Within twenty minutes, Richard was already at Lagos University Teaching Hospital."Good evening, I'm here to see the patient that was rushed here a few minutes ago." He said to the nurse at the reception counter."Oh! You're related to the patient right?" "Yes.""Good! You will have to see the doctor first." "Oh my... Hope my wife is fine." He asked with a look of doubt and fright on his face."Yes, sir, they're in safe hands already." The nurse replied with an assuring smile."Good evening, sir, are you related to the couples we brought here?" A middle-aged man questioned as he moved closer to Richard."Yes, sir, the woman is my wife.""Oh finally! My friends and I were the ones that rushed them to this place when the incident happened.""Thank you so much, sir. I appreciate you." He croaked with a bow."It's no big deal, the doctor is attending to them already. You can come with me to get the car, it's still in the same spot where the accident happened. I think it was the break t
"Ehiy! you came late, I'm mad at you." Stella said with a frown Immediately Richard stepped inside her ward. "I am sorry, babe, I had to complete my work at the office before coming down here and the traffic congestion too made the matter worse." He replied as he moved closer to her and placed a soft kiss on her cheeks."Yeah, whatever! I'm sick and tired of this place. I want to go home." She said grumpily, placing her pillow so close to her chest and hugging it. "Yeah, we are leaving this place right away." "Okay, let me go say goodbye to Mr. Tochuckwu." "Yeah, let's go together then," he replied. Stella hopped down from the bed and they both strolled out of the ward. "Hi, Mr. Tochuckwu, Good Evening." They greeted in unison as they got to his ward. "Evening, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob. You're leaving already?" He queried. "Yeah, I'm leaving." "Ouh! I hope to get out of this place too soon." He said with a sulk. "Yeah, hopefully, your leg will heal up faster." "Amen." "I calle
As Stella was heading to the grocery store that morning, she decided to stop at Tochuckwu's place and drop off the already packaged food she prepared for him. She came up with that plan since he was not fit enough to prepare his food by himself then she thought it would be better if she can help him with breakfast once in a while. As she stepped out of the car, she walked towards the main gate, after placing a few knocks, the gatekeeper opened the gate and they exchanged pleasantries. "Who is there?" She heard the feminine voice from the other side as she placed a knock on his door. "Who could that be? Maybe one of his family members," she mulled over as she waited for someone to open the door, though she didn't inform Tochuckwu that she will be stopping by. The door creaked open, revealing that familiar face, she was quite surprised by who she saw. The lady standing before her was tying a white towel across her chest with a turban on her head as if she was about to take her
Stella was in her office that morning when a call came through on her phone. It was Richard. "Hey, sweetheart." "Babe, it's your dad again oh," he said in a disturbing tone. "My dad?" She questioned rolling her eyeballs. "Yes, he has been rushed to the hospital just now. His nanny said he slumped on his way to the bathroom." "Okay." "Come on, babe, don't tell me you are not concerned about this matter." " Why should I be bothered? That's your palaver, so you people should sort it out without calling me." "Stella, why now? Must you act hostile to him every time? why don't you just consider him for once and be concerned about his well-being." "Please, Richard, telling me this won't solve anything, don't stress yourself." "Whatever! He's at St. Nicholas hospital once you're ready, you can come and check on him. Bye." He said before he hung up. Stella let out a frustrated sigh, placed her elbow on the desk, and cupped her face into her hands. Pretending as if she d
Stella hurriedly dressed up, picked up her shoes, and took to her heels as if she was pursued by an angry mob. She cared less about the rain that was drizzling, as she got Inside her car, turned on the ignition, and drove out of his compound like a maniac. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly with tears trickling down her cheeks making it blur her vision. She had to pull the break and park by the roadside before she gets into an accident. Her heart was thumping with great ounces, her head was throbbing with great pains and series of thoughts was swirling through her brain. It was as if her whole body was on fire. "Ha! What have I done?" Stella yelled in frustration and anger hitting her fist on the steering wheel as if it was the architect of her problem. She still found it hard to believe what transpired between them in his room a few minutes ago. "What was I thinking?" Why did I not slap his hand off my body and walk out? Why did I let my wall of defense crash d
~Recap~Stella let out a frustrated sigh as she stared at him straight in the face."Go on, babe," he said with an assuring smile. "Okay," she blurted out adjusting her position on the bed."I slept with Mr. Tochuckwu..." This was the only simple sentence she could construct in her head, yet it was too difficult to let it out of her mouth. It got stuck in her throat like a bone. All of a sudden, the beeping of Richard's phone interrupted the tense atmosphere. "Excuse me please, let me get that," he said as he got up from the bed to pick up his phone that was on the table. Stella stared at him as he received the call, her mind scoured for a perfect way to construct the sentence without infuriating him. "Stop racking your brain; cheating is cheating, the deed has been done. Keep mum about it." The voice whispered in her ear. "Stella, this is the perfect time to let the cart of the bag, tell him the truth, and let it set you free. He won't kill you." Another voice argued."Lies!
