Chapter thirteen

Jasmine was mad this time around. They had barely returned from ifeoma's little party when Femi rushed out of the house in a hurry without any explanation. She called severally, he did not pick up neither did he return her calls. She suspected he has started cheating again because there was no explanation for his behavior.

It was past twelve and he wasn't back. She went from being livid to being worried. Hope everything was okay with him? Even when he was philandering around with different women, he has never slept outside overnight. If he wasn't back by tomorrow morning, she would have to raise alarm but for now she would try to remain calm till the morning. She went to bed but couldn't sleep. Lots of thought kept flooding her mind. Was he cheating again? Was he okay? Hope he hadn't run into any problems. It was not until four am that the heavy blanket of sleep covered her.

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The noise from the wardrobe woke her up from her slumber. It was daybreak, she rembered Femi and jolted from the bed only to see him packing up in a large suitcase.

"What's going on here? Where are you traveling to and where the hell were you last night? You had me up all night"

"I want a divorce" He said it so causally that would make one wonder if he understood the gravity of the word. There was no form of emotion whatsoever. He said it like he was asking for a loan or something.

"What?" Jasmine couldn't help but chuckle. He must be drunk or something. Maybe he had too much to drink last night.

"I'm serious. I can't go on with this sham of a marriage. I don't love you anymore. I've spoken with my lawyer. Please don't stress me, sign the divorce papers and let's get it over with. You can have this house, I'll give you a good settlement and as for the kids you'll receive monthly stepends for them. I'll be there for them and I'll always love and cherish them"

Jasmine looked at him as he spoke, she couldn't believe the words that came out from him, it seemed like they were being said in the distant to someone else, maybe in a movie or to a friend but definitely not her. She looked at him but his eyes were cold and distant. It was then she knew it wasn't a joke

"You're in love with someone else" Her voice became croaked. She could barely find it.

"Ifeoma, She's carrying my child and we're getting married. I'm sorry it has to be your friend but I love her"

Jasmine held her chest. She held the bedpost for support and gently sat on the bed. She felt her chest would explode from her pain she felt. Suddenly, her whole body ached and the lump in her throat refused to go away. She couldn't stop the tears that streamed down her face. It was too much for her.

"Did you say Ifeoma, Like my own ifeoma"

"I'm so sorry Jasmine but it is what it is" There was no form of remorse whatsoever. How could he be so cold and heartless?

"You bastard!" She lurched at him like a wild animal, punching, slapping and hitting him. Femi let her for a moment and when he couldn't take it anymore he pushed her away, she fell on the floor.

"Stop it already. You need to stop acting like the victim here. We all know you never loved me, you married me for my money. So stop acting like you care"

Jasmine looked up at him. This was news to her, did he really think she married him just for his money? "That's a lie, I didn't marry you for your money. You were not the only rich man coming for my hand in marriage. The former governor's son asked my hand in marriage even the owner of Jesco oil came for me. These people are far richer than you. I chose you because I love you and you know it" At this point she was choking with tears

"Whatever, well I don't love you and I am tired of pretending"

"Why my best friend? Out of all the women in the world, why did you choose her?"

"The heart wants what it wants. I can't explain it to you. I just love her and that's all I know"

"What about our children, don't you care how this would affect them?"

"Please I beg you, try not to bring them into this mess, I love them and I'll always be there for them. We can co-parent them in peace. Please"

"Femi, you're a wicked soul, I've tolerated your cheating and disrespect all these years because of our daughters. And you have the heart to do this to me? My best friend?"

" I had no intentions to hurt you i.."

"Get out!" She shouted

"I'm truly sorry"

"I said GET OUT" She screamed so loud that Femi picked up his bag in fear and bolted out.

Jasmine sat on the floor staring into space, she wasn't looking at anything in particular, infact she wasn't seeing anything. All she could feel, hear and see was pain. It was so much. She didn't even notice when her daughters came into the room.

"Mummy why are you crying?" Juliet asked while Judith stared at her in confusion. Jasmine stared at her angels and felt such extreme pain. She had endured all these while for their sake, to give them what she couldn't have now they're going to experience what she faced. She wiped her tears and gathered them in her arms.

