Evelyn Wright

When she summoned the courage to go and shopped for her gym wear a few weeks ago, getting her size was an herculean task. Almost all the double extra-large sizes were too tight for her. After visiting a couple of recommended stores known for selling outdoor wear for plus plus size women, she was able to get one that was fairly snug on her. The whole shopping experience made her feel so depressed that she fell into bed when she got home and cried as if her heart would break. She was appalled at how much she had grown out of shape. No wonder, Kelvin felt ashamed to be seen with her or to be with her and was finding  his pleasure elsewhere. She had only herself to blame for it. In annoyance, she had dropped the outfit in a far corner of her clothing closet and forgot about it.

However, she was amazingly surprised to realise it fitted freely when she wore it this morning. Gbemi’s Online Revitalize class must be working wonders for her. Even though she was hungry most of the time and had terrible cravings to go back and snack on junk food, she only needed to remember the consequences of  the extra fat in her body to stick to new health plans.

She blessed the day she met Ayoola Faleke. That man had been nothing but a blessing to her. Gbemi’s health guide and Easy, practical meal plan was working wonders for her. She was in a great mood as she picked up her Car key and left the house.

The gym centre was already full when she got there and the gym instructors were busy attending to their numerous clientele. Hovering in the doorway, her eyes roamed the large busy room, unaware she was searching until she saw him in a corner of the room, doing his thing. There was a mask of concentration on his face as he lifted barbells, his muscled legs were set apart and bent at the knee. Sweat dribbled down his body, and the thin sleeveless t-shirt he wore clung to his chest, yet the pattern of his breathing didn’t change. There were flutters in her stomach as her admiring gaze travelled the length of his well-honed body and it reminded her she hadn’t had sex in months.

Good looking men wouldn’t be the death of her one day. She reminded herself she was a married woman and shouldn’t be admiring another man’s body, even if he had a great one. A sigh escaped her parted lips.

“Good morning ma’am. My name is Edewor, one of the gym instructors working here. Are you new? How can I assist you?” A friendly young lady’s voice cut into her thought process. She was dressed smartly in a light pink outdoor outfit. Evelyn envied her slim, curvy body.She wondered what it would be like to have an average body like other women.

“I am new actually but I have subscribed online.” She brought out her phone and showed her the digital membership Card. “But I am wondering where to start.” Her smile was ruffled.

“Well, that is why I am here. You have such beautiful skin, ma’am.” Edewor’s smile was full of sincerity as her friendly eyes went over her.

“Oh!” It caught her off-guard. She wasn’t used to having people complimenting her looks in any way. “Thank you. Here, I am envying your beautiful figure.” They both laughed at that and it eased the knot of anxiety in her stomach.

“Thank you, Edewor. I will take it from here. She is a friend.” Ayoola appeared by her side and the fluttering in her stomach increased. The man was so damn sexy.

“See you later, ma’am. I have a dance class that takes place three times a week. Feel free to join.” Edewor slipped a Card in her hand, winked and slipped away.

“I love your staff. They are well trained.” She slipped the Card and her phone into her waist bag.

“We aim to please.” He curtseyed with a grin on his face and she gave him a playful smack on his arm. “Hope you had a restful sleep?”

“It was the best sleep I have had in years.” and it was the first time she didn’t sleep in her matrimonial bed. 

“Dancing does that to you and lots of hard drinks.” She was laughing so hard as she followed him into another room. Fewer clients were here with individual instructors. 

“Thank you for the outing. I needed it.”

“Yes you do.” He faced her and her heart began to hammer heavily in her chest.

“I was hoping to beat you to the gym this morning.” She was procrastinating. She wanted to turn around and fled.

He gave her a boyish grin, “That will be in your dreams. I only sleep for a few hours at night.” He rubbed his arms up and down her arms and linked his fingers with hers. Her heart rate slowed down as she looked up into his face. He was calming her down and it worked!

“Why? Are you suffering from insomnia?”There was concern in her voice.

He shrugged, obviously discarding her concern, “It has stopped being a concern to me. It allows me to do things I don’t have time to do during the day. Let’s warm you up so you don’t have cramps after the work-out.” 

