Backlash 1

She didn’t see that far into the
future when she decided to pitch
her tent with the rich but married
engineer
She was 24
Young, plump, and beautiful
She had tried dating young single
guys but for her, it seems they
were all bones and no flesh
They were unable to offer anything
of value apart from empty words
and instant gratification in form
of sex and infidelity
The three guys she had dated
since she was 16 all cheated on
her and practically used and
dumped her
The first one, the one she would
call her first love got her brain
so tangled up that she
stole her mother’s money for him
and allowed him to do all sorts
to her in the name of love
When she caught him cheating,
she looked the other way because
she didn’t want to break up with
him and be alone
It took her two years to get the
message
She was a fool and he was milking
naivety mercilessly
The other guys asking her out
borrowed her some wisdom simply
because they wanted to get into
her pants
She didn’t see that at the time
She dated the one she felt cared
the most
That one slept with her once and
walked away
Just like that
She was to him just
another girl to add to the number
of his conquests
Her mother was raising her and
six other children all on her own
at the time
Things were tough, and her older
ones all left home right after
secondary school to live with
relatives and learn a trade or
pick up a job
Her mother
encouraged her daughters to do
quick and get married
It was the only way her mother
could outsource her responsibility
legally
Her older sisters got it on time
The two of them got married
before the age of 21
Their marriages were horrible and
they were piss poor
She saw this and
was determined not to tow the
same line
She really wanted to do better,
make something of herself
but without an education (She had
to stop after secondary school)
the only way to do that was to
marry rich
Rich people wouldn’t allow their
children to bring her sort home
as their intended
They ensure this by keeping their
children in fancy schools and jobs
that kept them away from the
streets where they could meet
her kind
The aspiring guys she kept meeting
on the streets were users and
dumpers
She set her sight on a proven gold
mine and dig it as much as
she could before the curtains were
drawn
She made friends with ladies like
her who knew the way
They invested heavily in their looks
and shared among themselves
several tricks of seduction and
pleasure
They introduced her to herbalists
and spiritualists who would fortify
her and
give her the advantage she needed
The preparation took her six months
The problem of the rich is what to
spend their money on, they must
have thrills a mundane life cannot
offer
This was the hole she and her
friends set out to plug
Not as prostitutes but as mistresses
with an eye
on becoming second wives or baby
mamas
It wasn’t conventional but it was
an option
It offers the same benefits of
marriage apart from the negative
perception of the society which
had always been hypocritical
That was how she met the engineer
He was rich and had been married for
twenty-two years
His three children were in the
University and his wife was already
growing some white hairs
She made him feel youthful and happy
He couldn’t get enough of her
He got her a well-furnished
apartment and she became the
destination of his business trips
His wife didn’t
suspect anything until she had her
first child, a girl
Having a girl was a problem at the
time
A girl child cannot inherit anything
in their culture but a male child
will have a stake in his father’s
inheritance
She was caught in between two
difficult decisions
Keeping the affair
secret by doing a quiet naming
ceremony attended by a few
relatives from both side or rolling
out the loudspeakers to announce
to the world that she was dating
the rich man and should be treated
with the respect and dignity that
befitted that status
Her mother told her to lay low
the wise do not rush into life’s
battle but her friends and herbalist
told her the naming ceremony was
a wedding she never had and she
should see the naming ceremony
as an opportunity to announce her
arrival on the societal scene
She made her choice
They had the mother of all
parties where six cows were
slaughtered and the whole
community was fed
Inevitably, the news got to the
engineer’s wife
The engineer’s wife had a choice
To take her effrontery as a slap
on the face or get into the mud
with her
She was ready for anything thrown
at her but nothing happened
She got pregnant again
This time she had a baby boy and
became even more confident
She told the engineer she wanted
to leave the rented apartment and
move into his mansion as his
second wife
The engineer always did her bidding
She had bound him to her will
through the help of her herbalist
The engineer told her he will make
the necessary arrangements within
two weeks
One week later, on the very day she
was supposed to upturn the
engineer’s life by holding the naming
ceremony in his mansion, the
engineer died.
He fell ill and was rushed to the
hospital
He didn’t survive that night
That was it
His death stripped her of everything
Her apartment, her lifestyle, her
hopes and aspirations
She had started lobbying the
engineer’s family members to push
her case when she was told that
the engineer’s wife had sold off
all his properties and relocated to
the UK
The woman didn’t even dignify her
claims by meeting with her face to
face or exchanging a word of
greeting or insult with her
She left her worse off than where
she started from
Within a year she was back in her
mother’s house with her two kids
She cried and lamented but she
had to survive
She had just turned 30 when the
engineer died
She went back to the drawing-room
Within a year she had gotten herself
another man
He was also married and rich
His marriage was not a happy one
and she made herself his place of
bliss
He got her an apartment and rented
a shop for her
When she was with the engineer, all
she did was
She had no investment, no business,
nothing
It was one of the things she regretted
the most
She could have secured her future
with all the resources that came her
way but she didn’t
This time she was determined to
milk the cow for present and future
purposes
The only assets she had with the
engineer was gold and pieces of
jewelry
She sold almost everything paying
off debts and feeding herself and
her children after the engineer died
The new man was quite
generous
He was from a polygamous
background and didn’t see much
wrong in being with her
He was also desperate for a male
child
(His wife had already given birth to
seven girls) and had promised her
heaven and earth if she would give
him a son
She didn’t waste any time getting
pregnant for him
Their relationship lasted five years
She gave birth to two girls
He walked away after the second girl
She was never married to him and
all she got were the things she got
while she was with her
She was 36 years old when he
walked away.

To be continued…