It is a bad choice to cheat but…

The voices were both dissenting and supportive. Some told her the best she could do was walk out of her marriage. That men were scum. That she deserved a fresh start. Some told her she had to fight for it. That no woman could stroll in from nowhere and topple her. The fight raged on  with many making mortal enemies of themselves for her sake. She did not fight. She did not leave. She stayed. 25 years was a lot. A whole lot. She planned. Plot and plan are strategies of champions. She was hurt. Very. For her husband had disappointed her. But life had taught her to understand the frailty and fickleness of human existence. That people could change in the blink of an eye. She put the story as anonymous on Facebook and comments poured in. No one knew it was her story. Nobody could. Nobody should. She was a mentor for many. With thousands of followers. So she had to be very careful and very smart. It was not a scandal that should break out. Surviving it will be tough.

She waited for the lady in a private lounge of a restaurant. She had received the message where the lady said she was pregnant for her husband. She knew she must not show she was agitated otherwise the lady was ready to roll in the mud and take everyone with it. She had not raised any issue with her husband though her heart hurt. But that was for later. For now, it was to address the issue.

The lady came, very young, fair complexioned and beautiful in the company of an older friend. She felt a pang as she remembered how she looked when she was in her twenties and had met the man who was to be her husband. She watched for the signs. She didn’t look like a gold digger. Infact she looked so innocent and harmless with soft long lustrous hair and big brown eyes. She was dressed simply in a yellow sundress and strappy sandals. Her stomach was still fat.

The young lady entered the lounge and wife beckoned to her. She looked nervous but there was a glinting light in her eyes. The wife stood up. “Hello dear how are you?”

Both the lady and her friend looked surprised and off balance. Inwardly the wife smiled. That worked.

“Hello ma.” They chorused

“Sit down. She sipped her juice. “What would you like?”

“Nothing” The friend spoke defensively. “We are fine.”

“Okay,” She shrugged.  “I saw your message and that’s why I wanted to meet you.”

Both were silent so she continued. “First I’d like you to get a test done, this with our knowledge. We are ready, that is my husband and I to take care of you till delivery. After that I’d like to conduct a DNA to ascertain the child belongs to my husband.”

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The young lady opened her mouth. “We will like to meet your parents.” Wife continued. “Do you have parents?”

“Y-Yes” hesitantly. The young lady was gripped with panic. Hadn’t her boyfriend promised her he’d get an apartment fully furnished and take care of her? Then he’d ignored her calls. She was forced to call the wife in a bid to threaten him and the woman had surprisingly agreed to a meeting. Girlfriend had taught her to threaten wife with a scandal. She was totally unprepared for this.

The wife passed the girlfriend a card. “Call me so we can fix a time to schedule a visit to your parents. If the child is proved to be my husband’s, I intend to take the baby and raise him or her.”

“No!” Both girls shouted, since it was a private lounge, no attention was attracted.

“When I see your parents, we will discuss this. We will take care of the baby. He or she is welcome to the family. But if your intention is to be a second wife to my husband, not in this life. You will get your own man. But it won’t be my husband” She stood up. Cold.  Regal.  Beautiful. The duo were dumbfounded. She dropped an envelope. “For your transport. I’ll expect your call.”

When she got home, after dinner, she and her husband retired into the den to watch some television. She snuggled up to him and stroked his chest. He continued to simultaneously watch the television and press his phone.

“Darling, you know we will be making a trip soon.”

“To where?”   Absently. Focused on his cell phone

“To her house.”

He pushed her up and she saw panic. “Whose house?”

“Your side chic. The one you impregnated. I invited her over for lunch.”

The man gasped, pushed her away. “What-what are you saying?”

“Just that we have some negotiation to do. I know everything. Listen. You are not marrying a second wife. It is a bad choice to cheat but it will not make me leave all I have laboured for.”

“Baby listen. It’s not like that-“

“We will get to that. Right now this is the start of new negotiations.

He watched her speechless. With dawning fear and shock.