The very day we posted our save-the-date, a lady called my phone and asked who I was to Joel. I told her Joel was my husband and naively asked if she had seen our wedding invitation. She breathed heavily on the phone and told me she had been dating Joel for over two years and was six months pregnant for him. They were waiting for the child to be born before getting married.
I laughed because I thought it was a prank. I even thought it was Joel himself who had sent someone to test me. I asked the lady’s name and jokingly asked her to tell me more. She kept dropping fact after fact until I cut in and asked if she was serious about what she was saying.
She got infuriated and told me our wedding would not come on as long as she was alive. Then she cut the call.
I still believed it was someone pulling my leg, so when I called Joel, I told him he should stop joking with me because some jokes were expensive. His voice changed from light to heavy when I mentioned that Efia had called and said she was six months pregnant for him.
“Efia? How did she get your number?”
That question told me there was indeed someone called Efia. He told me we would talk when he came home and that I shouldn’t worry because he knew who was behind the call.
I saw him that evening. By then, I’d been thinking about the call and had even called the number back, but Efia didn’t answer. Joel told me to disregard the call because he knew the person behind it. He said it was his long-time ex who was behind it. Even his own body language didn’t support the explanation he was giving me. He had shrunk in confidence and wouldn’t look me in the eyes while talking to me.
I begged him to tell me the truth. He insisted there was no truth to tell.
When he left, Efia returned my call. She told me she had taken screenshots of their messages and was going to send them to me. When she did, I opened my mouth and couldn’t close it for several seconds. Joel was trying to convince her to abort the pregnancy. He promised her a huge amount of money, but the lady said the pregnancy was already too far along and it was risky.
A week after we posted the invitation, another lady called—Ann. She went straight to the point. “You think you have a man? No, you don’t. You’re getting married to a community project. If I were you, I would cancel the wedding now and save myself from the shame that’s coming.”
Ann was also pregnant for Joel. The funny thing was, Ann knew about Efia and another lady she said was called Mavis. She said she, Efia, and Mavis were all pregnant for Joel. She had spoken to them, and all of them had planned to storm our wedding and destroy everything.
I begged Ann to stay on the phone while I added Joel to the call. When Joel picked up, I said, “Ann wants to talk to you.” He retorted, “Where did you meet her?” By then, the calls had been merged, so Ann heard him. She screamed, “You’re asking where she met me? She met me in your anus! She met me on wotriso ne w’apampa so.”
The insults that followed, I can’t write all of them here. Joel cut the call and left me and Ann on the line. She told me to abandon the wedding. “Sisterly advice, please walk away. What’s coming is too much for an innocent woman like you to carry.” I thanked her, and she ended the call.
Joel told me it was the same ex who had recruited these ladies to destroy our wedding because she still wanted him.
I begged him to tell me the truth. I looked into his eyes and told him I loved him so much that if he told me the truth, I would stand beside him and fight until we won.
He said, “Dear, they are envious. They want what you have. They want to be the ones to live with me in Scotland. If you listen to them, you’ll be the biggest loser.”
Joel’s father lived in Scotland. When his mum died, his father took Joel’s two siblings abroad, but Joel stayed because of school. His job was also very lucrative, so he didn’t want to resign and start afresh there. But when we started talking about marriage, he told his father he wanted to relocate with me, and they both started working on our travel documents.
Everything was ready for us to relocate right after the wedding.
Joel told me, “The enemies know what’s ahead of you and want to destroy it before it happens. Don’t give them the chance.”
I said, “So it’s true, right? Efia sent screenshots, and you said they were edited. Ann has sent photos, and you said she’s twisting the facts behind the pictures. There’s also Mavis, whom I’m expecting to hear from. Babe, please tell me the truth. I won’t leave you.”
I cried every day, but I prayed too. I knew the truth but wanted to hear it from his own mouth. I was also afraid to discuss the issues with anybody.
Ann never stopped calling me. She had become a voice in my head telling me to run away. She even recorded Joel’s voice begging her not to destroy our wedding and promising to give her whatever she wanted.
Six days before our wedding, I summoned my mum and dad, the only two people on earth I believed I owed an explanation. I narrated the whole story to them and asked what I should do.
Dad asked if I was sure those women were telling the truth. In tears, I told him the evidence was too strong to be a lie. He went quiet.
My mum said, “There are all these women around him, yet you’re the one he wants to marry. You’re the one he wants to take abroad. They are jealous. Don’t listen to them and destroy your future. Marry him. He truly loves you.”
My dad rebuked my mum right there. “She should marry who? Have you thought about her own happiness? My daughter, do what makes you happy. You have my support.”
I called Joel and told him I couldn’t go ahead with the wedding. He broke down on the phone and cried like a little boy. He said we had come too far to give up. It was when he came to my parents’ house and asked them to beg on his behalf that he finally told the truth. I was relieved. The fact that I was doing the right thing after all made my heart rest.
I sent messages to all my friends and even posted on my status: “Wedding cancelled. Thanks for your prayers and love.”
Then I turned off my phone for three days. There was peace. I could smile and mean it. I could even laugh at the story. I thanked God for giving me the courage to say yes to my own happiness.
Today, he’s a happy father to those children. He posts them. He attended their naming ceremonies wearing white like a proud father.
We still talk. He tells me he’s taking care of the children because they’re his but has nothing to do with their mothers. He still wants another chance. He has three children. Born three man? Who did I offend?