IZIGORA

Chapter 14

'Where is madam?' Kainye asked joseph, red in the ears.

'Madam come this afternoon with taxi man wey help am pack some things. Im say im dey go see im dey go see im people, say you go meet am for there.'

See which people? Izigora had no family. She was a bloody orphan. He had been surprised when he got home and found most of her things missing from the master bedroom. He checked the guestroom she used because of her injuries, and there was nothing left of her there.

The disappearance was the only inkling he had as to her being discharged from the hospital. Why hadn't Dr Abel-Tariah called to inform him that she had been discharged?

'Because Izigora had asked them not to bother,' he answered his own question.

Well, he didn't have time to deal with her right now. He had a business deal he had been pursuing for some time now with a company in Germany and he would be leaving tomorrow evening. When he returned, he would know what to do with her.

He had no doubt in his mind that she would be back. After all, she had no one and little or no cash. There was no need calling the hospital. They would only tell him what he only knew. His little pathetic wife had played a fast one on him.

When she exhausted the little money she had on her, she would realise that the only place she could be in was in her home. No one would employ a cripple not even if they were desperate for employees, he thought with a nasty smile on his face. That girl was just an ingrate. He'd picked her up when she was nothing and transformed her into somebody and this was how she intended to pay him!

He could just divorce her and marry someone more deserving of him but then he couldn't let her get away so easily, not after all he had done for her. So, he'd hit her a few times, so what? She was to blame for it. If she could just be the kind of wife he'd wanted when he'd married her, they wouldn't be having all these issues.

Cursing, he walked back into the house, slamming the door behind him. As he walked, he took out his phone and placed a call to Mmachi.

'I can't come out this night,' Mmachi told him.

'Your husband is not in town so you don't have an excuse.'

'You just had a surgery, Kainye,' she reminded him.

Just because the doctors said he should abstain didn't mean he couldn't explore other means of deriving sexual satisfaction.

'Is that supposed to be an excuse?'

He heard her sigh in the background. 'My children are home, Kainye.'

'Your parents live in Port Harcourt, I'm sure you can drop their grandchildren with them and claim an emergency that will have to take you away from home for the night. Do I have to think of all the excuses for you?'

'Really, Kainye, this is not a good time.'

'Unless you want me to end whatever it is we have between us tonight, don't you dare make me wait for you.'

He cut the call before Mmachi could protest further. Women! Always arguing with men like they were equals!

* * * * * * * * *

'If you think too much, Izigora, you are going to literally bore a hole through your brain,' Kobi told her, bringing her back to the present.

Izigora looked at him and realised that he was done with his food and she hadn't even taken more than a few bites.

'And this food tastes amazing,' he complimented.

'Thanks,' Izigora smiled.

'On a more serious note, Izigora, I don't want you thinking too much. I know you just left your home and you're wondering if you made the right decision, but I need you to concentrate first on your health. Remember our discussion at the hospital?'

Izigora nodded.

'Remember the options I told you were before you?' he asked her.

'Yes. You said I had three options open to me the moment I left the hospital: one – go back home to my husband and pray and fast that he changes for good; two – leave my home and try to mend my marriage from outside; or three – file for a divorce and move on with my life knowing that out there is someone who will love and respect me without reservations unless I chose to remain single.'

'I'm glad you remember those options. And the decision, Izigora, is yours and yours alone to make. Like I would say, ask yourself 'What is good for Izigora?' but do not be in a hurry to answer that question. If you need a friend to talk to, I am here for you but whatever decision you make will be solely yours, as you alone would live with the consequences of the decisions you make.'

Izigora nodded.

'Now don't allow this delicious meal to go to waste. I'll take care of breakfast tomorrow.'

Her lips parted naturally in protest.

'Shush,' he told her, lifting one finger to silence her. 'I insist. The rules in your home don't apply here. Here, you're expected to feel as free as possible. I don't want you walking on egg shells around me. If it helps, you can pretend I'm your long, lost elder brother and you're happy to see me.'

Elder brother ke?

Was he always this nice? If he was, then he would make some woman a really wonderful husband someday. She wasn't even going to put herself in that shoe. She was still very much married and Kainye already thought she was doing something behind his back with the good doctor. To even think of him as a woman would a man was forbidden.

But she was grateful to him and his innate ability to make her feel like a human being.

Once they were done, he took the trays to the kitchen and washed up, only allowing her to place the plates back on the rack before wheeling her back to the sitting room. He helped her onto the two-man couch, pushing a throw pillow beneath her left knee while the other one was stretched out on the couch.

He sprawled on the three-man couch, his long feet stretching out of the arm of the chair, and tuned the stations to the medical channel.

It wouldn't be easy, but she would take his advice and concentrate on getting better for the time being while she made a decision on what to do with herself and where she would stay for the duration once she left his home.