THE PERFECT WIFE

Chapter 15

I As Ebere drove back home that evening, she just couldn't get it off her mind that she had really hurt Nonso by returning his wedding ring. Meeting with Nonso again didn't go as she had planned. She came to end things with him but it appeared it was the beginning of their love story again. She still had feelings for Nonso and was still very much in love with him.

"It's been two years and I'm still miserable. Why can't I just forget about you? Why have you chosen to torment me this way?" She asked herself.

She could still remember the happy days they had while they were still in the university, how they were so madly in love being inseparable. She could still remember the day Nonso proposed to her and how happy it made her. She recalled how happy they were on their wedding day and how memorable their honey moon was. Without an iota of doubt, Nonso had been the best thing that has ever happened to her until Sandra came into the picture.

"If only Sandra didn't get in our way, we'd be the happiest couple by now. If only you didn't chose her over me, it'd have been the two of us against the world." She soliloquised.

As a matter of fact, after seeing how happy Amaka was with her dad, she felt it would be unfair to have her daughter grow up in a broken home but she was still scared. Nonso had really hurt her and she wasn't willing to give him another opportunity to do the same thing to her again. She arrived home only to find Chigozie waiting for her. Ebuka had taken Onyebuchi out on a date and Amaka was upstairs sleeping. She thought Chigozie had gone home after the party but was surprised to see him waiting for her.

"I wanted to talk to you after the party but I saw you talking to Nonso and I decided to wait for you at home instead." He said.

Ebere knew her older brother too well and could tell that he had something very important to talk about. Chigozie wasn't the type that would decide to sit and wait for a person if the issue to be discussed wasn't very important.

"So what did you two talk about?" Chigozie asked leaning on the arm chair like someone who was really ready for a conversation.

"I saw the way you were looking at him and how you kept on stealing glances. You just couldn't hide the fact that you miss him and wish your family was whole again." He added.

"Brother Gozie, am I a terrible person? Don't I have the right to be angry?" Ebere asked knowing fully well that Chigozie was ready to give another lecture on marriage and relationship.

"Of course you have every right to be angry and you are not a terrible person. You are my sister and you are the best sister in the world." Gozie said.

"Then why do I feel this way? Why does it feel like I'm the bad person here?" Ebere added.

"What do you mean by that? What have you done?" Gozie asked.

"I'm the one who got hurt but I'm the one who is feeling like I hurt someone. I am the one who was betrayed but why do I feel like am the one who has betrayed him? Why does it feel like I'm the bad person here?" Ebere asked not being able to control how emotional she had suddenly become and allowing the tears in her eyes that she had been trying so hard to supress to finally find their way down her cheeks.

"Tell me exactly what happened between you and Nonso today. Tell me everything he said to you. I'm your brother and I am willing to give you a shoulder to lean on." Gozie said patting her on the back.

Gozie had been the only one who really understood Ebere since they were kids. Even if Ebuka was her twin brother, she felt more comfortable sharing secrets with Chigozie. Ndubisi was the farthest from her. He was the bossy type and always demands respect and obedience to every if his instructions but Chigozie was different. He was the one with the tender heart in the family and Ebere never found it difficult to express her deepest feelings before him.

Ebere told him all that Nonso had said and how he wanted her back. He also told him how she had given back his wedding ring to him and how she was expecting Nonso to give her the signed document of their annulment. Chigozie listened attentively as she narrated everything to him. He grabbed her hands and smiled at her. He already knew why Ebere was finding it difficult with the whole of Nonso's issue. He lifted her face and saw her tears. He knew where those tears were coming from and it was from the vaults of love.

"Do you still love him?" Gozie asked even if he was a hundred percent sure that Ebere still does. The question dropped like a time bomb and Ebere couldn't provide the answer to it. She was left speechless and didn't know what to say. She knew she couldn't deny the fact that she still loves Nonso a lot and a part of her was happy when Nonso said Sandra had left him but her fear of being played for a fool again was getting the better of her.

"I can't even understand myself. I want to make myself believe that it is over between us but my heart keeps reminding me of him. Why can't I just forget about him?" She asked with the tears in her eyes flowing down uncontrollably.

"You can't forget about him because you still love him my dear. I know it is hard to accept but that's the truth." Gozie replied.

"I'm a fool right? I'm a fool for going away to heal and end the marriage only to return and still feel like marrying him again." Ebere said.

"I don't agree with you on that dear. You're not a fool and will never be a fool for being honest with how you feel. There are a thousand and one women out there whose husbands cheat on. They are not just cheated on, they are also abused physically, mentally and emotionally. Nonso may have cheated on you but he never made you feel less important. He only found himself in a situation that he couldn't handle but he never stopped loving you." Gozie said.

