Heartstrings (8)

"Lanre who?" I asked sharply. "Where are you calling from?" I added, different thoughts going through my mind. 'It couldn't be that Lanre, could it? He was supposed to be abroad so when did he come back to Nigeria and why's he calling my wife now...'

"Who's it, sweetheart?" said Becky, coming up to stand by me.

I handed the phone to her.

"He said Lanre or something."

"Hello!" she said, then stared at the phone, a thoughtful look on her face. "The call ended before I could speak. That must be Lanre Johnson. He's from the company that wants to sponsor my TV show."

Just then, the phone rang again.

"Hello!" said Becky as she walked towards the kitchen. "Oh, Lanre! How' re you doing? Sorry, I was busy when you called earlier and it was my husband that picked the call..."

I walked slowly towards the couch and sat down, staring blankly at the TV.

"What am I thinking?" I said to myself. I shook my head, picked up the remote and changed the channel.


I don't know how it started. But I noticed that I began to pay more attention whenever Becky was on the phone, something I never did before.

She too was acting weird.

Sometimes, when her phone rang and we were together, she would get up and move away to answer the call.

Maybe I was being too sensitive but I had the distinct feeling my wife was hiding something from me.

One night, in our bedroom, I was lying in bed when she came in from the bathroom after taking a shower.

As she slipped in besides me, I turned and reached for her.

***

"Hmm. You smell good, baby," I said, cuddling up to her.

I buried my head in her neck and began to kiss and caress her, my hand slipping inside her nightie to cup her breasts. As I tried to remove the gown, she pushed me gently away.

"What?" I said, gazing down at her.

"The baby."

"Oh, comon Becky! That's no excuse! The doctor said love making won't harm the baby so..."

"I just want to be careful.  Besides, I'm a bit tired tonight. Good night dear!" With that, she turned round and went to sleep.

I was not happy at all as I was in the mood for some loving. But there was nothing I could do since she was not keen, so I sighed, drew the bed cover over my head and tried to sleep.

Some weeks later, as Becky's birthday was coming up, I thought of arranging a dinner party with a few intimate friends as guests to mark the day.

As I thought about the plan, I realised it had  been long since I took my wife out on a date. So, that Friday, I decided to close early from work so I could drive over to her office and surprise her. I arrived shortly before 7pm and after parking, I dialled her number. It rang but she didn't pick.

After trying a number of times with no success, I decided to go meet her in her office. I was about stepping out of the car when I looked through the windscreen and something caught my eye.

I saw Becky walk out of the building talking and laughing with a tall, slim man. Initially, I thought it was a colleague of hers but on a closer look, he seemed vaguely familiar.

They headed towards the other side of the car park, and as he turned to look down at Becky, I got a closer look at his face. It was then I realised who he was and my heart froze....

Lanre! Becky's ex-fiance! I recognised him from his photos Becky had showed me in the past when we were still dating.

Was he home on a visit from his US base or what? And what's he doing with my Becky, I wondered. I thought maybe she was seeing him off but to my shock, she got into the car with him and he drove out of the car park.

 I know I should have called her then to tell her I was around. Instead, I started my car and drove quickly after them.

Though, it was getting dark by then, I kept a discreet distance from them to avoid being spotted. I was determined to know what was going on, what my wife was doing in a car with her ex-fiance heading to God knows where....

They turned into an estate not too far from her office and I followed them.

After driving down some side streets and roads, I saw the car turn into a large hotel in the estate.

I drove in as well and parked some distance away from them. I watched through the windscreen as they got down and began to walk towards the main entrance. They were chatting and holding hands like lovers.

'What's going on? What's Becky doing in a hotel with her former fiance?' I mumbled to myself. 'Were they seeing each other again even though she is now a married woman- and a pregnant one at that?' I shook my head unable to believe what my eyes were seeing.

I had to find out the truth no matter how painful it was so I jumped down from the car and marched towards the hotel entrance, ready for a showdown...

To be continued