You hear Femi stir in bed but he doesn’t call out your name. Maybe he is too far gone to realize that you’re out of bed and almost out of the room. Outside, you hear hushed conversation coming from Aduke’s room which is next to yours with Femi. Kola and Busayo must be in there too but you don’t check. You don’t even eavesdrop. You already know what they’re discussing—their father’s betrayal.

You take the stairs, carefully holding on to the wooden railings. You have forgotten your glasses in the bedroom and it’s too late to go back for them. Old age is coming at you really fast but you alone can see it. Everyone says you look thirty and Aduke could pass for your younger sister and not daughter. They don’t see the crinkles around your eyes or the many veins that sprout from your hands and legs like vines. Or they choose to ignore it. Even Femi compliments you for always looking ever young.

Femi!!! You scream internally. Femi, why? What did I ever do to make you hurt me so? You’re sobbing in full force now. You switch on the lights close to the family photo stand and look at all the pictures. Some were taken in the UK. There are some of the kids as toddlers. They all look like Femi, taking his chocolate skin, pointed nose, and tall frame. But they also look like you, with your bulgy eyes, full lips and curly hair.

The one picture that captivates you most is one of you and Femi in a bear hug. You two had just come back from the UK to conclude your honeymoon in Lagos and Femi had gone out that day to hang out with his friends. Iya Ronke had visited you with lots of foodstuffs and waited for Femi to return before she left. She was the one who took that photo with her newly acquired portable digital camera. She loved how you two were so in love with each other. And even more so that she was the reason behind your love.

Ah ah, … look at what I have done! Ese oluwa, she had said proudly.

Femi started going out more after your return to Nigeria. Sometimes for work engagements. Other times for leisure. You were too in love with your husband to suspect a thing. What was even there to suspect? You were a newly wedded couple. Surely Femi hadn’t tired of you so fast. You didn’t notice a change in the way he made love to you either. He even showered you with more expensive gifts. You were hooked!

With a broken heart, you drag your feet to the four-seater couch and lie down, resting your head and legs on the plush cushions. You should report Femi to Baba and Mama. The table clock shows 11:30 pm. You remember how just eight hours ago, you all were a complete and happy family. Until Femi showed up with her!

I know this is coming out of the blue but I’ve thought about it for a long time and I believe this is the right time. Aduke, Kola, Busayo, meet your sister Titi. Ife mi, this is my daughter.

He had said it so casually. Almost as if it was a norm for a husband to show up twenty-five years later with an estranged child and dump the child on his immediate family.

“Ekaso, Ma. I’ve heard so much about you all and I’m thrilled to finally meet you.”

You had almost slapped the curtesy out of her. How audacious! How nonchalant! Did she have any idea the emotional turmoil you and your children were experiencing? In fact, your shock had rendered you immobile and mute. You couldn’t believe your eyes and ears. The girl looked like your children but the light skinned version. If anything, she even looked older than Aduke and you began to make calculations in your head. How were you with Femi and you never knew he had a child? Even Iya Ronke never mentioned it. How was this secret kept from you for so long?