[STORY] THE UNFAITHFUL WIFE (Episode 09)

Episode 09.

He came after me but I ignored him. I got into my car and ordered John to drive away. He complied immediately. But, I did not have any place in mind to go to so I got him to drive around till I finally decided to head for the beach.

It was a sunny day, an ideal time to splash in the greenish blue ocean so I was not surprise to find, when I got there, quite a number of people swimming. My driver parked the car by the street. I got down and strolled along the path to the beach. When I got there, I found myself a suitable place to sit. I tried to relax my body, inhaling and exhaling deeply.The sight of the sea helped me a lot to relax. Very far off of to my left, fishermen were mending their nets. It was quite a distance away and no swimming was taking place there. In front of me was where the fun was taking place in the sea.Soon, I caught sight of a family; father, mother and obviously, their two children, having fun in the sea. Immediately my family came to mind. I remembered the good old days when I would bring my wife and children to the beach to have fun. Peter loved to swim. It was always difficult getting him out of the water when it was time to leave. All those happy days were now only a faint memory to me. Sitting on the shore and staring out at sea, for the first time, I began to wonder what made my wife commit adultery. Was it that I was not satisfying her in bed or that she was simply seduced by my friend’s wealth? Talking about wealth, I was well to do by all standards and was able to provide far more beyond what she needed. So, it did not make sense that she would fall for my friend’s wealth. I decided it was not healthy for me to be thinking of what my wife did so I shifted my attention back to the family playing in the sea. They had the fun of their lives, splashing in the water until the sun began to set. Gradually, people began to file out of the sea. The family I had spent my time watching also waded out of the water and made their way to the Chevrolet they had come to the beach in. They got in and a few minutes later, they were gone. Others too were leaving the beach. I watched them all leave. A couple, who had spent time romancing in the sea, also left, hand in hand. Finally, I was the only one left at the beach. It then dawned on me that just as I was the only one left on the beach, so was I the only one left in my family.

My heart was heavy. I felt very sad. My thoughts went to my children. I wondered where they were and what they were doing. With a heavy heart, finally, I decided it was time to go so I made my way back to my car, got in and got the driver to head home. We arrived home shortly after 7:10pm. Efe was waiting in the living room. Obviously, my driver, John, had already phoned to tell her the outcome of the court case. Her eyes were very heavy, a sure sign she had been crying. “Sir, welcome” she said as she let me into the living room. Then she burst out in tears. I held her, pulled her close and comforted her. She and my driver were the only one I could now call family. I called John into the living room and addressed him and Efe.

“You know the outcome of the court case. But this is not going to be the end. I am going to appeal against the ruling of the court. My lawyers are obviously not interested in an appeal so I have sacked them. I would employ the services of a new lawyer tomorrow and then launch an appeal against the court’s decision. Rest assured that Peter and Pamela are my biological children and I will get them back” I said. Even John seemed affected by the whole saga. He was a lucky-go-happy person but suddenly, he seemed to have lost his verve and dash. As for Efe, she broke into fresh tears when I began to talk. When I finished talking, she said she has something to say. “Sir, I am aware I will incur your displeasure after you hear what I am going to say. However, I will take the risk and say it. Sir, please forgive madam and take her back. I know what she has done is very bad. But, for the sake and unity of this family, I am pleading with you to forgive her and take back” she said. I stared at Efe in silence. I could feel her pain. She was totally broken because the family she had come to regard as her family had disintegrated. And, it was clear she would do anything to get the family back.

Women often have a much more forgiving spirit than men. (Ironically, they also have the penchant for vengeance than men). As I sat starring at the house-help, I wished I had the strength she had to forgive my wife. But, I just couldn’t. Thoughts of someone else making love to her was just too much for me. And worse was the fact that she had the guts to say I was not the biological father of my children was something I could not forgive. For a woman to say her husband is not the biological father of her children is for the woman to admit that she has been cheating on her husband for ages.

