gracias

Well done op

Lol,jidenna God Saved Your Ass.Better For Cassie.Goodjob Ma'am

chivera018:
lol, it is obvious women like suffering, one year is too much sef, one man in my area remarried after 4 months.

May God have mercy on us

Saintmary:
May God have mercy on us

Amen. May God never send such husband ur way.

Thank God things are revealing itself.. Cassie said the truth, Dara's case is getting resolved. Now it remains Nene. Two down, one to go

thanks for sharing this masterpiece with us.

Good write-up. Thanks for the update. I love the twists and turns of the story.

nice story..... update pls

TEN

RICHARD

Richard rang the door bell twice before the door flew open.  Cassie's appearance blew him off,  she was wearing khaki coloured shorts and an oversized shirt that must belong to her husband. Her hair was a bird nest and she had tears stained cheeks along with red puffy eyes.

"Richard!" she cried and wrapped her arms around his neck.  "What the hell happened to you?" he asked pulling away to look at her face. Instead of responding, she broke into tears and clutched his shirt.

"Cassandra, deep breaths.  You'll be fine,  talk to me" Richard urged. She wouldn't stop crying so he picked her up and took her into the house.  He sat her down on a vacant chair and went over to the kitchen to get her a glass of water.  She looked like she needed it,  damn she looked like she needed a lot of things. Like a bath, food and sleep.

"Here" Richard handed her the glass of water.  "No thanks" she sniffed. 
"Take it Cassandra, don't be stubborn" Richard said.
Then she stretched out shaky hands and took the cup. She gulped down the water noisily.

"Can I get another?" she asked weakly.  "Yes,  you look like you need the whole bottle. What the hell is going on, everytime I see you nowadays you're in tears.  Is Tobi hurting you?" Richard asked frowning. Cassie shook her head and handed him the glass.

"Anything else?" Richard asked.
"Tea,  Toast,  I'm starving.  I haven't eaten in two days" Cassie's hand immediately went to her stomach.
"Would you like some pasta?" Richard asked sighing.
"Yes please...." Cassie said.

Richard took in her features again, "Cassie,  go take a bath. Pasta will be ready in a few minutes" Richard ordered.
Cassie wanted to object but she saw the hard look on his face and nodded.

When she came downstairs later,  he was was cutting up sausages and cooking them with tomato sauce.
"Thanks Richard" Cassie murmured. She was wearing blue cotton shorts now and a blue and white striped oversized shirt.

"Where is Tobi?" Richard asked sharply. "He's away....business" Cassie smiled weakly. She'd tried calling him since he left but he'd ignored every one of her calls.
She didn't have the courage to go look for him at work.

"You want to talk about it?" Richard asked. She shook her head "I'm fine really....I'm good.  Thanks for this, smells really appetizing" Cassie grinned.
Richard shrugged, it was nothing. He'd done more for Nene,  he was literally her errand boy/cook/laundryman amongst other things.
"You're welcome" He said pulling out a plate from the dish rack.

"Can I ask you something?" Cassie asked  Richard picking on a button on her shirt.
"Anything, C" he said looking at her intently now.
"Did you...did you...did you love Nene?" Cassie asked.
Richard appeared to be in thought for a while before he shook his head slowly.
"I can't call that Love, if she'd been easy perhaps it would have developed into love later. She didn't want love either,  I wasn't exactly her choice.  I'm  the poor gold digging man who supposedly raped her and she as always was the unsuspecting victim. You know how Nene can be" Richard cleared his throat and placed a plate of Pasta in tomato sauce in front of Cassie.
"You're wrong...she wanted love more than anything" Cassie said, her eyes watered. Maybe she should have told Richard sooner what Nene didn't have courage to tell him. Was it lack of courage or just plain pride?
Cassie suspected the latter.

Richard shook his head "She certainly had enough from her parents" he countered.

"Her parents gave her material things yes,  but not love.  They weren't exactly model parents, they were always jetting out to other countries for business. Nene on the other hand was placated with gifts, money,  credit cards, luxurious things. I was jealous of her while we were in school, she was the flashy one who always drew attention. A lot of people were surprised when we ended up being friends, I wasn't from a rich family like Dara and Nene. I was surprised when she spoke to me the first time in school, I thought her to the haughty and snobby.  She was but she could be an angel when she wanted to be. She told me all her problems, her secrets,  all her desires.
You see,  Nene dated sons of elites, wealthy people. I was surprised when she told me she had a massive crush on one Richard guy who worked in her father's company" Cassie said smiling a little at Richard's expression of disbelief.
"Me?" he asked.
"Yes, you silly. She used to talk about you all the time.  I was happy, for the first time she was thinking about wealthy people. She was in love with a struggling employee." Cassie chuckled.
"The same Nene who accused me of raping her amongst other things?" Richard asked.
"You know how dramatic she can be,  it was all an act.  Believe she was ecstatic when she got home, she couldn't remember anything but she was happy she'd spent the night with Richard" Cassie picked up her fork and swirled it round the pasta.

