Marriage is a union between a man and woman who come together to live as one. Marriage can be beautiful especially when you are married to the right person. But what happens when you end up marrying an adulterous spouse?? What will you do if you caught your wife or husband with another person on your matrimonial home? How will you react?
Below is the heartbreaking story of the man who caught his wife red handed when she least expected. Joshua (not real name) has been married for 12 years but his wife, Chichi (also not real name) has been a source of heart ache due to her adulterous way of life. His story:
“My name is Joshua, a 47-year-old man. I have been married to Chichi for 10 years now with three lovely children; but as it is now, I am not sure I would want to continue living with a woman who is an incurable flirt. I got to know that my wife was adulterous when she was pregnant with our second child. I am from Akwa Ibom State, the Annang speaking area and in my place, it is forbidden for a married woman to sleep with another man. It is called ‘Ekpo Nka Awo’ and it is a long-standing tradition that forbids adultery. Those who know of this tradition would know that it is taken very seriously and if a married woman commits adultery and uses the money she collects from the secret lover to cook for her husband, the husband would die. And she would also find it difficult to give birth unless she confesses and some sacrifices are carried out. Many think this tradition is barbaric and archaic but it has been there from time immemorial and there is nothing anyone can do about it. So, when Chichi got into labour to give birth, it was a big battle as she was in labour for many days until our people intervened and told her to confess if she had slept with another man and she did. It was only after the sacrifice that she was able to give birth. I was devastated; but she apologized and begged me so much. Our families also begged that I should forgive her which I did because of our children.
After that, I have heard stories of her infidelity but since I did not catch her at it, I did not take any action until the last straw which broke the Camel’s back. I was away from home for about two months to supervise a contract in Abuja but midway into the contract, I was recalled back to Lagos urgently and I did not have time to call my wife and tell her I was coming back. I had to take a night bus to Lagos so that I could get to the office the next day. I got back to town very early, at about 5 am and took a taxi home. When I got home, I went straight to our apartment upstairs and knocked on the door and heard my wife asking who it was and when I told her I was the one, I noticed that she took quite a while to open the door which is very unusual. I walked into the apartment and made straight to the bedroom but she tried to stop me with some silly questions and some delay tactics that did not make any sense to me because I am in my house and not someone else’s. In truth, I did not suspect anything because I was very tired due to the state of the road in the country. But when I walked into the bedroom, someone pushed past me and made to run out of the room. I did not know where the reflex action came from but I dove straight at the man and caught him as he was about to run out. We started struggling and thinking it was a thief, I screamed and called on other tenants to come out and help me, thinking the person was a thief. Our first son came out of their room when he heard the commotion and put on the light and that was when I realized it was my landlord I was struggling with. He was naked with only a boxer short. I pinned him down as other tenants came out and everyone was shocked at the sight. Some young boys in the compound started slapping him and telling to confess what he was doing in my apartment. While begging us to have mercy on him, my landlord confessed that he had been having an affair with my wife for many months and often sneaked into my apartment to have sex with her whenever I was away. I was so ashamed and could have killed Chichi if not for some men that held me down. I made sure she packed her things that morning and leave my house.
Since then, she has been begging me to forgive her, promising to change and be a good wife and mother but I doubt if I would give her the chance to kill me. I have let go and have moved on because I want to live long enough to see my children grow and be better people in life.
This is indeed a really heartbreaking story. If you were in Joshua’s shoes, will you forgive your wife and take her back? Will you be able to forget the past just for the sake of your children?
By Pupwaya Timothy Dibal
