Akwaugo – Episode 47

 

PART 47

 

 

I had caught Dubie unawares and I watched him trying to explain this to me. He didn’t attempt to.

 

“It was not common knowledge; how did your people get to know?” he asked.

 

“I asked if it was true or false”

 

“That was in the past. My father paid the ultimate price that gave my mother and I this opportunity in life. Uncle Ken is no longer a drug baron; he has gone legit. Whatever they are digging up is very old news. No one talks about it anymore”

 

“So, your parents were drug pushers?”

 

“They were poor and were lured into that life by uncle Ken. They did it, made some money and then when my father died, mother stopped. She stopped so I could have a parent”

 

“Or she stopped after collecting very good settlement for your father’s death?”

 

“My father didn’t snitch and in return, they took care of us. That was the ultimate sacrifice. Mother stopped so I could be well taken care of. When I found out the source of uncle Ken’s wealth, I pulled away from his mentorship and started my own business”

 

“How did you get the money to start your own business?”

 

“From my trust fund. I had access to my trust fund when I was 21. It was in dollars so I could bring in my cars. I only liquidated part of it”

 

“You mean it is the sale of cars that brought you all the wealth?”

 

“No, my trust fund. I bought my house and began my business. My business is very profitable. I am very comfortable”

 

“Dubie, you wanted to marry me but you hid such sensitive information from me. Why? Why couldn’t you confide in me? Why did my people have to find out instead of me telling them first?”

 

 

“As I said, it was in the past. We had forgotten about that phase of our lives. We’ve moved on. Your family should move on too”

 

“It is easier said than done. It cannot be overlooked unless it is explained to the family with evidence. I can’t go back to them to say, it was in the past and has been forgotten. They would ask me if being in the past means it didn’t happen? I think you should come and do the explaining yourself”

 

“You know your family will never accept whatever I say. Now it is like this, let us elope and get married. Just the two of us. Once we start having children, your parents will accept us”

 

“Elope to where?”

 

“Any country of your choice. Just choose and I will take you there”

 

“And if we fall out there, what happens? You will take the house from me and leave me out in the street?”

 

“Why are you talking like this Akwaugo? You know I love you. I will never do that to you especially if you made such a huge sacrifice for me”

 

“I can’t elope now. I have to finish my housemanship and one year youth service before I can go anywhere. So, eloping has to be postponed. By the way, I feel you should try convincing my parents before running away with me”

 

“I know your father won’t accept. Why should I waste my time talking to him? Let’s go away and get married then. Forget the traditional wedding and let us do a court wedding. We can do the others when they accept”

 

“Give me time to think about it and make a decision. I can’t think straight right now. I have to head back home”

 

“Just like that? You will stay here with me today. This will prove to them that you love me and want to be with me”

 

 

“What we need to do is go back to my father together, confess to him the past and let him know everyone has turned a new leaf. We can consider other options after talking to them”

 

“Where do you stand Akwaugo? Are you with your family or with me? Are you considering going back to Emeka now the family has discovered you are innocent?”

 

“Dubie, let’s do the right thing. We can get auntie Nneoma to help us talk to my father. It is better than just taking off. And I want to round up everything about my education before leaving the country”

 

“Stay with me today. You can leave in the morning; I will take you home”

 

“I’m sorry; I can’t”

 

I stayed with him until the evening when he brought me close to my house and dropped me off. I walked back home. I didn’t say anything to them about the revelation. I was confused about what to do. I needed to talk to someone about it. I needed a neutral person I could confide in who can tell me what to do.

 

That night, during bible study, my father asked me to read Romans 12 1-2. I read,

 

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”

 

I reflected on this passage for days. What had come over me? What had made me quickly forget about all these teachings I had learnt for many years? Did I use Dubie as a rebound guy after I separated from Emeka? Why did I fall so easily for him? My flesh was weak. I couldn’t understand God’s will for me anymore. I realized I had lost my way. I still felt strong feelings for Dubie but my heart pricked me. The relationship was wrong. What we did that day was very wrong. His background was wrong. I needed to retrace my steps. Even though I still loved him, we needed to separate ourselves from sin and focus on finding our path with

 

 

God and allowing him to handle the current situation. I prayed for God to resolve everything about our relationship as I retraced my steps back to God.

