VICTORIA’S POV

Well, I was surprised when Chris had proposed to me. I found myself screaming yes several times just the way I had imagined that I would want to react when a man whom I loved and also felt the same for me finally popped the big question. His plan was to relocate to the U.S. with me and start a new family after our wedding but when he mentioned going to see my parents, the joy in me slowly desipitated. I wasn’t ready to meet them after all they had done to me, at least not yet. After much talking, pleading and compelling, I finally decided to take him to my parents whom I hadn’t seen for months. We picked a Saturday afternoon and when we drove into my parents’ compound, we found my mum at the side of the house, watering her ugu (vegetable) which had a very large seed at the center of the mass of leaves.

In confusion, she turned to look at us, wondering whom the owner of the car was. When I stepped out of the car and her eyes settled on me. Her mouth dropped open and the bowl of water fell from her hand as she gaped at me in disbelief.

“Mama…” I called, a little feebly. I felt so guilty seeing how she had lost some weight and I knew that Daniel has disengaged all ties with them.

“Adanna…” She uttered. “Is that you?” She gave me a look, as if unsure if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

“It’s me, Mama.” I said.

She carefully came towards me then felt around my body and face in awe. “Adanna, is this really you?!”

“Mama, I’m the one.” I yet again answered and she suddenly wailed, throwing her hands up to the sky. She began to sob and thank God as she sank down to her knees, rubbing her palms together at intervals as she spewed thanks to God for my return. Tears streamed down her face and I felt so much empathy towards her. This woman might have made a lot of bad decisions concerning my life, but she was still my mother. When she had given enough thanks, she rose to her feet and ushered us to sit on the bench in front of the house.

My brother who was just walking into the compound, slowed down when he saw the car but when his eyes settled on us, he immediately smiled and broke into a run to meet me. He was so happy to see me that I rose to receive his tight hug. When we finally separated, I asked my mother, “Mama, where’s papa?”

“He went to play lotto. He has been gambling ever since Daniel left us, hoping that he would win a big sum of money. Bia,” she beckoned to my brother. “Drop that keg of kerosene on the ground and go and call your father!”

My brother eagerly obeyed and hurried off to fetch my father when I noticed that I hadn’t seen my sister, I asked, “Mama, is Linda not at home?”

My mother heaved a sigh and said forlornly. “We haven’t seen your sister for the past seven months now ever since she ran away from Daniel’s house.”

I gave a confused frown. “Daniel’s house? Why was she at Daniel’s house, Mama?”

My mother sighed again and lowered her head in what I perceived to be shame and regret. Soon, she began to cry again, unable to tell me why my sister had been at my ex husband’s house in the first place. My father arrived and was surprised to see me. I rose to greet him and he welcome me better than I had expected. He asked us all to go in and there, my parents apologized to me about everything they had caused and how they had turned a blind eye to my plight. When I finally Introduced Chris to them as my fiance, they were glad, especially my mother. She quickly went to the kitchen to prepare some food for us. While my father discussed with Chris, I drew my brother aside and asked him to tell me what had happened to Linda. He narrated the whole ordeal to me and told me that he was actually communicating with Linda and that she was only hiding out in school, scared of my parents’ wrath and also scared of being arrested by Daniel and I put it to myself to give her a call and assured her to come back home.
***PLAYLOADED STORY***
Anyway, as the months flew by, Chris and I made preparations for our wedding. I moved my parents out of the old house and bought them a new one where they could live comfortably and have their personal cars for their own use. Have you checked Playloaded Stories today? Chris and I eventually got married eight months later. We relocated to the U.S. almost immediately to continue our honeymoon. Finally, I knew how it felt to be in a happy marriage and I looked forward to seeing my husband everyday after work unlike Daniel whose return from work I always dreaded. I enjoyed my s@x life and Chris never asked me to do anything out of the ordinary. I had my orgasms anytime we had s@x and the thought of it always made me anticipate our next s@x. I was happy, I earned my own money, my husband was great and finally, I got pregnant just a few months after our wedding. I wouldn’t have asked for more.

DANIEL’S POV

After what I went through in Uju’s hands and being extorted, I had learnt my lesson the hard way. It wasn’t a pleasant story to tell and I was completely ashamed of myself when I realized that this was how I had been treating my ex wife and even worse. I had a change of heart and I turned a new leaf. I was willing to make things right but I was too late because by the time I ran into Victoria in a bank, she looked so beautiful and radiant and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had pleaded with her, begging her to come back to me but she had refused. Much to my dismay, she had told me that she was getting married the next week and had simply written me a cheque of two million naira to compensate the one million naira she had stolen from me, got into her car and drove away. I felt very terrible and I knew that it was too late to change the hand of time. My sister attended her wedding and was even in her bridal train but I couldn’t bring myself to attend.

I was determined to be a better version of me and in less than two years, I fell in love. It felt great. The lady who had captured my heart was a nurse. I had found her when I had finally summoned the courage to go for an HIV test. I really wanted to know what my fate was after having unprotected sex with so many girls. When the result came out negative, I couldn’t contain myself to the extent that I had grabbed this strange nurse that I had never met in my life and kissed her on the lips. It was as if I had won a lottery of millions whereas I was happy that I hadn’t been self-destructive like I had feared. I had stopped my womanizing and was determined to stick to just one woman this time.

Glancing at the nurse and realizing what I had done, I profusely apologized to her then on impulse I had asked to buy her dinner when she got off duty. We met later in the evening and chatted and I got to find out that she was a nurse and a single mum. Weeks passed and we grew closer and eventually, I fell in love with her. I treated her kid as mine and put him in school, taking up every financial responsibility of him and his mother because I loved them both. A year later, Martha and I got married and much to my dismay, I realized that she squandered my money unnecessarily. Every time I caught her chatting with a man in a lewd way on social media, she would apologize and promise to change and I always forgave her because I had once in been in her shoes before and I knew how Victoria had endured and still stayed married to me despite disrespecting her in every way imaginable.

Anyway, one day, nine months after our wedding, I had to travel on a business trip to Abuja on a Tuesday and was due to return on Saturday but because I was missing my wife and I was eager to be with her, I had returned two days earlier from my trip and it was raining heavily on that day. When I drove into the compound, the gateman quickly pushed the gate shut and rushed to hold an umbrella over me and from his facial expression, I knew that he was surprised to see me. I had come home because not only was today our wedding anniversary, I was also eager to see my wife whom I had decided to give a pleasant surprise by coming home two days before the due day with a box of very expensive jewelry, a bouquet flower and a bottle of her favourite wine. All I wanted was to take her out on a date tonight and treat her like the queen she truly was on our wedding anniversary.

“Oga, welcome.” The gateman said. The rain poured heavily and drummed noisily on the umbrella that I had to strain to hear him.

“How are you?” I asked. Some of the rain was dropping on his shoulder and back where the umbrella couldn’t reach.

I realized that Musa was very nervous……

To be continued…. Watch out for Episode 22!!!