THE. LECTURER THE. LECTURER

Hi guys, my name is John. A young Cameroonian and a university lecturer.

I have a story to tell and i really would want you guys to learn something from it. Life is all about lessons and i wish to use my life story to send some messages across.

This is my story >>

Most African university graduates do dream of becoming a lecturer. We all know about the bright future of lecturers, the respect they controlled and the wealth that followed them.

Yea being a lecturer gives one the opportunity to get to the very top if hes serious about it.

As a lecturer you have a clear path towards becoming a professor and its now left for you to work towards making it happen.

I was opportune to travel to Canada for my masters degree, in 2006. I returned to Cameroon two years later and quickly married a family friends daughter whose father was equally the Dean of Education faculty in the university that employed me two months after my wedding. I had my life well planned out. I already knew what to do and what not to do in achieving my goals.

My parents were equally supportive and moderately wealthy. They supported me in everything.

Being the last child in the family of two girls, i was overly pampered by my parents and siblings, even after my marriage to Jessica who equally was a nurse in the state General hospital.

I soon started work as a lecturer with a strong spirit towards correcting all the wrongs in the university system. I swore to stand straight in my dealings with students. I swore never to compromise my dignity and be a good man respected by everyone but unfortunately it was easier said than done. Being a lecturer opened my eyes to the realities on ground. Politics and corruption was already well embedded in the university system that you either join in the show or look the other way. I was young and ambitious. The options before me was simply unimaginable.

Hmmmm, well at first i was forced to look the other way and face my classroom work, which i did with great zeal . I handled Bio 101, 102, 201, 202, 301, 354 & 402. It really wasn easy for me at all and to worsen my situation some of the senior lecturers i shared the courses with, left everything for me to handle alone and the number of students offering the courses were quite enormous.

But that wasn even the major problem. As soon as the first exam i was to participate as a lecturer arrived, more temptations poured in..

The first temptation was from final year student known as comfort. She was the first to tempt me.

I was resting in my sitting room after a very stressful exam day when my phone rang with its loud ringtone.

I lazily stared at the unknown number calling for some seconds before answering.

"good evening sir" a female voice greeted. I instantly knew the voice belonged to one of my students which made me clear my throat and answer with a gruff voice.

"yea who are you?" i asked seriously.

"hello sir, my name is comfort. Im one of your students. Please i wish to speak to you. Its very urgent. Actually im in front of your house" she announced, sending me up on my feet with shock.

I was extremely surprised to learn that the girl was in front of my house because I never made the mistake of giving my house address to any of my students.

"you mean you are in front of my house?" i asked to be sure.

"emmm not entirely in front of your house, but inside a shop very close to your house" she answered without fear.

"what do you want?" i asked.

"your help sir" she replied.

"fine wait there. Im coming out" i replied, hung up and left my sitting room to see what the bold girl wanted. The few months i spent so far in the job had taught me that male students are more scared of lecturers than female students. I couldn imagine what the girl wanted from me.

I slowly crossed over to the small shop opposite my house where a very light skinned beauty smiled at me. She was really beautiful and sharply dressed i must confess.

"so what do you want?" i asked seriously, throwing out a frown like a stern lecturer.

"sir you know im in final year?" she asked calmly, drawing more anger from me with the question.

"i can really recognize your face, what do you want?" i asked again.

"i missed Bio 301 exam today and i can just spend an extra year over it. You got to help me please" she said boldly, throwing me into another wave of shock.

"what do you mean i got to help you ehh" i asked with a raised tone. She quickly tried to kneel before me but i stopped her right on time.

"just help me, even if its with an "E" i don mind doing anything for it" she begged.

"but how come a big girl like you missed such an important Exam?" i asked suspiciously. I already knew how most of the girls travelled around even during exam period.

"i thought the exam was to hold by 12noon as was written on the time table only to discover that it held by 9am" she answered quietly, while i breathed deeply.

"you will hear from me tomorrow, just go back to your lodge and don try the nonsense of coming to my house again" i said to her seriously.

I really spent most of that fateful night thinking of what to do. A part of me wanted to help her, since i still had the answer scripts in my office and equally was the only lecturer handling the course after Dr George travelled to India two months ago, but another part of me frowned over helping her.

I really was caught between doing the right thing or taking the wrong step. It could equally be a set up, which i wasn blind about. I just couldn reach any decision that fateful night.

__

As soon as i got to my office early the next day. The young lady walked into my office with a calm smile on her face. I frowned on seeing her which she noticed and drew closer to me without fear.

"please sir you got to help me. Im 28yrs old, i can afford staying an extra year. Im already way behind in everything" she begged.

"so what do you want me to do eeh?. Supposing you participated in the exam but wrote nothing it could have been a different issue. But you missed the exam. Your record isn anywhere" i answered.

"i can get an answer booklet, and write the exam anywhere you want. All i need is for you to accept it when im done" she said boldly, giving me the impression that she has done such a thing before.

"so whats in it for me, why should i risk my career for you?" i asked curiously. She smiled.

"sir do you have a guest room in town?" she softly asked, slapping my ears with the unexpected question

"as in a good place to write the exam without any disturbance" she added without fear, while i drew back with shock.

It was very obvious she had no respect for my personality, probably because i was a young guy or because she has dealt with men much more older than me.

"no i don have a guest room anywhere in town" i answered with a strong tone, forcing her to draw back with surprise.

Slowly the meaning of her question dawned on me. I instantly realised the direction she was heading.

I just felt embarrassed before her. I simply felt like a guy who mistakenly saw the pant of a careless lady in public. I looked down, avoiding her eyes.

"The only way i can help you is to allow you write the exam here in my office. And you will have only thirty minutes to write and submit the paper. Thats the only way i can help" i suddenly offered with a free mind, expecting her to at least say thank you for such a generous offer. But instead she keep quiet, forcing me to look up and stare at her with astonishment.

"sir the second problem is that im not the only person affected. My girlfriend also missed the exam" she murmured cautiously.

"get out" i sparked angrily.

"leave my office right now" i barked, but instead of leaving, she went to the door and ushered in another hot looking girl into my office. I stood up, shaking with anger.

They drew close to my table and knelt before me, shading crocodile tears.

"we are ready to do anything, just name it sir. Please we beg you, don let us repeat another year in this school" they begged, leaving me speechless and confused.

Of course I now knew the direction they were heading. They all wanted a straight pass without writing the exam. Even if i was to give them the opportunity to write the exam in my office. They obviously was going to write nothing. They simply wanted a back door pass even though they weren exactly saying it out.

As a young man, silly ideas slowly built in my mind. It was as if the devil just jumped inside me that very moment, turning my head to an another direction…

☆☆☆

"you girls should stand up" i breathed calmly. They all obeyed and stared at me hopefully.

"write down your phone numbers on this paper, i will call when i make up my mind" i added, pushing a booklet towards them. They smiled happily, wrote down their phone numbers and left while i sat down and thought over what i was about doing.

I weighed the risks and consequences of sleeping with them. It definitely would turn me into a cheat and something like that never easily stops once it starts. And if things go wrong, i could lose my job. I could lose my wife, my dignity and respect. I could lose everything i had struggled to build. But surprisingly, the more i thought about it, the more i had the urge to sleep with the girls.

I really never had the opportunity to enjoy girls as i wanted during my university days because i was very much preoccupied in making a 1st class which i finally earned to the detriment of my social life. I never had real fun in school and it just looked that moment as if i was being offered all i missed as a student.

______

I never concentrated in the exams i supervised that day, and on getting home later in the afternoon, i freshened up and thought about everything for the last time. I finally made up my mind to do it.

"this will be the first and last" i assured myself, picked up my phone and called a friend who managed a very popular hotel at the outskirt of the town.

"get a room ready for me, im bringing some students over. Ill explain when i get there" i said and hung up, giving him no time to say anything. I equally dialled Comforts number, gave her the hotel address and asked her to meet me there with her friend by 4pm.

I freshened up one more time, grabbed my keys and hurried out of my apartment, but as i got to the car park, i saw my wife driving in with a happy smile on her face. I really wasn expecting her to be back from work by that hour because she always arrived home very late in the evening, and so i wasn prepared to face her nor had any solid lie at hand.

Right from the moment i started my teaching job in the university, she hardly gave me any breathing chance. Of course she was a professors daughter and must have learnt some things from her parents.

I smiled nervously as i watched her alight from the car. She drew close and hugged me.

"where are you going?" she asked with concern but my guilty conscience interpreted her concern as suspicion.

Hmmm one other thing about guilt is that it always tells on you.

"darling im heading back to the school for a staff meeting" i answered, nervously kissing my wife.

"staff meeting? haaa" she breathed and looked at her watch.

"yea its just an emergency department meeting. Ill be back in no time" i answered, kissed her again and headed into my car.

____

Fifteen minutes later, i was at the hotel, very scared, nervous and shaky. I couldn believe i was actually there to cheat on my wife.

I breathed deeply, took another look at the packet of condom i bought on the way, rubbed my face with my palms, alighted from the car with an office file {In which i hid some exam papers} and headed into the massive hotel, my heart furiously pounding.

_______

"my guy i hope you know what you are about doing?. Hmmm im against married men like you cheating on their wives. Thats why im yet to marry. I have to enjoy women i can get before finally settling down" Henry joked as we shared a drink while waiting for the girls to show up.

