Help! I’m The Other Woman Part 4

“What am I doing?”, Gloria thought as she made her way to the first floor.

“Lord, please help me. This shouldn’t be happening to me”

“Why did Uche have to come back after so long? Why?”

Gloria thought of telling her husband about how she felt. But, she couldn’t bring herself to admit all the strong emotions she felt towards Uche.

“What would he think of me? I can handle this on my own. I will never agree to another date with Uche!”

---

It’s been three weeks since the lunch in Uche’s office.

Gloria has been strong in her resolve not to see him for any reason again. She didn’t even pick his calls or respond to his numerous messages.

“Alright love, bye. See you tomorrow”

“Bye Dear”, Gloria answered as her husband’s car drove out on his way to the airport to catch an early morning flight to Enugu.

She got into her own car and drove off to work.

“Hi Kemi”

“Madam, good morning. How are you now?”

“I dey o? And you?”

“Very well. Oga too and the kids?”

“The kids are in school. Alex is on his way to Enugu for a conference”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes o”

“Uche was here, Gloria”

“What did he want?”

“He only dropped this bag”, Kemi shrugged.

“Thanks”, Gloria got into her office and shut the door after her.

She opened the bag. There was a note and a bottle of ‘Gucci Guilty’

“I am sorry. I just can’t get you out of my mind”, the note read.

“What does this guy want from me?” Gloria thought to herself.

“I am a good Christian woman with a wonderful husband and children. I already know that adultery is wrong”

“Hmmmm. Lord help me”

She made up her mind to go to Uche’s office and just sort this thing out once and for all. He should just let her be!

She tried to keep calm as she made her way to the third floor.

“Hello. May I please see Mr Uche Gabriel?”

“Good afternoon Madam”, the front desk officer beamed.

“Long time ma. Oga is in a meeting. Will you wait or…?”

“Never mind. Can you please let him know I was here?”

Gloria left feeling a bit disappointed that she wasn’t able to resolve this matter immediately.

She settled in to work.

Her phone beeped, “Thank God. I landed in Enugu safely”.

Gloria couldn’t help the feeling of disappointment. She was expecting it to be Uche.

“Whew! Where did that come from? It’s Alex I love and not Uche!”

“Keep deceiving yourself, another voice added”

This Uche matter must just be sorted. It will be a disaster if anyone knew that she, Gloria, was having strong emotions for another man, a married man for that matter.

“Hmmm. What will I do?”

——————————————————————————————————————-

Her phone rang. It was the children’s school.

“Hello Miss Precious. How are you doing?”

“I am fine ma. Am I speaking with Mrs George?”

“Yes please. Hope there’s no problem?” The teacher sounded funny.

“No ma, it’s just that the school had to take your daughter to the Clinic. She fell down the stairs as the kids were going out to the playground. She sustained some injuries. We need you to come now”

Every mother’s worst fears. This kind of call from your child’s school.

“Kemi, I need to get to the hospital now. I got a call from my daughter’s teacher.” Gloria raced to the parking lot.

She got into her car and started the engine. The car refused to start.

She couldn’t wait. She walked out to the road and tried to get a taxi.

“First Avenue”

“Okay Madam”

She jumped into the car and told the driver to go as fast as she could without even waiting to hear the cost. She couldn’t be bothered.

She tried calling her husband. It was going to voice mail.

“Oh my goodness”

“Father Lord, please send your angels to surround my daughter. Please keep her safe Lord”

Traffic was light and Gloria rushed into the hospital as soon as she paid the taxi driver. She didn’t even wait for her change.

She saw the School nurse as soon as she got into the hospital.

“Please, where is she?”

“She’s with the Doctor now”

“Please take me there”

“Hello Doctor. I am Freda’s mum”

Gloria took a look at her daughter and knew that only God could have kept her safe. The injury she sustained barely missed her right eye.

“Thank You Jesus”, she managed.

“Freda baby, how are you my darling?”

“I am fine mummy”, she managed in a weak voice.

“Madam, your daughter sustained a serious injury and we’ll need to keep her here through the night to observe her”

“Okay Doctor”

“Okay, madam, I’ll check on her again soon”.

“Wow”, Gloria’s mind raced. How was she to sort out her younger daughter, Sandra, and the help?

She called her cousin immediately.

“Ada. How are you? Please I need a huge favour”

“Gloria. Are you okay? You sound worried”

She spent the next few seconds giving her a summary of what had happened.

“I need you to please pick Sandra and Peace from home to stay over at yours. Uche is out of town. Please ensure Peace packs all the things Sandra will need for school tomorrow as well.”

“No worries Sis. I am on it. You just concentrate on Freda. It is well with her in Jesus name”

“Amen o. Thanks dear”

“Okay sis. Will speak with you later.”

