Episode 3: I Can Explain
708 Words
Vivian’s eyes were fixed on the phone in Adaobi’s trembling hand.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
The silence felt heavier than thunder.
“Ada…” Vivian finally whispered. “I can explain.”
Adaobi stared at her, her lips slowly parting.
“Explain what?”
Vivian swallowed hard and stepped forward.
“It’s not what you think.”
Adaobi let out a bitter laugh.
“Really?” She raised the phone. “Then tell me why my husband is saved in your phone as Kele ❤️.”
Vivian’s face drained of color.
“It just happened—”
“Don’t lie to me!”
The sharpness in Adaobi’s voice shocked even her.
She had never shouted at Vivian before.
Not once in all their years of friendship.
Vivian’s eyes filled with tears.
“We became close, that’s all.”
“Close?” Adaobi repeated. “You came into my home crying. I gave you a place to sleep. I fed you. I trusted you.”
Vivian wiped her cheeks. “I didn’t plan for this.”
Adaobi felt her heart crack open.
“So there is a this?”
Before Vivian could answer, the front door opened.
Kelechi walked in.
The moment he saw the two women facing each other, he stopped.
“What’s going on?”
Adaobi slowly turned to him.
“Ask your girlfriend.”
Kelechi’s expression hardened. “Adaobi, calm down.”
“Calm down?” She held up Vivian’s phone. “Should I read your messages out loud?”
Vivian looked away.
Kelechi took a step forward. “Give me the phone.”
“No.”
“Adaobi—”
“No!” Her voice broke. “For the first time in this marriage, answer me honestly. What is happening between you and Vivian?”
Kelechi rubbed his forehead.
“It’s complicated.”
Adaobi felt as if someone had slapped her.
Complicated.
Not nothing.
Not you’re mistaken.
Complicated.
Tears rushed to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
“How long?”
Neither of them answered.
“How long?” she repeated.
Vivian whispered, “A few weeks.”
Adaobi’s knees almost gave way.
“A few weeks…” she repeated softly. “So while I was working at the boutique, trying to support this family, the two of you were… what? Falling in love?”
Vivian cried openly now. “I’m sorry.”
Kelechi finally spoke.
“I never meant to hurt you.”
Adaobi looked at him in disbelief.
“You never meant to hurt me?”
She laughed again, this time with pain.
“You brought another woman into my marriage while I was still sleeping beside you.”
Kelechi’s voice grew defensive. “You’ve changed, Adaobi. You’re always working. You’re never home.”
The words hit her like a knife.
“So this is my fault?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You just did.”
Vivian stepped between them. “Please, stop fighting because of me.”
Adaobi turned to her slowly.
“Because of you?”
Her eyes burned with tears.
“You were my sister.”
Vivian could not look at her.
For a long moment, Adaobi stood there, staring at the two people she loved most in the world.
And suddenly, she saw them clearly.
Not as her husband.
Not as her best friend.
But as two strangers who had chosen each other over her.
She walked to the wardrobe, pulled out a small travel bag, and began packing clothes.
Kelechi frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I’m leaving.”
Vivian’s head snapped up. “Ada, don’t do this.”
Adaobi zipped the bag.
“This is my home,” Kelechi said.
Adaobi looked at him with heartbreaking calm.
“Then keep it.”
She picked up her bag and walked toward the door.
Kelechi grabbed her wrist.
“Where will you go?”
Adaobi slowly removed his hand.
“The same place every betrayed woman goes first,” she said softly.
“Anywhere that doesn’t smell like lies.”
And without looking back, Adaobi stepped out into the rain, while behind her, the door to her marriage remained open, and neither of them followed her.
- Writer