Henry and I weren exactly close friends but were simply like friends who remembered each other when in need of help. We attended the same college and university but i was lucky to further my education while he stayed back to manage his brothers hotel.

"yea you are right but i had to rush into marriage out of necessity. What im about doing won change the strong love i have for my wife. You just need to see the girls im talking about. D--n they are super hot and sexy. All you can think of when staring at them is just sex" i poured out with passion while my friend laughed.

"holy me!, I can wait to see them" he breathed.

"just wait and see for yourself" i replied with a smile.

Few minutes later, I got a call from Comfort.

"i have arrived at the hotel sir" she informed me. I instantly told her where to meet me.

___

Henrys eyes enlarged as he saw Comfort walk towards us minutes after the call.

Comfort really was a beauty to behold. She wore a green top which revealed a fraction of her breasts and a tight fitting trouser which showed off her great waist.

"d--n this chick is going to blow your whistle pretty hard mehn" Henry gasped. I smiled and acted cool.

"good evening sir" she greeted on getting to our table, sat beside me and smiled.

"how about your friend?" i asked curiously.

"i left her behind sir. I think its safer without her" she answered, winking at me.

"so which drink will you take?" I asked calmly,

"nothing sir. Im ok" she answered.

"seriously?" i pushed on.

"yea" she nodded. I shrugged with resignation and winked at Henry who quickly stood up.

"OK then, lets go and wrap things up" i smiled, stood up and offered her my hand like a gentleman. She grabbed it and stood up while Henry dutifully led us to the room he kept for us. .

"do have a wonderful time" Henry said with a smile on getting to the room, gave me the keys and calmly left us.

I was finally all alone with Comfort inside a hotel room, nervous as ever and about to commit the greatest mistake of my life.

"so how do we go about your friends paper. Will you also write for her?" i suddenly asked, fetching out the exam answer papers from the file i held.

"write what?, i don understand sir" Comfort asked with astonishment.

"we are here for the exam you missed, are we not?" i asked nervously.

"of we are but you can expect me to write the exam here. Can you just award marks to us. Did you pay for a hotel room just for me to write an exam i missed?" she protested, while i dropped the papers with embarrassment.

Of course i came for sex but i just didn know how to start. She was my student for crying out loud. Yea we somehow looked like age mates but it still didn change the fact that i was about selling my dignity for a juicy kitty.

"oh sir you are just dulling me. You are behaving like an old man" she hissed boldly, stood up, took off her top and kicked out her trouser, facing me like a hot stripper. I instantly got aroused over the sight of her juicy body.

I swallowed hard, drew close and grabbed her shoulders furiously. She licked her lips and gently unbuttoned my shirt.

"now you are behaving like a man. You are really so young to be a lecturer, i must confess. How did you get to such position so fast?" she asked like a playmate. I couldn even a word. My mouth simply was glued with excitement.

Within seconds, i was totally naked before her.

She drew back, took off her undies and gently dived to the bed.

"come get me" she invited with a cosy smile.

I quickly pulled on a condom and joined her at the bed where she offered a very succulent forbidden fruit to me and i have to be honest. I really enjoyed every bit of it. However not only did she even offer me the fruit, she equally brought out the passion in her to feed me with such undescribable hungry passion.

But one funny thing about the whole affair was that immediately after the deed was over, my eyes opened and I saw that i was shamelessly naked before my student. I couldn even look her in the eye.

"i hope you are giving my friend and I an "A" on the course we just took care of?" she asked, caressing my back with her left hand. I felt totally disgusted and ashamed.

"yea i will work on it today, just dress up. We have wasted enough time here already" i coldly answered with guilt, picked up my clothes and dressed up. I couldn believe all that happened few minutes ago between Comfort and I were all real.

"seriously sir, you are behaving as if you didn enjoy me. You pounded me like a tiger all through the duration of the sex and now you are trying to spoil my mood with your obnoxious behaviour. You have to live with the fact that you cheated on your wife. You are not the first person to do it nor will you be the last. How am i supposed to feel with your behaviour. Its not as if im a w---e or something insignificant" the girl before me complained like an abused lady, sat up on the bed and sighed.

I threw one last look at her, shook my head and left the room without even bothering to say another word to her.

Of course we both were to be blamed for the sin we committed, and my behaviour towards her was very uncalled for. I truly wasn thinking straight that minute and i left her all alone as if she wasn a human being.

I slowly made my way to Henrys office, paid my bill and headed out without exchanging much words with my surprised friend who couldn understand my changed mood.

However i ran into Comfort once again at the car park. She boldly stood beside my car and coldly stared at me waiting for an apology i wasn ready to render.

I ignored her and unlocked my car while she hissed furiously.

"its alright sir. I can believe you are acting like an uneducated jerk. Don i deserve a little respect?. Anyway I know you will come back. You guys always come back" she murmured and left while i gently climbed into my car and headed home with guilt. The bold way Comfort talked to me equally created more fear in my heart. It was very clear, i was now just an ordinary guy to her.

On getting to a quiet street close to my house, I stopped my car, disposed the remaining unused condoms which i forgot disposing at the hotel, cleaned up myself one last time and finally drove home, praying for my eagle eyed wife not to notice anything bad.

____

My heart throbbed furiously as i got to the entrance door and pressed the door bell. I was so shaken up with guilt and regret. Unlike a boyfriend /girlfriend relationship, being caught cheating by your spouse is something so unforgivable and unforgettable. Your marriage can never remain the same again, no matter how much you try to fix up things. Yea you could be forgiven at the end but the sin will never be forgotten.

My wife opened the door with tears in her eyes. She had a towel tied round her body like someone coming out from the bathroom, but the tears which freely flowed from her eyes alarmed me a lot. My heart froze with fear. My guilty conscience took over my sense of reasoning.

"did she discover that i never attended any meeting?. Was i followed, or did any of her friend catch me with Comfort?" i asked myself without even bothering to ask her the reason for her tears.

"baby" i murmured with fear.

"let me be" she cried.

"baby whats wrong?" i asked again. She wiped her eyes and shook her head.

"i lost the pregnancy. I lost it again" she sobbed bitterly.

I tried holding her, but she pushed me away.

I really was a bit relieved on hearing the reason for her tears but i equally was far from happy over the terrible news she just gave me.

"this is now the second time im losing my pregnancy. What could be wrong?" she cried bitterly, melting my eyes as well. I drew close and strongly hugged her.

"no this can happen. Nooo" i breathed with pain.

My wife lost the first pregnancy few days after our wedding ceremony but we easily pushed it away, thinking that it was caused by the stress of the wedding ceremony and all the running around that followed it. But now it has happened for the second time. A pregnancy not up to two and half months.

"What could be wrong?" i wondered with fixed feeling.

"i wasn feeling very well at work today, which forced me to come back home the time i did, but i had barely settled down to rest when i noticed i was soaked with blood" she sobbed.

"common my love. You got to be strong. We still have enough time to have as many kids as we want. So stop crying. I beg of you" i pleaded passionately. She slowly broke away from me and stared into my eyes.

"you smell somehow. I don understand the scent im perceiving from you" she suddenly asked curiously. I froze with shock for some seconds before smiling and regaining my composure.

"this your big nose really works overtime. What kind of smell are you perceiving?" i covered up innocently, grabbed her a bit roughly and carried her to our bedroom while she playfully protested.

Finally as the man of the house, i played down my wifes fears concerning the lost pregnancy and made sure she left her pains behind, but nevertheless i equally was very worried because it was a bit abnormal to lose two pregnancies in a year.

I couldn go to work the next day, but instead followed her to the hospital where every required test was carried out and all the results surprisingly came out fine.

"when next she gets pregnant, don allow her to stress herself too much. Your wife is perfectly fine but i believe her body isn the strong type" her doctor calmly advised me.

We returned home hours later, prayed together and hoped for the best.

The next day i headed to my office to see about three well matured female students, who looked much more like old models than students waiting for me. I couldn help but imagine what they came for.

"i hope Comfort hasn opened her mouth?" i wondered as i walked into my office with a worried look.

After relaxing in my office for a while, i invited the girls inside and curiously stared at them.

"good morning sir" they all greeted.

"yea what can i do for you?" i asked with a serious smile.

"we came to introduce ourselves because we believe you don know us" one of them replied while i nodded in approval.

"actually we are students of this great department but we graduated last year. Unfortunately the old man you just replaced failed us in his course, forcing us to spend an extra year over it" she summarized with a pleading look.

"OK i now understand because your faces really look very unfamiliar" i said with a soft smile which lit up their faces. They all stared at me hopefully.

"please don let us spend another extra year over the course. We wrote the exam and tried our best in it, but we unfortunately missed writing the text because we never got any information about it" she murmured in form of an appeal. I breathed deeply and nodded.

"write down your names on a paper, Ill see what i can do" i offered like a good man. They all breathed deeply with excitement.

"thank you sir" they chorused while i smiled over the way they kept calling me sir. Of course two of the girls really looked a bit older than I.

They wrote down their names on the paper, dropped it on my table and left happily, but as i made to take a look at the paper, one of the girls showed up again.

