If you haven’t read the first part of this story, here’s the link. Kindly read it before starting this one.

She kept demanding so much of my time that I was always sitting on tenterhooks waiting to see her next line of action. She was calm and reasonable only when I was with her. Immediately I leave, my life begins to crack right before my eyes. One afternoon, I was with her when she said, “Marry me.” I asked, “What did you say?” She said, “You heard me right. If you marry me today, tomorrow we wouldn’t have the need to hide.” I said, “I would have done it if only it was possible. Listen to me. You’re a very great woman. You wouldn’t suffer to get a man to marry you. I understand the favor you’re doing me by sticking with me. Just give yourself a break and get someone else to build a home with you.” 

She said, “Is that an answer to what I said? I said marry me. I didn’t ask you to give me sermons on what I already know. I’m a great woman. You call me beautiful every day so why don’t you want me for yourself? My mom is a second wife. There are so many other women I know who are second wives so I don’t mind being one. Start talking to your wife about it before I do.”

I don’t know what came over me but something got triggered when she said, “Start talking to your wife about…” I got up from the seat and said, “This should be the last time you’ll bring my wife into our conversations. She’s not in a relationship with you. I am. Stop bringing her up.” She was quiet for a while. She asked, “So if you have to marry me, who will you discuss it with?” I said, “I’m not marrying you. My religion and the law under which I got married don’t have spaces for a second wife.” She said calmly, “But they have spaces for a girlfriend, right?” 

She had a nice way of winning arguments. She only had to remind me of the moral code or just throw my own words back at me. I stopped talking. She kept repeating, “Your religion has space for a side chick but not for a second wife, right? You see the double standard? Let me remind you again, I’m in your life for good. If you give me a chance, I will go to your wife and talk to her woman to woman. I will make her understand the situation we are in now and by the time I leave, she would have only two options; leave you because you cheated or accept my presence in your life. Either way, I win. Think about it.”

I asked her, “Who sent you?” She said, “Love.” I said, “I loved you right from the start but now, the love is gone because of the things you tell me. You think I’m scared of my wife? And who told you that if I lose my wife it’s you I’ll marry?” I left her house and decided not to call her again. I was done. I didn’t care what she was going to do.

I didn’t hear from her for about three days. She didn’t call me and I didn’t call her. I should have been happy that she had left me alone but I was always thinking about what she might do and that got me restless. I was ironing my shirt one evening when my wife said, “Ahmed sent you a text. He says he’s coming. Where are you both going?” My heart skipped a beat. I asked, “Ahmed?” She said, “Yeah.” Then she handed over my phone to me. The message was on my lock screen. I looked at it again. Yes, it came from Ahmed. Ahmed is Humu. I saved her number that way so my wife wouldn’t get the hint. I told her, “Yeah, we are going to visit a colleague who is sick. I will meet him midway so he doesn’t have to come all the way here. 

I was standing by the roadside when a taxi stopped. It was Humu. She smiled. She said, “I’ve missed you.” I asked, “So you were truly coming to the house?” She said, “You know I won’t do that. I wanted to get closer to you and call. I know she’s there so there is no way I would have come around.” I asked, “Why do you want to see me?” She said, “It’s been three days already. I’ve given you enough break. It’s time to see me too.” I said, “It was over the day I left your place.” She asked, “Over how? Is that how to end a relationship? Just because of this small issue?” Where are we going? To your place or mine?” 

We ended up at her place.

She behaved like a woman possessed. Whatever I said didn’t hurt her. She was like a ball. You throw her to the wall, she bounces back stronger. She made me frustrated. I would be walking alone and talking to myself. My wife caught me doing that on several occasions. She asked what the issue was and I said, “Nothing. I’m only whispering the lyrics of a song.” I know she didn’t believe me but she took it as it was. One day, I told myself, “I need to end this before it destroys me. After all, I’m not the first man to have gotten himself into this situation. I will be a man. I will solve it.” 

When I shared my story, the popular opinion was for me to discuss it with my wife. I thought of it and decided to give it a shot. We always test the depth of the stream with one leg so I decided to do the same with my problem. One evening I was watching TV with my wife when the topic of cheating partners came up. I asked her, “You’ll leave your marriage If I cheat?” She asked, “You want to cheat?” I said, “Noooo not that. I’m asking because of the topic.” She said, “If you want to know the answer, cheat and let’s see. I have to get there before I know what my decision will be.” “You never met a cheating partner when you were dating?” I asked. She answered, “You said dating. Now I’m married so the situation is different.” 

I tried all my probing skills just to get her to give me a hint but she never did. Her final words were, ”When we get to the bridge, we’ll cross.” I told myself, “Mission aborted! There are so many ways to kill a cat. I will try another method.”

That night when I was going to sleep I prayed, “God, if you take this cup away from me, I swear I will never drink from any cup apart from what you have given me.” After the prayers, I imagined God laughing at me. I could hear him telling me, “Young man, take me out of your hell. I didn’t send you.”

I played nicely with Humu for close to two months. We never fought and we never quarrel. I bought her some gifts. I visited her often. Everything was peaceful between us when I told her, “My wife got to know about us. She’s broken and that has affected the health of our child. It’s been hard for me just as it’s been hard for her. I don’t know what to do. She may leave but I’m trying my best.”  I thought she will be happy. I thought she’ll jump up the sky and sing.” She shouted, “Really? How did she know? Who told her?” I said, “She read our messages.” She screamed, “I thought you said you delete our messages?” I said, “Yeah, but the current ones, I forgot to delete them.”

She was quiet. She asked me, “So what are you going to do?” I said, “Would you give me some space and time to deal with her? When everything is fine and she forgets about it, we can take it up again?” She asked, “That means you won’t call or visit me?” I said, “I will call you sometimes but I can’t promise you a visit.” She said, “I understand but don’t leave me frustrated.”

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I didn’t call for weeks and she didn’t call too. One day I told her, “My wife will call you. Kindly remain calm. Don’t fight her. Just answer her questions.” She said, “Nooooo, I don’t want to talk to her. For what? If she has questions she should ask you not me. Please tell her not to call. Don’t even give her my number.” I said in my head, “Oh wow, so this girl has been playing on my weakness all this while.”

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. One day I told her, “It’s better we go our separate ways. The kind of curses my wife is pronouncing these days, I’m even scared for our lives. Please understand. I don’t want it this way but please understand me. I’m going through a lot and I don’t think I will have the strength to go on with you.” She said, “All I wanted was to have your child. If I got pregnant for you and you left, at least I would have had something that would still bind us together.” I said, “Don’t worry. When the storm is over, we’ll think of what next to do.”

The last time I heard from her was July. She was calling to check whether my wife has calmed down. I said, “She hasn’t. She had sacked me from the bedroom. I sleep in the hall now but we are making progress. At least she talks to me so I will take it like that.” She said, “Nawaooo”

God laughed at me when I prayed that day but somehow, I believe he has a hand in this game that I’m playing to extricate myself from this entanglement. Everything became easier. Even the fact that Humu fell for this trick is a huge miracle for me. Now I’m free but the promise still stands; I will never drink from another cup even if it’s a golden chalice.

—Divine