 

After our prayers, I sent Dubie the bible passage. He wasn’t impressed with it.

 

“What is this?” he asked me when he saw it.

 

“Read the bible verses”

 

He didn’t reply for some minutes then he sent another message. “What are you trying to say?”

 

“We need to know what God’s will is in our lives. What his will is concerning our union. We have a serious situation at hand and only prayers and retracing our steps can help us know God’s will for us”

 

“Just say you don’t want to be with me. Stop wasting my time with bible verses. Since when did we read bible verses? Now you are talking of prayer while the solution is glaring. Do whatever you want to do but don’t involve me. I will never forgive you if you dump me for Emeka because that is what I suspect you want to do”

 

“Meditate on that bible verse very well and I pray the holy spirit ministers to you. If it doesn’t, then truly I didn’t look before I leapt” I refused to talk to him again after that.

 

I spent my days in the church during that period. I went for confession and told the priest how much I had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. On Thursday, I went to the parish office to see the parish priest for counselling. He listened to me as I opened up my heart. I told him about my marital struggles from the beginning until this moment. I explained to him my weakness whenever I am with Dubie, he seemed to take possession of my body. I told him about the family and their past. The priest was Godsent. He listened to me without interrupting. When I had concluded, he said,

 

“Akwaugo, I can see clearly where you got it all wrong. Why didn’t you wait until your husband wedded you in the church before consummating the marriage? You

 

 

held the ace but gave it up easily. If you had insisted on waiting until after the church marriage, you would have discovered so much more about his siblings and you would have ended the marriage with your dignity intact. You conformed with the world and all the values you had learnt for many years disappeared. The word of God says, “If the hedge is not broken, the serpent won’t bite” You gave room for sexual immorality to creep into your life. You went to Lagos and stayed with a man. You shouldn’t have agreed to stay with him. You should have insisted on a hotel or staying with a friend. It was wrong. Now, he has introduced you to a lifestyle you can’t resist. He has access to your body whenever he so desires. Meanwhile, he is not your husband. You have a long way to go. Go home and say the Seven Penitential Psalms; Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143 (1-11). Ask God for forgiveness. Keep saying those Psalms for two weeks and then come back for the next phase”

 

The priest was brutally honest with me and I took his instructions seriously. Dubie tried to see me before going back to Lagos but I declined to see him anywhere we could be alone in case I got tempted. I saw him briefly in the church where I was doing my prayers. He was shocked seeing me in church dressed in a long shapeless skirt and a t-shirt.

 

“What are you doing here? Why are you dressed like this?”

 

“This is the church in the village and I am here doing my penance for the sins I have committed”

 

“Was being with me that bad that you have to purge yourself of me? My life has been centred around you for the past how many months and now you want to just take everything away with this repentance and finding God’s will story? What will resolve this issue? If I come to your family and tell them everything, will it resolve it? Will it take us back to status quo? I really want my baby back; I don’t like this you”

 

“If you had done this from the onset, then maybe I wouldn’t have come looking for God but then God who knows the end from the very beginning hardened your heart so I would retrace my steps to him. Dubie, I won’t deny I love you and would want to be with you but it will no longer be the same. I can’t have sex with you anymore, my body is the temple of the holy spirit. Only when you have paid my

 

 

dowry and brought me before the altar of God can I make my body available to you. I cannot be in a place alone with you to avoid any form of temptation. I will not elope with you; it will break my parents’ hearts. I will wait for you to come to them and convince them to allow you to marry me. I will never go against their wish. The bible says, Honour thy father and thy mother so that your days on earth may be long. I won’t disobey this commandment that comes with a promise”

 

“No sex? Are we in kindergarten? Even the priests have sex in secret. Why would you say no sex? While we are waiting for your parents to give their consent, what will we be doing?”

 

“When did we start having sex? Why is it so much of a priority now? Can’t we abstain until we get married? Let us do the right thing from now onwards. If you agree, I will introduce you to the priest and we will take it from there. If not, we will not go any further”

 

“I want to be with you. Let us see the priest and take it from there”

 

We met with the priest. We discussed the marriage plans and he promised to carry out his investigation and talk to my father about our plans. He made us promise to keep our bodies holy. He was specific to Dubie and he promised to. We discussed at length after we left the priest. Dubie could see I was very serious about my faith and abstinence.

