My Wife Brought Me A Wife. Episode 3
By Adebanke Abel
Flashback: Unilag, 12 Years Earlier
Ify and Adé gained admission into the same University, and their love blossomed.
Losing both parents in the unexpected, tragic incident that happened made Adé weak to her bones. Even though it'd been four years since it happened, she had not gotten herself together. Her mother slumped and died on the day her father was sentenced to life imprisonment. Her father could also not survive the news when it was brought to him, so he also left her, Adesuwa, without looking back.
She was alone in the world, except for Ifeanyi, who kept standing by her.
But, there was a particular day they planned to meet under the Iroko tree in the school, it was raining heavily, but Adé went ahead to wait for him. But he never showed. Adé waited for hours. Another story about her father — even though he was dead — splashed across every newspaper. She didn't even know about it until she finally stumbled back to her hostel, soaked and shivering, when her roommate hissed: “Your thief father ruined your life. Even Ify ran from you. The guy don try na. Some people said they saw him packing his bags and leaving."
Present Day — Adé’s Office
Present Day — Adé’s Office
Adé’s fingers flew across her keyboard, digging into Ify’s life. Social media: None. strange for a billionaire. Charity work: Quiet. Hidden. Nneka’s Dubai Trips: Flights every month. Bank transfers to “TDollar Holdings.” Her throat tightened. Even the Nneka that came here to talk down on her husband had some hidden skeletons in her cupboard. Yet, she was bold and lousy.
A knock shattered the silence. Her assistant, Chidinma, peeked in. “Madam, Nneka called again. She said…”
“What?” Adé snapped.
“She said… ‘Don’t forget your father’s grave is easy to dig up.’”
Adé’s nails dug into her palms. She sent her assistant away. Nneka is biting more than she can chew. "Does she even know why I am called THE IRON BENDER? No one threatens me. With how she is going about this issue, it means she wants me to clear everything for her once and for all, it looks as if she's in a rush. Hence, the threats here and there, she thinks that will keep me in check and make me work faster. I need to know more about this Nneka. And I need to find out if Ify is indeed guilty." She thought.
Nneka’s Room, Inside Ify's Mansion
Perched on a velvet ottoman in her private suite—miles away from the master bedroom she now refused to sleep in—Nneka dialed her lover.
“Yes, baby. Everything’s working. The divorce is already in motion,” she whispered with a twisted smile. “I told you, I chose someone brutal. A woman who hates men. She’s a knife in heels. She’ll rip him apart in court.” She stood by the tall window, overlooking the estate’s driveway, her silk robe fluttering like a villain’s cape.
Her lover chuckled from the other end. “Good. But keep your eyes on that lawyer. Use her weaknesses. If she messes up, go for the jugular. Women like her pretend to be strong, but there’s always a crack.”
Nneka laughed softly. “She won’t know what hit her.”
Unbeknownst to her, just outside the corridor, Ify was on his way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. He paused as he caught the last lines of the conversation. He didn’t move, didn’t breathe.
She is a knife in heels... she'll rip him apart in court. Something inside him fractured. She had moved out of their room two months ago, dramatically claiming she could no longer sleep in the same bed where he had “raped a woman.” It was a lie, and she knew it, but it was all part of her carefully curated script. Every outburst. Every scene. Every tear. He married her, thinking she was humble. Kind. Supportive. The kind of woman who reminded him of Adé before pain sculpted her into steel. But Nneka had married him with an endgame in mind. Everything he did and didn’t do had been recorded. Saved. Twisted. For a day like this.
And he… he had walked right into it.
Ify’s Backstory
He had left Adé and abandoned his education in Unilag, when he was young, confused, and scared. Her world was falling apart, and he knew if he stayed, he would lose himself trying to shield her from it. Her father’s arrest, death, and several stories that kept coming up at intervals had drawn powerful enemies. Ify feared they’d come for her next. He thought he could protect her better from afar by building something solid for them. By the time Ify returned—five years later—Adé was gone. No address. No friends to ask. She had vanished, and every door to her had been shut tight. He never stopped blaming himself. Then came Nneka: sweet, understanding, always saying the right things. He was vulnerable. She was calculative.
Now he was trapped in a marriage with a woman who wore betrayal like perfume. He had heard whispers of “The Iron Bender”—the notorious man-hating lawyer who never lost. But he hadn’t paid attention. Now, it was too late. She was coming for his neck. His old-time lover, Adesuwa, was coming for his neck. Would she really bend him like she did other men? Would she transfer the pain and aggression of how he left her years ago, without reason, to this divorce case and ruin him completely?
Back at Adé’s office, the investigation deepens. At 2 a.m., Adé hacked into Nneka’s email, one of the many skills she’d acquired in her war against powerful men. Her eyes widened as the screen filled with damning files: Dubai scam plans, Nneka and her lover, Tunde, plotting to steal Ify’s fortune. Fake receipts: Payments to actresses posing as “mistresses” and hotel staff coached to lie. Blackmail threads: “If Adé hesitates, leak her father’s mugshot to the press.” Adé’s hands trembled. Ify wasn’t the villain. He was the target. And she—Adésuwa Oladele —was the loaded gun they planned to use.