"i really forgot to invite to my parents marriage anniversary which is coming up on Sunday" she said, presenting a small invitation card to me. I collected it and read curiously. The names on the card slowly hit my face like a hot slap.

"don tell me your father is a former senator?" i asked with disbelief.

"yea im his last child" she replied, while a million questions hit my head.

"what the hell is she doing, studying in Cameroon. The old man i just replaced really had some balls to fail this girl. D--n" i breathed as i weighed the girl before me.

"i hope you are coming?, some senior lecturers including the vice chancellor will be there. Take advantage of this invitation. You are a nice man sir" she smiled and left. My face instantly coloured with excitement.

Just like every young man, I was very ambitious, but i equally realised that the more ambitious i got, the more corrupt i became. The invitation really was irresistible but somehow i was very scared over my intentions and the direction i was slowly heading.

I was still battling with my mind when Comfort walked into my office with a warm smile on her face. I instantly recoiled with guilt.

"what do you want?" i asked coldly.

"relax sir" she replied, drew close and sat on an empty chair across my table…..

The d--n girl was now like a silly noisy mosquitoe i couldn kill..

"im sorry for barging into your office this early but seriously i do have a heavy load in my chest i need to offload" she said with a very light tone. I stared at her curiously, a bit eager to know what she wanted to offload.

"the way you treated me the last time we met was so totally uncalled for. You slept with me, used my body to satisfy yourself and spit at me afterwards. I have been unable to sleep after that incident. I felt so insulted and hurt. I do like you for who you are but i just don know anymore. I now feel like an abused girl" she poured out solemnly.

"you know we shouldn be having such discussion here at my office. I have lots of things to do" i said carefully, trying my best to act cool. She stood up and breathed deeply.

"so thats all you are going to tell me right?" she asked with a drawn face, forcing me to look up at her with worry.

"fine we can head to a quiet place far away from the school vicinity to talk about your problem. Come back to my office by 12pm" i said to her. She shrugged, forced out a smile and left.

I breathed deeply and fell back on my chair.

"God what do i do with this girl. How do i settle with her. Thank God shes a final year student. In a couple of months she will be out of this school and out of my conscience for good" i reasoned.

____

12 noon came faster than i expected. Comfort showed up at my office at exactly 12:05pm. I quickly closed my office for the day and took her to a small fast food joint at the other end of the town, which was far away from the school.

"seriously i really do regret and apologize the way i treated you two days ago, but you should have expected such behaviour from me. Im a married man and you can understand how badly my conscience hurt after that dastardly act. I really should have helped you and your friend without asking for sexual gratification" i tried explaining to her.

"i do understand but since it has happened, you shouldn kill yourself over it, moreover i think im in Love with you. I have to tell you the true situation of my heart even though its very unusual for an African woman to express her feelings to a man" she poured out seriously. I instantly recoiled with shock.

I couldn believe my ears, but as her words buried in me. I slowly smiled.

"of course the easiest way for a woman to get into a mans head is by professing her love to him. No she doesn love me. Perhaps shes after my money or something else. How can she genuinely fall in love with a married man like me" i reasoned softly.

"you know we shouldn be having this discussion. You are trying to get into my head. Hahahaha i know women" i laughed nervously. She calmly placed her hand on mine.

"yea i know what i said sounded quite silly and unrealistic. But seriously after the fun we had some days back. You left with a part of me" she murmured softly.

"ah Mr John! Long time, no see. What are you doing here?. Its been a while you know?" I heard a familiar voice greet me from behind. I instantly looked up to see my wifes friend smiling at us. I was shocked and speechless.

I really was so engrossed in the discussion i was having with comfort that i failed to notice the woman approach. Of course only a fool won notice the suspicious air between Comfort and I. Comfort however quickly took her hand off me, but it made no sense at all because she did it very late…

"ah Mrs Nnamdi, what a surprise, where have you been all these while?" i replied nervously, wondering what could be going through the womans mind as she stood before Comfort and I.

"seriously i have been very busy with work my dear but i will make out time to visit you guys very soon. I know your wife must be very mad at me for staying away for so long. Anyway i have to run along. See you soon" she smiled and left the restaurant, saying no single word to comfort.

I bit my lips as i watched her disappear, of course there wasn any doubt she was going to tell my wife about all she saw.

"you know you have ruined my marriage?" i said to comfort who shrugged and shook her head.

"how did i ruin your marriage?" she asked softly. I scoffed, shook my head and breathed deeply.

"how come i didn notice Nnamdis wife when i walked into this place?" i reasoned fearfully.

"my marriage is ruined. How do i explain to my wife what i was doing in a restaurant with a young lady when i was supposed to be at work?" i asked myself, sweat slowly drenching my body.

"what are you thinking sir?" i heard Comfort ask curiously.

"stop pretending as if you don know what is going on with me. The woman that just left is my wifes friend for goodness sake. Don you understand?" I cried angrily.

"finish your meal lets get out of this place" i said to her coldly.

The fire in my eyes was enough to silence Comfort who did nothing than rush up her meal without saying another word.

______

Thirty minutes later, i found myself at home, looking very guilty and scared. My wife was at the kitchen when i got into the house. She was yet to resume her hospital work due to the little health crises she had two days ago.

"my love" i breathed, drew close and kissed her neck from behind. She turned and stared at me with surprise.

"hmmm i never heard you walk in?" she said with a welcoming smile.

"the front door was open, so i simply walked in. Why did you leave the door open?. Did any of your friend visit?" i asked curiously.

"no dear, i rushed out minutes earlier to buy fresh pepper. I forgot locking the door when i got back. Im sorry" she apologized without knowing the real reason i asked the question.

"but can you believe Mrs Nnamdi called me today?. After such a long time of avoiding us. Guess what?. Shes coming on Sunday with her husband and Kid. We are having lunch with them on Sunday" she giggled with excitement while my face fell with fear. I was so scared.

I knew the silly woman was coming over to gossip with her. She was definitely coming to share her discovery with my young innocent wife. I just was so confused as a thousand and one ideas ran into my head that very moment.

A part of me wanted to confront Mrs Nnamdi and beg her not to say a word about what she saw to my wife, but doing such thing could also be an admission of guilt. Yes she had nothing strong to prove her point but i just couldn allow such information to get to my wife nor allow her harbour such speculation in her heart. However another part of me, urged me to cook up a good lie and present to my wife before her friend shows up on Sunday. I just didn know which idea to follow.

"dearest, are you alright?" my wife suddenly asked with concern.

"Im alright my love" i answered, forcing out a smile to hide my feelings. But the question still remained therein.

"should i talk to Mrs Nnamdi in a bid to stop her from opening up to my wife or should i find something to tell my wife concerning Comfort?"

what should i do??

"my mum will also be coming over from Douala

on Sunday. Shes very concerned about my health and wants to take me along when going back on Tuesday. But i told her that i will first discuss the issue with you" she added seriously while i shrugged.

"yea you can go with her. Shes your mum. Anything that will make you get me a child is acceptable" i answered with a smile, even though my mind was still on how to tackle her friend who was probably visiting on Sunday to snitch on me.

"why are you talking like this?. Its not as if im carelessly losing my pregnancy" i instantly heard her sob painfully, gaining my full attention with the appalling words that came out from her mouth.

"my love what did i say wrongly?" i asked with concern, holding her softly.

"no it doesn matter. Don mind me" she replied and quickly cleaned her wet eyes like a spoilt child.

I breathed deeply and swallowed hard.

"dearest im so sorry, maybe you misinterpreted my words or something. Im not blaming you for losing anything. Your mum wants the best for you so does everyone. Moreover Shes very experienced in child bearing issues and i have to agree that going with her will go a long way to help us. Fine if you want, Ill also pack my things and go with you" i added a bit seriously. She smiled and hugged me.

"i always get very emotional and upset when such topic is brought up. Im so sorry" she apologized softly while i gently caressed her back.

Of course she was very right. I couldn help but notice how fragile and emotional she had suddenly become. She easily read negative meaning in harmless words, which invariably had me thinking twice before making a single sentence in her presence. Seriously being married and staying married are two distance relatives…

"i have to go to my room now. I can afford having burnt meal" i joked, kissed her forehead and headed to my room to think more on my situation with Mrs Nnamdi and Comfort.

_____

I finally had no choice than to cancel the senators wedding Anniversary i was invited to, because it was holding on the same Sunday my wifes friend was coming over with her family.

Yea after much thinking, i decided not to confront the woman nor try to put any more silly ideas into her head by trying to talk to her. I easily could come up with a harmless lie if she as much as breathed her discovery to my wife. Nevertheless i knew a very nervous Sunday awaited me….

______

Saturday slowly approached without much eventful moments. We simply had a quiet day preparing for our guests ahead of Sunday, and later in the night had one of the best sex ever. We took time to devour each other as if we were having a second honeymoon. I pounded my lovely wife with all my strength, s----d her bosoms until my mouth dried up and kissed her all over like a darling queen she was. We really were aiming to score another goal that night and i really enjoyed every moment of it especially when she gave me a special treat of serving me with a reverse cowboy position.

I was taken to high heavens as she rode me to hell while i grabbed her sumptuous ass and nodded like Lizard as she jumped up and down on me.

"oh my love i badly need a child" she breathed.

