Amaka had just had another miscarriage which was the fifth in her marriage of two years. Mathew, Her husband was so devastated as he don't know how to face his family who have been pressuring him to throw Amaka away and marry another woman.
Mathew met Amaka in his final year studying to be an engineer. Amaka then was just a fruit seller who sold fruits in Mathew's school, she sold fruit to take care of herself and her younger brother who was in the secondary school. She started selling fruit since from the age of seventeen; immediately after her SS3, after she and her brother lost their parents and other three siblings in a flood that happened in their area that year.
Mathew was Amaka's regular customer because he always love to have a salad of pineapple and watermelon mixed with powdered milk. When he started liking her, his regular visit to her shop was no longer to buy watermelon and pineapple but to see Amaka's beautiful face and spend some time with her.
Not too long, Amaka noticed Mathew was falling in love with her but she was careful not to quickly return his love because from their closeness and conversations, she got to know that Mathew is from a very wealthy family and she would want to remain in her own little corner rather than to go somewhere where shell get insulted by some rich family and/or parent - you know this big men poor men issue na!
When Mathew realised Amaka was no longer giving him face again, he decided to come out plane. On a faithful day, he sent Amaka a text message telling her of how he has gotten to fall in love with her, she saw the message and did not reply. Mathew then decided to walk up to her later in the evening when she had finished her sales for the day, he asked to speak with her at a convenient place and she followed him to a restaurant close by. There, Mathew began to speak to Amaka about how he has developed so much love for her and how much he needs her in his life but Amaka was not thrilled.
Amaka now narrated her life's story to him and told him that the reason she can't be with him is because she is scared of being maltreated by him and/or his family because of her condition and that she has no one to fight for her "I have no one, I'm just a orphan, my brother is just a small boy" she said to him. Mathew refused to take Amaka's excuse, he pleaded with her and promised her to be there for her for the rest of his life. He even promised to protect her with his life. "I will not take this as a reason why we can't be together. If you say you don't like me at all or that I'm not your kind of man, I'll understand, but this your excuse holds no ground because I am not asking you to love me so that I'll torment you. I promise, I'll protect you with my life. Please allow me show you the love that you deserve, I could get any rich girl that I want but I chose you. You are so natural, you are so yourself, you are the one that I want Amaka, please don't turn me down" he narrated in Amaka's ears. Amaka now asked him to give her time to think about it.
About one week later, Amaka accepted Mathew's proposal and that was the beginning of their love journey. Mathew kept to all of his promise, although his family were not the arrogant rich type as Amaka feared. He introduced her to his family and everyone accepted her.
After his youth service, getting a job was not difficult for him. As the first born of his parents and only son among four sisters, his father used the connection he has to get him a good spot in an oil company. He had so much money that he became so rich - almost richer than his father. He took Amaka away from selling fruits and opened a big grocery store for her, Amaka had about six staff working for her and her brother's education now became stress free. And about three years into their relationship, Mathew took a bigger step of taking her to the alter and making her his own forever.
Now, Amaka is here in pains of loosing her fifth pregnancy in a marriage of two years, no knowing what her fate will be. Her husband has always been there to protect her but it has become obvious that he is succumbing to the pressure of his family and the society, he is turning his love away from her and she had always prayed and hoped that this pregnancy stayed so as to bring back the love and oneness she shared with her husband.
Just like she feared, her husband returned that evening and refused to talk to her, that was where her woes began. He refused to eat anything that evening, he just packed his things and went to the guest room, she followed quickly after him, begging him to be patient with her and with God, reminding him of his promises to her. "Remember you promised to protect me with your life", Amaka said to Mathew her husband.
"Or maybe you made me make that promise because you know that you are an ogbanje" He replied immediately. This words struck Amaka like lightening and she stood speechless with her eyes and mouth wide open staring at him with the betrayal look while holding her hands on her chest. "You said your fear was class, and I promised to protect you; haven't I been protecting you? Besides, did my family treat you any badly because of class like you feared they would? how has this got go with the class issue? Why are you trying to blackmail me with the promises I made to you?" Mathew said to Amaka.
"So now, are you going to get another wife?" Amaka asked; "how is that your business, do you care? All you care about is your brother. Your brother this, your brother that. You want me to go childless so that my father's house will crumble and you'll take all I have to your brother" Mathew ranted as he banged the door of the guest room in front of her. She knew these are the words her husband's family put into him, she wept all through the night and almost wished not to see the morning.
From that day on, Mathew turned completely from Amaka. He closed down the grocery store he opened for her and dismissed the employees. He closed down her bank accounts and gave her one thousand naira weekly for her upkeep. He told her that he is only being gracious to allow her remain under his roof and that she was free to leave whenever she wants. Those periods was terrific for Amaka, she always soak her face with her tears and the only solace she had was in her brother. She'll always speak with him on phone when her husband goes to work. "Sister, don't worry, oforo nwa ngbe nta (it's remains small), let me just finish my final exams; as soon as I start my youth service and earning small money I'll come and take you out from there. Thank God Mathew always sent me more money than I needed, I have enough money to carry me for the remaining six months of school, I pray I get called up for service quickly. Please hang on for me, I would not want to hear story on top your head o", Jude her brother said to her the last time they spoke on phone.
