THE PERFECT WIFE

Chapter Thirteen

Ebere decided to meet Nonso again to see if he had agreed to sign the divorce papers but the meeting didn't still go as planned. Nonso had not yet signed the divorce papers and didn't appear like he was going to do so.

"When will you sign the divorce papers? I don't intend to stay long in Nigeria." She said trying to hide the fact that she was still affected by Nonso's presence. Even if he was not looking very rich again, he was still looking as handsome as ever.

"But this is your home. This is where your family is." Nonso replied smiling as if he knew what was going on in Ebere's fragile heart.

"I don't have a family here any longer and I'm happy with the new life I now have in the UK. I came here to have our marriage annulled and you're the one delaying the whole thing." She replied.

"Ebere, I'm not going to sign the divorce papers because to me our marriage is not yet over." He grabbed her by the hand and showed her the wedding ring that she was still wearing.

"You're still wearing our wedding ring and that only means one thing. We are not yet done and I can see it in your eyes." Nonso added. His last statement almost got Ebere annoyed but she kept her cool.

"That I'm wearing your ring doesn't mean I still want you. I don't want to have another man coming after me. This ring helps to keep them away." She said pulling off from his grip.

Nonso felt bad from Ebere's last statement. He couldn't believe there was no place for him again in Ebere's heart.

"Can I ask you for a favour?" Nonso asked as an expression of disappointment was written all over his face.

"Yes, what is it?" Ebere asked as she took a sip from the glass of wine that was in front of her on the table.

"Can I meet with Amaka please? Can you wait till after her birthday before leaving? I've missed one of her birthday already and I don't want to miss this one too. If you can agree to what I've asked, I'll sign the divorce papers and give you the freedom you want." Nonso replied.

Ebere could not believe her ears. She couldn't believe that Nonso would eventually agree to her request and allow for the annulment of the marriage.

"I've told you before that Amaka is your daughter and I'm not taking away your right as a father over her. If you want to meet her tomorrow, I'll make that happen. She has been dying to see you." Ebere replied.

"And about staying till after her 8th birthday, there is no problem with that. She'll be happy to have you celebrate her birthday with her." Ebere added. She called the waiter to settle the bills but Nonso asked her to keep back her money.

"Don't worry, I'll settle the bills." Nonso said. Ebere tried to convince him not to worry about the bills but Nonso wouldn't yield.

After she had left, Nonso fell into deep thoughts. He couldn't help but imagine how life would have been if he hadn't messed up at first. He just couldn't take his eyes off Ebere.

"So, this beautiful lady was once my wife. Nonso you're such a fool." He said to himself.

Nonso and Amaka had a good time together. He was glad to be with his daughter once again.

"Daddy, I miss you." Amaka said with her beautiful face as that of Ebere her mother.

"When are we coming back home? I miss my room and my toys. I want to come back home. I miss our old house." She said.

Nonso could tell that Ebere had not told Amaka any evil thing about him and it was obvious Amaka had no idea that he had a second wife. He thought of how wonderful a human being Ebere was. If only he was given another chance to make things right, he wouldn't waste further time to do so. He really missed the family he failed to cherish because of Sandra.

"Honey very soon we will be together again. Daddy has lots of work to do first and once he is done he will come back for you and your mom." He replied smiling.

Ebere was sitting at the other end of the table with a client whom she was planning to partner with. Her eyes met with Nonso's and seeing how happy Amaka was with her dad, she returned the smile.

Nonso smiled back at her and she too kept smiling. Nonso couldn't remember the last time he smiled like that. For the past one and a half year, he had found it difficult to smile. His problems had choked him up to the extent that he had forgotten that there is such a word as "smile" in the dictionary.

He called the waiter to settle his bills but the waiter told him that Ebere had paid for everything. Holding Amaka by the hand, the two of them walked up to Ebere who was done talking to her client and was just about leaving to join them at the table.

"Mummy, daddy said we would go home once he is done with the work he has to do. Are you not happy to hear that? We would be together once again." Amaka said.

Ebere smiled and said nothing. She asked Amaka to go and wait for her in the car.

"Daddy where is your car?” Amaka asked.

"It's having some minor problems and is undergoing repair." Nonso lied. Amaka hugged him and ran to the car.

"She misses you a lot and won't stop talking about you even when we were overseas. She threw tantrums at some point and I had to lie to her." Ebere said.

"What did you tell her?" Nonso asked.

"I told her, you are the best dad in the world and that you love her and will never leave her. I would ask Ebuka to write to her every month in your name so she would know you still think of her since there was no way you could reach us." Ebere said.

"I really wanted to write to you guys but there was no way I could." Nonso said.

"I know you love your daughter and won't blame you for not writing to her or calling. I was angry and didn't want to hear from you but I'm okay now." She said.

Nonso was short of words, he couldn't believe Ebere did that even while she was still angry at him. Indeed, there was no woman like Ebere and she was without a yard stick of comparison.

"I will be leaving now. Take good care of yourself." She said and left to join Amaka in the car. Nonso waved them goodbye and smiled. He couldn't tell why he did that but he was happy. Even if the conversation with Ebere was a bit casual, he felt happy. He could feel he still had a chance to get Ebere back. He saw an opportunity of getting Ebere back and decided not to stop. He decided to make it a habit of spending time with Amaka from time to time. He saw it as an opportunity to rekindle the old flame of love that once burned in them. He was still very much in love with Ebere and since she came back to Nigeria, Nonso had found a reason to live. He looked at his wrist watch and realized it was time to meet with chief Raymond. Nonso had met chief Raymond the previous day at the restaurant where he had gone to meet with Ebere. Chief Raymond needed someone to be the spokesman at the meeting he was about having with his potential investors but the man he paid for the job didn't show up. In his state of confusion, Nonso walked up to him noticing how disturbed he was looking. He saw Nonso as an educated man and gave him the job of being his spokesman at the meeting after telling him the scope of the business. Nonso did a good job for him and didn't collect any money.

