Category: STORIES

PICTURE PERFECT

Picture Perfect – Episode 6

© Christabel Nwoko

Kate woke up the next morning, feeling happier than ever.
She was contented and Happy to have her husband back.
Kate and Victor sat down to a delicious breakfast that Victor specially prepared and afterwards Victor told Kate to get prepared that they would be going out.
“Where are we going to?”Kate asked curiously
“Don’t worry, you will soon find out” Victor said mischievously and he smiled.

Few hours later, Victor and Kate were sighted inside a cab, Kate was still unaware of thier destination, all Victor told the cab driver was “Take us to Yale Estate Phase 1”
And all through the journey, Kate wondered what was happening at Yale Estate Phase 1″
Victor was not willing to give her a hint, Kate was so eager to find out.
Despite the air condition in the cab,  she was tensed, nervous, sweaty and nauseous.
“Lord please let this surprise be good, I don’t want to be disappointed, please Lord” She thought.

Victor knew that she was feeling uneasy, he smiled each time he looked into her eyes.
He held her hands.
“My love, Don’t you trust me?”Victor said lovingly.
Kate was speechless for a while and then her thoughts went to Fred, a man who showered her friend Olivia with so much love and expensive gifts but turned out to be a jerk,  a liar and a cheat.

“My Husband, I love you but trust is another thing oh,  I love you so much my love” Kate entered and Victor laughed so hard.
“You mean you don’t trust me but you love me?  Hmmm” Victor said in smiles and Kate nodded “Yes”
Kate and Victor were still debating on love and trust, when the cab driver told them that they had arrived Yale Estate gate.
“Are you dropping off here or you want me to drive in? “The Cab driver asked
“Please drive in And stop at house 52” Victor responded and smiled as he caught Kate staring at him confusingly.

Finally they arrived house 52, a very beautiful duplex, as they got down from the Cab and paid the Cab driver off,  Kate wondered what was going on, Victor took her hands and they walked into the beautiful building, the gate was opened as if someone knew that they were coming.
They walked into the stairs and then a lovely balcony and then to the living room, two men were standing beside the Door waiting for them.
The two men immediately greeted Victor and Kate.

Kate stared at them speechlessly
“my love, these gentlemen are estate agents. And this duplex is our new home” Victor said lovingly
Kate was shocked, “Are you kidding me? My love you know that I’m not feeling well, I’m weak and nauseous because of my pregnancy, please stop joking around” Kate said calmly and Victor assured him that he was not joking around.
“Honey, This is our new home, come take a look,  it’s a duplex
Situated in a calm and beautiful estate with 4 bedrooms,
2 kitchen, 2 dinning room, 1 lounge,
1 cabinet space, 2 bathroom,
Terrace, Airconditioning,Pool,
Cctv camera and it’s all yours,  I bought this house on your name” Victor said nicely and Kate burst into tears.

The two Estate agents left quietly as Kate cried, Victor was shocked, She wondered why Kate was crying instead of rejoicing, “this is what she had always wanted, a wealthy husband” Victor thought. He held Kate’s arms and enquired why she was in tears.
“I have pushed you into committing crimes, how could you afford to buy this house? It’s obvious that’s it’s expensive, what did you do to make much money?  Tell me,  I won’t be angry cause it’s my fault, I mounted so much pressure on you, please forgive me” Kate said in tears and Victor smiled and hugged her.

“Yes I became so desperate, I ventured into alot of illegal deals but at the last minute, I changed my mind, I met a friend who taught me Forex trading and in four weeks, I made it big, don’t be hard on yourself, I’m your husband and I need to take care of you,  actually your constant nagging and pressure pushed me to succeed,  I love you so much and I’m never angry at you, you are my wife and only you had the right to trouble me” Victor said as he wiped tears from his wife’s eyes and made her feel better.

The couple took a tour around thier new house, Kate hugged him when they were done with thier little tour.
“Thank you, I love it” Kate said excitedly and Victor smiled, for the first time he felt like a real man. Kate’s beautiful smile melted his heart.
In few minutes, A beautiful Lady arrived and Victor introduced her to Kate as the interior decorator who would turn thier new house into a beautiful home with her creative designs. The young lady came with an estimate of what she needed and Victor quickly transferred the needed money to her account.
“Please start working immediately, I want to move in with my beautiful wife, hopefully by next week” Victor said at once

Kate stared at Victor the whole time he was conversing with the interior decorator, Victor had really changed, he spoke with confidence and authority,  Money indeed is power and it’s brings respect.