As Richard was driving back home that evening, his mind was in total disarray as he find it still hard to believe what was divulged to him."Stella with that man? Oh No! This is unbelievable! I mean How? When? Stella? My wife? Then, who... who sent this video to me? Oh, God!" His head kept evoking these questions and the only person that could provide the answer was Stella. He wished he could disappear right away and go face Stella at once to get answers to these burning questions. As he got to their doorstep, he paused for a while and breathed out as he tried to calm his raging emotions."Lord, help me to handle this situation with wisdom." He muttered a short prayer. "Oh! You're back, welcome, sweetheart." Stella said with an innocent smile as she opened the door. Staring at her face made him doubt the video that was sent to him. Surprisingly, his raging mind calmed down a bit, he could not even raise his voice at her even after the heart-wrenching discovery. "How
The days that followed after the filthy deed was revealed, were hellish. Their home became the exact opposite of what it used to be before; Joyless and languorous as hatred seems to occupy Richard's heart. He seems to hate her guts and he avoided her like a plague. He stopped eating any food prepared at home, moved all his belongings to the guest room and he stays there all day whenever he was around. He leaves home very early in the morning and returns late at night, he barely replies to her greetings. The once love birds now live like strangers. This silent treatment was killing Stella, she could not stand it, and it was making her lose her mind. She needs help, maybe someone she can talk to, just to beg him on her behalf but there was no one she could run to. She has once considered the idea of telling one of their pastors but the shame of what she has done that made Richard treat her that way could not let her opt for the option. How will she say it without mentioning the
Truly, the past few months have been hard on Richard and his family but their tenacious zeal to save their union was enough to keep them out of the arduous phase. Although his wife was battling with an incurable malady, Richard never changed his attitude, he stuck to his vow, giving her affection, care, and compassion. It was the only thing he could do to save his dear wife from the hands of the lethal disease. Getting this kind of tenderness from Richard was more than enough for Stella to encompass this phase and get on her feet. He makes sure she visits the hospital whenever she has an appointment, goes for antiretroviral therapy, and takes the prescribed drugs. Their marriage was getting back to life, full of bliss and happiness just like it, was before the mishap launched.The vicious ally that infiltrated their life, whirled it through anguish, turmoils, and travail. Bella Jonathan was finally out of their life. If everything has gone according to the way Stella planned, th
~Recap" My God! What did we do to deserve all these from you? What was our offense?" Richard questioned in disbelief."I'm sorry I don't know, I was just following the instructions given to me.""Who instructed you?""Bella. Bella Jonathan did.""What!""Yes, Bella. Everything was Bella's plan, I only helped her to carry out the plan.""What!" They exclaimed in unison."No, this is not true. Impossible! I don't believe any of this. Why will Bella even do this to me?" Stella questioned, refusing to believe what Tochukwu just divulged. Richard did not find it hard to speculate, he has a gut feeling against Tochukwu right from time and he was aware of the obsessed love Bella has for him, but he never think Bella could take it to this extent.No! This is outrageous.""I see no reason why I should lie, the last thing I can do right now is to uncover the truth. And yes, this is true, you deserve to know the truth. I don't know Bella personally, not until she contacted me about this busi
The news hit them like a huge bomb, it was too complex to take in. Of course, they had their doubt and were strongly against such news that it was far from being possible. They went to another standard Hospital just to confirm the uncanny revelation but unfortunately, the result was the same.Richard and the kids were compelled to conduct the test just to clear all their doubts but strangely, they tested Negative which means Stella is the only one with the deadly disease. How she contracted the virus was baffling at first, but after different investigations were made, it was traced back to the one-night stand she had with Tochukwu, which revealed that she got the deadly transmitted disease from him. "Ha! All this misfortune for ten minutes pleasure? I'm doomed!" Stella lamented biting her fingers in regret, wishing she could change back the hand of time to amend things. It was hard for her to accept the fact that she was truly an HIV patient, never in her wildest dreams has she e
Stella's entire body was in the blaze as several thoughts ran through her head. To say she was confused would be an understatement; one voice was supporting the idea, the other was defying, and another one was taking both sides. Her heart kept thumping with great ounce as if she was having a heart seizure. Yet, a rain of hot tears gushed down heavily from her eyes. Without giving it a second thought, she darted back and scampered to where her father was sitting. Went down on her knees, hugged his legs, and placed her head on his knees."Father, I'm sorry.""I'm so..rry.""I'm sorry." This was the only sentence that escaped Stella's lip."No, Stella. Please forgive me, I have wronged you, wreak havoc on your life, and caused you pain. I don't know if there is still space in your heart for you to set me free?" Mr. Busari voiced, with tears trickling down his cheeks.They remained in that position, pouring out their encaged emotions. The only sound that could be heard was Stella's huf
