A month later......

I drove into our compound and parked the car. The gateman ran to open the passenger door, and together we helped Tade into his wheelchair.

It's been a month since Efya's incident. The boys came through exactly as I intended. As usual, they rounded it up by making sure Tade got a fair share of the torture given to his flings, and he landed in the hospital with a broken spinal cord.

He was in the hospital for a month, and I perfectly played the role of a loving, dutiful, and good wife. After spending a month in the hospital, the doctor pronounced he might never be able to walk again and discharged him after certifying he's healthy enough to go home. His parents contacted several doctors and ended up hearing the same news, it's almost certain, he would never walk again.

He on his part resigned to fate albeit gloomy. I am finally in charge of all his affairs including his precious phones.

I wheeled him inside the house, set him up comfortably in the sitting room, and proceeded to check on Efya. She has been living with us since she was discharged, I hired a full-time nurse who takes care of her every need. I tiptoed to her room to see her sleeping peacefully.

I don't know what the next step for her is, but I am willing to give her time to work through her issues. I spoke to her nurse who sat in a chair close to her bed, I told her to take the day off and she gladly packed a few things and left.

I make my way contentedly into the sitting room, I didn't want anyone to hear what I had to say to Tade. I had a lot to say, it's been a long time coming. I saw him fiddling with the remote in obvious distress. I cleared my throat and approached him.

I sit on the couch directly facing him and clear my throat.

"Hi. How are you feeling?"

He looked at me and nodded.

"I'm okay, I guess. As okay as anyone in my position can be. We have to talk."

"Sure. We have to talk, I have a few things to get off my chest. It's best if you go first, this could take some time."

"I just wanted to say thank you for being there for me through everything I faced this challenging period. I am also sincerely sorry for everything I put you through in the past. I have realized my mistakes, and I am sorry. I was just stupid."

I smiled at him.

"It's okay, you don't have to thank me for anything."

He made as if to say something but I raised a finger to stop him. "You don't have to thank me for being there for you because you see, the condition that you are in is by my design. I put you in that chair."

I pointed at his wheelchair.

I looked at him calmly as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Come off it, how can you say something like that? I know you didn't do this. Though the perpetrators have not been caught, I know they would be. I am just really grateful that you didn't abandon me. Now stop saying you did before someone hears you and believes that shit!"

How clueless the fool is.

"Who's going to hear me? I sent the nurse off for the day already, the gateman is probably asleep as usual, Efya is peacefully sleeping in her room. It's just the two of us, no one is going to hear anything I say."

"Are you serious about this? Why would you joke about something as serious as this? Just stop all these thrash talks."

I stood up and started pacing.

"You don't even see it.

"I laughed heartily and watched his reaction. He was still in disbelief. It was time to set him straight.

"I hired the goons that beat you up and broke your back. That's not all, everything that happened to your girlfriends happened because I orchestrated it. I got the numbers of those girls from your phone, paid a hacker to get their addresses for me, and hired the thugs that gang-raped and poured acid on your girlfriends respectively. I even have videos to show you and make you a believer. The last girl was only lucky cause I called the whole operation off. I had them switch to you instead."

I was satisfied that I had left him speechless. I calmly placed my laptop that I have kept close for the occasion on the table, I played videos of his attack and those of his girlfriends for him one after the other. When the videos finished, he couldn't say anything. I watched different feelings fleet through his face. Disbelief first, replaced by anger and finally rage. He tried to lunge for me, but I anticipated that already and moved beyond his reach.

He found his voice and croaked out.

"Why? What did I do to deserve this?"

"It's funny you should ask cause I'm sure you must know deep down. I loved you, Tade, with my whole being. It's bad enough that you cheat like it gives you life, what's worse is the fact that you have absolutely no regard for me. I tried to bear it, heaven knows I tried. I begged and begged you to see reason, but you didn't."

He tried to talk but couldn't get out a word.

I took my seat carefully making sure I stayed completely out of his reach.

"Let me tell you a story. I grew up poor you know that already. I didn't have the luxury you had growing up. I had to scrape and save for everything I ever had. I depended on men to pay for my education and upkeep. The party where we met, I attended it with one of my sugar daddies. I wasn't the type to fall in love cause I learned early enough that it wasn't for me. Then, I met you and you made me fall in love. I wasn't so sure of my future with you except for financial security. I waved all my doubts aside after falling in love with you and I thought it was enough, apparently, it wasn't. I used to be one of the most sought after girls in town, but I gave it all up for you."

