Evelyn dropped her husband’s phone on the re-ading table and bur-st into tears. “He will never change, Frederick can never be faithful in this marriage”She thought still in tears . Her Husband Frederick just got back home from work a while ago and he went into the bathroom to freshen up. Evelyn had looked throu-gh her husband’s phone and was disappointed with what she had seen, is it the nûd£ pictures of different women or Frederick’s conversation with other girls on his WhatsApp mess£nger? What she saw in her husband’s Facebook mess£nger almost killed her, Frederick chats dirty with random ladies. Frederick and Evelyn had been married for Eight years and at the beginning, they seemed to be in love with each other. When they were dating, Frederick appeared perfect but after thier 2nd wedding Anniversary, Evelyn had found out a lot about him, he was a pathologic liar and a chronic wom-anizer, He never really showed this side of him when they were dating. All Evelyn ever wanted was for her husband Frederick to be faithful and truthful to her. She kept herself attrac-tive and in shape for her husband But it looked like Frederick would never change and Evelyn felt neglected, unloved and unwanted. “If Frederick really love me, he won’t find it difficult to stick with me” She had thought She was completely exhausted in dealing with her husband’s infidelity. Many times Evelyn had felt like putting an end to her marriage with Frederick but she couldn’t bring herself to leave everything behind. The only reason she was holding up was her children. Evelyn had caught Frederick cheating on her on so many occasions, And he would beg profusely for her Forgiveness and he would promise to change but he never did. Instead He began to cheat discreetly, He would delete his call logs, put his phone on flight mode the moment he returns from work, he would put difficult pas-swords on his phone but Evelyn always had a way to access his phone despite the difficult pas-swords. Evelyn knew Frederick so well and all the important dat£s in his life and that’s why she could still gain access to his phone. Evelyn who was exhausted with the whole situation decided to overlook her husband’s escapades and continue being a virtuous wife but whenever she thought of the possibility of being infected with S-xually transmitted diseases, Fear would grip her. “when will Fred change and stop chasing after everything thing on Sk-irt?, I fear for my life, I don’t want to be infected with STDs or even worst HIV” She thought but she becam£ at ease One-day, when she found c0nd0ms and h0tel receipts in her husband trou-ser’s pockets and as usual his clothes reel of female perfume, She was bitter but at the same time she felt at ease. “At least he uses c0nd0m” she had thought Frederick was a cheat but he always acted sweet around Evelyn. “You will always have a special place in my life, I love you so much” Frederick always told her. Evelyn never believed him and Evelyn had lost all respect for him and most times whenever he would profess his undying love for her, Evelyn would uttered in anger “Keep deceiving your self, shameless man” Frederick was unaware that his wife was still gaining access to his phone. One-day, Evelyn got reconnected with her ex boyfri£nd, Roland throu-gh Facebook. Roland had s£nt a friend request to Evelyn and She accepted and from that day they chatted casually. Roland had once been the love of her young life, her first love and the man she thought she would spend eternity with, but life got in the way, they both made some missteps, and they chalked it up to being young and foolish. And Evelyn ended up with Frederick instead. A lot had changed for Evelyn since that time so long ago; she had changed. She was now married with two children, Evelyn and her family lived in Abuja all these years, in fact she had her two children in Abuja, She had done what most good mothers did—put the nee-ds of thier children first and moved throu-gh her days running between house chores, the kid’s functions, and taking care of the household. In the midst of that busy-ness and Her husband’s philandering lifestyle, there simply wasn’t time to connect in any meaningful way with her husband as their Marriage has grown so cold and they had grown apart. Evelyn was left facing the emptiness and disconnection in her marriage, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to ignore. Severally, She had tried to convince herself that this was just how marriage was “Men are polygamous in nature, as long as he respects me and fulfill his responsibility, he work ha-rd to take care of our family, I should be grateful for that” She had told herself but the truth remains that Frederick was not loyal, he was not honest and he was not a decent man. And any man who is not faithful is not stable. S-xually Evelyn was starved, as she and her husband, made love once in a while because Frederick got all the S-x he want from his numerous side chicks.. While Evelyn was craving a dee-per connection, she was simultaneously trying to convince herself that she shouldn’t want or nee-d anything more than what she had. But she felt numb, empty and alone. Her marriage was vulnerable. She was also vulnerable. Then Enter ex-boyfri£nd, Roland, from nearly a decade ago. He had also gotten married and had children, but he was divorced since two years ago. Roland had been single for two