Ashley kept asking himself, was he in love with Vinolia or was he just feeling sorry for her? He thought maybe it was none of his business what happened to her next. One thing he couldn’t seem to shake off is how he felt when he was with her. She smelled of death and that’s bad for everyone.

The fact that she was still in Ashley’s house meant he still cared for her. She was asleep in the room. He put a blanket over her to cover her. A few minutes later he went back to the living room. He heard the front door open up. He got so unsettled. It could be Mike and his goon!

No, it wasn’t them.It was Nkele, his long-lost wife. She entered carrying loads of bags. She was covered in bruises and tears watered her face. This was everything Ashley ever wanted since she left him. He only wanted to see her in the house at least one more time.

“Nkele” he said with his mouth wide open. “What happened to you?”.

Nkele just threw her entire weight on him for a hug. There was no physical reply from Ashley. He broke off the hug as they sat down.

“Nkele, who did this to you? Tell me what happened.” Ashley asked curiously.

Nkele was slowly preparing her emotions. “It’s him, he did this to me. Ashley I’m so sorry.”

“So your boyfriend did this… ” before Ashley could finish his sentence, Vinola’s voice interjected.

“Ashley are you home?” Vinola appeared in the living room.

The tension grew bigger. Nkele was taken aback.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you had a guest,” said Vinolia.

“A guest? You being serious? Calling me a guest in my house,” Nkele replied frustratedly.

“Ladies calm down, Vino, Nkele is my ex-wife.” he stared at Nkele and Vinolia. “Nkele, this is my girlfriend, Vinolia.”

Nkele felt like she could just collapse in a heap. “I need to talk to you alone Ashley.”

“This is not the right time. You have to leave please,” said Ashley.

Nkele asked in shock, “Where am I supposed to go now?”

“Wherever the hell you came from. Now leave,” Ashley said with a cold tone.

Like a dog with a tail stuck between her legs, Nkele left.

“Is that your wife?” Asked Vinolia

“Yes, it’s her.”

“She doesn’t look good at all. Maybe you shouldn’t have kicked her out,” said Vinolia. Ashley sat down. He looked distant.

“Ashley let’s talk. What do you think I should do?”

“I love spending time with you. I love everything about you, but I can’t avoid this. How will this work out?So far I’ve got only one cop on my side. I can’t trust him, Mike has connection everywhere,” said Ashley.

“I have to lie low for a while. Until we figure it out, as for now I can’t endanger you too. I have to leave,” said Vinolia

She stood up to leave, Ashley held her hand. “Not you too, you can’t walk away from me too.”

“Ashley if you want me, you’ll know where to find me.” She put a piece of paper with the address on the table. “I’m hoping you will follow me. It would really hurt me, if I never see you again.”

A wave of silence sneaked in the room after Vinolia left.

Later, in Damons house, Damon was packing cups in the tray.

“I’ll take them to the kitchen,” said Nkele trying to stand up.

“No, please stay down. You need to rest now, I’ll call the police for a statement,”said Damon.

“I’m not going to lay charges for him. This will just prove to everyone that they were right about Samuel,” proud Nkele said.

“Nkele, it ain’t even about that. It’s about other women like you. Being victimized by men and saying nothing.”

“Who is that woman?” She shook her head “How could he just forget about me so quickly? She replaced me.”

“You mean Ashley is still with that woman. After the conversation we had,” said Damon disappointedly.

“You knew about them? Of course, you did, you guys are friends.”

“The problem is Ashley is endangering himself by being with her, Nkele you have to talk to him. You are the only person he’d listen to,” said Damon.

“Damon, you are scaring me. Why are saying this? Who is she? What’s going on?” Nkele said impatiently.

“Okay, I’ll tell everything you need to know,” said Damon.

***

Do you think Damon will tell her the truth?