Gloria tried her hubby again. This time the call went through.

“Alex. I have been trying to reach you.”

“Sweetheart, are you alright?”

“Freda fell in school. We are at the hospital and we are passing the night here”

“Wow! How is she?”

“Well, it was a bad injury, but thank God, she’s okay”

“I am so sorry I am not there Love. What about Sandra and Peace?”

“They’ll stay over at Ada’s place”

“Okay, thank God for her.”

After a few more minutes of chatting, they ended the conversation.

“Love you babe”

“Love you too”

Why did that sound so mechanical now?

“I’ll just concentrate on Freda for now. No time for anything else”, Gloria said to herself as she watched her daughter sleep on the bed.

——————————————————————————————————————–

She had dozed off.

‘8:20pm already’, her stomach growled in protest. She hadn’t even had lunch before she got that call from Freda’s teacher.

Her daughter had begun to stir.

“Freda, are you awake?” she had gone back to sleep.

Gloria seized that moment to go find something to eat at the hospital cafetaria. She closed the door gently behind her.

“Hi Gloria”, she turned and saw Uche standing up to meet her.

“Uche, what are you doing here?” she was glad to see him though.

“I came to check on you in your office when Nicholas mentioned that you came in the morning. Kemi told me what happened and I came as soon as I could. Is she okay? Where’s your husband?” He asked searching her face.

“Yes, she’s fine. Alex is out of town”

“You left your car at work?”

“It wasn’t starting. I came in a taxi”

“Were you on your way out?”

“I just want to find something to eat. Let me ask the nurse to keep an eye on Freda”

Gloria told the nurse she needed to eat, and asked her to keep an eye on her daughter.

Uche held her hand as they made their way to the cafetaria. She needed the encouragement, so she didn’t mind the touch. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back.

“Thanks”. He just nodded.

Uche made her sit while he went to get something for Gloria.

“Sorry food is finished sir”

“Ha. And you can’t do anything for us?”

“We are sorry sir. But you can check across the road. There’s a restaurant there sir”

“Thanks for your help”

“Glow, should I go and get you some food or you want us to go together?”

“I’d prefer if you bought it, so I can be with Freda. I’ll just eat in the room. Thanks”

“Okay then. See you soon”

Gloria made her way back to the room.

“Thank you”, she said to the nurse. Freda was still asleep.

“Okay ma”

Gloria sank into the sofa in the hospital room, glad to rest her feet for a while.

Uche was back with the food in 20 minutes.

“Thanks”

Uche sat beside her and watched her as she ate.

“Did you want something when you came in to my office earlier?”

“Yes…No…I…Never mind”, she didn’t even have the heart. Not after all he had done for her today.

“Or you were missing me?”, he smiled in that his disarming way.

“You wish”, she smiled back.

She finished her food. She felt better.

He held her hand and played with her fingers. She didn’t bother to stop him.

“Won’t you go home?”

“I’ll just wait with you a while if that’s fine with you”

“Okay then. Thanks for coming to check on me. It means a lot”

“You mean a lot to me Glow”, he said as he looked into her eyes.

She looked away, and swallowed hard.

“Uche…I can’t do this”

“You can’t or you won’t?”

“I can’t…” He silenced her with a light kiss.

“Uche…”

“Tell me you don’t feel the same way I feel Glow”

“I…” She was confused. She loved her husband so much, she can’t do this to him.

After her relationship with Uche ended and she gave her life to Christ, she made up her mind to keep herself pure. After marriage to Alex, she never thought of any other man. She loved him completely.

Uche pulled her closer and tried to kiss her again.

She got up and turned her back to him. “Uche, please leave”

He didn’t respond. He hugged her from the back.

“Glow, I want to be with you”, he said turning her to face him.

“But that’s impossible. I can’t! I love my husband and I have a wonderful family”

“Really, does he make you feel like this?” he kissed her again and this time she didn’t resist as she trembled slightly.

The Alarm bells went off.

“I shouldn’t be doing this. I am a strong married Christian woman”, she screamed in her head.

With the last bit of strength she had left in her, she pushed Uche away from her.

“Uche, you have to leave now! I am sorry, but this could never work.”

“Glow…”

“Leave Now!” Gloria was already weeping softly.

———-The End———-

This is the end of this series.

For some of us, we may feel that Gloria hasn’t done anything wrong. Afterall, it was just a kiss…

I will like to hear from you.

Is an affair only when sex happens?

What about emotional affairs? Are they also affairs?

How do you think Alex, Gloria’s husband would have felt?

How can you resist situations like this?

What if you keep seeing the person each day?

I really will like to hear from you?

Much Love,

Oluseye Ashiru