi,hmmmmm

Pregnant already

sorry for u

You'll see hell i bet you

see Rita mumu oooo, I tot IBO girls are very wise,,, to start with, u are even pregnant for a gold digger... u asked for a wrong choice of man

that's crazy.... a typical Igbo girl will know when she's pregnant.

The words on my system kept turning into scattered letters and the letters were dancing. At least that was what I thought until I was brought back from my thoughts by Shola. It was a Wednesday; two days since the doctor confirmed that I was 3 weeks pregnant. Of course, my first reaction was that of shock, and then after a while, I started to regret the day I met Kayode. This wasn’t how I planned my life. I never wanted to end up as a baby mama, not to talk of ending up with a man who looked like he had no plan for the future. Even if I wanted to end up with a man, I certainly didn’t want it to be Kayode. His attitude towards me during the past few days was nothing to write home about. He would flare up over little mistakes, he would also talk anyhow. The Sunday that past, he asked me to stay at home since I wasn’t feeling too well. But when he returned from service, he picked a quarrel with me and started to call me names. He said I wasn’t fit to be his wife, and that he was fed up with me. I had no option but to give him a piece of my mind. We had a heated argument that night, so much so, our neighbours came out of their rooms to listen to us. What shocked me the most was when Kayode raised his hand to slap me. It was like a trance because never, in my wildest dream, have I imagined that I would be slapped by a man, let alone slapped by Kayode. I broke into tears. What have I gotten myself into? He left that night and I didn’t even bother to call him or text him an apology. I was too busy weeping about my life and the condition I was in. “Rita, what’s up with you? You’ve been moody since you came to work,” Shola sat on the only available seat in front of me. I wouldn’t lie, she was looking very pretty this morning and I was quite jealous of her well being because I knew I looked pale and unkempt. We were the opposite of what we used to be. “I’m…fine. How are you doing too?” I avoided her gaze and focused on the laptop before me. “You don’t look okay, Rita, what’s wrong?” “Did I tell you there was something wrong with me? huhn? Please mind your business!” I said, not quite calmly. I didn’t know what got me worked up. Maybe it was because she said the truth. I wasn’t okay at all. In fact, I was sure I didn’t look okay. I had seen dark circles under my eyes that morning and I didn’t even bother using a concealer to hide it. My fair skin colour had suddenly become dull and I knew it was the pregnancy. “Oh. I’m sorry!” she held her palms up, “I didn’t mean to pry. I thought we were getting along pretty well. It is well!” she stood, preparing to go to her seat but then I burst into tears. “What’s wrong?” she sat back and held my hands but I kept crying like a baby. “I…” the words got stuck in my throat. “What is it? You can talk to me.” “I am pregnant !” “What?” There was a brief silence. I knew she was trying to process the news. “I’m sorry what did you just say?” I looked up at her, as I forced myself to stop crying. “Rita, last I checked, you weren’t married. So who is responsi…” “Kayode. You don’t know him, Shola,” I watched as her face creased into a frown and then I continued. “You don’t know him. He used to work in another audit firm here in Gwarimpa. You know Limpo audit firm?” “Yeah, one of the biggest audit firm in Africa. I know,” she replied. “Well, he worked for them for a while before he resigned to be a pastor. He said God called him.” “This doesn’t add up. How can he leave a reputable firm for a church? Who does that?” “That’s not the point here, Shola. The point here is he has been acting weird these past few days,” I relaxed into my chair. “Have you told him anything?” “No. I haven’t set my eyes on him since we had issues 2 days ago.” “This guy, where does he live? Perhaps we can go and see him together?” Hearing that question, I became ashamed of myself. I became ashamed of telling her the truth, but then, this was Shola. Lying to her would do no good. “Uhm, he stays with me. I mean we live together,” I refused to meet her piercing eyes. “Waoh! And has this man paid your bride price at least?” “No, uhm. He promised to do that by the end of this month.” I met her gaze. She hesitated and then said, “Rita, are you sure?” she scoffed, “because to me, he looks like a gigolo” “What’s a gigolo?” I asked. “It’s more like a prostitute. A gold-digger, a guy who is only with you for the money. More like give me money, I give you sex kind of man.” “But that’s not possible, he is rich enough. He has a house which is currently under renovation, he has a ca…” “How do you know that?” “He told me himself,” I tried to sound smart. “And have you seen any of the things he claims he has?” she asked. I never thought about it. Shola was partly right. “I don’t….no, I haven’t.” “Rita, are you sure he hasn’t been using you?” I don’t know how that sounded but to me, I felt insulted. “You know what, thank you, Shola. I will get to the root of this myself.” I was clearly exhausted about the whole Kayode issue. Shola went back to scrolling through her phone. I was about laying my head on the table when Shola called me to show me something on her phone. I heaved heavily. Everything was slowly getting to me. “Babe. Can you imagine? EFCC is looking for one guy o, his pictures are all over social media.” I gestured to her to let me have her phone. “What did he do?” “They said he stole the company’s money and ran off with it.” I collected the phone from her and then read the story. I scrolled down to check the picture of the man and then it hit me! I gasped. “Wait, abeg Shola is this the guy or someone else?” Shola peered in to check. “Yes, he is the one. Can you imagine? See how fine he is. He will go out and start wooing ladies not knowing he is a thief and then the foolish ladies would….” “It’s okay.” I interrupted. I was one of the foolish ladies because the guy in the picture was Kayode. I almost broke into fresh tears but I needed to keep this a secret. No one had to know, not even Shola. I picked up my handbag and phone and made my way out of the office, but not before Shola asked, “Where to? Why do you look like you have seen a ghost?” “Oh, I have a doctor’s appointment to keep. See you later.” I didn’t wait to hear her reply. I just wanted to get into a taxi and go straight home and that was what I did immediately the elevator opened. ********************************************************************** By the time I got into the compound, I wasn’t too surprised to find EFCC officials outside my flat. I became scared. What if I was arrested alongside this criminal? A lot of questions raced through my mind as I watched the mini crowd in front of my flat. Part of me wanted to run away but then, the other part of me wanted to see Kayode and tell him to his face that ‘God would punish him’. “That’s his wife,” one of my neighbours pointed at me. An EFCC official walked towards me. “Good day, madam,” the middle-aged man in a black shirt and trouser greeted. “Good afternoon, sir.” “We’re sorry to have intruded on your privacy but we were informed that Mr. Kayode has been here. Mr Kayode has committed a serious offence which is punishable by law.” I shuffled my feet. I was suddenly sweating under the cool weather. What has Kayode gotten me into? I thought. “Oga, please ehn, I don’t know anything about this. I’m even looking for that stupid man. He duped me!” I yelled attracting the mini crowd. That was just what I wanted. I wanted to play the victim because, well, I’m the victim in all these. “But ma, the information we got here, is that Mr Kayode is your husband.” “What? No! He was never my husband. In fact, we never got married!” I panicked. “It’s a lie! They are married! Everyone in this neighbourhood knows that they are married! You brought that scam called a pastor to come and dupe our church. Officers, arrest her. She knows where he is,” Tiwa screamed. At this point, I was already in tears. I could see some of my neighbours shake their head in pity. Some said, ‘it serves her right!’ “Madam, we have no choice but to take you to our office.” I nodded. It was obvious I had no option. More tears poured down my face as the officers led me to their vehicle. As soon as I sat in the vehicle, I requested to make a phone call and they agreed. I put a call through to Shola. She was the only one I knew that could help me out of the mess I was in. “Hello Shola, I need help. I’m in trouble,” I informed her I would text her the details and she agreed. With shaky hands and tears running down my cheeks, I texted her details of what was happening, and where I was being taken to. ***************************** It took the EFCC two weeks to set me free. I knew that my desperate need for a husband and agreeing to be with Kayode was the worst mistake I could ever make, both in this life and the next. Kayode was never found, and I had to bring up my child alone. Shola stood by me like a good friend. I had to move out of my compound and out of Kubwa entirely because the shame and disgrace was too much. I continued to work in my firm, and my beautiful daughter, Chinwe, is now a year old. I never regretted having her, but I regretted meeting Kayode. Now I’m more contented in taking care of my daughter and going to work. Recently, Shola connected me with one of her relatives in the U.S, and even though we’ve gone on a few dates, I believe I wouldn’t get myself entangled with the likes of Kayode again. So I’m seriously watching him. If I see even a tiny bit of Kayode in him, I’m so backing out. The End Idea and write-up by Funmi Akintade.