She wanted to say more but shut her mouth and followed his lead. Obviously, he didn’t want to talk about it. By the time she was done with her stretches , she was soaking in her sweat and panting out of exertion.  He gave her a bottle of water and they sat down for a few minutes break.

“I am famished already at this time of the morning.” She placed her hand on her rumbling stomach.

“That is what Gbemi’s diet does to you, but your body will get used to it with time. You can have breakfast immediately after your workout.” 

“How long will it take?” 

“It won’t take long, and you will grow to enjoy it.” He flashed her another grin. 

Her eyes narrowed on him, “Now, I am beginning to distrust that smile.”

“Get on the treadmill, Eve. Let’s warm you up.” 

She cursed and swore and insulted him throughout the workout, but she didn’t quit. “Call an ambulance, Ayo. This body is no longer mine.” She groaned as she laid down on the cold floor at the end of the session. 

 “You will be fine. It is normal. Go and take a cold shower. ” He laughed heartily. “Then we will go and have breakfast. I am super proud of you. Lots of my clients would have quit by now.”

She threw him a glare but she was preening under his praise. She was super proud of herself.

*****

Kelvin Ikeduba

Locating the bitch’s house wasn’t a problem at all. He came with his bodyguards just in case and stationed them at the door. She lived well for a stripper. Her apartment was a one-bedroom apartment at the back of a duplex in the middle of Magodo suburb. She obviously had numerous sugar daddies she had been blackmailing to sponsor her lifestyle. With a snarl twisting his lips, he lifted his hand and knocked sharply on the wooden door. 

“Who is it?” A little boy’s voice floated out to him and there was a fluttering at the window as he peeped. “Who are you?”

Kelvin was tongue-tied for a moment, staring at the little face. Who was the boy? Why would a stripper be living with a little boy? The mother should be flogged. Most of the women of these days didn’t deserve to be a mother.

“My name is Kelvin. I am looking for Lydia Bach. She lives here, right?” There was a forced cheer in his voice. The investigating company couldn’t be wrong, could they? Their rates were expensive, way above his budget but they came highly recommended and he believed in them.

“Yes, she does. I will be right back.” The little face disappeared.

He cracked his knuckles as he waited and his gaze moved around the immediate surrounding. There were weeds here and there. For no reason, his heart picked up race in anxiety and he beckoned to his two bodyguards to move closer. 

Few minutes later, there was a turning of the key and the door swung open. The little boy stood in the middle of the doorway and beckoned to him to come in.He looked like a six or seven year old boy.

“Good morning  sir.” He inclined his head respectfully, in greeting.

“Good morning, youngboy. How are you?” He stepped into the sitting room and the boy closed the door after him after giving the bodyguards a curious look.

Lydia was standing in the middle of the sitting room, a house-robe wrapped around her tall, curvy body. His anger came back full-fledged and he glared at her. 

“Run along, dear. Your Teacher is around.” Lydia bent and kissed the boy on the forehead.

“Mum, will you be alright? Do you want me to call the police? I have their number.” The little boy whispered loudly, his eyes on kelvin.

Did he just call her , ‘Mum’? Had he heard that clearly? Who was this woman? Was she a married woman? He was confused and struggled not to show it as his gaze swivelled from the boy to her beautiful face and back again.

“Don’t worry about me, Dom. I will be fine. Trust me.” She kissed his cheek and shooed him away but he could bet his life, the boy would eavesdrop. Well, he would just get to know the kind of bitchy mother he had. It was none of his business. 

“Are you surprised I found you?” He smirked at her. She gave a nonchalant shrug as she moved to a leather sofa directly opposite him and sat down with her smooth, ebony thighs crossed seductively.

“Why would I? You have the resources. Your father-in-law is a wealthy, influential man.”

“That is none of your business.” He observed her body closely. “You don’t look like a woman that is carrying anyone’s baby?” His voice was accusing.

“My body belongs to me and I am the one who knows what is in it. How may I help you, Kelvin?” Her smile was smug. 