 

My parents too saw the difference in me and I could see they were happy. How I lost my way was still strange to me. Why was even more shameful. I couldn’t tell anyone what Dubie and I had done in secret. I was ashamed of what I had allowed to be done to my body during the cause of fornication. I still desired him for marriage but I had introduced a prayer point the priest insisted I added, “Not my will but your will be done”. I prayed this prayer daily until it was answered.

 

The priest made good his promise. He investigated and gave both of us his report. Uncle Ken had stopped drug pushing to the best of everyone’s knowledge. Dubie wasn’t a drug trafficker. He went to see my parents and talked to them. He told them he had been counselling us and he believed we were ready for the next stage if they would give us their blessings.

 

 

After the priest’s visit, father called me and asked me if I was still interested in marrying Dubie. I confirmed it.

 

“Why do you like him?”

 

“He has proved to be a good man. He is hardworking, dedicated to the relationship, he enjoys spending time with me just like you do with mother. He is generous. He loves me and wants me”

 

“I wanted to hear about his love for God. Does he love God as you do? Will you be the one focusing on God when you marry or both of you will tackle life’s issues together on your knees the way we have always done here”

 

“He loves God and he is discovering himself in the Lord. Father, why don’t you like Chidubem?”

 

“Chidubem changed you. He transformed you to what we didn’t understand anymore. You avoided coming home because of him. We are aware of some of your trips to Lagos. A man should see a good girl and want her to remain the same but he tried to change you to be like him. Emeka didn’t do that. You allowed worldly things erode your godly values. Until I see that change in him, I will still believe he is not good for you”

 

“Father, it is not Chidubem that is to be blamed but me. I lost my way but I have found it. I have repented. He didn’t force me into anything I didn’t want to do. I have disappointed you and for this, I apologise. I know other suitors have shown interest but father I will look before I leap. Dubie’s mother is not involved in his life. She has no influence over him and so far, she has proven to be a nice woman. He has no siblings who will plot evil against me. He has a good business and would allow me to be whatever I want to be”

 

“Chidubem is very controlling. He will make sure you sell the house Emeka gave you once you get married. When you work night duties what will happen? He will want to determine how you will work. I can see it clearly but you are blinded by love. I will never support your return to Emeka, he has come to beg for forgiveness but I made it clear to him you will never be safe with his family. He is better than Chidubem. Once you get married, you will be shocked at who he will turn out to

 

 

be. Has he come here himself to explain our discovery? Have his people shown their faces here to appeal? Remember, what at elder sees sitting down, a child can’t see even if he climbs a tall tree”

 

I took my father’s words seriously and confronted Dubie about it. He quickly came with an elderly uncle and his mother to see my father. They gave their explanations and sought forgiveness for Chidubem’s behaviour. Father listened to them, he asked questions and when he was satisfied, he promised to get back to them on a date for the introduction.

 

We had our introduction. My extended family didn’t have nice things to say about it.

 

“Is she the only one in this family? Two marriages already when our daughters haven’t seen one man to marry. Is it because she is a doctor?”

 

“Have they returned the bride price for the other man that they want to collect another one?”

 

‘Are they trading with the girl? Is she is the only educated female that she has to be changing husband as she wishes”?

 

Father got to hear all the comments and more but he was not deterred. He called his family members together and told them once more, he doesn’t collect bride price as he is not selling his daughter.

 

I needed a posting for housemanship and I applied everywhere I could. Dubie tried to help me so I would be in Lagos but the process was slow. I wanted to be in Lagos too. One of father’s friends gave me a link to a contact in Abeokuta. I travelled down to Abeokuta. Our conversation was going well until the man’s tone changed and he made demands for what I couldn’t give him. He told me he could get me into LASUTH within two weeks if I had sex with him. I refused. He tried to force me but I struggled to escape. I ran leaving my phone behind. I didn’t have my phone and I didn’t have were to stay that day. I boarded a vehicle and came to Lagos.

 

 

I arrived at Emeka’s house as I had no other place to go. The security opened the gate for me but they acted suspiciously. I entered the house and went upstairs. The burglary proof was open. As I stepped in, Emeka was wearing his t-shirt rushing out of the room.