"If this is true, what changed? She was always mean and cold" Richard asked.
"Her father told her,  you'd said you'd only agree to marry her if you got  promoted. If you were paid,  he said you asked for fifteen million naira to marry Nene. I didn't believe that but Nene showed me proof of the account opened in your name with fifteen million naira sitting in it.  She was convinced you were a scheming, gold digger. That's why she acted that way towards you" Cassie finished, looking at Richard she waited for a response.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner Cassandra?" Richard looked bitter.

"I wanted to....but. I... It wasn't my place to tell you" Cassie said.

"I didn't ask Nene's father for anything, he came to me and told me that his daughter was pregnant and she claimed it was mine.  He asked how much it'd take for me to marry his daughter, I declined the offer of money. I didn't want to marry Nene either, I had someone else.  He began to threaten everyone around me,  he said if I didn't marry Nene he'd have her abort the baby. I didn't want that, my first child....I accepted.
He offered fifteen million, but not for me.  Even if the account was in my name, he made it clear that the money should be given to the child once he or she turned twenty one. I haven't touched a dime in that account, the money isn't mine.
I got promoted because Nene's father said it would be an insult for his son in law to be working as a lower staff in his company, I didn't ask for that either. Whatever he told Nene, it isn't true.  Tell her that, her father is  lying to her" Richard said.

Cassie shook her head "Tell her yourself" Cassie said.
"I would but she wouldn't see me,  she won't take my calls either" Richard explained.
"She doesn't want you to see her, well she's not at home now. She's at the hospital, I received a call last night that she....she'd....she'd given birth. I would have gone to see her but I can't. I'm not in the right frame of mind" Cassie sobbed quietly lowering her head.
"Given birth....what are you talking about?" Richard asked confused.
"She didn't lose the baby, she lied. Her parents and your lawyer came up with a plan to tell you the baby was dead.  She did take alcohol but the minute she started feeling strange, she drove to the hospital. She was fine,  then her mother suggested it" Cassie explained.
Richard's expression turned into a mixture of fury and betrayal.
"Nene has been pregnant all along? " he looked at Cassie upset.
Cassie nodded wiping tears off her face.
"How could you not tell me Cassandra?" Richard asked angrily.
"That's between you and Nene, your lawyer and her parents. I don't want to get involve, if you want to see her and your child you have to go to the hospital. Be there for her and when the time is right you two can iron out your problems" Cassie said.
"Cassandra..." Richard began.
"Please....just go.  Please" Cassie said tiredly.
Richard nodded and walked out of the kitchen.
He didn't know how to feel, elated at the birth of his child,  or furious at Nene's betrayal. Not just Nene,  Idara had also betrayed him.
He was beyond mad.

Such a great turn of event for Richard. Thanks for the update. Keep it up. God bless.

You can't just stop now, please continue. Let's see how he faced idara, and Nene. Richard should go visit his wife in the hospital, he can talk sense into her now since her parents aren't around.


Cassie. I'm beginning to love her despite her mistake. For opening up to her husband and the pregnancy .

Wow. it's getting more interesting.

Tanks a lot for the update. Jah bless

Nice and very interesting storyline.

Thanks for the update ma'am

Good story,
Never believe all the third party says,confront issues your self.

Good story,
Never believe all the third party says,confront issues your self.
thanks Gianaaa

[quote author=Cadec007 post=67455258]Abasi mbok! Keep ladies like nene far away from me![/quote
Very funny.]

DARA

Every eyes in the room watched Adanna's display.  She sat cross legged on the tiled floor and cried her eyes out while pulling her hair.
"Ada!  How could you?!" Mama spat.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry.....it was the work of the devil. I'm sorry..." she cried hysterically.
"What devil Ada? The only devil here is you!" Mama glared at her.
How could she have done something so callous, she gambled with the life of the entire family simply because of her unending hatred for Dara! 
It was absolutely unacceptable, Mrs Okolie hissed outraged.

"I know we had our issues with your brother's choice but that was no excuse Ada. You put our lives in danger, you almost wrecked your brother's marriage! I can't forgive you for that, as a matter of fact I don't want you as my daughter anymore" Mama crossed her arms against her chest angrily. 

She was furious and her eyes dared everyone in the room to counter unrelenting decision. She refused to be placated by the pleas of her eldest daughter.

'Hmmm, if she's this mad how the hell am I supposed to feel?' Dara mused looking around the living room.
Ada might not have wrecked her marriage in the end but she's already done the worst.   She could never forgive or forget, what's done is done. 