Adé opened her drawer and pulled out the old photo: she and Ify under the iroko tree. Laughing. Whole. Tears welled up. She thought of exposing Nneka, but thought also of how much her image or career would be shattered. Her father’s name dragged again. The firm could replace her. Again, she thought of crushing Ify but was overwhelmed by the fear of losing the only man who’d ever truly seen her. The man who'd ever truly loved her. The man who knew her before she became this drained and hurtful. The war wasn’t just in court now—it was inside her. And somewhere across the city, Ify leaned against a cold wall, his heart breaking all over again, wondering if the woman he once loved would believe in him… or bury him.
“What?” Adé snapped.
“She said… ‘Don’t forget your father’s grave is easy to dig up.’”
Adé’s nails dug into her palms. She sent her assistant away. Nneka is biting more than she can chew. "Does she even know why I am called THE IRON BENDER? No one threatens me. With how she is going about this issue, it means she wants me to clear everything for her once and for all, it looks as if she's in a rush. Hence, the threats here and there, she thinks that will keep me in check and make me work faster. I need to know more about this Nneka. And I need to find out if Ify is indeed guilty." She thought.
Nneka’s Room, Inside Ify's Mansion
Perched on a velvet ottoman in her private suite—miles away from the master bedroom she now refused to sleep in—Nneka dialed her lover.
“Yes, baby. Everything’s working. The divorce is already in motion,” she whispered with a twisted smile. “I told you, I chose someone brutal. A woman who hates men. She’s a knife in heels. She’ll rip him apart in court.” She stood by the tall window, overlooking the estate’s driveway, her silk robe fluttering like a villain’s cape.
Her lover chuckled from the other end. “Good. But keep your eyes on that lawyer. Use her weaknesses. If she messes up, go for the jugular. Women like her pretend to be strong, but there’s always a crack.”
Nneka laughed softly. “She won’t know what hit her.”
Unbeknownst to her, just outside the corridor, Ify was on his way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. He paused as he caught the last lines of the conversation. He didn’t move, didn’t breathe.
She is a knife in heels... she'll rip him apart in court. Something inside him fractured. She had moved out of their room two months ago, dramatically claiming she could no longer sleep in the same bed where he had “raped a woman.” It was a lie, and she knew it, but it was all part of her carefully curated script. Every outburst. Every scene. Every tear. He married her, thinking she was humble. Kind. Supportive. The kind of woman who reminded him of Adé before pain sculpted her into steel. But Nneka had married him with an endgame in mind. Everything he did and didn’t do had been recorded. Saved. Twisted. For a day like this.
And he… he had walked right into it.
Ify’s Backstory
He had left Adé and abandoned his education in Unilag, when he was young, confused, and scared. Her world was falling apart, and he knew if he stayed, he would lose himself trying to shield her from it. Her father’s arrest, death, and several stories that kept coming up at intervals had drawn powerful enemies. Ify feared they’d come for her next. He thought he could protect her better from afar by building something solid for them. By the time Ify returned—five years later—Adé was gone. No address. No friends to ask. She had vanished, and every door to her had been shut tight. He never stopped blaming himself. Then came Nneka: sweet, understanding, always saying the right things. He was vulnerable. She was calculative.
Now he was trapped in a marriage with a woman who wore betrayal like perfume. He had heard whispers of “The Iron Bender”—the notorious man-hating lawyer who never lost. But he hadn’t paid attention. Now, it was too late. She was coming for his neck. His old-time lover, Adesuwa, was coming for his neck. Would she really bend him like she did other men? Would she transfer the pain and aggression of how he left her years ago, without reason, to this divorce case and ruin him completely?
Back at Adé’s office, the investigation deepens. At 2 a.m., Adé hacked into Nneka’s email, one of the many skills she’d acquired in her war against powerful men. Her eyes widened as the screen filled with damning files: Dubai scam plans, Nneka and her lover, Tunde, plotting to steal Ify’s fortune. Fake receipts: Payments to actresses posing as “mistresses” and hotel staff coached to lie. Blackmail threads: “If Adé hesitates, leak her father’s mugshot to the press.” Adé’s hands trembled. Ify wasn’t the villain. He was the target. And she—Adésuwa Oladele —was the loaded gun they planned to use.
Adé opened her drawer and pulled out the old photo: she and Ify under the iroko tree. Laughing. Whole. Tears welled up. She thought of exposing Nneka, but thought also of how much her image or career would be shattered. Her father’s name dragged again. The firm could replace her. Again, she thought of crushing Ify but was overwhelmed by the fear of losing the only man who’d ever truly seen her. The man who'd ever truly loved her. The man who knew her before she became this drained and hurtful. The war wasn’t just in court now—it was inside her. And somewhere across the city, Ify leaned against a cold wall, his heart breaking all over again, wondering if the woman he once loved would believe in him… or bury him.
To be continued.
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