Thread by @GbengaWemimo

Sleep eluded her for days
She spoke with her children daily and discovered that sending them to him was the best decision she had made in a long time
He placed them in private schools and the community they were living in was far better than hers
Her apartment gets so cold during

the winter that she would sometimes leave for many days to stay with some friends she made at the church they were attending
There was also the issue of drugs and other violent crimes New York is renowned for
She was happy before she went to Washinton, bit everything suddenly

became tepid when she returned to New York
She knew there was a better life somewhere and all she had to do was walk into it
If only it was that easy
Her husband had always been easy going, easy to talk to, easy to move towards any direction she wanted but at that time she was

richer, more ambitious, and headstrong
She was still all those things but her husband had changed
He treated her with the kind of aloofness that is usually reserved for the dead
If he had frowned, screamed, shouted, cried or reacted to her in any way other than the silence, she

would have known what to expect
It was as if she was a total stranger, a nobody
While she was in Washington, she deliberately left her room unlocked hoping he would walk in and they would have a talk
A one on one, heart to heart, friendly or ugly chat
He didn't even bother saying

good morning or good evening to her
His movement was known only to him and his children
He didn't introduce her to the housekeeper as his wife or even as the mother of his children
He introduced her by her first name
The one introduces a colleague or a staff
It made her cry!

She started to write him a mail, but she didn't know what to say
She picked up the phone several times to call, but what would the words be?
She decided to call his mother and other relatives and begin a process of rebuilding the damaged bridges
Perhaps they would help her make

the runway so that her plan can land without a crash
The public relations strategy was quite revealing
She learned that her husband fell sick after she left with the children
He was so sick that he lost his job while battling for his life in the hospital
She learned that it was

while he was recovering from the sickness that the opportunity for him to join the diplomatic entourage was made open to him
She also learned that her husband's best friend who had been in America for many years was the owner of the property in Washington
Her husband's friend had

become very rich and it was through him that her husband got a good job
Her husband was also given the house to live in for as long as he desired
The butler and housekeeper came with the house
Her husband had become wealthy but he remained his frugal self and all he wanted was

to be close to his family
The worst thing she heard was what her message did to him
How he cried bitterly after getting the hasty mail she sent when she assumed he was still the same unambitious man that she loathed while they were married
She regretted sending that mail
It was

the first time in her life that she ever broke up with anyone she had been intimate with and it had backfired badly
If only she had kept quiet and allowed things to pan out naturally
It was all water under the bridge, anyway, she needed to find a way forward
She needed to retake

the seat she vacated
She turned to God in prayer and fasting
The heart of a king is in the heart of God and God directs it wherever He desired
All she needed was a second chance
She wanted to have her marriage back
Settle down with the husband of her youth
Have her family under

one roof
She called her mother and older brother and asked them to please intervene on her behalf
She called pastors too, both the ones from her denomination and the ones from wherever
She was desperate but nothing changed
He didn't call and she didn't call too
She spoke with her

children daily
She cried herself to sleep
She wondered why he was so silent, so unforgiving
Days rolled into weeks
She continued her daily routine
Shoe sales representative in the morning, cashier at a supermarket in the evening and hairdresser in the late evening
Even though

the children were not with her, she still needed all the money she could make to keep herself under a roof in New York
The apartments were extremely expensive and until she completes her course, she couldn't get a job in her preferred field
Five weeks after returning to New York,

one of her children mistakenly mentioned that their father told them he might be getting married soon
What!
She almost had a heart attack
Getting married?
To who?
She began to plot what to do
Her first instinct was to go and get her children from him
She didn't want another

woman to raise her children
She might also have to sue him for divorce and get money from him so that they can move to a better apartment and give the children the kind of education they were getting in Washington
She called a lawyer and they discussed all her options
It was

as if the walls were falling all over her
She called the brother in Jeans and T-shirt and explained her ordeal
She told him she had decided to find her way to Washington, get her children and then file for divorce
Her lawyer had told her the court might grant her husband the

custody of the children as long as he was the one providing for them without any support from her
The lawyer also told her that once her husband got married, her hope of getting custody of her children would be reduced to almost zero
She felt she needed to be smart and cunning

The brother in Jeans and T-shirt said "Your heart is very proud and wicked. Do you know that?"
She was shocked
Nobody had ever said such a thing to her before but then when the elephant dies, a sorts of knives comes for the butchering
She asked him why he said so
"Have you even

told your husband you are sorry? Did you for once went on your knees and cried on his laps? Did you even send him a mail apologizing for your tactless and heartless message? You took away a man's children, condemned him to pain and sickness in Nigeria and now you want to walk

into his life without taking responsibility
You were even praying, asking God to help you further your callous actions
If this man is your brother, wouldn't you counsel him to prove his wife before taking her back?
Please go and do the needful and stop being a witch!"
Wow!
Wow!!

She bought a ticket and flew to Washington the following day
She met her husband at home
He was playing video games with the children and they were having a really good time
She waited until she caught his gaze
She went on her knees and started to cry
It was the last thing she

thought she could do, in front of her children...
Her husband dropped the gamepad and approached her
He said "I knew you would come when you hear I am planning to get married. You have always found it easier to go to war than say sorry! I forgive you!"

Phew!

Learn to say sorry!

PS: Her husband really wasn't getting married
He had always wanted her back
He knew her to be childish (since the day he met her) and impulsive but she was his choice and he loved her dearly
He wanted her to come to her senses, like the prodigal son, thank God she did.

-GSW-

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