The Vow – Episode 10

The Vow – Episode 10
© Jennipher Duru

It was almost a week since Gabriel had left the house. He continued lodging in the guest house. Helen was giving him a tough time. She was trying by all means to get him back, but Gabriel seemed not to be interested. Deep within him, he was struggling with his feelings. He definitely needed someone to talk to but he refused to fall for Helen’s trap. Sasha sent him words of encouragement and asked him to go back to his wife, but he felt he was not ready to face her.

Cynthia was getting weaker by the day. She had lost weight within few days as she no longer had appetite to eat. She had decided to disconnect herself from Monica for a while, although the latter kept calling her. Sara had just arrived in town from her trip. Collins had gone to pick her up from the airport and she requested to be dropped at Cynthia’s house before going to hers. “I am worried about her. I need to see her” she said.

Cynthia hugged Sara with all her strength. She wept on her shoulders “Sara, Gaby has left me forever. What will I do now?” she said. Sara calmed her down and they sat in the living room.

Cynthia: I just don’t know what to do anymore. I feel confused. I don’t know if Gaby truly had an affair with Sasha or not.

Sara: Cynthia, I honestly think Gaby can’t do such a thing to you. And even if he did, you should have found a better way to settle this matter. Your behavior towards him was too harsh. How could you listen to a lady like Monica, who is not even capable of staying in a relationsh¡p for 2 days? You have disappointed me

Cynthia: I really don’t know what to say. Monica seemed so sincere to me. She looked so concerned about me. Ohh, I just don’t know what to do. But you know what, the other day, I had a strange dream and I have been wondering what it means

Sara: What dream?

Cynthia narrated the dream to her. “Hmm, I advise you to go and see your Pastor, since he is the one that you saw in the dream. Maybe God was trying to tell you something” Sara said.

“Yea, I think you are right. I will pay him a visit tomorrow morning” Cynthia answered.

The following day, on Saturday morning, Cynthia drove to the church. She found the Pastor talking to a group of men and women. Everyone looked at Cynthia, as they seemed to be aware of what was going on in her life. “Hello Madam Gabriel, God bless you” the Pastor said. “Amen sir. How are you?” Cynthia answered. “I am doing very well thank you by God’s grace. What brings you here?” he asked. Cynthia replied “I came to have a word with you sir, if you don’t mind”.

The Pastor finished talking to the people and took Cynthia to his office. His wife was also there. And when the Pastor asked if she wanted to see him alone, Cynthia told him that she did not mind to have his wife there. “So, my daughter, what brings you here?” he asked. “Sir, I am sure you have heard everything that has been going on between my husband and I” She said

Pastor: Well, it’s true that I have been seeing some news circulating about you, but I have always learnt not to trust social media. I prefer hearing it from the horse’s mouth.

Cynthia started crying. The Pastor’s wife put her hands around her and comforted her. “It’s alright my dear. You can cry if you want to, if that makes you feel better” she said. Cynthia calmed down and narrated her story for a few minutes.

Pastor: My daughter, I have heard everything you have said. Before I can give you some advice, I want you to clarify something to me: Did you just say that you never caught your husband red handed with this girl? And did you say, you followed your so called friend’s advice to ignore your husband and treat him badly

Cynthia: Y…ee.ee.s sir

Pastor: Ohh. May God preserve our lives from evil friends! My daughter, when your husband was proposing to you, was your friend around?

Cynthia: No sir

Pastor: Ok. When you said yes to him, was it your friend that forced you to do so?

Cynthia: No sir

Pastor: So then, why did you allow her to enter your marital affairs and even give you devilish advice? Let me tell you something my dear. Marriage was instituted by God. And the Bible says everything that comes from God is good. And we all know that Satan is always fighting what is good. One of the major things under attack in the kingdom of God is marriage. Satan hates it. He wants to keep people away from it, so that they can live in fornication. Marriage is a divine institution that portrays how God’s kingdom works and how God relates with us. I am not surprised that your marriage is undergoing such trouble, because it has a great future and Satan is aware of it. He knows that your union will weaken his kingdom. The first mistake you made was to have a conversation with the wrong person. Do you remember the story of Eve from the Bible? She entered into a conversation with the wrong person: the devil. And the first thing satan put in her mind was doubt, when he said “Has God said that you should not eat of the fruit?. Immediately, doubt entered Eve’s heart. That is exactly what happened to you. Doubt entered your heart as soon as this woman questioned the sincerity of your husband. Had Eve gone to ask God about it, knowing that He was the one that created the tree, she wouldn’t have entered into sin, but she continued entertaining satan and finally fell into his trap. If you had gone to the Creator of marriage and ask Him to reveal the truth to you, you wouldn’t have entered into this mess. But you continued entertaining your friend until you fell into her trap.

