[STORY] MONEY OVER LOVE (Episode 15)

Episode 15.

What do you mean Mr Mike? I should give myself to you before you help me treat my husband who had an accident whiles driving your own van?” “Hey! Madam don’t go there. The company compensated your husband as our working conditions stated so don’t try to say we have ignored him. I’ve given you the only option available. Take it or leave it”, Mr Mike sounded a bit angry. “I’m highly disappointed in you”, Vero said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

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Madam there is no need crying or being disappointed in me. You allowing me access to what is under your dress will not take anything away from you. If you keep your mouth shut on what will go on now, no one will know about it. You’ve got a fresh skin so stop living your holy life here and let’s get going.

I will be in my room, when you are ready, just open the door and enter”, he said as he took the cheque from the table and went into his bedroom. The decision became very tough for Vero this time around. Letting a cheque of Ghc50,000.00 go simply because she held strongly to her moral intelligence and seeing her beloved husband die due to poverty seemed challenging to let it happen. Vero sat down with tears flowing like a stream of water.
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Back in the house, I was contemplating of what kind of meeting will be going on which kept Vero out of home for so long. It didn’t look normal because, even on days they needed to close the company’s end of year account, they did it within working hours. I called her number which went through but she didn’t pick up. I called one of her colleagues to find out, if truly, a meeting was going on. The lady I contacted said she was on leave but assured me she will enquire about it and report back to me.

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In a few minutes, she called back and said there was no such meeting. I wondered why should my wife would lie to me. “She will come and meet me today”, I said to her colleague over the phone as if I had the strength to do something. She pleaded with me to take it easy with her when she comes back.

Vero went deep into herself and said “God, please tell me what to do. My husband needs money to come back into his normalcy. I love him and don’t want him dead now. Please forgive me if I commit this sin to save a life”. Looking at the time, she realised she has exhaused most of her time so she needed to take a decision and move on. What Vero was trying to do was just similar to what Jesus Christ came to do for us. Because of the love he had for us, he sacrificed his life for us to have life, he took the position of a sinner just to make us righteous, he was tortured just to make us free. Vero had to make a choice this dying moment.

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She walked with calculated steps and face filled with tears into Mr Mike’s bedroom. “Here I am. Use me for anything so that I can save my husband’s life”, she said to Mr Mike who was already in his boxers lying on his bed. “Young lady, why are you doing things as if I want to kill you? How can we enjoy ourselves when you are crying? Please if you are not ready, am not forcing you, just leave”, Mr Mike said sounding very authoritative.

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Vero unfastened the button of her dress, took it off leaving her bra and trousers. “Wow! You have beautiful breasts, let me help you open the bra”. Mr Mike stood up with his elongated stick. He gave Vero a hug and unlocked her bra. Vero was actually not having any feeling for all that he was doing. Mr Mike removed her trousers and pushed her to the bed. Vero was almost naked. She was only left in her under wear. Mr Mike started massaging her in order to get her activated.

Gradually, Vero was coming into the game. She asked Mr Mike if he had condoms, but Mike ignored that question. God in his knowledge does things just to help us from such situations. It was true that Mr Mike was a carrier of HIV/AIDS. He was on anti retroviral drugs. Due to this, he stopped having sex with his wife from the day he was tested positive. Luckily for his wife, she was negative. Mr Mike had this infection out of the promiscuous life he was living but to his continuous medication, he still looked very active.

That is one benefit of HIV drugs. They are able to sustain your CD4 count with the help of good diet, rest and an enabling environment. Vero attended a workshop where they were taught of some of these drugs people take. Among them are Lamivudine and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate tablets. Mr Mike had his Lamivudine on a stool beside the bed. Vero’s gaze landed on this medicine and asked Mr Mike to give her a few seconds. She went straight to take the tablet and examined it.

Mr Mike: But what are you doing with that medicine? Or do you also need some?

Vero: Who does this medicine belong to?

Mr Mike: My friend stop asking questions and let’s enjoy ourselves. Your sick guy should be waiting for you.
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Vero: Are you HIV positive?

Mr Mike: But how can you ask me such a question? How can you come to my house and be asking me if I’m HIV positive?

Vero: This medicine is given to such people. Mr Mike don’t hide this from me. You are HIV positive.

Mr Mike: eerm my dear I can explain.

Vero: explain what?

Mr Mike: please it is only my wife and my doctor who knows about my condition. Yes I am HIV positive but mine is not transferrable.
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Vero: you are very wicked Mr Mike. You knew you were in this condition and yet still you wanted to sleep with me. God will punish you. The whole world will hear about this.

Mr Mike: what did you just say?