Sunday finally arrived with Nnamdis family coming over for lunch. My wife was overly happy and delighted with their presence while i hid my fear with a calm smile which never left my face all through that Sunday afternoon.

Of course the two ladies had a lot to gossip, while Mr Nnamdi and i contributed little to their discussion. My heart was so heavy with worry and fear, freezing each moment Mrs Nnamdi opened her mouth to start a new topic. Fortunately nobody noticed my tensed up mood, nor did the woman mention anything concerning her discovery to my wife. She didn even tell her that she ran into me a couple of days back, and i really for very grateful for that. I seriously never knew she could be so matured as to skip such dangerous information, something i knew even men will find hard to keep from their friend. Yea supposing i was the person that ran into Mrs Nnamdi in such a compromising situation, i really would find it hard keeping it to myself.

However as they got ready to leave two hours later. Nnamdi dragged me to a quiet section of my house. The look on his face instantly grew serious as he stared at me.

"my wife told me something, i found hard to believe. Is it true she saw at a restaurant having a romantic time with another woman?" he asked seriously. I swallowed hard, unable to figure out a good reply.

"i understand how tough it is marrying very early in life. But that shouldn be the reason for you to go astray. You have a wonderful woman by your side. Her family is very rich and influential just like yours. Don ruin your kids future. As a married man you now have responsibilities and commitments. Anyway the best advice is the one you can give yourself. Don hurt your wife" he summarized and tapped my shoulder, while i stared at him speechlessly.

"my wife won breathe any word about it to your wife, because i told her not to. But please let her silence be worth it" he concluded seriously.

"thank you bro" was all i was finally able to mutter, and it was the only word I was able to say to him for such a huge favour of stopping his wife from bringing up the topic before my wife....

I couldn help but imagine my wifes reaction supposing the news got to her. Luckily it never happened and our visitors soon left carrying the heavy secret with them.

My wifes mother showed up very late in the evening like she promised. It really was such a happy day for my wife and she really spent almost the whole night chatting with her mum while i stayed awake in my room thinking over the situation i was slowly dragging myself into.

Truly i was very lucky that Nnamdi and his wife were brilliant folks. They gave me the benefit of trust by keeping sealed lips instead of damaging my wifes fragile heart with such heart blowing information. Of course i owed them big time.

______

Early the next day, i headed to my school to conduct the last exam of the semester while my wife stayed back at home to prepare and set things in order, ahead of her holiday trip to Douala.

___

10:30am, SCHOOL PREMISES

As I headed back to my office after a very stressful exam invigilation. I ran into the Senators daughter at the parking lot in front of my office. She was the first to see me and quickly blocked my path politely.

"good morning sir!. You didn attend my parents Anniversary, what happened?" she instantly queried. I shrugged and smiled.

"im sorry about that. I can still send them my greetings, can I?" i answered calmly. Her eyes instantly brightened.

"yea you can. Actually i told them about you, especially my mum. She was disappointed that you failed to show up after all i said about you" she said seriously, forcing me to stare at her with disbelief.

"you can be serious?. What on earth can you actually tell them about me?" i asked.

"seriously i don know if you can make it to my house today. My parents are leaving the country on Wednesday and i really will feel bad if you don meet them after all i said about you. I bet fifteen minutes of your time will be very much enough to see them" she added pleadingly while i stood indecisively for some seconds, wondering why she was so anxious to get me meet her parents.

"common sir, its just fifteen minutes of your time" she pushed on.

"okay, so how do we go about it?" i asked.

"its easy sir, Ill drive ahead while you follow with your car" she answered.

"fine, you can come to my office in thirty minutes. I will be ready by then" i accepted with a smile.

___

An hour later i found myself inside the senators plush residence. Unfortunately the old senator wasn at home, and so i was received by his wife who used up all the time i spent there asking about my wife, kids, plans and so on. Very weird questions i must add, however i answered her diligently and finally headed home thirty minutes later.

____

Just like on Saturday night. I had great sex with my wife as if she was heading to the moon. We rounded everything up with an early morning quickie which she called coffee.

"i cooked three different pots of soup, which i evenly shared in small pots. They are all in the freezer. A pot of Stew is equally in there. Please just manage yourself for me. I will be back in no time. Ill stay only two weeks with my mum. Promise me you will take good care of yourself" she begged with a noble heart. I held her hand and promised a hundred times over that i will be okay, but deep down i was scared of my future for no just reason.

It was as if a part of me knew that the promises i was making wasn a strong one. But my wife believed in me. She loved me with all her heart. All she wanted was the best for me. A child to seal our marriage

My wife and her mother finally left for Douala very early on Tuesday morning, leaving me all alone in the house. I really felt empty watching them leave but there was nothing i could do than pray for Gods grace and blessings.

I headed to my office later that morning to meet a group of first year students who missed my biology test waiting me. I quickly attended to them, by keeping aside my strict policy and giving them a lengthy assignment in place of the test.

As they left my office fifteen minutes later, Comfort walked in with her usual deceiving smile. I instantly kept a serious face on seeing her while the events of the previous week flashed into my mind. Mrs Nnamdis curious stare slowly appeared in head. The image of how she ran into us at a restaurant slowly played in my head.

"what is it again?" i coldly asked Comfort who simply kept smiling with her eyes on me. A situation that made me very uncomfortable, but before i could say another word, a knock landed on my door which slowly opened as the senators daughter who i followed to her house the previous day, walked in with a lightly wrapped small basket. She appeared a bit surprised on seeing Comfort but still maintained her composure as she dropped the basket on my table.

"good morning sir, we forgot wrapping up something for you yesterday. Its just the anniversary gifts. My mum specially packed this for you" she explained calmly.

"wow do thank your mum for me. I really can wait to see what she packed inside, but i guess i will have to save the pleasure till i get home" i said humorously. She shrugged, laughed and left while comforts face coloured deeply as she silently watched the drama.

"you know seriously our closeness is getting out of hand. People easily read meaning out of nothing" i quickly scolded her as soon as we were alone once again. She stood up, went to my office entrance door and locked it, forcing me to sprang up with surprise.

"whats wrong with you?, what do you want?" i asked with a slightly raised tone.

"you know what i want. Im not after your money nor anything. I want your person not your personality. I want you as my John and not as my Lecturer" she said frankly with no holds barred.

"you are just trying to mess with my head. I know you want something else from me" i breathed.

"what else can i possible want from you apart from a relationship?" she pushed.

"no this is strange, very strange. A girl telling me she loves me?. Oh no it isn possible. It never happened when i was a student and single. Surely it can be possible" i breathed aloud. She drew closer and wrapped her hands around my neck.

"there isn any harm, giving it a trial to confirm my true feelings. Kiss me" she invited provocatively. I stared at her lips and swallowed hard. The temptation was just too great and irresistible but i couldn imagine myself getting down with her in my office.

"just a kiss" she invited again.

"no" i breathed, broke away from her hold and moved over to another corner of the room. She laughed, turned and faced me once again.

"sir im sorry to say this but you are not behaving like a man. You are not behaving like a man that has seen a womans pant. Seriously your behaviour is so annoying" she poured out coldly, while i bit my lips as i returned her gaze.

"i don know if you are being paid to mess with me but its not going to work. Just get out from my office" i said softly. She gently settled on her chair and shook her head.

"you have already cheated on your wife with me and i know you still seriously want me. I see the desire in your eyes. You are just so indecisive and scared. A very bad character for a man" she murmured, shrugged and continued.

"you should appreciate me for. doing your dirty work for you. Im just doing what you are supposed to be doing. Do you actually want me to walk away from your life?" she asked and kept quiet. I breathed deeply.

"you talk too much for a student. You have to show a little respect" I cautioned. She stood up and grabbed her handbag.

"call me when you make up your mind. Im leaving" she said with a sad look and moved towards the door.

"wait" i suddenly breathed. She scoffed, turned and faced me once again.

"i know no one does anything with no gain. So please tell me. What should i expect if i move on with you?. I have a wife i hold so dearly and you know, i can replace her with you?" i asked with a furiously pounding heart. She smiled, drew forward and softly grabbed my shirt.

"hmmmm a nicely put question. Well let me be honest, all i hope to gain from you are simply the entitlements befitting a mistress of a lecturer. We are in tough times you know and most times we do things that are out of the ordinary just to survive. I will get you in no trouble with your family and in return you will never allow me get in trouble with my pocket" she said boldly, drawing me back with a strange kind of shock.

"but can i afford you?" i asked as i nervously looked her all over.

"your hair, clothes, makeup, can I ?" i asked.

"how much do you think a ladys maintenance cost these days? Seriously it won even affect your salary. I have to leave now but if you are serious and ready to add some spark into my life. You have to take my offer before one of the new lecturers that came into this school with you takes it" she said softly, breathed deeply and left. I speechlessly watched her leave while my head burned with worry.

Comfort simply was a super witch, so charming and spirited. Even though i was scared of admitting it openly. I so f-----g needed her

Seriously my decision to move on with Comfort was very insane and totally uncalled for, but just like most christains i blamed the devil for corrupting my mind. Nevertheless there was this spirit of adventure, a strange kind of sensation that found its way into my body, blinding me from seeing the thick line of reality especially whenever comfort was before me.