years now. The only thing that was working in his life was his business and he had built a very successful business for himself; Evelyn had loved Roland many years ago before life separated them but she always wished him well and he always had a special place in her heart. At first, Roland and Evelyn’s messaging conversations were harmless, the two of them catching up on all that had changed in their lives over the years. It only took a few weeks for the conversation to move to phone calls and the conversation become a bit more flir-tatious. Evelyn began confiding in Roland, She began sharing how she felt about her marriage, and Roland opened up to her as well and shared how he thought about her often over the years. She felt seen and heard for the first time In years. And now, even though it was only a conversation via Facebook mess£nger and phone calls, Evelyn Finally had something to look forward to when she awoke each day. Evelyn doesn’t know that engaging with an OLD *FLAME was dangerous.* She never knew she was pla-ying with fire. But she couldn’t turn away from the heat it provided. Social media makes connecting with Roland easy; many times, they’re only a shared connection and a cli-ck away. And the allure of an old flame to a woman feeling disconnected in her marriage can be particularly dangerous. The aspect where Evelyn remembered the good old times with Roland felt nostalgic. As time goes on, Evelyn began to wished she never married Frederick, She wished she could go back in time. “I wish I waited for Roland, if I had waited I would have been the happiest married woman on earth, Why did I forget about how Roland made me feel, we were both so in love, I was so impatient, I moved on too quic-kly and fell into a wrong marriage” She had thought. Even though a great deal of time had pas-sed, Evelyn and Roland’s friendsh!pquic-kly picked up from where they left it several years ago, The shared history between them made it feel safe and easy for them to bond properly again. In few weeks, Thier relationsh!ps develop much more quic-kly. Evelyn’s marriage was vulnerable, and an old flame comes back in the picture, it’s was easy for Evelyn to see the missteps in the rearview mirror and feel some regret. Her minds would tell her maybe this was her second chance at love and happiness and she began to see all sorts of tempting possibilities that she don’t want to Miss. “What if I ask Frederick for divorce? Oh what would happen to our children?” She had thought There’s a certain comfort she felt each time she communicated with Roland, she felt safe and easy, and series of regrets kept pla-ying over and over in the back of her mind and this made her friendsh!pwith Roland much more dangerous to her struggling marriage. Rekindling an old flame is much more personal and inti-mate than a typical affair created with a stranger. As thier relationsh!ptends to catch fire more quic-kly, They began to remember how much they meant to each other. For six months, Roland and Evelyn connected via social media and calls, more than twice Roland had invited her on a dat£, so they could meet again but Evelyn who was scared of committing Adûltery had turned him down. “I’m a full house wife, I ba-rely have time for myself, I ba-rely step out” She had told Roland. Then one day, Evelyn went to pick up her children from school and was returning home when this car hit and scratched her car from behind! She got out of the car and all hell was let loose, crowd gathered around alre-ady. It was a gentle looking man and he just got down from his car, apologizing to Evelyn, the gentle looking man and Evelyn ba-rely looked at each other’s Face, Evelyn was fuming in anger but when they finally looked at each other closely, they were both surprised. Roland? So you are the one that bashed my car?” Evelyn said smiling faintly “Oh my goodness, Evelyn? I’m glad that our path crossed today, wow you look so beautiful” Roland responded in smiles. That same day, Roland called his mechanic to fix Evelyn’s car, Evelyn told him not to bother, that she would fix the car the next day but Roland insisted “My mechanic would fix your car immediately, plea-se let him do it” and in no time, the mechanic arrived, and Roland instructed him to fix the car. “After you are done fixing the car, plea-se spray it, wash it, filled up the fuel tank” Roland told the mechanic and the young man nodded at intervals and Evelyn smiled, “Roland is still thoughtful and caring as ever” She thought. The mechanic left with the car after he had promised to return soon. When the mechanic drove off in Evelyn’s car, Roland offered to take Evelyn and her children to an eatery nearby, to have lunch while they wait for the Mechanic to return and Evelyn reluctantly agreed because she knew her children will be hungry and nee-ded to eat. At the eatery, Roland bonded with Evelyn’s children instantly and anyone close by at the eatery would think he was thier Father. After that day, Evelyn’s children won’t stop talking about uncle Roland and how kind he was and Evelyn was mesmerized. Roland was really nice, Very funny and charming too and after that day thier friendsh!pde-epens. One Sunday Afternoon, Frederick was with thier two children in the sitting room, while Evelyn was in the kitchen preparing lunch, few minutes later, Evelyn was done with cooking and was dishing out the food in portions, When