Few hours later, Kate and Victor were in a car shop,  Victor paid for two brand new cars, one for Kate and the other for himself. Kate was speechless and at time happy that Victor was now a wealthy man.
“Lord bless My Husband with a long life,  let me deliver safely and enjoy my marriage always, thank you for turning things around, I also pray for my friend, Olivia comfort her and reveal to her the secret, that she should know about her husband, I don’t want to tell her that I saw Fred with his other wife,  I will be held responsible if anything bad happens to her” Kate said within her.

Kate and Victor were done at the car shop,  when Olivia’s call came in.
Kate picked up immediately.
“Hello babe” she greeted
“Hello Kate, please come and take me away from here, please I need you” Olivia said in tears
“What happened? Why are you crying? Where are you? ” Kate asked at once
“Give me that phone now, you good for nothing” a familiar voice said at the other end of the phone.
And Kate could figure out who it was,  her husband Fred and before she could say “Jack”, The call ended.

Kate turned pale and Victor wondered what had happened.
“My love,  Olivia is in trouble, please let’s go to her house” Kate said at once. Victor got so scared at the mention of trouble that he drove off heading to Olivia’s house in one of thier new car.

End Of Episode 6
To Be Continued

PICTURE PERFECT

Picture Perfect – Episode 5

© Christabel Nwoko

The next day, Kate visited the hospital and some medical tests including a Pregnancy test were run on her.
She waited patiently for her results, She sat very close to the entrance of the room, when her sight wandered to a man and a pregnant lady, they both walked into the hospital’s waiting room holding hands like a couple.

One stare at the man, Kate could tell who he was “Fred?, what’s he doing here? And who is that pregnant lady with him?”She thought as she kept staring at him and the lady, She stretched her head to see if she could see her friend Olivia but obviously she was no where around there. Kate concluded that the lady might be Fred’s younger sister or cousin, as they appeared to be too familiar with each other.

Fred gave the pregnant lady undivided attention as it seemed like they were both in a middle of a conversation. Unknowingly to Fred, Kate was staring the whole time,  she sat at the entrance of the waiting room. Few minutes later, Kate stood up and was about to walk closer to them, at least to say “Hi” to Fred,  When the nurse on duty announced
“Mr and Mrs Fred Wilson, you can now go in to see the doctor”
As Fred and the pregnant lady walked into the doctor’s office, Kate’s heart sank, “Mr and Mrs Fred?  Fred has another wife?,  what about my friend,  Olivia? What’s going on?”Kate thought, she almost collapsed due to shock but she somehow comported herself.

30 minutes later, Kate was called into the doctor’s office for her results and drug prescription, but still She couldn’t get her mind off what she saw.
“Mrs Victor,   the test results proves that you have malaria and….” The doctor paused, He stared into Kate’s eyes, to see if she was prepared for the news,  she was about to receive and then the doctor continued with a warm smile on his face.
“Congratulations Mrs Victor,  you are 9 weeks pregnant”

“What?,  no doctor, it can’t be, I saw my monthly flow just last week,  there’s a mix up somewhere” Kate replied,
“Ma’am, it’s called implantation bleeding  and it’s normal,  you are 9 weeks pregnant, . Congratulations once again MA. I will prescribe some medications for you,  please adhere to the dosage and avoid stress” The doctor concluded and Kate gave a warm smile but she continued to stare at the doctor in disbelief, hot tears of Joy rolled down from her eyes.
“I can’t believe that I’m having a baby, I can’t wait to share this good news with my husband, He had always expected this news”She thought in smiles .

She quietly left the doctor’s office after a list of prescribed medicines was handed to her. As she returned home, she couldn’t stop thinking about Olivia and her jerk of a husband, Fred.
“Some men are wicked oh, Fred is living a double life, He has two wives?, I don’t think Olivia knows, 
oh my God, Olivia and Fred had been married for 4 years now”
 Kate returned home confused.
She was somewhat happy about the news of her pregnancy and at the same time helpless and sad for her friend Olivia.

She burst into uncontrollable tears when she also remembered her financial instabilities.
“This pregnancy would have been a great news,  if I still got my Job, now I’m jobless and pregnant, will my husband be able to provide for our little family? God please help My Husband and make a way” Kate said with tears in her eyes.
That was the first time ever that she had prayed for her husband sincerely. With the whole situation Kate became emotional too.