"It's okay my love, mummy is okay, I'm fine" It was a Sunday morning, she was glad it hadn't happened during school days because she wouldn't have had the strength to prepare them for school. If today was a normal Subday, she would have prepared them for church but she didn't have the strength nor the will. Why would God allow her love and marry such a cold hearted man?

She thought of Ifeoma, She still couldn't believe it, she has to see her best friend, look her in the eye before she can believe it. With all the strength she could muster, she prepared breakfast for her kids. After they had breakfast, she put them in the back seat of her and drove off to her house.

One getting there, the parked the car outside her gate and told the kids to give her a minute. She entered the compound and into her house without knocking. She wanted to catch her off guard. What she saw broke her.

Her best friend was sitting on the laps of her husband while he fed her breakfast. They didn't even notice when she entered because they were absorbed in their love. The way Femi looked at her was so pure. He truly loved her. Her feet became wobbly and she could barely stand.

Ifeoma caught sight of her, She jumped up with such forced that the bowl of cereal Femi held tumpled and fell.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Femi stood up in ifeoma's defense.

"Sweetheart give us a minute"

"But I cannot leave you with her, what if she hurt you. She almost killed me this morning" Jasmine couldn't believe how protective he was of her. Actually she wanted to kill both of them. If given the chance, she would shoot both of them and end their existence on planet earth

"It's okay love, I can handle it. Just give us a minute" Femi gave Jasmine a warning stare, kissed her and left them

Fresh tears were threatening to spill but Jasmine was determined, she wouldn't give Ifeoma the pleasure of seeing her tears. She simply smiled and looked her ex best friend from head to toe. "The nerve of you to stand there, right in my presence and call my husband your love even kissing him"

"I'm so sorry, to be honest I never meant to fall in love with your husband. It just happened. I couldn't help myself" She was visibly shaking but Jasmine knew it was not remorse. It was just the fear of being caught and confronted.

"Ifeoma, What did I ever do you? Please I really want to know what I did to deserve this backstabbing from you?"

"I want you to know you did nothing wrong, it's not your fault in any way. I and Femi just clicked. He's my soulmate. It's just unfortunate that he's your husband. I love him and he loves you too"

Jasmine bursts into fits of laughter. It was the only way she could respond to the ridiculousness of what her ex bestie just said. "Of course, he has been the one buying you expensive gifts and everything you ever said was a lie. It all makes sense now. Even when you said you were traveling to the village, it was to be with my husband. Oh how stupid was I!"

Ifeoma kept quiet and Jasmine knew it was true. Her husband didn't go to any business conference. He went to celebrate his birthday with her best friend. She was trying so much to suppress the itching desire to strangle the bitch. She needed to leave before she does something stupid

"Ifeoma I loved you, you were my friend and God sees my heart that I had your best interest in heart, I would never cause you pain. I tried to come up with a reason you did this to me and I'm glad you said it with your own mouth that I did nothing wrong" She paused for a moment. She realized that meeting Ifeoma didn't do her any good. The closure just made the pain worse. She fought so hard to keep the tears but they spilled against her will.

"Ifeoma you're evil, even the devil is better than you are. I'm just glad to know that i did you no wrong yet you decided to pay me back with such gross wickedness. You took away my home, the only thing that mattered most to me. You killed me. Just know you destroyed me. I wish you all the best and hope you get what you're looking for"

She rushed out of the house, wiped her tears before entering the car for she could not afford to let her kids see her cry again. She has to be strong for them. She hopped into the car. They looked sullen. They knew something was wrong.

"Mummy where's daddy?" Juliet asked

"You'll see daddy soon okay?"

"But I want Daddy" She sighed. This wasn't as easy as she thought.

"Sweetheart,daddy went to buy you some ice cream, okay? He'll soon be back,, okay?"

"Okay" She simply said but Jasmine knew she didn't buy it. She drove off knowing her world was in total shambles and she might never recover. Her best friend whom she completely trusted was responsible for her death.