 

“Where are you coming from so late” he asked me.

 

“I told you I was going to Abeokuta. I have had the most horrific experience in my entire life today. Before I explain let me ease myself”

 

“Use the guest toilet. I just used the place” he stood in front of the bedroom door trying to block me from going in.

 

“What does that mean? Excuse me. Let me go in”

 

“Let’s go downstairs, I want to explain something to you”

 

“What’s going on? Who is inside the room? Dubie, who were you with inside the room?”

 

“Don’t create a scene here, please. I have offended you. Don’t go in there. Let’s go downstairs so she can leave quietly”

 

I pushed him aside and opened the door. It was Isioma inside the room wearing his singlet. I must have missed their clothes in the sitting room. She sat on the bed; she had an ‘I don’t care’ attitude. I asked her to excuse me while I went to use the toilet. I heard Dubie talking to her and they had an argument. I took my time to come out. She was not in the bedroom anymore. I came out to the sitting room and there she was. She had at least tried to be decent.

 

I sat on the couch while she gathered her things together. I brought out my tablet and sent a message to Uju on Facebook, “Come and pick me up from Dubie’s house. This is the address”

 

“What happened?” she replied immediately as she was online.

 

“I left my phone in Abeokuta and I just caught him with his ex”

 

 

“I am around Alausa. I just finished a job. I will join you soon”

 

“Send me the address, I will find my way. I don’t have a phone on me”

 

I went downstairs. Obviously, Dubie went to drop her off. I left the house. As I walked a little distance, a taxi came out of one of the streets and I joined him to Alausa to meet Uju.

 

“What happened?” she asked me.

 

“I don’t want to talk about right now. I have had a very terrible day. I would prefer to sleep and talk later. Is that ok?”

 

I reclined the chair in her car and closed my eyes to fall asleep. I was upset. I was angry. I was bitter. I fell asleep and was roused when we got to her place. She told me her husband had travelled so I could feel free. She directed me to the guest room where I laid down to sleep.

 

At about 6am in the morning, there was a knock on my door. Uju came in.

 

“Dubie is here to see you”

 

“I don’t want to see him. I want to rest”

 

“He didn’t allow me to sleep last night and he is here very early this morning. Whatever it is, both of you can talk about it”

 

“When I am fully awake, I will talk to him. I need to go to Abeokuta to pick up my phone”

 

I went back to sleep. I woke up at 8 am, took a bath and strolled out of the room. Dubie was in the sitting room. I expected he would have gone but he didn’t. I went to the kitchen to grab something as I was very hungry. Then I came to the sitting room, I sat down.

 

 

“Can we talk in private?” he asked. I led him to the guest room. “I am sorry for what happened yesterday. I wasn’t expecting you”

 

I was quiet listening to him. I didn’t want to say anything to him concerning yesterday. I needed to sleep over it. I could see clearly some things my father talked about coming to play. Imagine saying he wasn’t expecting me. So, it means he had been having sex with her when I was not around and he still insisted on marrying me. If we had gotten married, she would continue to feature in our marriage without me knowing. He didn’t even apologise and ask her to go, he drove her home. He liked her enough to be with her while being engaged to me and bring her to his house to have sex with her on the bed both of us have had sex. I wondered how long this had been going on. Did it start when I stopped having sex with him or was it something they had been doing ever since? I had questions that needed answers but at the same time, I didn’t feel like talking about it.

 

“Talk to me”

 

“I have heard your explanation and it is ok by me”

 

“Then come home with me?”

 

“To do what? To have sex on the same bed you had sex with her? Or what exactly do you want to me to go back with you for?”

 

“You are making this difficult. I apologise. I made a mistake and I promise it won’t happen again. Please come with me let’s talk about it”

 

“Let’s talk about it here. How long has this been going on?”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“The affair”

 

“What affair? Akwaugo I am a man who is used to having sex. Sometimes, the need arises and I just want to quench it. It is who is available and willing I do it with. Why you are making it sound like I committed a grievous offence? I have

 

 

confessed to you that it happened because we no longer have sex. If we were, you know I would have met you were ever you were”

 

“I should have had sex with the man trying to get me a job. He was offered me my housemanship in LASUTH in exchange for sex. But because I am a Christian and I was committed to spending the rest of my life with you, I ran away forgetting my phone there. God made that happen so I could know what you had been up to. Thank you for confessing it”

 

“I made a mistake; it will not happen again”

 

“She said I couldn’t handle you and I am beginning to believe so. She knows how to handle you better. I feel you should be with her instead of me. At least she is not interested in avoiding fornication until after marriage like me. I have set you free”

 

“You are taking things too far”

 

“How? Tell me how?”