He scowled at her. “You offered your service as a stripper and you were employed as one. Why are you disturbing my life? What was so unusual about our business deal?”

“I have been keeping tabs on you long before you married your fat spoiled daddy’s little girl.” She snarled at him.

“Be careful, Lydia. You are talking about my wife.” He growled at her.

“Oh, Mr. Community Dick is proud of his fat, rich wife when he has been busy passing his common penis all around.  How is Belema? I am sure she has been dishing it out to you the way you like it, right?” She laughed at his pale face. He moved to sit down.

“What do you want from me, Lydia? What did I do to you?” He glared at her.

“You killed my sister, you imbecile! I am sure you can’t even remember the innocent young girl you deflowered eight years ago when you were still living in the slum of Ijora Badia.” 

He fidgeted on the seat as he stared at the tiled floor between his feet. “What is her name?”

“She is my twin sister. Her name is Dorothy Bach. She got pregnant for you. Do you remember her at all?” Her voice was bitter.

He looked up and straight into the picture of a young girl of nineteen hanging on the wall. Her serene, beautiful smile struck a memory in him. He didn’t know she was a virgin until he had sex with her. She was everything her sister wasn’t: quiet, naïve, gentle, and easy-going. He remembered the pain in her eyes when he told her to get rid of the pregnancy. She was not the first girl who claimed to be pregnant for him.

“Is that Dorothy?” The resemblance between the two stopped at face level.He inclined his head towards the frame.

“Yes, she is the one.”

“When did she die? How did she die?” 

“She died when she was giving birth to your son.”

“I have a living son?” He sat up straighter on his chair as the taste of fear in his throat was acidic. If Evelyn found out about this, he was in trouble. He needed to hasten up his plan before everything crumbled around him like a pack of Cards. “Where is he?”

“Well, you just met him. His name is Dominick.” She cackled like a witch as his face blanched at her confirmation.  “Don’t worry. I won’t ever leave my nephew in your care, but you will pay for his way in life. By the time I am done with you, you will regret ever being born.” Her smile was full of malice.

“You know I can get you killed, right? You bitch.” His hands tightened into fists as he got to his feet and glared at her. He had a son? He just freaking met his seven year old son? Oh God! What was he supposed to do with this information?

“Go ahead and do that. You see that camera over there?” She pointed to the one directly above their head. It was doing a slow rotation around the room. “There is a highly professional detective cum lawyer behind it. You will be the first suspect if anything happens to me or my nephew.” 

He gritted his teeth in silent fury, clenching and unclenching his fists. He wished he could wrap them around her slim neck and squeezed the life out of her. Bitch!

“Get out of here, Kelvin. Let this be the last time you set your foot in this house. Have a great day.” She turned around and walked away. 

Shoulders drooping in defeat, he walked out of the house and stared at the morning sun. Something else she mentioned came to him in a flash and his steps dragged to a stop. 

“…How is Belema? I am sure she has been dishing it out to you the way you like it, right?”

Was Belema working with Lydia to set him up? He hoped not. He sincerely hoped not because she would see the other side of him. He had been funding her schooling and taking care of her. Was this the way she wanted to repay him? Oh! They had scores to settle. With renewed energy, he marched to his Car and his entourage followed behind.

Finding Solace is available for your reading pleasure on the blog shop.

The Blurb

Araire Falade, a beautiful, wealthy, and single woman in her 40s, is trying to slow down her ticking biological clock, and her boyfriend, Bamidele, has said he will only propose if she gets pregnant. 

Seeking help, she approaches the sexy, handsome but married fertility doctor, Chibuike Azuke, and they soon become great friends. 

Glowing and pregnant, her happiness doubles or so it seems when  Bamidele finally proposes.

All hell breaks loose when Araire discovers she has been duped, not only by the man she was engaged to, but also by the man she had come to trust and love with her whole heart.

Will love find her again or she is destined to remain single and alone forever?

The Chapter Ten of Hidden Desires will be posted next week Sunday, 23rd March, 2025.

Don’t forget miss it and don’t forget to leave a comment.

Thank you!