Episode 8 (A Decision)

Last updated on April 30th, 2024 at 06:32 am

Now

“Adelana, if tables were turned, what would you do? If I was the married one here, what would you do?” Patricia asked Adelana.

“I don’t know,” Adelana exhaled harshly, rubbing his forehead. “Not to be mean though, but I don’t think I’d care about him. I don’t know him, it’s you I know and want, I don’t owe him anything. I’d go on with you as though he didn’t exist.” He knew he was serious because had she not withdrawn from him that year, he had plans to steal her from her then-boyfriend. Now that he thought about it, he should have persisted.

“Even at the risk of being caught?” Patricia asked knowing what his answer would be. Sometimes, the reassurance just felt good and almost insane.  She didn’t want to be the evil woman who caused another woman to lose her marriage. Adelana was willing to divorce his wife, but how would she cope with herself if she knew that she made him divorce his wife?

“Yes, even at the risk of being caught, Patricia.” Adelana felt bad for his wife. He had promised to be the best man for her and to always make her happy but at the time, he had thought that he stood no chance with the true love of his life. Maybe anybody could be anyone’s soulmate but only one person could truly fit like a glove fit a hand and for him, it was Patricia.

“Easy for you to say.” She sighed, reluctantly sitting beside him. He heaved a sigh and held her close. He was just as confused. He understood Patricia’s stance but he didn’t want to lose her. 

The other day, he had been very close to telling his wife that he’d been cheating on her but Patricia had made him promise not to tell her until they both agreed that he could. He wondered how long he could keep up with this. There were two reasons why Adelana wanted to tell his wife: one, she deserved to know and the second was that, he hated the secrecy with Patricia. He wanted the whole world to know that she was his just as he was hers. He disliked having reasons to come to Lagos or lying to his wife just so he could get a dose of Patricia.

“You know what? This is about us today. It’s our eighth month anniversary and I need it to be special.” Adelana told Patricia. He had flown her to Calabar for their anniversary and given her a promise ring. He was worried that Patricia wouldn’t take the ring, but she did, enthusiastically. It hurt him to be in this position and he had never worried that he’d be here but life comes at you fast. 

Adelana’s marriage was two years plus and it was necessary to come clean with his wife, but he had to respect Patricia’s wishes. Adelana knew that his wife was smart and she had been suspecting something. They barely had sex again, because it felt like he was cheating on Patricia. He was still fulfilling other marital roles because they were easy but their sexual intimacy was suffering and all he could was to apologise to his wife every time he had to turn her down.

“How can it be special when we’re hurting someone else?” Patricia asked. The longer her relationship with Adelana, the more severe the guilt she felt. She could agree for him to tell his wife but she feared a lot of things: his wife’s reaction, if their relationship could survive his divorce, and one more reason which she had kept to herself: would she be jinxing their love by causing someone else pain and loss? 

A part of her felt like by keeping their relationship from Adelana’s wife, they were respecting her, which felt good. Another part reasoned that their love was this strong because he was married and it was a taboo—the moment they made it into something original, the love would be shaken and might not last.

“I could tell her,” Adelana suggested but Patricia knew he was serious. She admired his courage so far considering that divorcing his wife who he had promised to be with forever couldn’t be an easy thing for him to do. Adelana was tired of Patricia’s guilt and indecision, he grabbed his phone from the nightstand and unlocked it.

“What are you doing?” Patricia’s eyes widened. Adelana was officially crazy, she thought, and snatched his phone from him. 

“Babe, something has to give,” Adelana answered, grinding his jaw as he did when he was stressed. Patricia’s heart hurt as she witnessed his pain. She reached forward to stroke his jaw as Adelana rested his head on her palm.

“I promise, I won’t bring it up again until I have a solution.” She whispered and kissed him. Adelana broke into a smile upon hearing this. Now they could enjoy their anniversary and leave reality behind even if only for the weekend. 

When he said something had to give, he meant it though, but he would attend to that after the weekend. Patricia hugged Adelana, excited to have been able to make him smile. She believed Adelana when he said something had to give and knew that their time together was probably almost up or about to truly begin. She would handle the uncertainty later, for now, she wanted to enjoy their anniversary at this beautiful place.

Dear reader, thanks for reading. Now, there are 3 options:

1. Adelana’s wife finds out and divorces him leaving Pat and Lana to decide the fate of their relationship (because that’s empowering).

2. Adelana tells his wife and they get a divorce leaving Pat and Lana to decide the fate of their relationship (because it’s what is right).

3. Adelana never tells his wife so Pat and Lana keep dating (because it happens, such is life).

The ball is in your court, leave your decision in the comments!

Read episode 9, the readers’ decision!