Frederick entered the kitchen with thier children. “Hmm.. Lunch smells so good” Frederick said in smiles “Yes, mummy is cooking fried rice and it’s looks exactly like the delicious rice we ate at the eatery with mummy’s friend, uncle Roland” Bryan, Evelyn’s first son said innocently and Evelyn almost had an heart attack but she managed to comport herself “Who is Roland?” Frederick asked in confusion and everywhere was silence for a while before Evelyn finally responded “Roland is an old school mate, I and the kids ran into him, the other day at the eatery and he offered to paid for our meal” Frederick’s thought went wild, He was a chronic cheat and knows how everything goes but he acted cool, He walked out of the kitchen without saying a word. From that day, Frederick began to suspect his wife but there’s nothing he could do because….. because he had no proof. One day Evelyn had to go on a trip to her hometown Benin city, her younger brother who resided in the United States, s£nt a hvge amount of money for her to acquire some plots of land on his behalf at thier hometown. Coincidentally Evelyn met Roland at the local airport and they travelled together. Roland was such a great company, Evelyn enjoyed the flight all throu-gh with his endless jokes and funny faces.. They arrived Benin, Roland lodged in the h0tel provided by the company that invited him over as he cam£ to attend a seminar while Evelyn went to her parent’s house. Roland was the president of a multi million enterprise. The next day, Roland called Evelyn and invited her over for dinner. At first, Evelyn rejected the invitation but Roland insisted and finally Evelyn reluctantly agreed. When she cam£ that evening, they ate, laughed, cracked jokes and even talked about thier past and when Evelyn was about to leave, Roland entered “Evelyn, plea-se..don’t go, I have something I want to discuss with you” Evelyn wondered what Roland wanted to discuss with Her as they had been talking the whole time. She becam£ scared, Evelyn was aware that the love she once shared with Roland had rekindled alre-ady but she was doing all she could to suppress the ungodly feelings. “I’m all hears” Evelyn managed to say Roland walked closer to her, held her hands pas-sionately and planted a h0t pas-sionate k!ss, they huggged and k!$$£d in the process, Roland’s hands were warm and tender and they pierced Evelyn’s skin as he ru-bbe-d them all over her. They were in each other arms, k!ssing, when Roland whispered into her ears. “Evelyn, I still… Love you” And immediately Evelyn dis£ngaged from Roland’s arms. Yes the k!ss was heavenly, the last time she experienced such pas-sionate k!ss was 8 years ago on her wedding night. Her husband, Frederick make sure that night was memorable for her, Evelyn reminisced on her wedding night, She remembered how she and her husband made love all throu-gh thier wedding night, they explored different positions and activities before they finally collapsed and sle-pt off on each other. It was obvious that she was S-x starved and any wrong move would cause her to end up in Roland’s be-d. She comported herself immediately her s-en-ses returned. ” I’m a married woman, I don’t nee-d to be here, it’s wrong, no matter what is going on between My Husband and I, I won’t cheat on him, never! ” She thought, Roland stared at her in confusion and then she turned to Roland. “Roland don’t you dare, do this to me again, how could you k!ss me, when you know that I’m married, i only cam£ here because you are my friend and because of the love we once shared but I’m not going to cheat on my husband with you, plea-se don’t you dare try this again” Evelyn warned sternly while Roland stared in confusion, Evelyn walked out on him quietly. All throu-gh the ride home, Evelyn almost died of guilt. “Yes I know that My Husband is not faithful to our marriage but I don’t have to start cheating on him too, no I can’t do that, I don’t want to offend God. I know that I don’t love my husband anymore because of his lies and disloyalty but he is still My Husband and the father of my children” She thought soberly but she couldn’t get her mind off the pas-sionate k!ss, she shared with Roland. The next day, She returned to her matrimonial home in Abuja and Frederick was acting weird around her as he still believed that his wife was cheating on him Frederick believed his wife was cheating on him ever since he learnt of Roland but he never uttered a word about it to Evelyn, because he had no proof. Evelyn’s trip to Benin, made everything worst. Frederick ba-rely asked how the trip went but Evelyn was not even paying attention to Frederick’s weird behavior. She was still dying of guilt. She had stopped taking Roland’s call and blocked him on social media. Roland had been profusely pleading for her forgiveness in his last message on Facebook mess£nger and he promised never to over step his boundaries but still Evelyn went ahead to block him on social media. In a way Evelyn missed him so much and she had admitted to herself that she was still in love with Roland. “I don’t know what is happening to me, why I’m I having feelings for Roland, a man who is not My Husband, this is so wrong, plea-se Lord forgive me” She had thought One day, Frederick woke her up in the middle of the night “Evelyn? wake up we nee-d to talk!” Frederick told her and her heart froze! She wondered what was