Cynthia: B..u..ut sir, she seemed so sincere and nice

Pastor: Listen, satan will never appear to you with horns or a scary face. He will always appear like an angel of light to deceive people. Not everyone that laughs with you is sincerely happy with you. Some people smile at you and yet their hearts curse you. This marriage is between you and your husband, any other person that tries to enter is an intruder. Your husband should be your best friend. Don’t ever discuss his weaknesses with your friends or any other person. Don’t wash your dirty laundry outside. Men don’t like to be challenged. If you want to win your husband’s heart, ne a submissive wife. Being submissive doesn’t mean you are weak, it only means you are a respectful woman. Show me a submissive woman and I will show you a woma in control. If he does something you don’t like, go on your knees and ask God to touch his heart, then discusswith him gently. Now let me ask you a question: Do you still want to get back with your husband?

Cynthia: Yes I do but so much damage has been done. I don’t think Gaby will ever accept me back

Pastor: There is nothing impossible with the Lord. If only you are willing, God can do it for you. The first thing you need to do is to return to God, because the vow you made was before God himself

Cynthia: OH MY God! The vow! Now I understand what the dream meant. I remember making a vow before God: One was in church and the other was when my husband and I were alone on our first honeymoon night. Both of us actually placed our hands on the Bible when making the vow.

Pastor: And what was that vow?

Cynthia: I vowed to never leave him no matter the circ-mstances. I vowed to try my best to make everything work between us

Pastor: Wonderful! So you need to return to God even before you return to your husband. Let God touch his heart and make him to come back so that both of you can now sort it out. Another thing you need to do is to chase the intruder out of your home

Cynthia: You mean Monica?

Pastor: No my daughter. The intruder is satan himself. Monica was just being used by satan to carry out his plan. You need to ask satan to leave your home and rededicate it to God. Let Jesus wash and sanctify your home with His blood. Remind him of the vow you made before God and let Jesus renew that vow. You need to be very prayerful as a woman. You are the one to maintain peace in your home, to build your home and not scatter it. Now, go home and do what is necessary. My wife and I will also pray for you and we believe that God will give you victory.

The Pastor held hands with her and his wife and prayed for her. Cynthia left the office feeling a little relieved. She went to the alter and stood there, remembering the vow she had made before God on that very s₱0t. She knelt down on her knees and cried “Lord, I know that I have really wronged you and my husband. I know that I have listened to the devil’s voice instead of yours. Please forgive me my Father. By my own strength, I cannot make things right again. But I know that with you, all things are possible. Lord, I ask you to take over my home again. Build every broken part of our home and help restore the peace that the enemy has stolen. Touch the heart of my husband and bring him back home. Father, I renew my vow before you again and I declare that I will not leave my husband, no matter the situation. I am weak, but you are strong. I am foolish, but you are wise. Help me to be the wife that you want me to be. Remove every tares that satan has planted in my home. I ask you Jesus to sanctify my home with your precious blood and let there be no access to the enemy. I close every point of access through which the enemy entered our home. In Jesus’ name”

As she drove off, she decided to go and give Monica a piece of her mind, but as she reached a few metres away from her house, she saw Monica with the guy that had fought with Gabriel in the fast food. Cynthia could not believe her eyes. Monica was being held on the wa-ist and the two laughed as they entered the house. Cynthia was shocked “So all this was planned by this girl? May God reward you for your evil” she said and drove off.

The following days, Cynthia spent her nights praying, asking for God’s intervention. She interceded for her husband and asked God to be with him. Sometimes, Sara joined her in the prayers.

On a cold Saturday morning, Gabriel came back home. Cynthia was in the living room reading her Bible when he walked in. She was surprised. She began to tremble. Gabriel looked so tired. He looked like he had not shaven his beard and hair for a very long time. He went straight to the bedroom. Cynthia followed him. She locked the door and put the keys in her pocket. Gabriel looked at her “No Cynthia, I am not ready to fight with you again. Just let me rest, I beg you” he said.

