I Should Have Told My Landlord That His Wife Was Cheating When IHad The Chance

From the advice I received when I posted my story, almost everyone told me not to say anything about the woman’s infidelity to her husband. The comments told me to mind my business and allow the couple to resolve their own issues. That was the plan from the onset but I figured I needed other people’s perspectives and it’s the reason I shared the story. Instead of trying to be the villain in the story, I decided to be the girl who brought sanity to the situation. I told myself, “Maybe if she stopped cheating on her husband, then her husband wouldn’t have any reason to ask me to spy on her.” So I decided to be a sister and talk to her about it.

One evening she came home very late but she saw my light on so she knocked on my door. She asked me, “What’s keeping you awake this late in the night?” I responded, “It’s social media ooo. Sometimes it gets lonely so I make myself busy with social media. She laughed and said, “You’ve been here long enough to get yourself a boyfriend. I’m even surprised that you don’t have one.” I walked out of my room to meet her on the verandah. It turned into a conversation. Along the line, I said, “There’s some conversation I would want to have with you. It’s very important so I want us to have it when you’re free.”

She told me, “Important conversation? Can’t we have it today or you’re feeling sleepy?”

She went into her room and came back wearing something easy. She told me, “I’m ready, let’s talk. What’s bothering your mind.” It was hard but I was ready to save the situation for us. I said, “The man I saw here the other dawn. He keeps coming around and I see his shadow every now and then. I know you’re married and you love your husband very much but the way he comes around and the times he comes here, people might think you have something to do with him. They’ll start talking and if you don’t take care, your husband will get to hear about it. I’m worried so I decided to talk to you about it.”

She looked at me the way you’ll look at someone who said something you don’t like. She asked me, “So how did you know he’s the same person who comes here? It could be anyone, my brother or one of my in-laws. How can you conclude that he’s the same man?” I answered, “I saw him very well that day so I know what I’m talking about. Even if the person is your in-law, outsiders won’t know and they’ll talk about it. I’m just being a sister because you’ve been so good to me since I came here.” She asked me, “Is this the important thing you told me we were going to talk about?” I answered, “Yes, that’s all. I don’t want you to create any ill impression out there. It’s a small vicinity.” She said, “I’m not a child. I know how to handle myself and my issues.”

After saying that, she turned and walked away. I could see from her demeanour that she wasn’t pleased with what I told her. She was defensive but I was happy that I’d told her what was on my mind. People are like that when you tell them the truth. They’ll fight it in your presence but when they are alone with their conscience, they see the truth in what you said to them. I allowed her to fight it out with her conscience but from that day on she turned cold towards me. We’ll meet in front of our doors and I’ll greet her and she won’t even look at me. She will close from work, come home and walk straight to her room. Even when she came home early, she didn’t talk to me. I called her on the phone and asked what the issue was. She said, “I’m keeping to myself so people don’t report the wrong information to my husband.”

I knew it was time for me to find a new place to rent. Her husband would call me every now and then asking me what was new. The information was always the same. Along the line, he figured I wasn’t ready to snitch on his wife so he toned down on the calling. He’ll send a message and ask if his wife was home. The answer was, “Yeah, she’s in there.” Or “I’m not in the house so I can’t tell.”

I started looking for a new place around. I spoke to the same agent who brought me there and asked him to get me a place. He asked, “Why are you moving so soon? Is the wife creating problems for you? If anything, tell me. I can reach out to the husband and tell him about it.” I told him, “There’s nothing wrong. I just need a new place. I would be marrying very soon so I need somewhere I can share with my husband.” He wasn’t a child. He suspected something was wrong but I wasn’t ready to tell him. He found me a new place weeks later and he took me there. I wasn’t much enthused about the place but I took it. All I wanted was to leave that house and its wahala.

A week before I left the place, I went to her door and knocked. I told her, “I’ve been given a new place by the office so I would be moving there very soon.” She was a little bit taken aback but she kept a straight face and acted normal. She said, “Oh, that’s fine. I will speak to my husband and refund the rest of your rent to you. Let me know when you’ll leave so I arrange that for you.”