Just like i said earlier i never had many sexual adventures prior to my marriage, so the feeling of being wanted by a beautiful young lady who equally assured me of every secrecy i could ever ask for really got into my head. I doubt if any of you guys reading this story will be able to resist Comfort supposing you were in my position.

Two days later, I did a very unusual thing by inviting her to my house. She showed up at exactly 7:45pm that Thursday evening looking very stunning in a sexy revealing gown.

"i can believe you actually invited me here. What a good start in our relationship but how about your wife?" she asked as she walked into my apartment.

"shes out of town. Im here all alone" i breathed quietly.

"Aren you bothered that someone, probably a neighbour might tell her about my visit?" she intelligently asked as she settled down in my living room. I smiled and shook my head.

"its a possibility i can deny but you are here already and i can turn back the hands of time" i answered.

"so what now?" she asked, crossing her legs provocatively.

"yea i think my body needs the kind of fire in you. Our first time together was memorable but i want something hotter" i teased, knelt by her side and kissed her.

"oh you are not a gentleman, Seriously. You didn even offer me anything huh" she hissed playfully, while her left hand unbuttoned my shirt, giving her access to my nipples which she squeezed with the same hand.

"how about a bathroom sex?. I bet your wife is yet to give it to you?" she asked.

"common see my height?, just like my wife you aren the same height with me for that **" i answered, softly kissing her again.

"don you have a kitchen stool huh?, or even a bathtub?" she asked while i rolled my eyes and smiled.

"im going to teach you how to be a bad boy. I pray you don run" she joked and bit my ear.

_______

Fifteen minutes later, we were totally naked in my bathroom. The only thing on her was a shower cap which she used in covering her hair.

"let the show begin baby" she giggled playfully, turned on the shower and climbed on the kitchen stool i brought in for her. She placed her right leg on the toilet seat and bent seductively, opening her kitty for a freeway penetration. I quickly wore a condom and moved in, grabbing her super sleek ass as water poured on us.

"don you wish your wife is hot like me. Don you¿ " she sang as i rammed into her from behind.

Oh Comfort was just the type of devil you pray to see every night

That was how my affair with Comfort blossomed into a deadly inferno without any of us getting tired of each other. We virtually had sex in every corner of my apartment with no holds barred. She slowly stole my heart and my attention, drawing me away from my wife without me realising it.

My wife however came home after the two weeks holiday with her mum, expecting lots of love and attention from me, but unfortunately i was unable to live up to her expectation. I couldn even spend an hour with her without getting bored, likewise having sex {with her} became a problem. All that was in my mind was Comfort. I always looked forward to a hot blowing sex session with her, thereby neglecting my matrimonial duties and my wife who was still yet to get pregnant for me.

My wife however never complained in the change she noticed in me, thinking that it was perhaps work stress that made me so withdrawn from her without suspecting that i was cheating on our marriage. Slowly i became a professional in the art of lying and deception. I perfectly hid my relationship with Comfort and always had a sweet lie to tell whenever she asked any suspicious question.

Comfort and I carried on with the illicit affair until she graduated four months later, but just as we all know, its very hard to eat your cake and have it back.

The situation of things instantly changed as soon as she became a graduate.

I had hoped that our relationship would end with her graduation but unfortunately it was when the main problem popped up.

She told me she was pregnant the day i planned saying goodbye to her, shocking me with the revelation that tore my heart into bits.

"im doing you a huge favour dearest. Your wife is yet to conceive but here im giving you the greatest news of your life" she summarized with her usual killing smile while i speechlessly stared at her with shurk

"You are kidding right?. I can believe you just made that silly joke" i replied with shock. She rolled her eyes, grabbed her handbag and a fetched out a piece of paper from it.

"here is the test result" she said, offering me the paper which i refused to accept. Instead, i stood up and stared at her furiously.

"i don know the game you are trying to play here but if its more money that you want from me just spill it out" i barked. She stared at me and breathed deeply.

"why do you always think that everything is all about money?. You got me pregnant and you have to take the responsibility" she breathed strongly.

"this was never part of our agreement" i reminded her.

"yea it never was but im now pregnant for you. I didn put the pregnancy in there by myself. You did" she accused. I bit my lips and backed her.

I couldn believe my ears. I couldn even remember sleeping with her without protection.

"what you are doing isn right Comfort. You know i never slept with you without protection" i reminded her.

"yea you are right, but maybe you failed to notice that one of the condoms you used on me had a leakage or something. Im no virgin Mary. You got me pregnant and we have to make plans for the baby" she defended herself.

"you said "we"?. You must be out of your mind involving me" i screamed.

"you have to find a way of making plans for me and equally open up to your wife before this thing comes out public. I won hide the truth when people starts asking questions" she threatened seriously. I simply eyed her and stormed out of the hotel room while she ran after me, catching up with me at the hallway. She strongly grabbed my left hand, forcing me to stop.

"this isn like the last time you walked out on me. The baby im carrying is ours and there isn anything you can do to deny it" she said quickly.

"i have a wife Comfort and i can make you my second wife" i said to her, snatching my hand from her grasp.

"I hope you know what you are doing?. I won bring up this issue with you again but don come crying when the consequences come crashing at your door step" she threatened, eyed me and left the building.

I just didn know what to do or which way to go. I badly needed a child but not from her. I couldn help but think of my wifes reaction if she discovers what i had done.

"no there must be a way out" i breathed. There wasn anyway i was going to allow Comfort to be the mother of my first child.

"what if she ends up giving me a boy?. That would be total calamity, my family will never have peace again. Of course we are in Africa where the first male child of a man is most times the heir to everything, whether legitimately born or not" i reasoned fearfully.

"oh my God no" i breathed, very uncertain of my future

I couldn eat nor concentrate on anything as i got home later in the evening and at night, I simply stayed awake, thinking of the trap i got myself into.

There wasn any doubt i needed to seek out Comfort and try every possible means to get her abort the pregnancy. Yea it really was a heavy decision, considering the fact that i was yet to have a child of my own. I just couldn risk destroying my peaceful home by accepting a child from a woman not married to me.

However i knew convincing Comfort to get rid of her pregnancy was an impossible task i was ready to give a trial. I equally knew the silly girl was trying to cash in on my wifes inability to have a child to get some kind of deal for herself. I have seen such thing happen in movies and i wasn going to allow it happen to me.

Early the next day, i rushed my breakfast and headed to my office. I called Comfort on the way and asked her to meet me at my office as soon as she can. She showed up about forty five minutes later, looking very serious and ready for a fight.

"you better have something good for me sir" she said as she sat down and faced me. I smiled and stared back at her.

"so what exactly do you want from me?" i asked curiously. She smiled and breathed deeply.

"of course you know what i want from you. A good home for my kid. Good health and education insurance for him. I want to be a part of your family as well" she poured out while i calmly controlled the anger boiling up in me.

"so where will that leave my wife?" i asked her.

"she won have any choice than to be accommodative. Im not asking to move into your house but it still won stop you from telling her the situation on ground" she replied quickly.

"you are so wicked!" i screamed at her.

"after f-----g me with all the styles you could think of, you expected me to move on and find a husband. Can you even count the number of times you had sex with me?. I bet we had more sex together than you had with your wife" she sparked and stood up.

I scratched my head and stared at her speechlessly. Her replies and behaviour cleared told me that she was very happy about the pregnancy. It was obvious she had wanted it all along.

"how much do you want in order to get rid of it?" i asked quietly. She shook her head and drew back with fire in her eyes.

"im having this baby my dear and don dare under estimate me. I know what to do and how to have my way in everything. Better start making provisions for me because i doubt if we are ever meeting again to discuss this issue. I have my school clearance to do. Bye bye" she hissed and left my office while i speechlessly watched her leave.

The silly girl was somehow leaving me with no option than to stain my hands with her blood out of desperation.

I couldn decide on anything to do concerning Comforts pregnancy nor was i able to tell my wife about it.

Slowly two weeks passed by without Comfort showing up to disturb me, a development that made me very scared at first but when the third week equally passed without her showing up, I felt perhaps she had changed her mind towards using the pregnancy to hold me down.

The second week of December slowly arrived, making it a month i last saw Comfort. I couldn imagine where she was or what she was planning and i equally held myself from calling her on phone. My wife unfortunately was still yet to get pregnant and this time around was overly worried because according to her, she was scared of meeting my parents during the coming Christmas without anything to show for our marriage.

However On Tuesday morning, in the second week of December, Comfort surprisingly showed up at my office looking very serious and cold. I was shocked to see her but tried my best to maintain my composure.

"so how far sir?. What plans have you made for me?" she asked seriously as she sat before me.

"plans?" i repeated slowly.

"yes of course. I stayed away for a month in order to give you time to organise yourself and make preparations for me. Are you trying to tell me you did nothing?" she asked while i speechlessly stared at her.

"ill be going for my exams next march, and im planning to serve in this state due to my condition, so i really don understand you. Anyway i guess i will do everything my own way, since you are not ready to make it easy for us" she poured out, stood up and left without another word while I bit my lips nervously as i wondered what she had up in her mind.

There wasn any doubt she had something well planned out. I tried thinking of what she could do as she threatened but nothing came to my mind.