Nothing could erase the memory of her own husband's accusations, her in laws mistreatment. Whatever Ada had done just showed  how well they hated her.

Mazi Uchendu simply stared at his raging sister in law and her daughter. The men were silent,  Dara remained silent. They'd excluded Oluchi from the meeting because they didn't want her to know that her sister had behind the devious acts.

"This issue ends here,  thanks to Dara's mother everyone is well. After this discussion here,  I don't want anyone to mention this anywhere else again. This issue dies here,  am I clear?" mazi asked in a steel like voice.

"Yes Mazi" surprisingly it was only Obinna, Dara and Ada that had responded. Jidenna, his mother and Emeka had remained silent still glaring at Adanna.

"Am I clear?!" Mazi's voice thundered this time.

"Ada has to apologize to Dara, I will only close this issue if she apologizes to my wife" Jidenna said.

Mazi sighed and turned to his niece who was already looking apologetic. "Dara I'm sorry, I don't know why I ever did such. I was blinded by rage and jealousy. I'm sorry, I was upset.  Jidenna had always put the family first before anything else,  it angered me that he was putting you first before the family" Ada sniffed.

"I thought I was family too?" Dara asked quietly.

"It's our fault Dara,  we were angry that Jidenna had married a Yoruba girl. We expected him to come home and marry the woman we'd groomed for him or at least bring home an Igbo girl. That's all in the past, you're not just my son's wife now. You're my daughter, you're family" Mrs Okolie said a bitter note in her voice.
If they'd not been so hung up in their own rage at Jidenna's choice of a wife,   the incident would not have happened.

"You've always been family,  I'm sorry we've not been treating  you like family" Mazi added.

Dara nodded and smiled a little, suddenly she didn't feel bitter anymore.
To forgive is divine,  she reminded herself.  And Pastor Lawal had told her that it was a burden to remain unforgiving, she didn't want that burden.

"I'm also sorry Dara,  I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me,  to forgive and forget everything I did to you" Obinna said looking guilty.

"I forgive you,  let's not speak of it.  I think we can all call this a blessing in disguise. It wasn't a good thing but it's brought us closer now.  I forgive you Ada, I forgive aunt chinyere, mama,  mazi and you too Jay" Dara said entwining her hands with her husband's.

Jidenna smiled half heartedly, just yesterday he'd gone on both knees and begged as if he's life depended on it, which was true in a way because his life would be meaningless without Dara in it. 

He had not stood by his wife when she needed him.  If the roles had been reversed, he knew Dara would stand firm for him no matter what. 

The difference between him and Dara was that she'd loved him with all her heart,  he on the other hand hadn't. He was terribly ashamed at that. He'd change, he'd be the best husband from now on.  He'd give her whatever she desired because she deserved it.

Emeka pulled his wife to her feet, he didn't need to scold her.  She'd gotten enough from her mother and uncle.

"I'm glad you've learnt your lesson, come on let's go home now.  Our daughters have missed you,  let's go home" He said.  Ada broke into tears and buried her head in his chest.

Indeed,  she'd learnt her lesson. A lesson she would never forget in a long time.

CASSIE

She'd felt like she was hallucinating when she saw Tobi in the living room early in the morning. He was dusting the furniture and putting things in order.

"Good morning" she murmured quietly. Her voice was so faint, he'd barely heard her.

"Good morning" he repeated. She looked like a rag doll. Her face was pale, her eyes looked lifeless. He walked up to her and cupped her face.

He wasn't seeing a cheat,  he was seeing his pregnant wife.  She looked very vulnerable, suddenly it didn't matter that she had slept with his half brother.  She was his pregnant wife, she needed him and he'd be there for her.

He regretted leaving her for so long, his own life had been meaningless while he'd been away.  At first he's been mad,  so mad that he wanted to commit murder. After being without her for days,  he began to miss her. She was rooted deep in his life and he couldn't leave her. He couldn't live without her either.

"I've missed you" Tobi said kissing her. He felt her surprise but said nothing about it.  "I missed you too, don't leave me again please Tobi.  It's been hard, please don't leave me" Cassie begged tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes.
"I won't leave, I won't leave you again.  Whatever the problem is, we'll iron it out now" Tobi said.
Cassie nodded and looked at him expectantly, what was going to happen now?
"After this discussion, there will be no more talk about Dele" Tobi said his eyes hardened at the name of that betrayer.
Cassie nodded again.
"I don't care about what happened between you two,  actually I do but I'd rather not think or talk about it.  You're my wife Cassie,  I love you. I made mistakes too but you forgave me,  so I forgive you. I just wanted you to know that it doesn't matter if you slept with Dele,  this baby is mine,  ours. There will be no talk about Dele, as  a matter of fact we won't be mentioning it to him.  There will be no paternity test,  the baby is mine and that's it" Tobi said looking at his wife intently.
"I love you so much Tobi,  thank you....
I don't know what I'll ever do without you.  I don't deserve you,  I know you don't want to talk about Dele again but please just here me out." Cassie said tears lacing her voice.