She kept contemplating on whether to inform her husband that she was pregnant on the phone or wait till he returns and then give him the good news. She was still in thought when Olivia’s call came in.
“Hello babe” She greeted
“Babe how are you doing today?”Olivia asked calmly
“I’m okay and you?”Kate responded
“I’m OK, thank you” Olivia said
The two friends chatted for a while and finally Kate shared the good news.

“My friend I’m pregnant!” Kate announced and Olivia gave a loud noise of excitement on the other end of the phone.
“Wow,  congratulations my friend, Have you told your husband? When is he coming back? You don’t have to be alone, you need some one around, let me come over, Fred is not even around, He left for Abuja this morning for an urgent trip, his mother is unwell and hospitalized” Olivia said and Kate felt bad knowing that Fred was deceiving her Best friend.

For the first time, Kate agreed to have Olivia visit her at thier mini flat. She was no longer ashamed of her life.  “No one has a perfect life after all, Fred might be wealthy but it’s obvious that he is a jerk and a liar” She thought.

Kate was overwhelmed with the whole situation that she had not observed that Victor had not called her for days.
When her thoughts finally came to that direction, she shivered in fear. She picked up her phone and dialled Victor’s number and he was unreachable.
She panicked as her thoughts went to all those times that she bruised his ego, humiliated him and made him feel bad.
“I even asked him to remain in Ghana and not to return empty, oh What have i done?  I Hope he has not left me?” Kate thought as she wept bitterly, she kept dialling her husband’s number but it was still the same, unreachable.
She was so broken and in tears when she heard the door bell.

She quickly ran to the door and almost collapsed when she saw who was at the door.
“Victor,  my love, you are back? I missed you so much” She said immediately and she hugged him so tightly.
Victor wondered what was going on, Kate had never been so happy to see him.
“Kate,  slow down, how are you? Your eyes are red and swollen, were you crying?” Victor asked and Kate looked away
“I came home empty handed, things didn’t turn up as I expected, I’m not rich yet” Victor said smiling
“I don’t mind,  I missed you, please don’t go anywhere, please stay with me, we will manage,  I will get another job and we work hard and harder, together, we will become very wealthy” Kate said in tears and Victor was surprised and speechless as he wondered what had happened to his wife.

When Victor learnt that he was going to be a father, he was super excited and grateful to God. He showered his wife with kisses and promised to make her happy.
Kate apologized for taking his love for granted and promised to stand by him forever.
Kate and Victor were in each other’s arms kissing and cuddling when Kate’s phone rang. It was Olivia. Kate wondered if she was on her way already.

“Hello babe” Kate said calmly
“Babe,  I don’t think I could come over to your place today” Olivia said apologetically and Kate told her it was okay.
“My Husband has returned” Kate announced and Olivia gave a loud noise of excitement at the other end of the phone. “Babe enjoy your self, my regards to your husband, see you tomorrow, good night” Olivia said and hanged up.
Kate tried to get her mind off Olivia’s problems and enjoy the evening with Her husband.

Victor returned home looking more handsome and overly fresh. He had gained few weights and Kate admired how he looked.

End Of Episode 5
To Be Continued

PICTURE PERFECT

Picture Perfect – Episode 4

© Christabel Nwoko

Many Months later, Due to the Kate’s constant insults, Victor refused to tell her about his recent dealings.
“No need to tell my wife about my dealings, when the money comes, I will inform her, then I will spoil her with expensive gifts and shower her with so much money” Victor had thought. And silently and secretly he was making money moves. The new dealings looked promising and it involved him traveling to Ghana, He told Kate about his urgent business Trip and she reluctantly allowed him to go.

Four weeks later, The worst thing happened, Kate lost her job and she became devastated, Victor was not back from his trip.
With the whole situation Kate was frustrated and she wallowed in self pity with no one to console her, and then Olivia’s call came right in.
“Hello my friend” She greeted
“Hello Olivia” Kate said in a low tone. Olivia sensed that something was wrong.
“What’s up babe?  You sound so down, are you okay? ” Olivia asked
“I lost my Job today” She opened up

“Awwww, so sorry about that, my dear I want you to see it as a blessing in disguise, you have been working for someone, the whole time, I guess this is the time you start working for yourself and become your own boss” Olivia said calmly
“come and learn how to run my kind of business, it’s very profitable, I don’t mind I will coach you and when you have mastered every business tricks, I’m sure that your husband would gladly give you capital to start your own business” Olivia added, while Kate’s thought went to her poor husband, Victor and she remembered that he had not heard from him the whole day.