I however soon found out what her threat was all about later that evening when she surprisingly showed up at my house by 7pm in the evening when my wife and I was having dinner. I couldn believe my eyes as i saw her walk into my sitting room after my surprised wife answered the door bell. She slowly settled down on my couch, gave my wife a long look before leaving her eyes on me as i abandoned my meal and nervously drew close to her.

"im sorry for coming so late and i also apologise in advance for the shocking news i bear. Thanks for not asking too much questions before letting me in" she said with a cold smile to my wife who was absolutely shocked and confused with her boldness…

"Madam, the news i carry will be of great interest to you and im here mostly due to the fact that your husband refused doing the right thing" Comfort calmly said to my wife who silently sat on the center table in our sitting room and faced her with all attention while i sweated and stood with fear, clueless on what exactly to do. Of course there was nothing i could do that exact moment than to keep quiet and listen to all the silly girl had to say.

"im pregnant for your husband. Im having a baby for him" she coldly threw the bomb. My wife drew back with shock.

"you can ask him, yea ask your husband. I can believe hes still keeping it away from you. Its been up to a month i broke the news to him" she revealed, before taking her time to narrate the history of our outrageous affair to my wife who listened without saying a word. She shamelessly told her everything, not even skipping the sex we had at the house months back.

"believe me i came here with a noble mind. Im not trying to take away your husband but simply to make a report to you. He has to do the right thing by taking responsibility of my pregnancy. He has to see my parents and own up to the family way he has gotten me into. I can stand by myself without his support" she summarized and hopefully stared at the poor woman, expecting a reply from her, but all my wife could do was just to stand up with pain and tears which dropped from her eyes, gave me a long look and quietly walked into our bedroom without saying a word while i looked away with guilt.

_______

"you have done your worst right?" i shouted at Comfort as soon as my wife was out of sight, advanced towards the bold girl and lashed out a dirty hot slap on her left cheek. She fell backwards on my chair, gasping with shock.

It clearly was my first time of hitting a woman and i really wasn proud about it but nevertheless it never worried me because that moment i was like a man who had lost all his dignity and wealth. I was like a drowning man struggling with his last breathe to survive.

"get out?" i barked, dragged the girl to her feet and roughly threw her out of my apartment before rushing into the bedroom in search of my wife who was crying with her head buried Between two pillows.

"my love" i breathed, standing few steps away from her, too scared to come any nearer.

"im not your love. You wouldn have betrayed nor kept this information from me supposing you had any atom of love for me. Just go, go away, go after your baby mama. Shes your responsibility. Our marriage is over" she cried, destroying the remaining pieces of my heart with the simple but painful words that came out of her mouth.

I tried once again to beg and possibly mutter some explanations to her even though i knew my plea wasn going to get anywhere because what i did was total unforgivable and heartbreaking. I bravely sat on the bed and called her.

"baby please can you listen to me?" i begged nervously.

"I want to be left alone Caleb. Let me think about my life please" she cried.

I stared at her silently for a while and tried holding her gently but she flung away my hand furiously, turning to face me with eyes filled with anger and tears.

"whats wrong with you?. Leave me alone please , or do you want me to leave your house this night?" she threatened, while i quickly backed away.

"you can sleep in any of the empty rooms. Just get out" she barked.

I couldn do anything else than to obey her and so I quietly left the room for her, first heading to the dinning room to clear the dinner plates which were still lying on the table. After dropping the plates in the kitchen, i headed to one of the empty bedrooms, where i spent all night thinking about the problem i brought unto myself. I couldn help but think of what my wife would do the very next day.

I was however certain of one thing. Things were never going to be the same between us.

Very early the next day, precisely at 5:55am, I sneaked into the master room to check on her, but was surprised to see her fully dressed up, packing a luggage. I was totally alarmed and quickly drew close to stop her from leaving.

"my love" i breathed,

"im moving into a friends house. I will be there for sometime before bravely making up my mind to meet my parents. You can come this Christmas to collect the bride price you paid on my head" she said seriously, wounding my heart with her words. I quickly held her hand, but she instantly snatched it away.

"there is no point remaining married to you. You not only cheated on our marriage but also expecting a child from it. I no longer have a stake in your life so its over between us" she concluded dragged her luggage and tried leaving the room but i strongly held her down.

"i hope you won want me to create a scene or do you?. Just let me leave right now or our neighbours will gather for us" she threatened and forcibly walked out of our apartment, my life and marriage.

"Its that the end?" was the question i kept asking myself that fateful morning. my life was instantly at a standstill.

I caused it all.

how do I redeem myself?

I just was confused on what to do. I couldn believe my wife was gone for real. I thought about my parents. I thought about her family. It was just a matter of minutes before they all get to hear the heartbreaking news.

The only solution i could think of that moment was running to God. For the first time in my life i looked towards God to solve my problems.

Yea i was a Christian quite alright but never was a strong one, but the situation of things clearly needed divine intervention and it clearly wouldn take much from me to kneel and pray. I knew God was all merciful and forgiving. He was my only hope.

I quietly dressed up and headed to a catholic church down the street to offer prayers to God. Luckily the parish priest was holding a confession session when i got to the church. I bravely joined the queue and waited for my turn to confess my sins before the Reverend father.

"perhaps God can talk to me through him" i reasoned as i set up my mind to do something i hated doing. Of course it was bad condition that pushes most people to God, just like it was doing to me that moment.

It soon got to my turn and i boldly went and confessed everything before the listening ears of the parish priest.

"My brother you truly offended God in many ways but im glad to tell you that God doesn turn his back to anyone who runs to him for shelter. As you were making your confession, God opened my eyes for your sake. Yea i saw a very rough future before you but don give up. Your wife will still remain yours at the end of the day. Your family and hers will still remain one big family, but for that to happen never turn your back on the second woman nor her child. I couldn see them in your future but nevertheless, do the right thing and fulfill your responsibility. Remember nothing is hidden under the sun. Do all i told you and leave God to do the rest for you. Remember i never saw the second woman in your future and so shall it be if you take care of her presently" he concluded before dishing out prayer points and bible verses i should read and pray on everyday.

I left the church thirty minutes later, relieved and optimistic but as i headed to my car, I got a very surprising phone call from my wifes father.

"hey John, ill be at your office in forty minutes time. Hope you are there" he said with his usual commanding tone and hung up without waiting to hear my reply. I instantly froze with fear.

I never knew the old man who was more in Douala than in the state was in town.

My greatest fear was confronting him over the mess i dragged myself into and it was all about happening

As i headed to my office that fateful morning, I prepared my mind for the difficult task ahead.

Not only was i about having a long talk with my father in law, the old man equally was a faculty dean and a very powerful academia. Of course he could ruin my future with just a signature. There was no doubt I had to be extremely diplomatic when dealing with him.

On getting to my office, i tried calling my wife on phone but she refused answering just like i expected. I breathed deeply, muttered quick prayers and tried concentrating on a new work i was getting ready for publishing while waiting for my father in law at the same time. I really would have preferred going over to the old mans office for the discussion but since he chose coming over to mine, I had no choice than to nervously wait for him.

He finally showed up an hour later, looking very serious and grim. I quickly stood up to greet him, respectfully offering my hand for a handshake which he declined accepting, giving me the first hint of trouble.

"i hope you know the reason im here?. My daughter told me she moved out of your house. She told me everything" he said seriously, searching my face with his eyes. I swallowed hard and stared back at him, visibly confused on how to explain myself to him.

"I did wrong sir. I cheated on my wife. I betrayed your daughters trust. I broke the sacred oath of marriage, but don kill me. Allow me to fix things. I beg of you" i pleaded solemnly. The old man simply scoffed and sat down on the empty seat opposite my table.

"how do you fix a house that has already collapsed?. You were unable to fix it when the structure was still shaking. How do you fix it now that it has collapsed?" he asked seriously.

"i will start from the beginning sir. I will start from the foundation to build it over again" i answered quickly as if it was a simple thing to do but the old man wasn moved at all.

"shut up!" he barked.

"do you think im a fool?" he asked,

"no not at all sir" i answered with panic.

"so don try acting a telenovela with me. Everyone now acts as if the world is as easy as this nonsense shown in movies. Your marriage with my daughter is barely a year, you got another woman pregnant and you are here trying to tell me you will fix things. What do you thing you are going to fix?. Our relationship is over from this minute. I will personally see to the divorce formalities. The bride price will be returned, but then better start packing up your things because your days in this school is now on countdown" he barked and stood up while i shook with fear.

"i beg of you sir, don add more fuel into the fire already consuming me" i begged with all my heart but unfortunately the old man looked more hurt and annoyed than his daughter when she left my house.

Not only did the world crash on my feet. It exploded and shattered the only hope i had left that very moment. I felt that the prayers i offered to God earlier in the day was rejected. I felt my sins were totally now beyond redemption even though the priests words kept ringing in my head as the old man left my office. I slowly dropped down and cried hard.

The reality of losing my wife and job in a hard country such as ours was so hard to bear.

I was still going through my plight, praying, crying and thinking when my phone rang, attracting my attention. I grabbed the phone and sighed on seeing the name of the caller who was no other person than Comfort.

At first i wanted to decline answering her but the priests words came ringing back in my head once again.

I breathed heavily, controlled my mood and answered the phone call.

"hello good day, hope im not calling at the wrong time?" she asked quietly, her voice devoid of the usual spirit i was used to.