I tried to fight back the tears that were starting to flow down my face but was unsuccessful. With my voice quivering, I continued,

"I left the life of keeping women away from their husbands because of you. You Tade!"

I pointed and screamed at him. He didn't say anything and kept staring at me. I swallowed and continued.

"I thought you loved me back with all the promises you made. We were barely married before you made me feel like I wasn't shit! You cast me aside and made me feel worthless. A whole me. I know how in-demand I used to be before I abandoned that lifestyle for you. To think that my own husband would run around town chasing girls that can't even hold a candle to me. You were supposed to continue lusting after me, not those girls, you bastard! The life I left behind is the exact same one my husband is running after, imagine the irony. I mean just look at me, am I not desirable enough? I was miserable and tired of my own existence in my husband's house."

I swallowed,

"Maybe I could have forgiven you after dealing with those girls and accept everything you did as my karma, but you did the worst thing ever. You made me hurt my own cousin, you made me hurt Efya. It's really true that where two elephants fight, the grass beneath their feet suffers the most. Efya didn't deserve any of this, you made me hurt her."

He blinked at me in confusion.

I shook my head at his cluelessness. "You don't know right? Efya's number was among the numbers I took off your phone. I didn't know cause it was her second number, I paid those thugs money to make her the way she is. I didn't know because of you, I didn't know cause you couldn't stay away from her, I didn't know cause you couldn't keep it in your pants, I didn't know cause you couldn't do your shit far from my family."

QI burst into fresh  tears and regarded him disdainfully.

He shook his head.

"Is that why you did this to me? You shouldn't have gone this far. I would have eventually backed off and apologized. I just didn't know what I was doing then. You went too far."

His voice mellowed a bit.

"We could have talked this out like a family. I love you, Tessy. Despite my erring ways it was you I loved. I can't even believe all you are saying, you used to be a prostitute? I thought you were innocent."

"Oh, shut up! We wouldn't have talked anything out. You were more concerned with sleeping with her than getting your family in order. What if I was a prostitute? I left it all for you and you screwed up and that was why you had to pay."

"You would surely pay for this. You bitch! My parents would have you arrested and thrown into jail."

I burst out laughing mirthlessly,

"You are still so stupid. Where's the evidence? Everyone is just going to think you are crazy. Let me tell you something, I covered my tracks so well that nothing can lead to me. Even your parents with all their money and connections haven't been able to decipher the mystery behind this whole episode. That's not even all, your phones and everything regarding your existence is in my total control. So, my dear, you are not going to be in contact with anybody. If you dare try to tell anyone what happened, I would kill you before you speak a word of it to anybody. You are at my mercy now and that's how it's going to be for a long time. Why did you think I changed overnight from the nagging wife to a completely mellow one?"

I asked staring pointedly at him,

"I wanted to remove all suspicion from me and I succeeded, no one is even going to look at me as a suspect. I am going to dedicate my time to make your life and existence miserable until you decide to die by yourself."

Humbled by my words, he begins to plead. 

"I'm sorry, please don't make me suffer for my mistakes. I forgive you for your past and everything that has happened."

"You are not sorry for your actions, you are only sorry cause of the condition you are in now. Who needs forgiveness from a serial cheat?Everything I say in this house is law henceforth if you so much as try to tell your parents anything when they come visiting, you are done. I would have those guys torture you to death. Do you understand?

He meekly nods at me as tears roll down his cheeks. I never thought I would see the day when a full grown man would cry like a baby.

I smile in satisfaction and move closer to him to pat his head. He looks sober and I couldn't be more pleased.

"I am hungry, please. Can I get something to eat?"

He asks in the meekest voice.

"No. You can't. I am going in to spend some time with Efya. You are only going to be fed once in a day. You would only be bathed once in a week and you better accept that. Meanwhile, I would put on the tv for you, and find a nice cartoon station cause watching of football or other programs is banned in this house henceforth."

He opens his mouth as if he wants to argue, but thinks better of it and nods.

I put on the television and find a cartoon network for him to watch.

"You would eat when I say you would."

I look at him for a response and realized none was coming.

"You miserable slimy twat!"

I nod satisfactorily and make my way into the room to check on Efya. He surely got what he deserved, but what's to say I didn't get what I deserved too? My karma for my past actions came in the form of Tade. His, came in the form of my revenge, circling back again to punish me in the form of my cousin's predicament. I may have won the battle but I lost the war! In the end, I lost to SWEET REVENGE!!!

THE END!