“Like how much are we looking at?”Kate asked curiously.
“Like half a million or more” Olivia responded and Kate lost words,  she was speechless for a while and when she got her speech back,  she comported herself, She reluctantly agreed to learn Olivia’s business, the two friends talked for a while, before they hanged up.

“But how will I get the capital to start my own business?, my poor husband barely afford a hundred thousand, talk much of half a million” She thought.
Talk of the devil and he appears, Victor call came in almost immediately, Kate threw all the frustration she was feeling at him, Kate told her husband about everything that went wrong.

Victor felt bad when he learnt that his wife had lost her job. He promised to return in few days but to his utmost shock, Kate entered ” I have lost my Job,  now is the time to start fulfilling your responsibilities as a husband. don’t you dare return empty, otherwise just remain where are you” and Victor was dumbfounded and he quietly ended the call.

Few weeks later, Kate’s apprenticeship began,  Olivia took her time to teach her best friend everything she would need to know about her business.
And Kate was thankful.
One-day, Fred came over to see his wife Olivia at her shop, he needed money urgently and he was shocked to see Kate with Olivia. He wondered what she was doing there
“Good afternoon Mr Fred,  I know you missed your wife, that’s why you couldn’t wait for her to return home” Kate teased him and Fred managed to give a faint smile.

“Mrs Victor, how is everything? And how is your husband?” Fred asked nervously
“we thank God, My husband travelled for business” Kate replied
And Olivia gave her husband a piercing look, she had been trying hard for months to get Fred to take up a job or start a business instead of sitting around waiting for her wealthy cousin or friends to send him free money but he refused.
Fred knew why his wife was staring at him in that manner but he comported himself.
“My love, come I want you to see something in the car” Fred entered and Olivia nodded, they both headed outside, holding hands.

Kate concluded that Fred had bought another expensive gifts for his wife as usual.
“This man keeps showering my friend with gift, Olivia is very lucky, I wished I married a man that would spoil me with gifts and sweet love like Fred,  Victor have never given me a gift, we have been married for close to 2 years now,  he is not doing anything about his poverty and he is expecting me to get pregnant in this condition,  he traveled to Ghana for the past two months and  he had only sent money just once, how will I cope now, when I have lost my job,  I know my parents and my siblings will be expecting the money I promised them,  oh Lord I wish I never married Victor, this man is not helping my life at all” She thought.

As Kate was still in her thoughts, she felt the urgent need to puke(Vomit), she quickly ran to the rest room, she came out few minutes later, feeling nauseous and very weak,  she wondered why she was feeling sick but she waved it off immediately at the sight of Agnes,  Olivia’s manager.
“Where is my friend?”Kate asked the middle aged woman.
“She left, She would be back soon, she headed to the bank with her husband” Agnes replied
“bank?  Oh OK. Thanks” Kate managed to say.

Kate felt nauseous and tired, her thought went on seeing a doctor as she had been feeling nauseous and feverish for days,  her menstrual flow was normal, she was certain that she was not pregnant.
 “It must be symptoms of malaria,  a lot of mosquitoes species had dealt with me ever since Victor travelled, I must admit my husband takes good care of me, in his own way, sometimes, he stays awake to chase mosquitoes off my body and before I would be back from work,  he would spray the mosquitoes repellant, I miss him so much” Kate thought as she smiled to herself.

End Of Episode 4
To Be Continued

PICTURE PERFECT

Picture Perfect – Episode 3

© Christabel Nwoko

Kate and Victor finally tied the knot in a simple wedding but beautiful ceremony and of course she didn’t post online cause she thought the wedding was not as elaborate as her friend’s wedding. Even when Olivia called and urged her to send her wedding photos, Kate politely declined that she was extremely busy with her wedding party.
Olivia who was far away in Paris with her husband for thier supposed second honeymoon, believed her. She was genuinely happy for her friend and She wished she was present but she promised to return with a wedding presence for her.

After the wedding, Victor who couldn’t afford an expensive trip to Dubai for thier honeymoon, suggested they visit a cattle ranch located at the outskirt of town for thier honeymoon and Kate was so pissed off at his suggestion that she snapped at him immediately.
“Are you not ashamed, your mates takes thier newly wedded wives to Dubai and Bahamas for thier honeymoon and you are suggesting that we go to a local ranch, come on Victor,  think big, has poverty affected your brain?”

