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BN Prose: Taking Back What is Mine by Grace Ogor
Nsidibe Uduakobong Ndum is getting married. Akpan mentioned it last month while we were at the polo club and it has never left me since. Akpan also said she was getting hitched to a Lagos big boy. He mentioned that her fiancé owns one of the biggest agricultural firms in the country with branches spreading to neighbouring countries. As I retired to bed that night, I decided to visit her social media pages again. I used to be a constant stalker for the past three years but I had not done that in a while. I thought I had begun to develop restraint to everything pertaining to her from the memories to her social media handles. Apparently, the joke was on me for 6 months.
I saw her beau, my replacement, and a stone-cold hatred welled up in me. I hated the way he looked at her – like he loved her. More intensely, I hated the way she looked at him – just the way she looked at me. What was she doing with a bearded guy? I thought she said she only loved people with my features – little or no beards and all things mine. Her social media handles had their pictures splayed everywhere. He must have money. Lots of it. The exotic trips and numerous baecations could not have come cheap.
I saw the engagement pictures and videos. He went above and beyond: Maldives, the white beach, sky-blue waters and lots of fireworks all at dusk. I wondered why she was shedding tears. The frustration almost consumed me; this guy must really be something because my Nsidibe hardly ever cries. She is a strong woman who is of grace and intelligence. Her dimples and smile were what drew me to her but you see her heart, it was the staying power. Apparently, the staying power was not strong enough because she caught me in bed with another woman. I almost begged my entire existence for us to get back together but she did not budge.
I tried for months and then, my pride took over – I could not keep begging her forever. But looking at her, I saw what I lost. Nsidibe was one of a kind. She stood when everyone else walked out of my life. She funded my business in its early stage until it stood on its feet. If I was being honest, Nsidibe was my everything. Nsidibe was my light and the spring on my step. The regret almost overwhelmed me. I missed her, I missed us. And the tears began to flow.
I would do anything to get her back. Anything. Nsidibe belongs to me. She had said so herself. We used to drive around the city singing Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together”. The pains I caused her in the time we spent together were deep but then, no relationship is perfect. I need to have her back in my life. I need to take back what is mine. I cannot let her go; she is my soulmate. I cannot sit back and let another man take my woman away from me. The thoughts began to form in my mind. I checked her pictures again to see if her fiancé’s residence was anywhere that looked familiar. I need to act fast. She would take me back now when she sees that in all this time, I have not still forgotten her. I will travel the world with her, take her to the movies, even prepare the Nkwobi that had her laughing with glee in one of the pictures with her beau. But first, I need to make sure that if I do not come out of this pursuit alive, my wife and two kids get my life savings.
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