going on in her husband’s mind as he had never woken her up in the middle of the night for a discussion. Frederick had finally found a proof, He somehow cam£ across the text message Roland s£nt to Evelyn on WhatsApp mess£nger, Evelyn had blocked Roland everywhere and she forgot to do the same with her whatsApp, The text message re-ads: “Evelyn dear, I’m so sorry, plea-se take my call, I nee-d to hear from you, if not for anything but for the sake of the love we still feel for each other, I know you still love me and I feel the same way too”. Fredrick’s suspicion was confirmed when the text message was from no other but Roland and he doesn’t nee-d a soothsayer to tell him that Evelyn was cheating on him with his old school mate. Evelyn sat up and prepared herself to hear what Frederick was about to say. “I can’t remain married to a cheap woman like you, I know that I have cheated on you countless times but I’m a man, I have every right to cheat but you don’t, I know you are cheating on me with your so called old school mate, Roland, I have been suspecting you ever since our Bryan mentioned his name but I was quiet because I have no proof. But now that I have proof, I can’t take it anymore. I want a divorce” Roland said at once and tears rolled down from Evelyn’s cheek….. So you have the right to cheat but I don’t? You want A divorce? And you have come to conclusion that divorce is our ultimate solution?, Even without hearing my own side of the story?, ” Evelyn entered in tears “I don’t want to listen in details on how you cheated on me with him, I know you where both together in Benin, one of my friend saw you walking into an h0tel in Benin. Well I just don’t want to know the details, my heart is no longer in this marriage, it’s better we go our separate ways” Frederick said at once “Just like that, without giving me a chance to explain myself?” Evelyn said in tears but Frederick couldn’t respond “But I have caught you many times, cheating on me, not the nûd£s and your flir-tatious conversation with different women on your whatsapp mess£nger but I always forgive you” Evelyn said in tears “You have no choice but to forgive me, I’m a man and I have every right to cheat, I married you not the other way round, oh I see, you can hooked up with your Roland for revenge but you are a woman, you have everything to lose, I have nothing to lose” Frederick said at once, he stood up and left the room. From that day, Frederick stopped slee-ping in thier matrimonial room and he rejected Evelyn’s meal. He becam£ harsh to his children and he calls his lovers in the pres£nce of Evelyn. Evelyn who could not bear it anymore, moved out of her matrimonial home and moved to her cousin’s house with her two children- Bryan and Gianna. Later that same day, she s£nt a text message to Frederick. “Fred, When you are re-ady with the official papers let me have them so I can sign.. Bye. From Evelyn” Frederick almost ran mad when he got the text message, he tried calling Evelyn on the phone but she refused to pick up. He only threatened Evelyn with a divorce, he wasn’t going to end thier marriage. It hurt him so much that Evelyn didn’t even try to defend herself. “I can’t believe that Evelyn could do this, so Evelyn is really having an affair with that Roland, Now I see why she didn’t say anything in her defense, when I confronted her” He thought…. Weeks later, Frederick had to tell both thier families that Evelyn had moved out. Evelyn’s aged parents were so worried when they found out, They had to call Evelyn up on her phone and she admitted she had moved out from her husband’s house, with her children. “Why would you allow things to get to that level, why did you move out of your home?” Evelyn’s parents inquired “mom, Dad, I have been putting up with Frederick’s lies and unfaithfulness, He cheats on me with different women everyday but because I reconnected with an old school mate, My husband concluded that I’m cheating on him, the worst was he dared had to gut to threaten me with a divorce, I have never fought him or threaten to leave him each time I caught him cheating on me, I was always un-derstanding and I always tried to forgive him but because of a text message, he concluded that I was unfaithful, I’m done with him and I’m tired of our marriage, I want peace, He is too selfish and egocentric” Evelyn told his parents All attempts made by their family to Reconcile Frederick and Evelyn was futile, as they both stood on thier grounds. To spite Evelyn, Frederick told one of his lover, Sally to move in with him and when Evelyn found out, She reconciled with Roland and in no time Roland and Evelyn started dating. As all these were going on, Bryan and Gianna were neglected as Evelyn ba-rely had time for them. Evelyn started working in Roland’s company and she was always busy. As Roland and Evelyn was dat!ng, Roland took good care of her, he always s£nt money to her account, he took Evelyn on a tour to different countries, leaving her children- Bryan and Gianna at the care of her cousin, Mabel. Roland always showered her with expensive gifts and he often took her to the Spa, to have her skin pampered, Evelyn was practically living her dream life but she neglected her children. Roland even got her some investment shares in her name and he promised to set her up in her own enterprise. Each time Evelyn’s cousin, Mabel would try to talk some