That very evening, her husband called me. He asked why I’m leaving and I told him the same reason I told his wife. He said, “I hope it’s not because of what I asked you to do. If that’s the reason, you can forget about leaving the house because I won’t call to worry you again. I already have someone on it and the person is doing well so you don’t have to leave because of that.” I said, “It’s not the reason I’m leaving. I’ve been given a new place by the office. The rent arrangement is better than this that’s why I’m leaving.”

I was scared about her marriage so the day I was leaving I told her everything. “Your husband already suspects that you’re cheating. It was the reason why I talked to you that day.” I told her all the arrangements her husband did with me and even showed her the chats just for her to know that I was telling the truth. She read the messages and she shook. She looked at my face with sadness drawn on her face. She said, “I hope you didn’t tell him anything.” I answered, “If I did, we won’t be having this conversation. Your husband loves you but he’s getting aggressive due to what he had been hearing. If indeed the guy is your sibling or one of his siblings, then make it clear to him because the person reporting you to him doesn’t know this fact.”

I’ve left and living a peaceful life where I am now until recently the chicken came home to roost. She called me one early morning and was screaming insults and accusations on the phone; “You left here so you can have the liberty to report to him and get the money, right? I knew you were up to no good the day you were brought here. You came here to destroy another woman’s marriage. Do you think you’ll ever have peace of mind to enjoy your own marriage? I swear on the grave of my mom that you’ll never go unpunished. You’ll never get married and if you do, you’ll suffer all the wrongs in your marriage. You think I’m that easy to walk over? Did you ever think that you can destroy my marriage and have peace of mind? Watch me.”

Before I could open my mouth and ask what the problem was, she cut the line on me. I called and called that day she didn’t pick up. The following day, I called with a different line and she picked. I said, “What gave you that stinking authority to talk to me the way you did and later cut the call on me? Do you think I have your time? If I had your time I would have done what your husband asked me to do long ago and get the money. I saw you cheating. I saw you leave on a weekend and come on Monday. I saw the different cars that came to drop you in the vicinity. If I cared, I would have just snapped my fingers and your marriage would come down. You think I’m that soft? Don’t make that mistake.”

It turned into give-and-take. She was determined to pour curses on me. I was determined to meet her boot for boot but I didn’t know what had happened for her to call and insult me. I called her husband to tell him what had happened. The way his phone rang sounded like he was in Ghana. I asked him, “Are you back home?” He responded, “Yeah, I came three days ago.” I told him what his wife had done and the curses she had rained on me. He said, “It’s the shadow of her own sins that is pursuing her. I was here on Friday. She wasn’t here until she came home on Sunday evening to meet me here. You saw it and decided to keep quiet on it. I’m glad she’s doing that to you. You both deserve everything that comes to you. I’ve thrown her out. She can come and live with you.”

She’s looking for a reason. She’s looking for the person who snitched on her and I’d become the easy suspect. The agent called me the other day and said, “The landlord’s wife had been calling me every day. She wants to know where you live. What’s happening?” I told him, “You’re the only person who knows where I live. If she gets to know where I live then it’s you who told her. Please don’t show her. She has to deal with her husband and not me.”

She calls my phone every now and then. I don’t answer. She will send me a message insulting me and threatening to deal with me. “I know you like my husband. Do you think I didn’t see it in your eyes when you came here? So you have to take me out of the way so you can have him. He’s single now. Go for him. But I promise you this, you’ll never know peace in your life if you ever breathe closer to my husband.”

Her curses don’t shake me. Her anger doesn’t scare me because I’m innocent. But everything that’s happening makes me feel like I made a mistake in not telling her husband. I didn’t tell him but see what I’m going through. Is it different from what would have happened if I told him? I’ve blocked her line and the line of her husband. I haven’t heard from them for some days now but I know it’s not the end. She’ll definitely bring herself one day and she’ll regret ever being born. My name is Nancy but I’m never graceful when I’m attacked for the wrong reasons.

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