Chief Raymond was surprised at the way Nonso was able to convince the gentlemen to invest in his real estate business. He gave Nonso his business card and requested for a meeting with him.

Nonso quickly took a cab and in no time he was in Chief's Raymond Real Estate Enterprise. Chief Raymond decided to employ Nonso after going through his credentials. He found out that Nonso was once CEO of CUBRAN BEVERAGES and wanted to know why the business collapsed. Nonso told him the whole truth and how he cheated on his wife. He wanted to live an honest life hence forth because dishonesty had brought him nothing but setbacks. Chief Raymond was surprised at his level of honesty and out of pity and gratitude, he gave Nonso the job.

Nonso was left speechless because not only did he get a job, he was made the assistant supervisor of the assets of the real estate.

"I have confidence in your potentials and I know you will bring good luck to my business." Chief Raymond said.

Nonso went back home that day feeling very happy. He could tell that his life would soon fall back in place.

"Ebere you are my lucky charm." He said to himself.

"When you left things fell apart for me and now that you are back, things are falling into place again." He said.

He was really happy to have got a new job and knew his life would fall back into place in no time.

His agreement to sign the divorce papers was still on and he just had one more week to spend with Amake as her birthday in a week's time. He was glad to know that he'll be around to celebrate it with her as he had missed one of her birthday but on a second thought, he knew if he doesn't get Ebere to change her mind and retrieve her divorce papers, he'll have to sign them and if that should happen, it would be the end. He decided he'd use that one week to try all he could to change Ebere's mind and to make her see that he still loved her and would still want her to be his wife.

After the meeting with Nonso that day, Ebere decided it'd be better if she takes off his ring and give it back to him. She knew if she does that, Nonso would know that she is serious and would give in to signing the document. She was having the feelings that Nonso was deliberately using the excuse of spending time with Amaka to have her change her mind. He could tell from the way he smiled at her earlier. She was tired of everything that was happening in her life. She knew what she needed was not a divorce but love and the only person that could really love her the way she wants was Nonso. She finally came to agree with the saying that, "The one who can hurt you the most is actually the one you love the most." She thought of Alex and how much he had done for her. She knew that no matter what she does, she can never love Alex as much as she had loved Nonso and so, not to keep giving him false hopes only to end up hurting him, she decided to send him a message.

"Dear Alex,

You've been a blessing to me and I do not take that for granted. You were there when I needed someone to lean on. You gave me reason to smile and to see life from it's bright side once again. You showed me love even when I wasn't worth loving and brought joy to my sad heart. You're one of a kind and I must confess one with a heart of gold.

I know this might hurt you but it'd be better to let you know now than to keep leading you on. You're a very nice man and it won't be hard loving you but you know, after meeting my husband, I realized I still love him. I know it sounds stupid but Nonso has always been the only man I love and until now he's still the one. I don't want a situation where I'd be with you but my heart will still be some where else. You're too nice to have someone who won't love you the way you deserve to love. I hope you understand? Thank you so much for all you did for me. I pray you find the woman who'd love you and not play with your feelings.

With love,

Ebere.

Alex felt bad after reading the message. He had opened the message excitedly hoping to receive a good news that Nonso had agreed to the divorce request and had signed the documents but was disappointed after reading it.

He exhaled deeply falling on the sofa which was right behind him. He decided to reply Ebere and let her know that he had received her message.

"Hello Ebere, I received your message and to be honest with you I'm really sad. However, I understand you perfectly well. I knew you still loved your husband even if you tried to hide it. Nonso is very lucky to have a woman who loves him so much. Thank you for giving me happiness in the short while we were together. I hope you and Nonso work things out because it'd be a waste if you don't. Extend my regards to Amaka. If ever you return to London, don't forget to come around. I hope I'm able to find a woman just like you.

"Bye for now."

Alex.

Ebere heaved a sigh of relief after reading the message. She was happy she had finally been honest with herself. She was happy to know that Alex had finally accepted that the two of them can't be together and won't be coming after her again but as for Nonso, she knew it was still complicated as he was still married to Sandra. She decided to still set him free and live the rest of her life as a single mother. She decided to accept that her fate was to be a single mother and was ready to embrace it without any form of disregard. She couldn't wait for Amaka's birthday to come so that Nonso can finally sign the divorce papers.

"Mommy, what is wrong? Why aren't you asleep?" Amaka asked. She had noticed that the light in Ebere's room was on and it was unlike her mom to sleep with the lights on. She opened the door gently and found her sitting on her bed."

"Come here honey." Ebere said with a smile on her face to hide her worries.

Amaka walked up to her and sat on her legs.

"Mommy are you okay?" Amaka asked.

"I'm fine my dear. So how's my baby preparing towards her eighth birthday. Do you have your wish list already?" Ebere asked.

"Yes Mom, I don't really have plenty wishes. I just have two." Amaka replied.

"Really? What are they?" Ebere asked.

"That we'll return to our old house as a family and that I'll have younger siblings too." Amaka replied.

Ebere was surprised. She couldn't believe that Amaka could wish for something like that. She almost felt like crying as the thought of Amaka's wish coming to pass appeared to be impossible. She may get to have younger siblings through Nonso but may never get her family to be whole again.