Victor felt bad as he stared at Kate speechlessly, For a moment, He shivered in fear, His future is doomed with an arrogant and rude wife. He quietly walked away and Kate was still boiling in anger, Anger that was induced by envy.
Envy that was also induced by the picture her friend Olivia posted online some minutes ago, Olivia posted a smiling selfies with Fred at an exotic bar in Paris, She was humble bragging about their love and she even dished out marriage tips and Kate ended up thinking that her own life doesn’t measure up to Olivia’s.
“I shouldn’t have married Victor, yes I know that I love him but love is not enough, I won’t eat love oh”She thought as tears rolled down from her eyes.

Victor was hurt by the way Kate reacted and he vowed to make it up to her.
“Kate deserves to be happy, she deserves a better life and I won’t rest until I give her the best life she so much desired, everyday I will work harder, I love her so much” he told himself.

Few weeks later, Olivia and her husband Fred got back from thier trip and she rang her friend.
“Hello babe” Kate greeted
“Hi dear”Olivia uttered excitedly.
“babe How is everything? How was your trip? I Hope you had a swell time at Paris? ” Kate asked curiously
“Good,  we bless God for safe travels. How are you and your husband?” Olivia entered
“we are  fine dear” Kate uttered
“Babe, I don’t like this your new attitude oh,  you don’t fill me in on things, How was your honey moon? ” Olivia asked smiling at the other end of the phone.

Kate was quiet for a while and Olivia repeated her question ” Babe, how was your honey moon?”
“it was lovely,  we had a nice time at South Africa” She lied
“South Africa?  That’s nice, I’m so happy for you, Babe I miss you so much, I can’t wait to see you” Olivia said excitedly

” I miss you more my friend ” Kate said calmly and was shocked to see her husband Victor staring at her in disbelief, it was obvious that he heard her lie about going on a trip to South Africa when they only lodged at a nearby five star hotel. Victor quietly walked away.
“On Sunday I will definitely pay you a visit, please send your home address” Olivia uttered. But Kate offered to visit her instead.
“I will come along with my husband, please send my regards to your husband” She concluded and finally they ended up discussing some other things before they hanged up.

On Sunday afternoon, Kate and Victor paid Olivia a visit and she welcomed them warmly, she offered them lunch and soft drinks. She brought out the wedding present she specially got for them, They conversed for a while and then all of a sudden, Kate asked “where is your husband, I will like to say hello to him” and Victor nodded in agreement.
Olivia went in to call Fred. He was not interested in meeting Kate or her husband, he heard thier voice the whole time but choose not to come out.

Few minutes later,  he came out to the sitting room reluctantly and he exchanged greetings with Kate and he shook hands with Victor who was genuinely happy to see him.
In no time, Victor and Fred started to talk about sports and other men stuff and
Olivia took Kate to her room, She brought out all the lovely items she bought in Paris and Kate’s  attention went to a shinning gold necklace. She stared at the Jewelry for a while before she finally picked it up.

“Wow,  this is pure gold,  I know it will be so expensive” Kate threw in
“Yes,  it’s almost a million” Olivia said and Kate gave a faint smile, she was somewhat jealous, she wished Victor was as wealthy as Fred but who would tell her that things don’t always appear as it seems.
“I know it’s your husband that got this expensive necklace for you” Kate uttered calmly
Olivia nodded “Yes” and she went into a deep thought.
“How will I explain to my friend that I got this necklace by myself” She thought

After that day,  Kate’s behavior towards her husband became worst, she talks more rudely to him and she demands what she knew that Victor wouldn’t be able to afford, She doesn’t miss a chance to remind him of how poor he was and how he couldn’t meet her needs. At that moment, Victor could feel his heart being ripped from his body, He was not expecting that Kate would turn into a nagging and abusive wife,  who would always bruise his ego. Kate always made him feel like a loser and failure. He tried to be matured about the whole thing.
“My wife is right,  I need to be rich and famous, this insult needs to stop” He thought

“I know that I don’t have enough money yet to give you the life you desire but I will work hard everyday and I will give you the best life” he said soberly. Kate felt bad knowing that Victor was probably hurt, but she didn’t apologize to him. Victor didn’t bear any grudge against her either,  Victor loved Kate so much and He was a very nice and hardworking man but He was devastated and broken by the way her wife treated him, he was determined to make money and end the insults.

One thing Kate wasn’t aware of was that she had ignited a fire in her husband, A fire that would push him beyond the limits he had pushed himself before, from that day he became a changed person, Victor became money conscious and He became extremely busy trying to make money, he was ready to venture into any kind of business as long as it would yield big money.

End Of Episode 3
To Be Continued