Ebere suddenly remembered how Nonso had taken a one week break from work just to spend time with her. That one week was one of the best moments she had ever had with Nonso. Apart from the time Nonso had pushed her out of his way, Nonso had never abused her physically. Nonso was a gentleman to the core and she could attest to that.

Gozie brought out the documents of the shares she had once invested in CUBRAN BEVERAGES and handed it over to her.

"Your husband could have saved his company by selling your shares but he didn't. He pulled them out and invested them elsewhere. He was willing to lose everything he had accumulated in life except you. He actually wanted to see you then and beg you but Ebuka refused. Ebuka made sure he doesn't see you and there was nothing he could do about it. Men like Nonso are rare and I tell you, you can't find a man like him anywhere. It is one thing to make a mistake and it is another thing to take responsibility for it." Gozie said.

Ebere was left speechless. She tried to hold back her tears but she couldn't. She never knew Nonso had the chance of saving Cubran beverages but chose to let it go and never squandered her money that was worth millions. When she heard Cubran beverages got bankrupt, she was infuriated thinking Nonso had mismanaged the company's funds including her own money but Nonso had invested her money elsewhere and the returns were twice what she would have gotten at Cubran beverages.

"He brought the documents to me himself and told me to give them to you anytime I come to see you overseas. He told me how sorry he was and how he wished he never hurt you in the first place. For the first time in my life, I saw a man who loves my sister like he couldn't live without her. On that day, I understood that Nonso didn't come into your life because you had money but because he really loved you. I know I wasn't the one he betrayed but let me ask you this question sis, will you just allow your marriage to fall apart because of one mistake?” You have two options dear. Walk out of your marriage and be a single mom or reconcile with your husband and be a happy wife. I will take my leave now." He said.

Ebere's tears kept flowing. She wanted to be happy again. She had really missed her husband and his romantic attitude towards her. She wanted to give him another chance but her fear wouldn't allow her. At that point, a news on an accident scene was reported on TV.

"Just before Dreamworlds plaza, a terrible accident was reported to have taken the place. The accident was between a blue Lexus RX latest model and a heavy duty truck. The driver of the Lexus RX must have been drunk or something. He has been rushed to the hospital and we are hoping he survives it.

"That's Nonso's new car!" Ebere exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Chigozie asked.

"Of course. But Nonso doesn't drink. What if he got himself drunk after I returned his ring to him? Brother what if it was Nonso?" She asked panicking.

"Calm down. Let's hear what the reporter still has to say." Gozie said reaching for the remote control to increase the volume of the television set.

"The only thing that we have to identify the driver of the Lexus RX is his driver's license. The name on it is no other than "Chinonso Thompson Amadi, former CEO of Cubran beverages Ltd.

While that was still going on, Ebere's phone rang and it was a strange number that was calling. Ebere was already panicking after seeing the news and after it has been confirmed that Nonso was the one involved in the accident.

"Hello, please am I speaking with the wife of Mr Nonso Amadi?" The voice at the other end asked.

"Yes ma'am you're speaking with her." Ebere replied.

"Your husband got into a very fatal accident and is currently in a critical condition here in our hospital.

"Which hospital?” Ebere asked.

"Damino Hospital." The lady replied.

"Nothing is going to happen to my husband right?” Ebere asked shivering after dropping the call.

"Calm down." Gozie said.

"Calm down? How can I calm down? My husband was involved in an accident and you are asking me to calm down? Ebere said.

"Did you see the car on TV? If something bad happens to Nonso, I will never forgive myself." She added.

"Nothing bad will happen to Nonso. So stop panicking and let's go to the hospital.

"What happened to daddy?" Amaka asked. She was already downstairs and she heard what Ebere had told Gozie. She just had a terrible dream and wanted to tell her mom about it when she overheard everything.

"Honey come with me. We are going to the hospital right away. Your dad got in to an accident and is in a critical condition." Ebere said. Gozie didn't allow her to drive the car because Ebere wasn't in her right frame of mind. He knew how emotional Ebrere could be and leaving her to drive that night might result in something more terrible.

"Brother Gozie, drive faster. You are too slow." Ebere said.

"Ebere, I'm driving as fast as I can. We'll get to the hospital in no time." Gozie replied as calmly as he could.

Ebere hugged Amaka tight trying to hide the fact that she was crying.

"Please don't die Nonso. I still love you. Please stay alive for me and our daughter. I'm too young to be a widow and Amaka is too young to be fatherless." She thought within herself. That night, Chigozie finally came to agree with the part of the Bible which says that, "what God has joined together let no man out asunder. Indeed Nonso and Ebere were meant to be and nothing can break them apart. He was confident that nothing bad will happen to Nonso even if he all he could see in Ebere's eyes were tears and worry.