*🌷 MY RICH WIFE 🌷*
Episode Twelve*
All my efforts to reach or hear from Kauna proved ab-ortive as I learnt she later relocated to the UK to cover the shame our action had caused to the family. I was reliably informed also that sge gave birth to a baby girl and may never come back to Nigeria again. Mrs Kalu bec@m£ my informant. She was a member of our church and a staff of NNPC. She was the one who informed me that Jocelyn, out of annoyance, had burnt all my things in the house, including my credentials.
After about five months I was re-leased from jail, Pastor Lanre began to talk about reconciling with my wife and her family, but I saw this as a pipe-dream that may never come to fruition. The humiliation done to Jocelyn’s family by my action could never be repaired. The scar would also be there and would cause the seed of bitterness and hatred to ever bear fruit anytime they saw me.
I knew Jocelyn would never forgive me.Even if she did forgive me, not for impregnating her younger sister. Even though i knew i nee-ded Jocelyn’s forgiveness and that of her family, getting it seemed elusive.
However, I began to give consideration to pastor’s suggestion on reconciling and restitution, but how would i go about it? Who would convince Jocelyn I had become a new creature ? Who would tell Jocelyn’s father to take me back again as his son-in-law? It was a difficult bridge to cross, I concluded. I started a chain of prayers for God’s lead, guidance and wisdom.
Pastor Lanre had said I couldn’t marry another woman while Jocelyn was still alive. On the other hand, I was not getting younger and my parents were getting closer to their graves by the day.
“When are we going to embr@ce our grandchildren?” was a popular song on my parentsl-ips. I wished i could tell them they alre-ady had a grandchild, but i felt i may never see the child all my life, let alone they.
I moved out of the church mission house to a one room ap@rtment to enable me to start a new life and re-plan my life. Pastor Lanre, throu-gh Mrs Kalu, was able to trace Jocelyn to her new church. One way or the other, he bec@m£ friends with Jocelyn’s pastor and began to talk to him on the possibility of reconciling Jocelyn and I, after narrating to Jocelyn’s pastor all that happened. The pastor(Jocelyn’s) felt sympathetic and promised he was going to be of help.
The first meeting arranged by Jocelyn’s pastor to discuss our reconciliation was fruitless. Jocelyn walked out immediately she realized the subject of the was on reconciling her and me. It took her pastor a month’s rigorous follow up to ve able to make her return to the church. She returned to the church, but gave her condition. She threatened never to attend that church again if any matter about me was ever raised. The matter was put on hold for another one year. One year of loniness and silence.
Meanwhile, many sisters in the church i worsh!pped began to show interest in me, but Pastor Lanre had warned me never to give attention to any of them.
“You are a married man. You can’t d@t£ or marry any sister in this church.” This he had said to me several times. Among these sisters who danced around me in church, Sister Eunice was dufferent. She was truly an epitome of beauty and humility. Her smiles were good enough to heal the brokenhearted. I wished i could get closer to her, but Pastor Lanre wouldn’t let that happen. Sister Eunice was a total opposite of Jocelyn. “She would make a perfect wife”, i thought. Nonetheless, i couldn’t disobey my pastor.
But, could i remain obe-dient to my pastor’s warning when it was dawning on me that i was falling in love with Sister Eunice ?
Watchout for episode 13