"what do you want?" i asked a bit coldly.

"i think you shouldn be asking that sort of question to me. You already know what i want from you" she answered quietly. I bit my lips and closed my eyes.

I surely felt like smashing her head that moment but i just couldn , instead was about doing the opposite in order to set things right.

"where are you?" I asked curiously.

"im at the school front gate, heading to my lodge" she answered.

"you can come over to my office. We have some things to discuss" i said to her calmly.

"alright, im turning around" she replied while i hung up and sighed with resignation.

Fifteen minutes later, she walked into my office looking serious and a bit scared. I silently signalled her to sit on the empty chair before my desk, she sat down and returned my gaze.

"you broke into my life, broke into my home, ruined my marriage, ruined my happiness and my job is equally now on the line. Yet i have no choice than to accept the reality that you have come to stay in life. What a life" i poured out with regret. She simply stared at me, saying no words.

"so what exactly do you need from me. Outline the basic things and don try mentioning the impossible" i asked seriously. She shrugged with a shoulder, her eyes all over me with disbelief.

"emm i need money for my ante natal and personal expenses. I need a new accommodation. You already know my hostel rent expires this December and i can live comfortably with my parents. Moreover Im doing my exams in this town, so i badly need the accommodation. Finally you need to meet my parents, its very Important. Its not as if im asking you to marry me but meeting them is the right thing to do" she listed out while i weighed her demands in my mind.

"alright" i muttered with resignation, leaving her gasping with joy. Her eyes instantly sparkled as she drew forward with wet eyes.

"did you just say alright?" she asked excitedly. I nodded silently while deep down i felt like murdering her.

I simply accepted doing all the things she outlined in a way of correcting my wrongs even though i saw no way it was going to change my situation which undoubtedly was very bad.

"hope its the right step?" i wondered over and over..

"the most difficult thing i see in your list of demands is meeting your parents. Am i supposed to meet them?. Do i meet them as what?. An inlaw, your friend or what??" i slowly asked, cutting short her joy.

"don worry about that. Ill will first talk to them before you show up. All i want is just for you to show your face to them" she answered after a little hesitation.

"okay i think this coming Sunday will be free for me. It will be on Sunday then" i announced quietly. Her eyes lit up once again.

"thanks for changing your mind. Thanks for doing the right thing" she said softly, standing up to leave. I quickly looked away and avoided her eyes. She left without another word.

I couldn help but think of my own parents that moment. There wasn any doubt i needed telling them my story before some else does the task for me. I badly needed their support to pull through my current crises. I was very sure they would stand by my side even though i destroyed the family name with my randy behaviour.

"God help me" i sobbed once again.

____

I headed home by 4pm after a very difficult work day. One thing about academic work is that no matter your state of mind you must do the work you are paid to do or risk being sanctioned by the head of department whose job could equally be at risk over any unprofessional behaviour from a lecturer under his authority. I had no choice than to struggle with my job even though the state of my mind was far from being normal.

I headed home very hungry, tired and emotionally drained. I was already badly missing my wife. I just didn know how to win her back, moreover her father has already threatened me and i knew her mum would probably do more than just threaten me as well. I was thinking about all these as i walked into my apartment which was surprisingly unlocked. I walked in cautiously, thinking perhaps i failed to lock the entrance door as i hurried out earlier in the day but as i got to my bedroom i saw my wife packing up the rest of her things in a big travelling bag.

I was very surprised to see her because she was the last person i expected to see in my apartment, moreover her car wasn in the car park.

"gracious me!" i exclaimed, startling her with my outburst. She turned and faced me while i rushed and hugged her, throwing her into another wave of Surprise.

"please don go. Don leave me. I beg of you" i pleaded with all my heart.

"please don leave me. I need your love to survive. I need your presence in my life" i poured out while she stared at me with eyes filled with tears.

"when someone you love misbehaves, no you don push him into the fire to burn because the fire not only burns him but burns your soul as well. Im dying out of grief. Don let me die sweetheart" i begged, pushing her to the greatest depth of sympathy with my pleas. Of course she loves me, but the love and anger in her were battling for supremacy. The house she was about leaving was equally hers as well.

She drew back and sat on the bed, covering her eyes with her palms.

"i beg of you sweetheart, just do anything to me but don walk away from my life. I badly need your shoulder to lean on" i begged passionately.

"If only she will change her mind, perhaps my future will take a new better shape" i reasoned.

We all know a divided house never stands for long and i had a lot to benefit if she decides staying by my side.

"i love you. You very well know i love you. But i can stay in a house where my husband is having a child with another woman. Its not as if i have a child of my own to manage. I can never be happy with that reality and im no fool my love, i can ruin my life by chasing shadows. Its already obvious to me that i can have a child, so the best thing is to leave and find a way to be happy. I can block you from having children through another woman. Yes im angry with you but im not leaving your house out of anger but just as the right thing to do" she poured out with tears dropping from her eyes.

"but its you i want. I don need children to be happy. Our marriage is still too young for this" i pleaded solemnly. She cleaned her eyes, stood up and breathed deeply.

"i don think we will be seeing again. Ill try my best to avoid your path. You can get back the money you spent on my head through my father" she said softly.

"nooo" i breathed, grabbed and kissed her with quivering lips. She didn protest nor break away from me, instead stared into my eyes as if she saw something in them.

"i wish you well my love, but im leaving" she said softly.

"thats cool, i leave with you. I go wherever you go" i said seriously, cleaning my eyes. She drew back and stared at me with surprise.

"you can be serious?" she asked.

"try me" i answered with all seriousness.

"nothing is tearing us apart, nothing in this earth" i concluded, leaving her gasping with shock. She breathed deeply, sat on the bed once again and looked at me with disbelief.

Of course the last thing she wanted was creating a scene with me outside our apartment and she definitely knew i was very serious about leaving the house with her even though to be candid i never knew how such idea got into my head.

"God i can believe this. what has come over you my dear?" she asked slowly. I knelt by her side and held her softly, breathing deeply.

"please don leave me here all alone, unless you want me to go with you where ever you go" i repeated once again. She shook her head and looked into my eyes.

"see it isn as if im happy leaving you and everything behind to start a new life. I just have no choice" she said softly.

"no dearest, its still between us to fix. We can change everything together. We can reshape our destiny" i pushed on, more tears dropping from my eyes.

"you just have to let me go. My heart is still very broken and my spirit is also very weak. I promise to be back whenever i recover. Just let me go for now. I just can stay here with you at the moment" she begged seriously.

"nooo" i sobbed.

"yes you have to my dear unless you want to find me dead in your bathroom" she insisted.

"so how long do you intend staying away from me?" i asked sorrowfully.

"I don know, but ill be watching from a distance. How you tackle this situation will determine a whole lot of things" she answered with tears.

"okay. Its fine by me" i muttered with resignation. She smiled, pecked me and finally left without another protest from me, leaving me all alone to carry my load of problems.

I surely had a lot to do, which comprised getting my emotions under control, opening up to my parents and making plans on how to see Comforts family the coming Sunday. I couldn help but think of the Priests words over and over as i planned on how to see my parents. Of course his words were a bit confusing to me by saying that Comfort and the baby weren in my future but still turning around to say that i should care for them because that alone will set things right.

"how on earth will i care for her and the baby yet they won show up in my future?" i wondered over and over.

The very next day, I headed home to see my parents who couldn believe their ears when i calmly told them what brought me home. My mum was overly shocked and angry, while dad simply frowned with disgust.

"i can believe you are asking me to be part of this nonsense development. If not that you are my son, i would have walked you out of here, but no matter my disappointment over your action. I still have no choice than to do whatever necessary to help you out. You are my blood and your life is very much important to me than mine and for that reason i will go with you on Sunday to see the girls parents" he accepted just like i expected but unfortunately things didn go as i hoped on Sunday evening when we arrived Comforts house.

Her family insisted on a full fledged traditional marriage between me and their daughter before any form of compromise could be reached, putting me in another dilemma.

Comforts family ruined the Sunday by insisting i marry their daughter, a demand which didn go down well with me.

My father however tried his best to get them listen to us but unfortunately all they wanted was marriage and refused listening to anything contrary to it. We were left with no choice than to head home hours later, extremely angry over the futile journey.

"so whats your next move?" my dad asked curiously as soon as we got home. I looked at the old man with pity and regret, shrugging slowly.

I truly wasn happy about getting him involved in my mess. I wasn happy about dragging him to Comforts village where he was almost insulted because we refused the proposal the silly people came up with.

"seriously Dad, nothing is in my mind for now, but concerning Comfort. She can now go to hell for all i care. I can never marry her. The best i can do is to take care of her child, nothing more, nothing less" I answered with resignation.

"well i pray things go well for you. Try your best and come home for Christmas and don run away from us because of your problems" he advised like a good father.

I returned to my apartment the very next day, to continue with my life. I threw my problems with Comfort to the back of my mind and faced the new week with a new mindset. Of course i knew Comfort was going to come back to beg on behalf of her parents, an opportunity i hoped cashing in on to give her my own conditions.

I needed being in control of the game, i needed being the captain of the whole affair. Her parents behaviour really opened my eyes to a new reality. They taught me that no matter the condition of things, one should still hold up his head high as if he was in control of the situation.