As Stella stepped out of the car, she stood transfixed on a point contemplating whether she was making the right decision. Coming to the house that haunted her does not seem like a good idea but then, Richard stood his ground reiterating that if she was not ready to come there then definitely he was not going to discuss anything with her again even though he was fully aware of the pains this vicinage caused her. "Well, I'm ready to do anything to save my marriage and if it means coming to this place then I am ready.""I have got to try this, without further ado," she muttered and with that, she walked towards the gate. After pressing the doorbell, a few seconds later the door creaked open revealing a young lady probably In her early thirties."Hi, good morning.""Oh! Miss Stella, Good evening, ma." the lady greeted with a smile plastered on her face. "Yes, ma'am, please, is Richard in? I mean Mr. Jacob?""No, ma'am, he's not back from work but you can wait for him.""Ugh! Is this
They waited eagerly at the reception for the doctor to step out of the ward where Janice was been treated. Stella sat down at the far edge of the chair, her head dropped down in sorrow. Richard was pacing around, while Bella just froze to a point not knowing what to do. They were all on tenterhooks.After several minutes of waiting restively, the doctor walked out making all of them jolt out of their worry land. "Doctor, how is my baby?" Stella was the first to throw the question at him."Hmm, we thank God, she's stable for now," he replied simply."Oh! Thank you, Jesus." Stella exclaimed jumping up in relief."For now?" Richard questioned as he reasoned on the doctor's reply."Yeah, thank God she was brought here quickly before the matter got worse, she lost a lot of blood as a result of the shock she went through. Right now, we need to donate blood to her.""Doctor, I'm available."Stella volunteered, stepping forward."But, you're pregnant, ma'am. You're not eligible." The d
"I am sorry about the news, sir." Bella blurted, breaking the deafening silence between them as they were riding back home in Richard's car. "What news?" He befuddled."About the scandal that surfaced last night, I mean about your family..." "Oh!" He murmured in a low voice. "Yeah, it's sad and those mendacious bloggers have made a compulsive, heart-rending story out of it. They're the sole reason why this is trending.""That's not even the problem, I wonder who has been prying into our family matter and then taking it over to social media. This is not the kind of life I want for myself, I cannot even walk freely; you'd see them pointing at me and saying all sorts of filthy things. Honestly, I'm tired, confused, and..." He complained with a frustrating hiss."I am so sorry about this, sir, It's sad that your family is going through this tough phase." "To be honest, I still find this hard to believe because I never expect Stella to engage in such an immoral act considering her stat
The following day, Richard was in his office busy sorting out his work that afternoon when a knock came through on his door."Come in," he ushered."Good afternoon, sir," Bella greeted immediately as she stepped in. "Oh, Bella! I never knew you came to work today, I thought your manager gave you leave?" He asked quite surprised because she just lost her father."Yes, she did sir, but I don't want to stay at home. I am not used to that kind of lifestyle and staying alone will make me start thinking of uncanny things.""Yeah, I think you're right. Hope you're doing well.""Yes, sir, I'm fine.""Hmm, it's lunchtime already, I guess you're busy, sir?" she asked with a slight grin. "Erhm, not really, I'm just trying to round up with this." "So, would you like to have lunch with me?" "Sure, this work can wait." He said getting up on his feet as they both walked out to his office and headed to the cafeteria. And that was how their friendship sprang up again, Bella goes to his office mos
Everyone who came to the burial rite was dressed in black outfits as they came to mourn with Bella over the death of her father.Just a few of her colleagues at work and Maria's long distant family were there. Bella looked awful and miserable, her eyes were puffy and swollen as a result of too many tears running out of her eyes. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing, as she watched them place him six feet below. She strode forward, clutched the shovel, and pour little sand on it. "Accept my heartfelt condolences," Richard muttered as he walked towards her occupying the sit beside her. Maria stood up and excused them. "Thank you, sir." She muttered sniffing."Please that's enough, cry no more. Life is a bale of tears and losing our loved ones is part of life right?" "Yeah, it's," she replied simply with a nod."Well, life has been like that to me right from time; life keeps snatching things so dear to me. Now my only hope is gone, I don't know how I will scale through this..."