Contract husband

“Yes it was…. we really looked good together….. and couldn’t even go a day without seeing each other.” She replied with a far away look on her face.

” Yes…. but that changed the moment you walked away and left me hanging.” Ife said and sighed.

Zoey swallowed painfully.

” Ife….. I know I must have really hurt you by leaving the way I did…. But that was not my intention…… I had no choice than to leave.” Zoey said.

” What do you mean you had no choice?…..” he asked her.

She sighed.

” four days before I left.” She began and gave a long pause.

Ife focused his gaze on her and noticed she was pained.

” I’m all ears Zoey.” He said.

She nodded her head and continued.

” four days before I left for South Africa…… I was abducted on my way back from work.”

Ife squinted his eyes in surprise and flashed her a questioning look

“Yes!!…. I was abducted.” She clarified and continued.

” On the second day of my abduction, the leader of the gang told me his boss wanted to have a word with me, so he led me to another room where I saw a man dressed in suit, sitting down and waiting for me….. it was Mr Coker.”

” Mr Coker!…. My step father?” Ife asked in bewilderment.

Zoey nodded her head.

” Yes!…. It was him.” She replied and swallowed a lump of saliva.

” Mr Coker told me that I was standing in the way of his plans to establish a fatherly relationship with you…. He said he didn’t like my influence on you and he wants us to be separated……” Zoey said calmly.

Ife scoffed unbelievably.

” Mr Coker threatened you!!!….”

” yes he did….. he wanted me to leave you alone for good, or he would kill me…. I begged him not to kill me and so he made me sign an undertaking that I would totally cut off any ties with you….. then he made necessary arrangements for me to travel out of the country to Morocco…. I had to lie to my colleagues that I was traveling to South Africa….. but after staying six months in Morocco, I migrated to South Africa.” She said.

Ife fell silent for what seemed like an eternity.

He was hurt.

” Why didn’t you tell me he threatened you?” he asked her eventually.

She exhaled deeply.

” Because I didn’t want to die….. Ife you were still too young to stand up against your step father….. Mr Coker is a very evil man who would clear out anything and anyone who gets in his way….. besides, your mom was sick and you had a lot to deal with.” She said.

Ife shook his head sadly.

” I’m sorry you had to go through all of this because of me….. I feel so bad right now!!…. I…. I just wished you had at least, found a way of telling me.” Ife said sadly.

” I couldn’t have Ife…. I was afraid of Mr Coker and what he could do.”

Ife nodded his head.

” I understand….. so why did you come back to Nigeria?…. Knowing that Mr Coker is still very much alive and at alert?” he asked her.

” I’m no longer the timid Zoey of then Ife…. I have seen a lot in this life and I can categorically say I’m not afraid of anyone.” She said.

” I…. uhm…I actually came back because I couldn’t stop thinking about you…. I needed to explain things to you and I nursed a possibility in my heart, of us getting back together.” Zoey ended.

Ife swallowed hard and fell silent.

” Ife…. I still very much love you…. And I am very much willing to get back together with you.” She said calmly and held his hands.

” Zoey,…. As much as I feel so terrible about what happened between us,….. I’m afraid we can’t get back together.” He replied.

” Why?”

He sighed.

” I’m married, and I am determined to stay faithful to my wife….. Zoey…uhm…. I know this is hard for you, but we can’t be together.” Ife said.

Zoey exhaled deeply.

” Ife,…. I know you are in a contract marriage…. and it’s ok…. I can wait patiently till the contract is over, so we can get back together…. You ….”

” Wait a minute!! …. How did you know it’s a contract marriage?” he asked in surprise.

Zoey shrugged.

” it doesn’t matter how I know Ife… I just know there’s a possibility we can be together.”

Ife scoffed.

” I love Omar…. And there’s no way we are getting separated…. Not now…. Not ever….. see Zoey…. I need you to move on, because I have moved on and I’m happy…”

He sighed again.

” You have a great future ahead of you Zoey…. Do not jeopardize it by sticking to a married man…. There are so many good men out there, who will love you unconditionally…. Please Zoey…. open up your heart to love again and forget about me…. I already belong to another.” He said.

Zoey bit her lower lip in agitation.

” Ife…. look into my eyes and tell me you don’t love me?” She said and drew closer to kiss him, but he stood up.

” I’m sorry Zoey…. This can never happen…. I wish you good luck in your endeavors…. Goodbye.” He said and walked out, ignoring her calls for him to come back.

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Judith paced around her apartment anxiously, thinking of the next step to take.

She was ruined…. Like completely ruined!!

How could this have happened to her?