Naomi took it with shaky fingers. It was old, slightly faded, but there he was. Femi. Her hand dropped. She looked away. Then she stood up and walked to the window. Outside the sky was clear, but inside a storm had started. Naomi couldn’t sleep. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, her body still, but her mind racing like a car without breaks. The DNA test was real.
The babies were Femy’s children, and Anita was his mistress. Her late husband, the same man who told her they were in everything together, had built a secret life right under her nose. Her chest hurt. But it wasn’t from anger alone. It was from the betrayal, the shame, and the fact that now the truth was staring her in the face, and she didn’t know what to do with it.
Anita spent the morning reading a story book to the twins. Naomi stood at the staircase and watched from above. She didn’t know what she felt anymore. Pity? No, it was deeper than that. Anger, maybe, but it was mixed with guilt. She kept remembering the nights she cried herself to sleep, thinking she was the one who couldn’t carry a child.
And Fei, he had been cheating all along. He looked her in the eyes every day and said they were a team. She blinked slowly and turned away. Later that afternoon, Naomi closed her eyes. She imagined it now, an orphan, barely 24, sleeping on the streets with newborn babies and no one to help her. Impregnated by a man almost twice her age, deceived and abandoned to face the world alone. Naomi swallowed hard.
That evening, Naomi found Anita in the garden. She was trying to rock one of the twins to sleep. The other one was chewing on a plastic toy. Can we talk? Naomi said. She stood up quickly. Yes, Ma. Naomi sat on the garden bench and tapped the space beside her. She sat. Remember when you said the father of your twins had another life? Anita nodded. I am that other life.
I am Femy’s wife. Anita’s eyes opened in shock. Ma, you’re your Femy’s wife? Yes. Naomi responded. Fear gripped her. Ripped. Immediately she went on her knees, tears rolling down her eyes. Omar, please forgive me,” she cried. “I never knew he was a married man. I was naive and greedy. I saw he was a rich man and allowed myself to be fooled.
At first, I never knew he was a married man, but when I got pregnant, it was already too late. That was when I found out he was a married man. I told him to tell you about me for the sake of his children, but I never heard from him. Not until I heard he had passed away. Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to break your marriage.
Tears rolled down Naomi’s cheeks, but she quickly wiped them off. It’s not your fault, she said. You’re not the one who broke our marriage vows, nor these innocent children. I forgive you. You’ve struggled begging for food. You slept in churches, dropped out of school. You did everything you could to save these children.
You were naive, but life has taught you a lesson. She looked at the baby in her arms. Joseph yawned, his small mouth wide open, his tiny hand rested on Anita’s shoulder. Naomi placed her hand gently on the baby’s back. “You won’t suffer anymore,” she said. Later that night, Naomi stood in front of her mirror. She looked at herself.
For years, she had lived like a statue, strong, polished, cold. But now, she felt like her chest had cracked open. The guilt she carried for not having a child left her heart. She remembered how she used to pray for a child. How she blamed herself for being empty. She had even thought of adoption once, but Fei said, “No child we didn’t make will feel like ours.
