"Crystal, have you been drinking or what? What did I just hear you say?" asked my mother sharply.
We were in my small sitting room upstairs where I had my sewing machine and other stuff I used for my sewing. After I left school, I had learnt fashion designing and I did a little sewing once in a while to keep busy and not for money.
I placed the blouse I was sewing for her on the table and turned to her.
"Mum, you heard me. I'm filing for divorce from Aloy," I repeated patiently as if talking to a child.
"A divorce? On what grounds? What has your husband done to you that you want to leave him?" she demanded.
I sighed before stating:
"That's the problem, Mum. He doesn't do anything! He's hardly around in the name of work. I've endured it for over six years and that's many years of my life wasted on an 'empty' marriage," I explained.
My mother shook her head, looking at me in a pitying manner.
"I can't believe this is coming from you. You want a divorce because your husband is hardly around because of his work? Are you crazy or what? Are you the only one in such a situation? What about the many women around whose husbands live and work abroad while they remain in Nigeria? Have they all filed for divorce from their husbands?" she stated hotly, her voice becoming angrier by the minute.
I did not care if she was mad at me or not. It was my life, my happiness at stake here. Whatever she felt about the matter would not dissuade me from what I intended doing about my situation. It was a matter of choice: to remain with Aloy or go for my lover...
It was obvious that my marriage to Aloy had grown stale, caused mostly by his long absences from home. Ok. He made a lot of money which enabled us to live a certain lifestyle. But was money everything? What about love, companionship, commitment- vital ingredients in a marriage all of which were lacking in mine?
It was my affair with Benji that opened my eyes to what had been missing in my marriage. Before Benji, it was like I was just existing, just going through the motions of living. He opened a whole new world to me which I would be crazy not to hold on to...
Watch out for the rest of this story later tonight. A happy Sunday to you all!
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