 

“I have apologized. Come home with me let’s talk about it. I made a mistake and I acknowledge I did”

 

“I am not. I am leaving for Abeokuta now with Uju. I need to get my phone back so I can travel back. Please excuse me” I left him in the room and went to in search of Uju.

 

She joined me outside. Dubie was waiting for us there. I wanted to join Uju in her car but Dubie asked us to join him; he will drive down to recover the phone. We didn’t talk at all. Uju tried to make small talk but it was obvious I wasn’t interested in the conversation. We got to the man’s office in Abeokuta. I went in with Uju and Dubie.

 

“Good morning sir. I am Akwaugo’s fiancé and she told me what transpired in your office with her yesterday. Can I have her phone she left here?” Dubie asked him.

 

 

The man was sweating even though his office was very chilled. He pulled out his drawer and brought out the phone. Dubie collected it and handed it over to me. He turned back to the man and said,

 

“I know your office now. If she doesn’t get the job with LASUTH after your attempt on her, I am going to make sure you regret ever meeting her or me in your life”

 

“I have submitted her name. It will definitely come out. It is not what she thought. I didn’t know she was engaged to be married. I made a mistake”

 

“See, if she is not taken in LASUTH, that is when you will know whom you are dealing with. You will look for your wife and children. Then you will look for your parents. Next will be your siblings before I come for you”

 

“They will contact her, I promise you”

 

“Good”

 

We left the man’s office excited at the harassment he received. Dubie took us to where we ate Ofada rice and the sauce. It was by the roadside but was well worth it. We took away too. He brought us back to Lagos to Uju’s house. I had intended on staying with Uju and she had agreed. Going to Dubie was because I didn’t have Uju’s address and Magodo was closer than the Island.

 

“Come home with me let’s resolve this issue” Dubie tried to convince me but I wasn’t ready to. I told him I wouldn’t go with him. He stayed until very late before he left for home.

 

“What really happened?” Uju finally asked me. I shared with her what happened. “You mean you met a girl in the room and you went to ease yourself and gave him time to get her out? She was even giving attitude. You did not rush her? You didn’t ask her to leave? Dubie went to drop her off? Imagine the nonsense. The guy was doing like a reasonable person but he is still a man; men are all the same. What do you want to do now? I hope you do not intend to call off because of what happened?”

 

“I need space to think”

 

“He is trying to make it up to you. His apology was weak, I know, but that’s men for you. He is ashamed of what he did. He doesn’t know how to appeal to you for forgiveness because of the shame. He goofed. That’s men for you”

 

“Emeka never cheated on me. Before we got married, he didn’t have sex and I never caught him being inappropriate with anyone. In Spain, he may have been but it wasn’t to my knowledge and we did stuff after the marriage that made me realise he didn’t have an alternative”

 

“Stop comparing them. Emeka couldn’t stand up boldly to defend you in the presence of your accusers. Dubie would have and even sent them out of his house. See the way he handled that man. He will go back to the man and deal with him if you do not get the job. Consider forgiving him. You can do shakara but forgive him”

 

I listened to Uju and decided not to make a fuss about it anymore. I prayed concerning the issues and also prayed concerning my marriage to Dubie. I was beginning to have mixed feeling about it. I did not relent in my prayers and involved my mother in the prayers for the will of God to be done.

 

I got a call that my application for housemanship for LASUTH had been approved. I was very excited and happy. I packed my bag to relocate to Lagos. LASUTH gave me accommodation around the school which got me very excited. It was now my life was beginning and I couldn’t wait to make the best out of it.

 

Dubie wanted me to move in with him but I declined. He became a ‘monitoring spirit’. He would appear in the school and call me to know where I was. He would come with food or snacks. When he came to my apartment, he came with provisions. He brought cooked food for me every weekend. I was pampered and appreciated him. Gradually, I forgave him and we moved on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AKWAUGO