s-en-ses into her, she would flare up in anger, “Eve, I’m your blood, I won’t deceive you, I know that your husband wronged you but you don’t have to neglect your children, you ba-rely spend time with your Bryan and your Gianna. Before Roland csm£ into the picture, Bryan and Gianna meant the whole world to you, plea-se don’t neglect your children plea-se, they nee-d their mother” Mabel said calmly but Evelyn was angry. “I nee-d to be happy too, for eight years I tolerated thier father because of them, they are not lacking anything, I paid for thier school fees and everything. Their father had not cared about them for the past one year we moved out, in fact he is now living with his lover in our matrimonial home, what do you want me to do? Don’t I deserve to be happy too?” Evelyn said in tears but Mabel consoled her. “I un-derstand how you feel but two wrongs can never make a right. Bryan and Gianna are both special to you, plea-se don’t make them pay for the crime they know nothing about. plea-se” Mabel added and Evelyn promised to make amends. Things got worst when Roland got Evelyn an alre-ady furnished and crispy apqrtment so she moved out from Mabel’s house with her children. Bryan and Gianna took the school bus to school every morning and the same school bus would bring them back home after school One day, The unimaginable happened, Bryan and Gianna were back from school and met thier mother’s abs£nce and there was nothing Evelyn left for Lunch, They were starving and nee-ded food to eat, Bryan went into her mother’s be-droom and he saw few cash in Evelyn’s wardrobe and the young boy set out to buy lunch for himself and his sister, Gianna. “Gianna, I’m coming, let me go down the street and buy us lunch, I know Mummy have warned us not to leave the compound but she didn’t keep lunch for us, I guess she forgot and we nee-d food now because I’m hungry and I’m sure you are too” Bryan said innocently and Gianna nodded in agreement. Few minutes later, Bryan was outside in the main road, he couldn’t get a loaf of bre-ad from the shops in the street, he decided to go further and try the nearby streets, He was about to cross the road when he was hit by a moving truck. Blood oozed out from his nose and his head and these attra-cted people’s attention that In no time, crowd gathered around. Bryan was rushed to a nearby hospital and some people who recognized him called Evelyn on the phone. Evelyn almost died of shock when she got the bad news. She began to blame herself, h0t tears rolled down from her eyes and she raced to the hospital like a mad woman. “oh my child, where is my Bryan?, Nurse plea-se where is my child?” She said immediately she arrived the hospital. But the Nurse tried all she could to calm her down. “Madam, plea-se relax, the Doctor is with your son and they are doing all they can for him, plea-se have faith” The nurse told Evelyn. h0t tears kept falling off Evelyn’s cheek, She called Mabel to inform her about what had happened and of course, Mabel blamed her. “Evelyn you are careless, you are not fit to be called a mother, Bryan is just a little boy of 7 years old and Gianna is 5 years old, I told you to look after them because they can not look after themselves but no you were so interested in being happy, you are so selfish and wicked. If anything happens to Bryan, I will never forgive you” Mabel said sharply at the other end of the phone. Mabel’s emotional outbur-sts on the phone made Evelyn to feel worse. She fell to the ground and bur-st into uncontrollable tears and the nurses on duty tried all they could to console her. Few hours later, Mabel had arrived at the hospital with Gianna and not too long Roland arrived too, Evelyn had told him what happened. They were all waiting anxiously for the doctor, who cam£ with a bad news. The doctor had as-sumed Roland was Bryan’s father. “Your son is in a bad shape, the accident was so terrible, your son is still unconscious but I don’t know why he keeps calling out for you unconsciously” The doctor said calmly. “My son is calling out for his father? “Evelyn asked shockingly “Yes I suggest you go in there and talk to your son, that will help him alot”The doctor said and Evelyn was speechless “Actually doctor, I’m not his father, but I can go in there, Bryan is like a son to me” Roland said calmly but the Doctor told him “plea-se get the boy’s father, that would help him alot” The doctor concluded and finally left. Mabel was quic-k to call Frederick on the phone, Frederick ran to the hospital as soon as he heard the news, He was directed into the intensive care unit and he bur-st into uncontrollable tears immediately he saw Bryan, laying lifelessly on the hospital be-d. Actually doctor, I’m not his father, but I can go in there, Bryan is like a son to me” Roland said calmly but the Doctor told him “plea-se get the boy’s father, that would help him alot” The doctor concluded and finally left. Mabel was quic-k to call Frederick on the phone, Frederick ran to the hospital as soon as he heard the news, He was directed into the intensive care unit and he bur-st into uncontrollable tears immediately he saw Bryan, laying lifelessly on the hospital be-d. “What are you doing? plea-se be strong and talk to your son, he had been calling out for you, talk to him, I will be back shortly ” The doctor said and left
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