Kelvin went straight to the staff quarters to confront Belema, but was surprised to find her room empty and devoid of her personal belongings. He was informed by the other staff that she had been dismissed. A frisson of alarm went down his spine. He went in search of Evelyn.

She was in the study, busy with a business journal, and obviously on a business call. He loitered around the room impatiently until the meeting ended and she got to her feet.

“How may I help you, Kelvin?” Her voice was polite. He frowned. She had never been that curt with him in the past, had she? 

“I was in the kitchen for lunch and requested that Belema come over to serve the dish. I was informed that she has been dismissed. I didn’t remember us discussing that decision.”

“When did you start concerning yourself with domestic issues?” Her brows winged up. 

He fidgeted nervously. “Well, she has been part of the household since we got married. I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t ask after her.” He glared at her. 

She chuckled with a clap of her hands, “Are you missing your lover already? Don’t worry, I didn’t poison her. I only thanked her for taking good care of you, gave her lots of cash, and asked her to find employment elsewhere.” 

“What?” He exclaimed in confusion.

“You can call her and find out. Just make sure your next rendezvous doesn’t take place in this house.” She threw him a warning look before she opened the door and glided out.

He stared after her. She looked … amazing. He had never seen her in knee-length shorts and t-shirt before. Her face was narrower, the stomach had reduced, and the chubby legs looked sexier and slimmer. What had she been doing to herself?

He began to run after her when her words sank into his mind. She knew about his affair with Belema! Belema had been dismissed because of it. What would she do to him? What if her father found out about it? 

“Eve! Please wait. Let me explain.” He ran after her, but she was already in the car.

“We will talk later.” She gave him a dismissive wave as she motioned to Ayoola to start the car. The latter did, and the car moved away before he could say another word.

When did she start sitting in the front beside the Cab driver? What was wrong with this woman?  Why this particular Cab driver? He had become more than a Cab driver because Kelvin had seen him around more times than he could count. There was something going on and he would get to the root of it. Most importantly, he needed to impregnate his wife so that she could stay at home and take care of their kids, instead of having time to spend with other men or staying out late, hanging out with her supposed friends .

*****

It was the  middle of the week and business was a bit slow as expected. Ayoola was in his office behind the bar, working on his account while his assistant, Chike, handled the new Wine Order that just came in. A couple of Rich, Old boys were planning a get-together in one of the rich boy’s new house on Banana Island and Ayoola’s bar was contacted to supply all the buzz needed at the party.

There was a Knock on the door and Chike went to check who was there.

“Ayo, a gentleman is at the bar. He wants to see you and says it is urgent.”

“Did he mention his name?” There was curiosity in his voice as he got to his feet. He really needed to complete his report unfailingly today but his visitor may be a potential client and he wasn’t one to pass up any opportunity.

 “No, he didn’t.” Chike was already back at his desk, sorting through invoices and working on the excel.

Ayoola’s mild curiosity turned to surprise and then anger when he saw Kelvin , standing at his bar, in a dark – blue cleanly cut Tom Ford suit. He was dangling his Car Key while his eyes roamed about the nearly empty bar with an expression of disdain on his face. 

“Good Afternoon, Sir.” With his poker face on, he inclined his head to him in greeting.

“Good afternoon, Mr Man. I take it you are Ayoola Faleke, the cabman who usually picks up my wife from the house?” He straightened up to his full height and faced Ayoola.

“Who is your wife again? Who are you? I have many clients I pick up at all times of the day.” A shrug lifted his shoulder.

“My wife is Evelyn Wright Ikeduba. Does that name ring a bell?” A snarl twisted his lips as he glared at Ayoola.

Evelyn wasn’t bearing her husband’s name. It had always been her father’s name and it was a public secret. Ayoola was slightly amused at the playboy’s audacity. Who was he to correct him? “Kind of. What exactly is the issue please? I am busy and need to get back to work.” There was impatience in Ayoola’s voice.

“Busy in this empty bar?” Kelvin gave a show of looking around and laughed with derision. Ayoola didn’t bat an eyelid as he waited. “For a Cabman who also owns a bar on the Island, I must salute your courage. Please stay within your league and don’t step on the Cobra’s tail. Stay away from my wife. Block her number please. She is getting too familiar with you and I don’t like it.” 

Ayoola felt like slapping the words out of his mouth. So he didn’t want any man near his wife when he was busy spreading his dick around. Kelvin was lucky he was Evelyn’s husband, not just a boyfriend and married women were a taboo for him. He would have given him a run for his money. 

“Maybe you should tell your wife to stop ordering my Cab. I am a businessman and can never say No to a business deal.” A thin smile stretched his lips as he rocked on the balls, his hands balled into fists in the pockets of his Combat shorts

“How much is a Cab fee for a month? How about if I triple it and pay you a year’s worth? Will you stay away from my wife?”

With whose money? Your wife or her father’s money? A hiss escaped Ayoola’s pursed lips and his eyes turned to Ice, “ Get out of this place, Mr Evelyn Wright. I won’t say it twice.”

“Are you threatening me? Are you so broke you can’t find your own woman and have to run after a married woman?” Kelvin stepped towards him with a glare and tapped his chest. 

