"Anita is pregnant again" Leke broke the news that keeps shattering his wife each time he disclosed it to her.

"So why are you telling me?" Damilola replied, her tone icy, as she ran the brush through her hair.

"Because I will be at her house until she puts to bed" His reply came nonchalantly.

"It's what you do everytime. Why do you have to tell me? You barely even stay here"

This time Leke turned to look at his wife from where he sat on the bed. There was calmness in her movement, in the way she ran the hairbrush through her hair. It marred her face, shrouding her emotions. "I have to tell you because I am not ready for your rants and fights" He moved to get up.

Damilola sneered. "Listen to yourself, Gbemileke" She called him by his full name without turning away from the dressing mirror. "You should know better than anyone that I have given up on arguing with you. Gone are the days when I had strength for that"

"Good thing you are finally growing up" Was his reply as he threaded to the closest.

There was silence when he came out with a box which he kept on the bed. For the next few minutes of quietness, he did nothing than fill the box with clothes. When the box was full, he zipped it, grabbed it and left the room.

It was then, Damilola halted the grooming of her hair. The emotions she had hidden behind the calm expression surfaced. Tears filled her eyes, slipping slowly down her cheeks.

There was hollowness in her chest that ate deep into her soul. The clandestine agony spread around her chest like a pool. Damilola sat still, staring at her image in the mirror. She was a slender woman. Still fit and had the body she had years before she got married. Childlessness had not given her the opportunity to add weight. Her face was older, with little wrinkles at the edge of her eyes that showed when she smiles.

The news Leke had broken today was the same news he had told her five years ago but in a different way. It had been "I got someone pregnant and she has put to bed today"

Time had frozen. There was a sudden bang in her head like someone had hit her head with a pestle twice. She had felt a wave of dizziness sweep across her. She had nearly fainted while her heart had hurt like she had a knife stuck to it. He had sat opposite her in the living room, his face washed with remorse, his mother next to him.

"It happen few months back" The old hag had said. "He sort of got involved with Anita" So the husband snatcher's name was Anita. Damilola balled her fist. "It turned out God has decided to bless him. He came to me and I could not tell him not to accept it. Since you are married to him and for ten years, we have never gotten good news from you. So why will he throw away an opportunity God has ordained for him?"

While the woman spoke, she had stared at her husband. She had that fear. She knew it was going to happen one day but it happened when she least expected it. He had been home all the time. He had been caring and supportive, giving her hope that they would have their kids, which she would conceive. When the world rebuffed her, he had told her she should turn deaf ears to their words. He had told her they were in it together, forever. So it was all lies! It had all been lies!

Leke changed. He hardly came home. He was always with Anita. Anita this! Anita that! It was always Anita! When she says something, he compared her to Anita.

"She is better than you! She has proven her worth as a woman!" He would say to her face.

Each day, he welded a knife into her chest, deeper and deeper. She bled harder and he turned a blind eye to her sorrow and pain. When she knew there was no hope he would come back to who she knew him to be, she gave up on trying to please him. She gave up on arguing with him. She left him to do whatever pleases him.

Yet, her childlessness hurts. It worse when she had to see her period every month. She used to have hope whenever her husband chooses to touch her, telling herself this might be a sign that she would get pregnant but at the end of each month, her monthly visitor had always visited.

Two years later, Anita got pregnant again and gave birth to the second child. Now, she's pregnant again with the third. What will the world think of her, Leke's wife? A barren? It's what they call her for not getting pregnant after fifteen years of marriage.

She rested her head on the table and wept her heart out. She cursed Leke in her heart. She cursed Anita for coming into his life, for crossing her husband's path. She cursed his mother for ever been ignorant, for not acting the way a woman should. She cursed her mother for not been entirely supportive. And she cursed herself for been a barren, for not expecting for once.

What's the use of all the wealth? Who will inherit everything she had worked for when she die? What's the use of the marriage? There's no joy in it yet she can't leave. Why? Because her mother her told her marriage is a race she has to complete no matter what's in it.

Every day, she wears a fake smile. She hears the whispers of people's gossip and mock behind her back. Her employees call her wicked because she's a strict woman. Whenever Leke ruins her mood in the morning, she vents her frustration on her employees. They say she's heartless because she's not a mother.

But they do not know her pain. They do not know how she feels every morning when she wakes up to a quiet house and sees the face of the same maid every day. They do not know how much she had tried to get pregnant, walking in and out of the hospital almost every week with the same result that nothing's wrong with her. Then she kept asking herself a question, for how long will she live this life?

-----

"Egbon mi (my elder brother)" Omolara called as she popped her head into her brother's room. Joshua halted his work and looked up to meet his younger sister's twinkling eyes. She beamed before entering into the room that was in a rough state. She crunched her nose with a hand on her waist as she looked around the expanse.