But, I had no doubt that Peter and Pamela were my children and I was prepared to fight to death to have them back. As far as I was concerned, no authority, no law, no judge, no court and no human born of a woman was going to stand in-between me and my children. “Efe, you wouldn’t understand what is happening until you are in my shoe. Just start getting used to the idea that your madam is no more my wife. However, as for Peter and Pamela they will be back to this house. They are my children” I said. John for the first time spoke up. “Sir, I know and understand how you feel. I support you totally in the path you have taken. It is one thing for a woman to cheat on her husband and another thing for the woman to say her husband is not the biological father of their children. As a man, I can’t forgive my wife for cheating on me let alone forgive her for daring to say the children I have had with her are not my biological children. Madam Nora did not try at all!” the driver said. It was the first time I had even heard him speak with such conviction. I thanked him for his support.

Efe, I could see, had resigned herself to the idea that Nora would no longer be my wife. After the talk with the two, I went to have my super of kenkey and fish with slice tomatoes and onions. I was very hungry in spite of the setback I had suffered at the court that day. So as not to feel lonely, I invited John and Efe to join me at table. They were understandably reluctant at first but later, understood why I needed them at table; they were the only ones I could call family. Without them, I would feel lonely sitting at table alone. John had been driving me for nine years while Efe had been with us as house-help for seven years. She was 27 while he was 35. Now, they were the only ones I could call family. After supper, I retired to my room, had my bath after which I went to bed. By 8:45pm, I was sound asleep.

I woke up at 3:35am and sat up in bed to think over all that had been happening to me; my wife, her infidelity, er claim about my not being the biological father of my children, the court verdict and my lawyers’ stance. Suddenly, I began to wish that all that was happening was just a bad dream. I wished I would wake up to find that I never caught my wife in bed with my best friend and that my wife never dragged me to court saying I was not the biological father of my children. I wished I would wake up to find my wife up and about in the house, as usual, getting breakfast ready for me to go to work and the children to school. Maybe I was going to wake up from the dream to the usual morning scene of my children being chased around so they could have their bath and prepare for school. Then they will appear at table later on all dressed up for school and looking excited. After breakfast, I would get them into my car and drive them out of the house with their mother waving and smiling affectionately at all of us. I snapped out of my fantasy. What I was dreaming of was a mirage. My wife was gone. The unity of my family had been shattered and there was nothing I could do about it save fight for the return of my children. I got up from bed, went to my gym which I had not visited for days and spent about twenty minutes exercising. Later, I had my bath, had my breakfast and then had my driver take me to town. We found ourselves at Glo Estate. It was a well-planned upper class area of residencies and offices. Some of the crème de la crème of the society had their homes or offices here. At Number 6, Lollipop Avenue, we stopped. I got out and walked to the gate while John stayed put in the car.

I rang the bell and was startled when a voice asked me who I was and who I was looking for.

“I am Dr. Ofori-Mensah and I am looking for Mr. Oscar Brew. I want him to handle a case for me” I said. A few seconds later, the voice, through the phone at the gate, asked me to open the gate and enter.

I pushed the small gate backwards. It opened. I stepped into a beautiful yard of very green grass and flowers of all hues. I walked up to the front-door. I turned the handle. It opened. I stepped in and found myself in a corridor. “This way, sir,” a lady who suddenly appeared from nowhere told me. I followed her up the stairs to another room. She offered me a seat while she stood waiting. After about three minutes, she pointed to a door and asked me to open and enter. I did. “Welcome Dr. Ofori-Mensah. Are you the Dr. Ofori-Mensah of Mother & Child Hospital at South Ridge?” he asked me. “I am, sir” I replied. He had obviously run a check on me. I took a seat.

“Welcome, sir. I am Oscar Brew. My friends call me OB. How may I help you?” he asked. I thanked him and within five minutes, narrated to him everything that had happened concerning my wife, ending with my decision to change lawyers.

He did not stir or show any emotion as he listened to me. His eyes bore into me as if he was trying to determine whether I was lying or telling the truth as I talked.

Oscar Brew was one of the city’s top attorneys. He was noted to be expensive but delivers to the satisfaction of his customers. He was also noted to have handled very high profile cases and gotten quite a number of suspected murderers off the hook.