One of the Bar Bouncers, Reuben , who sat a few feet away and had been observing the scene, got to his feet and approached them. 

Kelvin backed away with his hands in the air, “You have not seen the last of me. Stay away from my wife or I will have soldiers arrest you. Bastard.” With that, he walked out of the bar.

“Thank you, Reuben.”

“Anytime, Boss.” Reuben inclined his head to him. 

*****

He was avoiding her. 

At first, she had assumed he was quite busy when she called him for his Cab service and he allocated another of his drivers to pick her up. When she got to the gym that week, he wasn’t there. Someone else was there to take her through routine work-outs. Ayoola employed the best and she had no complaints about any of their services but they were not ‘him’. 

When she called him, he picked up and listened to her, laughed and chatted about her day but he refused to see her. Then she knew something was wrong. Very wrong. She and Titilola went to the Bar after work on Friday but he wasn’t there. It was only Chike that was on duty and he gave them the VIP lounge without collecting a dime from them. There was no sign of Ayoola.

“Evelyn! Are you alright?” Titilola snapped her fingers in front of her face, snapping her out of her reverie. She had zoned out in the middle of a meeting. Thank Goodness, it was a departmental meeting.

“I am fine. Just a mild headache.” The lie rolled out effortlessly as she got to her feet. “I have to leave now. My apologies please.” She picked up her note-pad and hurried out of the conference room.

Evelyn was sitting at the settee , facing the window in her office, and staring into space when Titilola Joined her a few minutes later.

“What is going on with you?” Titilola sat beside her, a look of concern on her face. 

“He is avoiding me.” Evelyn looked at her friend with a bleakness that tore at Titilola’s heart and the latter sighed. “He talks to me but he refuses to see me.”

“Did you guys have a fight? I notice he has not been coming around and usually sends one of his drivers instead.” Titilola was puzzled

“No, there was no fight.” Evelyn shot to her feet and paced the large room. “I ask him and the only answer I got from him is that it is better this way. He talks to me, we gist and chat but he won’t see me. And do you know the annoying part?” Frustration rang in her voice as she stared at her friend.

“What?” 

“My husband suddenly turns into a policing officer. He has been monitoring my phone and movement. He gets home before me now and is all nice and all out of the blues. I don’t even know what is going on.” And he desperately wanted to make love to her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tolerate his touch any longer. Not when another man occupied her mind every second of the day. She had been locking herself in the guestroom at night these days. It would have been hilarious if not that she was the main actress in this terrible movie taking place in her life. What was Kelvin up to anyway? 

“Is that not good? I mean him turning a good leaf , not the policing part. Your marriage is almost two years old and he should have been a better husband to you.” Titilola’s voice was tentative as she stared at her.

“You don’t understand, Titi. You don’t.” Evelyn moaned as she flopped into the seat. “This man is up to no good. I can feel it in my bones.”

“Come to think of it. Why is it that it is when Ayoola decides to stay away that your husband suddenly becomes Mr. Goody-goody?” Titilola wondered aloud and Evelyn’s eyes widened as she sat up.

“Could it be that Kelvin went to threaten him? Oh, I will kill this man.” Evelyn surged to her feet, trembling with anger.

“Calm down, Madam. You need to tread carefully. Even if it is the way we are thinking, Kelvin has every right. He is your husband. Ayoola is just your Cab driver, well, I know he is more than that to  you but..” 

“We are not lovers. He is just a great friend.” Evelyn mumbled under her breath as she lowered her bum to the seat again. Titilola coughed slightly and Evelyn glared at her. “What am I going to do now?” 

“About your marriage, that is up to you. As per Ayoola, I can find out where he lives. Go and pay him an unexpected visit and get to the root of the problem.” 

“You are such a darling.” Evelyn’s arms went around her in a fierce hug and Titilola laughed.

“I am a bad friend. I shouldn’t be doing this. If marriage is like this, I don’t want to marry oo.”

“Some people are actually lucky. My parents are decent examples. After more than 3 decades of marriage, they are still enamoured with each other.” Evelyn’s voice was a mix of pride and sadness. She was proud of her parents’ marriage and sad about her choice. She should have been patient.

“Hmm… It is well. There are too many stories of bad marriages out there and it is not encouraging. That is not to talk of married men with wandering dicks. No matter how faithful or good their wives are, they will still cheat.” 

Yes, they would. Men like Kelvin Ikeduba, her husband. She knew he hadn’t stopped cheating on her, he had just taken it far from their home and he wanted her to believe he had changed a new leaf. Their marriage would be two years in a few weeks and she could count the number of times he had made love to her on her fingers. 

Now, he was suddenly interested in her body. She was sex-starved and horny like fuck. Thinking about a certain man made her masturbate to the memory of his face in the middle of the wide, lonely bed in the guest room. However, hell would freeze over before she would allow Kelvin touch her again.

As a matter of fact, she was done with this marriage and cleaning up his shit after him. She wanted her freedom and wanted it now.

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 Twelve of HIDDEN DESIRES will be posted next week, Sunday, 13th April.

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

Thank you!