The queen size bed was unmade with the sheets rumpled to the centre of the mattress. She wondered when last he laid his bed. The pillows were scattered on the bed with one on the floor. He had everything in his room white from the walls to the gleaming tiles with a touch of grey but she was surprised how he maintained it. He was neat but messy. The settee in his room accommodated a heap of his clothes. His wardrobe was opened and she could see clothes disarranged in it. Socks speckled on the floor. His working table was a muddle of writing materials and books. His books were untidily tucked into the shelf that covered a wall. His wife will really do a good job in arranging their room. For a man who was always disorganized, there would be lots of argument if his wife turns out to be a clean and tidy woman.

"Nate is asleep?" Joshua stretched out on his seat as he twisted his neck that was stiff from bending. His voice was thicker from tiredness.

"Yes, the baby is a whole lot of work" she sat on the bed giving the room an obnoxious look. Joshua noticed it and just threw her a guilty grin. His bones popped as he straightened. "I heard you are having a date tonight" Omolara sat well, her eyes once filled with contempt for the room twinkled.

"Yes with Lola. Who told you?"

"Mummy. She likes her. She want you and her to be together"

"Yes"

"She is pretty, a black beauty, a perfect example of melanin popping but I don't like her"

"Why? I like her"

"It is obvious. I don't like her because she is pompous. It is obvious she is the type to disgrace a man and class herself. She has more class than you, egbon mi" Joshua's eyebrows knitted together, speechless.

"I do not see why you have to hate her. She is amazing and many people worship her"

"You are just love sick, Egbon. Will you just open your eyes for once and see that she despises you so much. The last time I saw you guys together, she could strangle you if she had the chance"

"I think you have to see things from the other side.

"God, you are dumber than I thought"

"You should not say that to me. I am your elder brother"

"Whatever" She rolled her eyes. "So are you ready for the date tonight?"

"No" he groaned, his neck still stiff that the muscle beneath the skin hurts.

"Why?" she exclaimed.

"Because I am busy"

"How can you be busy? This is nearly four o'clock. Do you have your outfit out?" she rose from the bed.

"No"

"Are you not eager for the date?"

"I am. I just have to complete a work"

He was ecstatic to meet her again. There was some sort of happiness that swelled in him, causing his stomach to tighten and nerves to jitter. He does not know why but meeting this woman again made him smile. He could not wait to frustrate her and enjoy the maddening glare she will grant him.

"The lady does not like you. I remembered that dinner we had, she had always thrown you a scornful look"

Joshua grinned "It won't last long. I will soften her heart with many scenarios I have in my head. First, I am getting her flowers. Most women love them. They have a softness for them"

"But I do not approve of her for you" Omolara said with distaste thick in her voice.

When he got to her house, she was not home. Her grandmother had given him that sorry look and apologised about her granddaughter's incompetency. Her mother, Cynthia Kola-Daisi, had not acknowledged his presence when he greeted her. He had left with the aim to call Lola. He called her and he was surprised she was cheerful on the phone. There were voices and laughter in the background. Lola had assured him she would meet him in the restaurant.

Now, he was in the restaurant, has been there for almost an hour and she was yet to come. Their seat overlooked Lagos Lagoon. Her grandfather had reserved a table for them in Oriental Hotel. The service was up to standard, something he admired. It was a moonless night and the still water of Lagos Lagoon mirrored the sea of darkness that looked down at the busy city of Lagos. The waiter brought him wine which he has been sipping for a while. When the glass was empty, he ordered for another.

Two hours later, he knew she won't be there. He was patient, hoping every passing minute that she would come. Joshua had called her yet she ended the calls and at a point, his calls were diverted to another number. Something pierced his heart. What was Lola trying to prove? What does she mean by doing this shit? Sad, dejected, he paid for his drinks and stood up to leave.

It was then she walked in. Something caught in his throat. His pulse stuttered and breathing stopped. Damn! He stood frozen watching her. It seemed time had stopped and everything was moving slow. She wore an emerald green two piece. The skirt had a slit that reached her knee and the top was embroidered with an eye-catching design. The high neck of the sleeveless top flaunted her pretty shoulders. She held a silver clutch purse in one hand the other hand was hanging over a man's arm. The magical moment shattered when he looked to her right. There was a man next to her. She was grinning up at him with that smile that makes hearts skip and those eyes that mesmerised men.

Together, they walked to a table. The guy, a hunk, pulled a seat out. The guy looked rich. He was clean in his suit. Joshua glanced down at his suit. The suit he had on cost him a lot. He had to use his hard earned savings to get it. He did it to impress her. He got a haircut and carved his beard and all she did was stood him up for a better man.

He felt anger voyage through his veins. What does she take him for? A fool. He swallowed but his throat was dust dry. With a hunched shoulder, a broken heart, he left.