VICTORIA’S POV

I got down from the motorcycle that had brought me to my parents’ house and paid the rider. I was wearing the gate man’s shirt which I had borrowed to cover my thin nightgown and I was thankful that I had collected it because the night was cold. I walked the house which had no gate and knocked on the front door. I had knocked almost nine times before my younger brother opened the door, surprised to see me. He rubbed his eyes and moved out of the way so that I could go in.

“Sister, what are you doing here by now?” He asked, yawning into his fist.

“Don’t worry about it… Just go to bed, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I said and locked the door while he returned to his room. I walked to my sister’s room and slept next to her.

In the morning, I felt someone tapping me. I opened my eyes to find my mother staring down at me.
I slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep off my eyes. “Mama, good morning.” I greeted.

“What are you doing here?” She blurted without even responding to my greeting then placed the back of her hands on her waist. “Do you know that we have been looking for you since yesterday? Your husband came to us and complained that you ran away from home with another man? Is that how we brought you up? To be gallivanting all over the place opening your thighs for whoever is interested? Don’t you have any shame?!” Her loud voice woke my sister up, who sat up to look at us, surprised to see me. “Why are you so bent on bringing shame to this family? Why do you want to disgrace your father’s name? After everything Daniel has done for you, now you want to repay him by becoming a whore? You should be happy that you married a good man? How many rich men would go through the pains of marrying someone who’s not even in their class? Is he not satisfying you in bed? Doesn’t he meet your s£xual needs? Why do you want to defile your marriage? Where did this promiscuity come from? Definitely not from me because I know that besides my first boyfriend, Ikenna, your father is the second and last man who has gone in between my thighs?! If I had known, I would have gone ahead with the circumcision. I would have removed that thing you call a cliit that’s now bringing the spirit of infidelity into you?!”

I heaved a sigh. “Mama, will you at least hear me out?”

“There’s nothing to be heard!” She snapped. “We went around looking for you. Your husband has explained it all. He told us that you would try to defend yourself with lies and he’s right because that’s exactly what you are doing right now!”

“Mama, what did Daniel tell you people?” I asked.

“He told us that he took you out to a party to have fun and show you off. He just left you for just five minutes, common five minutes to go urinate and you already jumped into another man’s car and disappeared. He called you on the phone several times but you busied his calls. When you even finally picked his call, he begged and begged you to come home, even to the point of crying but you hung up on him!”

I gaped up at my mother in shock. “Mama, Daniel said that?!” I asked in disbelief.

“Oh! So you think he would not tell us! He came here complaining bitterly. He threatened to even divorce you since you are not being a good wife to him but I had to go on my knees and beg him along with your father. He has told us how you refuse to wash his clothes, cook his meals and even s3x! S£x that is very important to him, his own God-given right, you refused him that and then he had mistakenly spilled a wine on you while you were yet asleep and that was why you had dashed down here to lie against him that he had urinate on you! Ha! Adanna, to say that I’m very very disappointed in you is an understatement! In fact, I regret giving birth to you! How can you take such a man for granted?! Don’t you have a heart! This man loves you to the core and yet you treat him so bad! See, if I had my way, I would have replaced you with your sister, Linda, at least she has more sense than you do!”

“But Mama, I didn’t do any of such! Daniel is lying, just see what he did to me…” I started to pull the side of my shirt and night gown up to reveal my bruised side when my father appeared and harshly interrupted me.

“Will you shut your mouth!” He barked and I quickly dropped my gown. “So this is what you are, a green snake under the green grass. All these time that you have been running to us and pretending to be in a very loveless marriage, it was actually the other way around. You were the very evil in your own marriage. I felt so sorry for that young man and I regretted that it had to be my daughter treating such an upright man in such a manner. Anyway, I have just called him…” He lifted a hand holding his cellphone. “…to tell him that you are home and he will be here in the next thirty minutes to pick you up. We should be thankful to God that he’s willing to take you back. If he had gone ahead and divorced you, I would have disowned you and wouldn’t have let you back into my house. When he arrives, you are going to follow him back home and beg him seriously. I don’t care how you do it but you must settle your differences with him! Be a good wife the way we raised you. Love and respect him. This family must not lose such a potential in-law. We are nothing without him! Do not ruin this for me, Victoria, or I’ll never forgive you!” He stated firmly and I helplessly kept mute since there was no need trying to defend myself.

Daniel was cynical but my parents had failed to see that part of him and once again, I was stuck in my dilemma. Men were all the same! They are cheats and untrustworthy. I had trusted Chris to do much and yet he had ended up sleeping with Uju after I refused him s£x. I decided that it was better to stay with the devil I knew than the angel I knew nothing about. If my fate was to remain in this marriage, then Daniel it is.
***Playloaded Stories***
Forty minutes later, I was in the car sitting next to Daniel as he drove us home. He kept glancing at me as something sinister went through his mind but I ignored him and kept a straight face with my eyes fixed on the road. He kept glancing at me and thoughtfully running his chin with his index finger and I saw his eyes moved down to my waist, to linger between my thighs. I adjusted and placed my hands right on the spot to conceal it from his view. He said nothing to me throughout the drive back home. But when we reached home and got into the house, he threw his car keys on the coffee table and began to unbutton his shirt. As I made for the stairs, his unexpected question made me pause.

“Did he f#ck you?”

With my back still turned to him, I remained there for a moment without a word.

“Are you deaf?” He drew closer. “Musa told me that you were picked by a man that night I kicked you out and I know that it’s definitely that guy from the club! I’m sure that he has been the one you have been with all this time, so answer my question, did you let him f#ck you?

I slowly turned to look at him and muttered. “No.”

“And why should I believe you?” He shrugged off his shirt and tossed behind him on the couch then began to unbuckle his belt. “You have been with him for more than a day, I know how hot you are… No man would spend an hour around you and not want to touch you. I feel that you are looking me right in the face and lying to me.”

“What do you want me to say? Tell you that I had a very good time with him or that he pleasured me in ways that you have never done before.” I spat and a slap came out of nowhere and heavily struck the side of my cheek, making my head fall to my shoulder. I slowly lifted my head with my hand on my cheek.

“You will shut that trap you called a mouth, you c#nt! You think any other man would want you or can ple@sure your rigid body the way only I can?” He chuckled wickedly, unzipped his p@nts with one hand then removed it till he was standing in just his boxers and I noticed that he didn’t discard the belt like he had done his other clothing, instead he folded it in two and held it firmly in a hand.

“Is that why you told my parents all those lies? To paint me black? First, you left me stranded on the road, next, you hit and kicked me out of your house in the middle of the night and yet you went with your deceitful self to fill my parents ears with lies about me running off with another man and denying you s£x?”

The story continues…. watch out for Episode 13… you better don’t miss it…..