"Go on" Tobi said in a gentle voice.
"Dele means nothing to me, I hate him. At first I slept with him just to spite you. I was angry, I was angry that you'd cheated on me with on our wedding, the family cult and the children.  I wanted it to be a one time thing but Dele got out of hand.  He claimed he wanted revenge, that you'd done the same to him, later he claimed he was in love with me and wanted for himself. When I refused,  he'd abuse me.  He lied to you about Richard, I'm sorry Tobi.  I'm a terrible wife, I'm sorry. I love you, I love you and no one else" Cassie sobbed.

"I love you too, now we'll forget about Dele.   We'll never speak of him, we'll start afresh okay" Tobi kissed her again.

Cassie nodded and wrapped her arms around him. She silently thanked her stars .

How did she get so lucky?

NENE

"You mean you won't be here for your first grandchild's christening!" Nene yelled over the phone.
"We're terribly sorry Nens but your father and I are busy.  Do remember to send us pictures okay?" her mother said in a rather calm voice.

Nene wiped her  angry tears away, "Fine, I don't need you. I've never needed you and I won't start now.  My son and I will be fine without you" Nene hissed.

"Now don't talk that way Nene,  your father and I wish we could be there with you but we can't sadly" Mrs Nwankwo said.

Nene hissed and ended the call immediately. She took calm breaths to keep herself from bursting into tears.

Turning into the cot beside her,  Nene looked at the infant sleeping in the cot. He looked so small and serene now,  the slightest sound would wake him up and he'd burst into loud angry tears.

He was just a day old now, her heart warmed and she smiled looking at his tiny socks covered toes. Right now he didn't look like her or his father yet and he was yet to open his eyes.

Richard walked into the ward and saw Nene  bent over a cot probably looking at the baby.
He stilled for a while before clearing his throat to catch her attention.

Nene turned sharply at the sound and saw her ex husband looking stone faced .
"Richard!" she gasped aloud. How did he know she was here,  as if she should ask. It was probably Dara or Cassie, most likely Cassie since she was closer to Richard.

"Is he awake?" Richard asked.

Nene shook her head and turned towards the baby's cot.

"What are you doing here?" Nene asked .

Richard glared at her but said nothing, he moved to the cot to look at the baby.

His breath caught in his throat as he stared at the life he'd created with Nene.

"Richard...I can explain" she started.

He held up his hand "Not now,  not now" Richard warned looking at his child, his son.  He felt a surge of fatherly love towards the little guy.

"That doesn't matter now,  all that matters is that I'm here. I'm with you and I'm with him" Richard said.

Nene burst into tears instantly, her parents weren't even here for her. It was Richard, Richard whom she'd scorned since they got married.

"I'm sorry" she stared in a rather loud voice. The baby stirred and let out a wail.

"It's okay, we'll talk later. Later okay?  Right now let's just focus on the baby" Richard said pulling her to his side.

Nene nodded, he was right. All that mattered now was their baby.

Gianna

I was going to make the 'Nene' chapter longer. It's supposed to be the last chapter before the alternative chapter and the epilogue. I can't keep my eyes open, I'm sorry.

The story is almost over anyway, thanks for not giving up on my lazy ass

For using ur sleeping hour to update is a plus for u. thank u very much. I am addicted to this story from the start nd I love every of ur updates.

Giannaaaaaa:
Gianna

I was going to make the 'Nene' chapter longer. It's supposed to be the last chapter before the alternative chapter and the epilogue. I can't keep my eyes open, I'm sorry.

The story is almost over anyway, thanks for not giving up on my lazy ass

Beautifully real, like most stories,the characters found peace,reconciled and moved on.
Some people may not have that chance in real life.
Marriage is a decision,not a feeling.
Thanks for reminding us all.
Can't wait for the completion.
However, thumbs up.

I really love dis story very interesting.

Thanks for d update, this story is suberb too bad it's coming to an end soon

Well done dear.it's not easy to write a story.Keep moving and I pray the sky will be your start point.

I like it

U try mehn. Tanks a lot for the update. God bless.

PraisesG:

Beautifully real, like most stories,the characters found peace,reconciled and moved on.
Some people may not have that chance in real life.
Marriage is a decision,not a feeling.
Thanks for reminding us all.
Can't wait for the completion.
However, thumbs up.

indeed, Marriage is a decision, Not just feelings alone.

You're doing a very good job. Thanks for the update. Thumbs up.