A tall slim looking man, he was in his mid-sixties and greying. Everything about him indicated he was well to do. “Your entire cost is $50,000. You will make a deposit of $35,000. As soon as you do that, I will take over the case” he said, neither smiling nor frowning. I had come prepared. For my children, I would go any length. I took out my cheque and wrote an amount of $35,000 for him. He stared at the cheque for a while after collecting it. Then he said we were in business. He called in the woman who had brought me in and asked her to take me to see another person. A few minutes later, I was seated in front of a fat looking man. He looked like a man who was perpetually happy. An identification tag on his table identified him as Kwabena T. Torto. He was the junior partner in the law firm. He made me write down all that had transpired, from the day I caught my wife in bed with my best friend to the day the court declared I was not the biological father of my children.

“Okay. Thank you. Tomorrow, you will meet me at Accra General Hospital. You will be undergoing tests to determine if you can father a child or not” he said. I stared at him “I must undergo a test to determine whether I can father a child?” I asked him.

“Yes. The first thing we need to prove in court is that you a capable of fathering a child. And, it is not about belief; it is about evidence” he replied, not at all bothered by the fact that I was surprise at what he had said.

Painful though it was, I reasoned that what he was saying made sense. If I prove to the court that I was capable of fathering a child, my appeal will make sense. Why would a woman claim her husband is not the biological father of their children when that father is very fertile and able to father children? But, for me, that may not end the issue in my favour. So, I questioned the lawyer further.

“But if the test proves that I could father a child, how can it disprove the DNA result that I was not the father of my children?” I asked him. He smiled at me and asked me to leave that aspect to his senior partner. He seemed to be very confident that we will win the case with ease.

I left the law chambers satisfied that I had come to the right place. I could sense victory ahead; I was going to have my children back! The next morning, I was at the Accra General Hospital before 9am. Kwabena T. Torto arrived a few minutes after. Together, we met the doctor on duty, Harry Adu, who conducted the test on me. He then asked me to come for the results in the evening. Mr. Torto and I subsequently left the hospital to return in the evening.

I went back home to sleep but, I could not. I could not watch TV, read or even phone somebody to chat with either. I was restless. I wanted the case over and done with. As for the test I had no doubt that I was fertile and able to father a baby.

At 2:00pm, Efe came to tell me I had a visitor. When I asked who it was, she said it was my lawyer. I went to the living room expecting to see Mr. Torto only to find that it was, Carl Lomotey, my lawyer whom I had discarded after he expressed doubt that I was the biological father of my children, Peter and Pamela.

He smiled at me when he saw me. I did not return the smile. Rather, I told him to leave immediately. I said it quietly but the threat in my voice made him recoil. Quickly, he backed out of the house, got into his car which he had parked outside the gates and drove away. I sighed in relief.

By 5:30pm, I was back at the hospital and found to my surprise that Kwabena T. Torto was already there. I nearly screamed out more in fright than anger when the doctor came out to give us the result of the test; it said I was not fertile enough to father a child.

“How? How? Why? I mean what…why… how can I not father a child?…how am I not fertile…?” I asked. The doctor sympathized with me but said that was what the result of the test showed. I was totally devastated. I sunk to my knees in shock. The doctor and KwabenaTorto had to support me back to the car. At the entrance of the hospital before we will get to the car park, we bumped into Kweku, my estranged wife’s brother. He stared at me in surprise and came to us.

“What is it? I hope everything is alright” he said. The sight of him gave me strength.

“Do not come close to me!! Get out of my sight!!!” I screamed at him. He backed away, terrified by my anger. But for Torto and the doctor, I am sure I would have slapped Nana Kweku. He left us quickly, entering the hospital. I decided to walk the rest of the way to my car without any assistance.

John had the engine of the car running by the time I got to it. Once I was seated, he drove away without a word. I asked him to pass through the Pink Lady restaurant where I bought food for three. But he did not see me buy a full bottle of German-made Vodka.

When we got home, I went in-doors and began to drink. The revelation that I was sterile and could not father a baby was too much for me. The result, indeed confirmed the DNA test that I was not the biological father of Peter and Pamela. Within twenty minutes, I had consumed a quarter of drink and was already drunk. As I drank, I wept. I could see my world coming to crush down. Now, it was clear, at least for all the tests that had been conducted, that I was not the biological father of my children. I began to contemplate suicide.…

To be continued…

Subscribe To ANE Talk Trends On Youtube

Subscribe To All Naija Entertainment On Youtube