Awww i enjoyed every bit of this story Thumbs up

Lesson learnt, nice one

once bitten....twice shy

hehehhe.. Pele u learnt ur lessons the hard way

A big lesson indeed

eeyah,,,, desperation times calls for desperation measure but not in d case of marriage bcos marriage is a black market,,, and men are alws wearing dark Hood,,, so u can't know who dey are

@fb-ireoluwaemmanuel both gender dear, (by their fruit you shall know them) so the best thing is to watch out for silly attitudes

I knew this Kayode guy was fake ever since, his characters and all, thank God you came out alive

Its true all that glisters are not Gold, Thank God Shola stand for you all through but if it was otherwise am not too sure u would have done the same, considering the type of person you are

Being desperate for marriage has led rita to her disgraced filled moments that lasted 4 so long. The signals was there 4 her to notify, reject him and testify but she couldn't.

Building her friendship with shola was another lead to her consolation and being strong. Having a year old chinwe reminds her that chinwe is a gift from God while kayode came from nowhere and her new guy can make it up to her.

THE END

@ryder: u are ryt,,,,, but dis days,,, we Hav more men dat date ladies for money dan women oooo especially in a hustling city like FCT oooo

I even thought that Kayode was Sola's husband

nice story

Chai

This life no balance @all

Kayode

lol