Just like i expected, Comfort showed up at my office, early Tuesday morning. I calmly offered her a chair, she sat down and stared at me with a visibly coloured face.

"im sorry about how things went with my parents. They can be annoying sometimes" she muttered nervously.

"thats their own business, now listen to me. I have decided on how to care for you and your baby and if it isn enough for you, then you can go to hell" i said a bit rudely, shocking her with my words.

"i will rent a self contained room in a very plush neighbourhood next year for you, plus fifteen thousand France {about a hundred dollars} monthly allowance till you deliver the baby. After delivery, the sex of the child will determine my next plan for you. My offer isn open for debate. You either take it or leave it" i said seriously, searching her eyes for the much expected reaction.

I felt my offer was a fair one or isn it??

Comfort simply stood up after listening to my proposal, came towards my chair, stopped and stared at me for some seconds.

"your offer is quite a generous one even though you sounded harsh with it. Nevertheless, thanks for coming up with it but another important thing i must emphasis on is nothing else but having you around at all times. No matter how you try shaping the situation, you will never deny the fact that we are starting a family. From next year, your presence will matter a lot to me. I feel you already know the other necessary roles you are to play for the safe delivery of our child?. Its not all about money" she asked softly. I drew back my chair and stood up.

"you are not my wife Comfort. You can never be my wife. The best i can do is to support your pregnancy with money. Any other thing you are trying to add won work. Believe me i will throw a party if you even lose this pregnancy" i said harshly, melting her eyes with my words.

"okay, fine thanks for everything" she said softly, turned and slowly left my office without another word.

I always felt bad after using harsh words on her but most times i couldn stop myself from being harsh to her.

I equally thought about my wife at the same time. I couldn imagine what she was going through nor were she was staying. My life was totally empty without her, just as the previous week was quiet messy. I couldn imagine how to survive the new week all alone, moreover my house was slowly getting untidy with lots of unwashed clothes, plates and pots pilling up everyday, no companion to hold at night and share my stories with. Nobody to serve me dinner with a sweet smile.

"d--n" i breathed hard.

The rest of the week however was totally uneventful. I tried very hard to establish contact with my wife but was unsuccessful and so i managed myself all alone until 22nd of December when i got a surprising phone call from my father. He told me that my wifes family were inviting us for a family meeting on the 26th of December which was four days away. At first i was a bit happy over the news, thinking that perhaps we were being invited in order for us to put heads together and settle my marriage problems but on a second thought, my heart skipped as i remembered the words my father inlaw used on me the first time he confronted me over what i did to his daughter. I quickly realised that perhaps they were inviting us in order to finally cut ties with my family.

I travelled home on the 24th of December with a very anxious mind but unfortunately my fears turned out to be true, when we got to my wifes family home.

"i guess you already know why we invited you all here" my wifes father asked as soon as we settled down in his sitting room.

"Anyway let me hit the nail on the head. Your son destroyed the relationship our families enjoyed by getting another woman pregnant. My daughter has no choice than to move out from his house. We already know she has no child and probably may not have a future in the house she helped build. Anyway lets avoid long talk. How much do we refund you?" he asked, looking directly at my father and jolting us with his words.

"common Prof. You shouldn be making such statement. What we are supposed to do in this case is to find a peaceful way of helping our children out of this mess" my dad cut in, but my father in law wasn ready to listen to anyone.

"i warned your son. I advised him right before he married my daughter that i won take any nonsense from him. Just take a critical look at everything happening right now. Your son got another woman pregnant barely a year of marrying my daughter. Isn it an insult to my daughter and my family?. Aren you ashamed of your sons action?. Isn his action a prove that he never loved my daughter?. We are talking about a marriage barely a year old?. Common lets be realistic, your son probably married my daughter just to boost his career in a job i helped him get. He never loved my daughter and i will see to it that he loses that silly job of his" the old man barked, silencing my father with his words while his wife stared at him with great concern. There wasn any doubt he was highly annoyed with me.

"prof we have been friends for a long time huh?. Right from when we worked together at PAMOL and we have maintained the relationship till now. Don let our children ruin our friendship. Ever since this problem reared up, you have been avoiding me, but please lets go to your balcony or bedroom and put heads together like men" my father begged calmly. The old man stared at my father for some seconds before shrugging.

"i have always respected you chief. Even though you made a mistake of choosing politics instead of furthering your education" he said humorously, reducing the tension in the room with his words. The two men laughed while i watched on nervously.

"okay lets go to my bedroom and talk" he finally accepted and slowly led my dad to his room, leaving me all alone with my mother and mother in law.

My mother in law fixed her eyes on me, saying nothing but the venom in her eyes were enough to kill silently. I quickly became very uncomfortable.

"please ma, how about my wife?. Is she in the house?. Im dying to see her" i begged softly, desperate to get out of the sitting room. She hesitated for some seconds before pointing towards the bedroom.

"shes In her room" she said carefully. I quickly rose up and headed to my wifes old room without another word, opening the door without knocking and coming face to face with the poor woman who was sobbing uncontrollably on her bed. I was shocked to see her in that condition.

Of course the whole affair was paining her much more than it was paining me, but instead of stopping her father or returning to me she preferred dying silently with grief.

My eyes quickly melted with tears.

"dearest" i called with a deeply shaken voice

"my love" i called out again, drew close and sat by her side. She turned and stared at me for some seconds before bringing down her face once again.

"dearest stop punishing yourself. You are killing me with this attitude. I beg of you lets go home together. You are my wife, my life and my destiny" i begged, caressing her back softly.

"just leave me please" she sobbed.

"you are my legitimate wife, don let our home fall because of my mistakes. Lets get back together. I already have things with that woman under control" i begged. She slowly cleaned her eyes, sat up and faced me.

"so whats up with her?" she asked. I breathed deeply and smiled.

"i agreed supporting her till she delivers the baby. I equally agreed on getting a good accommodation for her where she will stay till she delivers. After which i may continue supporting her until the child becomes a graduate. But as for my last name, i won give that to the child. The child will bear the mothers last name, Im also preparing a Will which gives everything we have to you and the children we are having together. So you see, everything can be easily fixed. Lets go home together" i begged. She stared at me for some seconds before shrugging.

"i just don know dear, even though you are trying to set things right and make me happy, i still somehow feel for the innocent child you are trying to cut off, but i guess its the right thing to do because the innocent child won be innocent when he grows up and decides waging a war on his half brothers and sisters if i eventually have children of my own" she murmured while i looked up at her with bright eyes.

"Abraham did the same to Ishmael, didn he?" i asked with a smile, even though i really wasn sure if i got the question correctly.

"and you just talked about having children?. Does it mean you are coming back to me?" i asked hopefully but before she could answer, her mother came into the room, interrupting us.

"you guys should come over to the sitting room right away" she addressed us and left instantly, My wife quickly stood up and led the way, while i followed slowly.

On getting to the sitting room, she happily hugged my mum and dad before facing her own parents.

"we have settled, we have reached an agreement. I have forgiven him" she suddenly announced to everyone, shocking me with her words.

"come here" her father said with a smile, stood up and hugged her happily.

"you are very lucky my daughter loves you but we still had to be hard with you in order to teach you some practical lessons" he said to me with a smile before facing his wife.

"go prepare the table dear, we are all hungry" he added jovially, leaving my parents and I totally speechless and stunned with happiness and relief.

As we eat together minutes later, my father in law once again advised me on the need to be dedicated, honest and truthful to my wife just like he did before i married his daughter many months ago.

"To be candid, i don give people second chances once they wrong me, but I just decided to give up this fight for the sake of my daughter and her happiness. We had a very long talk yesterday evening and she kept begging that i should forgive you. She loves you more than you deserve but i still had to shout her down and behave the way i did earlier today. Anyway its now all in the past but do know that you have used up all your life lines. Any new bad report about you i get, i won hesitate dealing mercilessly with you. That reminds me, you have to sign an undertaking to that effect" he seriously said to me while my wife screamed with a smile.

"oh daddy come off with the attitude. Everything is now over and John isn signing any agreement" she protested.

"oh don worry dear, I can sign anything" i added.

"no you are not" she insisted while her dad shrugged with resignation.

After the meal we all had a long discussion concerning Comfort and her baby. I told them my plans for the baby she was having for me. I told them all i earlier revealed to my wife in her bedroom. We ended up having a long debate over it, my mother in law insisting that it was so cold a decision while my parents and father in law accepting that it was a good but tough decision, however at the end of the day, we all agreed on giving the child my last name if it turns out to be a girl but do the opposite if it turns out to be a boy.

My parents and I finally left later in the evening without my wife because her parents refused allowing us go with her. They jokingly but seriously insisted that i pay back all the expenses the made on her head all the period she was out of my house.

However two days later, i went back for her with two strong goats, two bottle of hot drinks and ten thousand France wrapped in an envelope. Mary was handed back to me, just like i wished, and thus my second shot to a happy life began. We spent the rest of the Christmas and New year together with my parents and on the 3rd of January we headed back to the City to face life once again.

Unfortunately no matter how optimistic i was that January. I still was scared over my situation with Comfort because she always comes up with something new to shatter my plans, nevertheless i was very hopeful that she will have no place in my future. My second prayer was for my wife to get pregnant...