Cynthia fell down on her knees and cried bitterly “Baby, I am really sorry. I know I have wronged you and I am to blame for everything that has happened between us. I was being led by the devil because of bad advice that I listened to. Please forgive me baby. I love you so much” Gabriel looked at her and felt like a sharp sword pierced through his heart. He noticed how pale Cynthia had become and felt sorry for her. He went to her and held her strongly in his arms “I am sorry too. I shouldn’t have left you” he said. they both hugged and wept on each other’s shoulder. “Baby, your face looks strange. How is your health?” Gabriel said. Cynthia looked at him and smiled “Look who’s talking. You look like a person who lives in the forest” she said. They both laughed and hugged each other even stronger. Cynthia continued “I just found out today that I am 3 month’s pregnant. Gabriel stood up and danced like a child. His eyes were filled with tears. He put his hand on her belly and said “hello little Gaby, can you hear me? They both laughed so hærd.

Cynthia narrated her own side of the story including what the Pastor had said. Gabriel looked at her and said “You can be rest assured that I never cheated on you and I don’t have the intention to do so. But just like the man of God said, it is all the work of the devil and we are going to chase him out of our home”.

They both held hands and prayed together for close to 2 hours, asking God to take control of their marriage and asking satan to leave their home. After praying, Cynthia rushed to the kitchen to serve some food that she had prepared while Gabriel took a bath. They both slept holding each other tightly like there is no tomorrow.

They decided to stay indoors for three days as they discussed the way forward. Monica had been trying to call Cynthia to no avail. She sent messages asking her to keep ignoring Gabriel. Cynthia pretended as though she was still alone. She responded to one of her messages “yes my dear. I am definitely not giving him a chance” Gabriel had asked his boss to allow him talk about his experience on his TV show. He received a favorable response.

During the TV show, Gabriel narrated his ordeal mentioning the name of Monica as the woman through whom satan had tried to steal the joy of their marriage. At the end of the show, he spoke “Dear viewers, let us beware of the schemes of the devil lest he takes us by his subtlety. I would like to bring to the platform a very special person. A woman that made me to be who I am today. When everyone had abandoned me, this woman stood with me and helped me climb the corporate ladder. Today you all know me as Gaby X the handsome TV Presenter. But you don’t know that behind this handsome man lies the true love and support of a woman who despised her position and chose to love a nobody. This person is no other than my beautiful wife Cynthia”. Cynthia came to the platform looking so beautiful and radiant. Gabriel gave her a long k-ss. People on the show clapped their hands. Gabriel continued “This is my one and only wife, and besides her there is no other. I love her so much. Dear viewers, I would also love to thank my friends who stood by me during these trying times, people I can call my friends who can give me good advice” He said as Sasha, Collins and Sara walked in. Cynthia hugged Sasha warmly “Thank you for your support” she said to her. The show received such a great number of calls from people congratulating the couple. Before the end of the show, The CEO walked to Gabriel and said “Gaby X. I am only giving you two weeks to be away from work. Use it to make your wife feel like a queen then come back to where you belong, right here”. Gabriel laughed and shook his hand. “Sure boss” he said.

The following morning, reporters were gathered outside Monica’s house. Newspapers were filled with her pictures. One daily newspaper read “The evil called Monica”. She hid herself in,side her house as she watched them standing with their cameras. “These b******s” she said to herself, feeling really frustrated. The huge man had also informed the reporters how he was paid by Monica to act as Cynthia’s lover.

Cynthia’s parents had org-nised a party for them at their house. Everyone laughed as Cynthia’s dad danced with his wife. Sasha, Collins and Sara were also present. Cynthia and Gabriel stood up and danced, holding each other tightly. All of a sudden, Collins shouted “Excuse me ladies and gentlemen. I would like to use this opportunity to do something significant”. He went towards Sara and knelt on his knee. He brought out a ring and said gently “Sara, will you marry me?” Sara shed tears of joy “Yes I will Collins” she said. The wh0le crowd cheered.

Cynthia and Gabriel stood in front of the alter before the Pastor and renewed their vows. Cynthia was dressed in her wedding dress while Gabriel wore his wedding suit. They k-ssed and their friends cheered. As they were about to head towards their second honeymoon destination, Gabriel looked at Cynthia and said “let’s make sure we don’t break this thing”. Cynthia replied “which thing bab y?. Gabriel, holding her by the hand and k-ssing her forehead said “The Vow”.

THE END (Pls do well to comment and encourage the writer for more stories.)

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