The Housewife and The Side Chick — Episode 5

The Housewife and The Side Chick — Episode 5

The next morning came with heavy silence. Grace didn’t sleep a minute that night. Her eyes were swollen, and her head pounded from too many tears.

She sat quietly on the edge of the bed, staring at the wardrobe that used to hold her husband’s clothes. Half of it was empty now.

Michael had moved some of his things out the previous evening, claiming he needed them for “business trips.”

But deep down, Grace knew the truth — he was now staying with that woman.

Her phone buzzed. It was her best friend, Kate.
“Grace, how far? You don’t look yourself lately. What’s going on?”

Grace sighed. “Kate… I don’t even know where to start.”

When she finished explaining, Kate was silent for a few seconds. Then she said quietly, “This is serious, my dear. That girl must be using something on him.”

Grace wiped her tears. “I’ve prayed and prayed, Kate. But it’s like my prayers can’t even reach heaven anymore.”

Kate replied, “Don’t give up. You’re a good woman, Grace. Just keep praying. God will fight for you.”

Grace smiled weakly. “Amen.”

But even as she said it, her heart was breaking.

Later that afternoon, she went to her small shop.

Customers were few, and sales were poor. Grace forced herself to smile at everyone who came by.

“Madam Grace, how market?” one of her neighbours, Mama Esther, asked.

Grace sighed. “E no too dey move, but we thank God.”

“Hmm,” Mama Esther shook her head. “I hear say your husband dey waka with one small girl for Lekki.”

Grace froze. “Who told you that?”

“Everybody dey talk am o, my sister. But don’t mind them. Men, eh… Lagos men no dey change.”

Grace forced a laugh. “Thank you, ma.”

When Mama Esther walked away, Grace’s hand began to shake. She could no longer pretend that it was just a rumour.

That night, when Michael came home, he didn’t even eat. He packed a few more shirts and trousers into a small travel bag.

“Where are you going this time?” Grace asked, her voice trembling.

He didn’t look up. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Michael, I am your wife!”

He turned sharply. “And so what? Must you question everything I do?”

Grace stepped closer. “Please, whatever this woman gave you, can’t you see she’s destroying you? Look at yourself. You don’t even act like my husband anymore.”

Michael laughed bitterly. “Grace, leave me alone before I say something I’ll regret.”

Tears rolled down her face. “You already have.”

He walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Days turned to weeks. Michael stopped sending money for the house or for the children’s school fees. Grace tried to reach him, but he always ignored her calls.

Then one morning, the landlord came knocking.

“Madam Grace, good morning. Please tell your husband that his rent has expired and I need my money.”

Grace swallowed hard. “Sir, I’ll talk to him.”

But she knew there was no money — and no husband to talk to.

That evening, she went to see Michael’s mother.

“Mama, please, I need your help. Michael has changed completely. He doesn’t care about us anymore.”

The old woman sighed. “My daughter, I have called him too. He just says he’s fine and doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

Grace knelt down. “Mama, please talk to him again. The children are suffering.”

The woman looked at her sadly. “Grace, sometimes life is like that. Maybe it’s just a phase.

Pray, my daughter.”

Grace smiled bitterly. “I’ve been praying, Mama. But I’m tired.”

That night, when she returned home, the lights had been cut off — NEPA bill unpaid. The house was hot, dark, and silent.

Daniel and Joy sat quietly beside her, fanning themselves with their school books.

“Mummy, when will Daddy come back?” Joy asked softly.

Grace hugged her close. “Soon, my darling. Very soon.”

But her heart whispered something different — Maybe never.

Meanwhile, in a lavish apartment on the Island, Michael was living like a stranger.

He cooked, cleaned, and washed Rita’s clothes.

He didn’t even realise how far he had fallen.

“Baby,” Rita said one morning, “I need fifty thousand for my hair.”

Michael nodded blankly. “Check the account.

Take what you need.”

She smiled. “Ah, my sweet man.”

But when she left the room, she smirked to herself. “Mumu man. If only you knew.”

One weekend, Grace’s shop rent expired. The landlord threatened to lock it up if she didn’t pay within a week.

She went home and cried all night.

“God, please don’t let my children suffer because of my husband’s mistake. Please have mercy.”

She took her children to church the next morning, knelt before the altar, and prayed like a woman with nothing left to lose.

When the service ended, the pastor said something that struck her heart.

“Sometimes, God allows the storm not to destroy you, but to show you who truly stands with you.”

She looked at her children and whispered, “Then I will stand. I won’t break.”

From that day, she decided to fight quietly.

She started baking meat pies and selling them on the street.

Every morning, she left home early, holding her tray with one hand and her children with the other.

People who used to envy her before now pitied her.

But Grace smiled through her pain.

She would rather struggle than beg.

One afternoon, as she hawked near a busy junction, a car honked loudly.

She looked up and froze.

It was Michael.

Rita sat in the passenger seat, wearing expensive sunglasses, laughing and eating ice cream.

Grace’s hands trembled. Their eyes met for a split second — but Michael quickly looked away and drove off.

Her heart shattered.

Her children looked at her, confused.

“Mummy, was that Daddy?” Daniel asked.

Grace forced a smile, but her lips quivered. “No, my dear. That’s not your daddy.”

But deep inside, she felt her soul crumble.

That night, she couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.

She lay on the cold floor and cried until her voice disappeared.

“God, I’ve done everything I can. I’ve prayed, I’ve fasted, I’ve begged. Why does it feel like You’re silent?”

No answer came.

Only the sound of rain beating on the roof — and her quiet sobs filling the dark room.

But even in that pain, something inside her whispered:

“You are not broken yet, Grace. Hold on.”

👉 To be continued in Episode 6

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