Vero: Yes the whole world will know what you are doing. I wonder the number of ladies you’ve shared the virus to. From that lady, she will give it her husband or other people, and from those people, it will spread and cover the whole community. I will call for your arrest.

Mr Mike: Vero please don’t do such a thing. I will be disgraced. Please keep this secret between just the two of us. Okay, let me sign the cheque for you. I will also promote you at work so that you keep this as a secret.
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Vero: hmm you are very funny. You giving me HIV which will be for the life time and eventually leading me to early grave is better than the disgrace you will go through isn’t it? Add Ghc10.000.00 to the amount I wrote on the cheque and sign it for me. I will keep it as a secret.

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Mr Mike quickly took his cheque booklet and signed a new cheque of Ghc60,000.00 for her. Vero dressed up and left the room. The only thing I was not sure of is if they kissed. Kissing was also seen as a risk behaviour to getting the infection from an infected person but it is not a hundred percent must that you kissing an infected person should guarantee you to get the disease. We men at times don’t have patience for our wives. As I said earlier, we won’t wait for them to explain themselves to us before we start rattling.

She got to the house around 8pm. By then, Junior was asleep but I was still awake waiting for her. I was just wondering how I would skin her alive when she came.
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Me: How was the meeting?
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Vero: oh sweetheart it went well.

Me: oh what is that on your face? Come closer let me remove it for you.

Immediately she got closer I slapped her very hard to the extent than I felt a severe pain at my back.

Me: how dare you lie to me? Where are you coming from?

She remained silent and held her jaw. “I said where are you coming from? I called your colleague and I was told no meeting has been called. So where are you coming from?” I asked again. She poured out a lot of blood as she opened her mouth. The slap made her to bite her tongue and lips. Her face got swollen. Little did I know my anger was about to complicate issues. She dropped her bag and with pain, a bleeding mouth and tears, went into the washroom to clean the blood.

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She left the bag behind so I managed to pick it and something pushed me to check inside. Lo and behold, I saw the cheque of Ghc60,000.00 which was dated for the next day. I checked the name used to sign it and it was her boss. Vero came back into the room in tears and said, “I nearly killed myself because of you. I nearly sent myself into hell because of you. I nearly destroyed my family because of you. You couldn’t have little patience for me so that I tell you where I was coming from. All you did was to shout at me and slap me. You’ve caused me pain”. I was really touched by what she said. “Dear I’m very sorry. I know I’ve gone too far. Please I promise this will never happen again”, I pleaded. She didn’t say anything. She then narrated how she went to her boss to ask for money which she could use to treat me. She said she has planned sending me overseas for the surgery. I thanked her and also apologized for what I did.

She was not able to go to work the following day because her swollen face. She needed to cover her face even before taking her small boy to school. She seeked permission from her boss and she was given three days off.
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Three days later, she went to cash out the money only for her to be told that, her boss recently transferred all he had in that account into another account so there was nothing to be given to her. They rejected the cheque. She went to her boss at his office and threatened to report her to the police station before he signed a different cheque for her.

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So had it not being because of the secret, he would’ve just slept with my wife for free because, same would have happened if she tries to cash the cheque. She came back to the house with the money and she took me back to the hospital where they first attended to me. They said they will transfer him to Cuba where the surgery could be done. They gave me some treatment and said they will prepare the papers and let me go in two weeks.

On Sunday within the week, Vero went to church and her pastor told her that her husband’s condition can only be corrected through prayers. She came home with her pastor and some other members. They came to pray for me. After the prayer, the pastor said in few days, we will see miracles. With faith, we shouted a big Amen. The date for my transfer was due so I reported to the hospital so that the procedure could continue.

The doctor said they needed to take an x-ray scan to attach to the documents that will be added to my referral letter. Miraculously, the doctor examined the result and said there will be the need for another one. They did it for three consecutive times and said the bones has been positioned where it was supposed to be so there will be no need for me going to Cuba. This is the kind of God we serve. He works in miracles and indeed with Christ in you, there will be hope of glory. I was to remain on admission for some days so that they correct everything. Few days after I was discharged from the hospital, we heard the news that Precious was pregnant for one of her lecturers on campus.

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This shouldn’t be a surprise because a behaviour once formed is difficult to change. Her father called for the abortion of the pregnancy so that she could marry the man he planned for her. Precious equally agreed with her father and abortion was done successfully at the hospital. They arranged the actual marriage for her and the rich man. Their kind of wedding was very memorial.

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My father in-law was very happy that day. He wore an expensive cloth to portray his joy for his daughter. The number of cars that were present was uncountable. Despite I was not very fit, I was able to impress Vero a bit and she was okay with it. The money she got was from Mr Mike was given to me to start up a business. Vero is actually the love of my life.

Will Vero always be there for Makafui? How will life be for Precious and her husband?
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To be continued…