Mathew became so reckless and he refused to take another wife even with the persuasion from his mother and sisters; in all of this, his father remained indifferent, he would not support Amaka because he too was tired of the situation but he also would not want to be part of an orphan's misfortune. Even Mathew's performance in the office dropped as the situation got deep into him. He began to drink heavily and began to behave like he was becoming mad. He even rented a separate apartment where he stacked money, he withdrew all his money from the bank and stacked it in the new apartment he rented. Any money he got he took it to the house, he'll lay money all over his bed and sleep on it.
Life became more difficult for Amaka as the day goes by, she could not feed well, she became so tin but she refused to tell her brother about this part because she wanted him to be comfortable in school with the little he saved. It got so bad that she decided to look for a way to help herself. She decided to enter her husband's room to steal from him but he never left the door open when he is not inside so she thought of another way. One day, Mathew's dry cleaner came to pack his dirty clothes, as he came out to give the clothes to the drycleaned he mistakenly left the door open for the first time. Amaka got an opportunity, but she did not use it to steal money because she feared being caught since he is still around. She decided to quickly print the room's key on a bar soap and Mathew did not notice when she did that. She made a duplicate of the key using the print she made on the soap. She used the key's duplicate to enter Mathew's room and stole the little change he do leave in his pockets, she used the money to get some better food and her diet improved from soaking garri everyday. Every morning and night passed and a new day comes; Amaka's life routine was sleep, eat and watch TV, while Mathew's routine was go to work, return home, take a shower, go to bear parlours and at night go to his separate apartment and sleep in his money. He only comes to the house once a day - at afternoons, and Amaka would not dare to report him to his family.
One faithful Monday, as she watched the TV, she got captivated to a program: it was a church's program that was being aired that day. She watched and listened to the preaching of the church's pastor, she felt her heart move, she felt the message of hope was specifically for her. Not that she had not heard that kind of message before but the message of that day had another force she could not explain, a force that made her feel loved again. She copied the address of the church so she could pay them a visit, and then realised that the church is located just the next street after theirs.
The next day was a Tuesday and according to the information she got from the TV program, that church do meet for a bible study every Tuesday, she decided to visit their bible study class: she could not wait till Sunday morning. She enjoyed every part of the study, the teachings brought her hopes alive again and after the study she went to see the pastor, she told the pastor to pray for her that she wants to give her life to Christ. The pastor led her to Christ and prayed for her, but she did not tell anyone about her present situation. She went to church and returned without Mathew noticing because he comes back at afternoons and goes out almost immediately.
Amaka became a strong member of the church and attends every single activity of the church, she became joyful within herself that even Mathew noticed it. He began to suspect she was seeing another man and hired a private detective to put an eye on her. The detective after his findings returned to Mathew with the information that she attends a church close to their house and that they are currently having a three day revival program that will end on Sunday morning.
Mathew decided to go to the church during the Saturday's program of the three days revival, maybe the church people have given his wife a man or maybe she found a man that takes her to church, he thought within himself. He was hopeful he will catch his wife wife with the new guy and find a good reason to divorce her. On reaching the church, the same spell that struck Amaka struck him, he was carried away by the vibrant preaching of the pastor. He forgot he came to the church to catch his wife with her new man, he stood in the midst of the crowd for more than forty minutes listening to the message of the pastor.
After the message, he was among the first three people to jump out and surrender their lives to Christ. Amaka stood where she was, seeing her husband coming out to give his life to Christ tripled her joy that she fell and begin to roll on the floor weeping for joy.
After the program, Amaka walked up to her husband. As she came towards him, he went down to his knees and immediately, Amaka rushed to him. Both of them on their knees, they hugged and wept. They went home together and Mathew told her how he hired a detective to follow her when he noticed a difference in her character, and how he came to church to catch her with her new boyfriend. "You actually caught me with him" Amaka said to her husband. For the first time in a long time they laughed together. They sang together and prayed together, they almost did not sleep that night, Mathew apologised for the way he had treated her those past months and Amaka did not hesitate to forgive him. That night Mathew slept in his matrimonial home for the first time in many months.
The next morning was Sunday, they went to church together and after the service, Amaka took her husband to their pastor. That was when the pastor got to know about her situation for the first time. He was so touched and was glad that God used him and his church to grant peace to this small home.
Money can buy soldiers but can not buy peace. These days, money can even buy children but cannot buy salvation neither can it buy happiness.
What money can't buy is a concept of and was first published on GG Gist. If you desire to use any part of this story, please first contact us
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