My name is Ifeoma, a 38-year-old woman who has been married for 12 years with three children. If someone had told me that my husband, Okechukwu, would go as far as having children outside without informing me, I would never have believed such but to even have another legally married wife »living in the same Lagos with us is quite unthinkable and goes to show that men can be as deceitful as the devil himself. Before now, I saw Okey as the best husband and father any family can ever have. I am not saying he has not had his faults in our years together or that he does not do what other men do behind their backs but he had never given me any cause to doubt or distrust him He has always played his role as a responsible husband and provider but about six years ago, his travels doubled and at some points, he could be away from home for three months, ostensibly on business. But I never complained because anytime he came back home, he made sure he made up for his absence. Little did I know that I was living in a fool's paradise when a friend of mine, Chidumga, hinted me that he saw Okey at a church during the dedication of a new baby in another part of the town and that he was announced as the father of the baby. I was mad at Chidumga for telling such a lie about my husband who, at that time, was in far away China trying to clear his goods. But my friend brought out a phone and showed me photos she had taken during the dedication and lo and behold, there was my husband, dressed in the same clothes with the mother of the baby, smiling radiantly, during the event. I almost fainted with shock. When I could gather my thoughts, I called his numbers but they were switched off. Chidumga volunteered to take me to the apartment of the woman and when we got there, I was stunned, to say the least, when the door was opened and I saw my husband carrying the young child in his arms. He too was shocked to see me and was dumbfounded. The new mother came out of the room with a child who was not more than three years, a carbon copy of my husband. When the woman asked him who I was, he could not say a thing, only that he would explain later. I stormed out of the house and when I got home, I parked some of my things and took my children to my elder sister's place. All these happened two months ago. Since then, Okey has been begging me, sending people to talk to me while my family too has been telling me to go back to my husband, especially for the sake of my children but I am still yet to come to terms with the fact my husband could have another family without telling
me.
