Her stuttering got on my nerves because, to me, that was sign that she was hiding something from me.

“What are you hiding from me?” I demanded.

“It’s not what you think. Chris…he had an affair…not with me, but my sister, Ningi,” she confessed.

I found out that Chris had three kids with the so-called Ningi and had hidden it from me.

I was astonished and hurt by what I heard and I needed to hear the truth from my man. How could he do this to me? I asked myself. There was no way he would do something like this to me. The denial was so great that I started laughing out loud. I was laughing like a psychotic lunatic. I usually laughed like that when I was experiencing major disbelief and hurt. This was not happening. Chris had kids that I was not aware of? A whole other family with someone else?

I yelled his name countless times, so many times that I actually lost count. Now, I knew he was hesitant to respond because he knew my I’m-about-to-cause-a-scene-and-I-don’t-mind-you-beating-me-up-for-it tone. I went to the dining room and asked Chris whether it was true. He looked at me with his huge eyes as I took a bottle of wine and gulped the whole thing with neither shame nor hesitation.

“Speak!” I yelled.

“I couldn’t tell you! I knew how much it would hurt you. It would make you lose your mind,” he defended.

I couldn’t believe my ears. He didn’t apologise for his cheating or, worst of all, not giving his kids the privilege of living with their father. As mad as I was, I felt sorry for his unknown kids. No child deserved to be hidden. My dream was to get married to this man and actually build a family because I didn’t want to bear kids out of marriage. I wanted no child of his or mine to have any daddy issues, or to experience financial strain because of parents who failed to ensure that neither money nor emotional support had a negative influence on their child’s well-being.

He of all people should know the damage that comes with having good parental presence. And what on earth was he doing having unprotected sex with women? Had this bastard of a man heard of STDs, HIV, herpes? I thought. How considerate of him. This was not what I signed up for and it definitely wasn’t part of the plan.

I continued drowning myself in liquor as our visitors gave us space to ‘talk’. I knew there and then that it was over and I was feeling as if I was about to throw up. I hadn’t been feeling well for a while but then I was certain I was going to pass. I left Chris in the living room and went to bed. He didn’t seem to be bothered with my emotions. I was certain of this as he had left me alone with my sorrows that night.

I woke up the next morning with the urge to throw up. I didn’t get to the bathroom in time, to be quiet honest, and I threw up on the floor. I was definitely not feeling well and this was beyond my regular hangover. Chris was nowhere to be found and so I called him. After his call sent me straight to voicemail I couldn’t help but notice the date. It was the sixth of September and I was a week late for my period.

I rushed to the pharmacy and came back home with an advanced pregnancy test. I was 2-3 weeks pregnant, ladies and gentlemen! My life couldn’t possibly have got any worse. I was pregnant! Out of all the times I could have conceived and I conceive now! I couldn’t help but break down. Chris walked in while I was on my knees with a pregnancy test in my hand. He walked slowly towards me and asked what I was crying for. He then noticed the test and snatched it out of my hand.

The smile on his face annoyed the daylights out of me. He picked me up and kissed me on the forehead without uttering a word. I heard a knock on the door and before I could get up to get the door, Chris stood up before I could to see who it was. A few moments later, Chris came back into the room to get his pistol and ran back downstairs. I ran after him.

Tell us: Who do you think was at the door?