She saw affection and fire and gravitated towards it… he saw a beautiful smile and couldn’t let go.

We sometimes imagine certain things we wish existed in our relationships/marriages. Most of us are guilty of having these hidden fantasies which gets even worse when we notice other couples possess and flaunt what we so secretly desire in our personal lives.

We are pretty much fortunate when we end up with people who possess between 70% – 80% of the traits/qualities we so much crave for but our insatiable demands always succeed in convincing us that what we really need, which is the remaining 20% – 30%, lies in a different person; forgetting that the new person we’re clinging to will also be missing on some percentages on the score board … and that is what creates the mess we mostly find ourselves in.

Lizzy had it all in her marriage until she met Mr. Kelvin Greene, a married renowned successful chef who rubbed shoulders with crème-de-la-crème of the society. She on the other hand was married to Osei Patrick, a humble carpenter with an amazing physique who did everything in his power to keep her happy and satisfied as a husband should. She always imagined a better and comfortable life for her and her husband but it was almost as if God was deaf to her constant prayers of petition; but she never complained or nagged about their situation to her husband. She played the role of happy homey wife until another man opened up a door she never knew was tightly shut in her life.

“Madam, please how long do you intend on standing in the same spot? Did you lose anything?” asked a shop attendant aggressively after noticing how long Lizzy gazed at the beautiful pair of Christian louboutin heels sitting perfectly on the counter. “Oh I’m sorry” she responded, I just thought they were very pretty and couldn’t take my eyes off them. I’ll be taking my leave now.” She turned to make way for the exit when her path was blocked by a tall dark handsome man in a fancy pair of jeans and a polo shirt. “Ah! I see you love those shoes. You can have them if you want.” She smiled at him, turned down the offer and hurriedly dashed for the door. He pursued and managed to convince her to at least exchange contact with him so they could catch up sometime for “coffee”. She smiled again said, “You certainly are a stubborn one aren’t you? Well…yeah sure. We could do that.” He got her a cab home and headed back to the shop.

After four long days, they finally met up one morning at a lounge after Lizzy had dropped her children at school; which implied that she had the rest of the day to herself as her hubby was busy carving and nailing things in his mini carpentry shop. Kelvin complimented her great smile and narrated how he was drawn to her at the fashion shop after noticing how the attendant nearly embarrassed her. “You do have a beautiful smile by the way, it’s rare. Most women find it hard these days to smile effortlessly like you do. They actually do need a tangible reason to wear a smile nowadays. So when we see one of such rare gems out here in a state of emergency, we just have to go to her rescue.” He said. Lizzy expressed her appreciation and didn’t quite land with that when Kelvin, chipped in with an introduction on his identity and societal and marital status… yeah he had a wife and two adorable children.

They had an amazing chemistry which was just undeniable! They had similar interests, they were both married and their laughter was in sync. They both enjoyed each other’s company couldn’t just get enough of each other. To her, that was something she never had with her husband; it seemed Kelvin had awoken a different side of her, a side she thought she never had. Kelvin started taking Lizzy out for rides, beach strolls and grocery shopping (which she always attributed to her savings with the daily ‘susu’ company); in the eyes of Patrick, her husband, Lizzy was just out visiting old friends and family so he wasn’t perturbed. Before they (Lizzy and Kelvin) realized, they had grown fond of eachother so much that, they couldn’t go a day without speaking to eachother. One afternoon, Kelvin made his growing emotions obvious to Lizzy when he planted a gentle kiss on her lips. She returned that kiss almost immediately and whispered his name, “Kel, I knew you felt it too. That spark, that fire you brought back into my life. I wasn’t wrong and I’m glad the feeling is mutual. I don’t know where this is going but I’m ready to ride with you.” He responded with a longer kiss and said, “Just be mine Liz, I want you.”

Kelvin rented an apartment in town where they could both meet to carry out their selfish pleasures whenever they needed to. This went on for years and is still going strong! She introduced Kelvin to her husband as an investor who was willing to invest and expand his business so as to not raise any form suspicion if he or anyone else spotted them together in town by chance. Both have further agreed not to divorce their partners to just keep them happy and also to avoid all the drama associated with it.

Seems like Kelvin found what Vivian (his wife), allegedly wasn’t giving him at home. To him, a real welcoming smile and great natural conversation makes up for his stressful daily life and Vivian was quite the opposite. Sure he had overlooked her nurturing/nursing abilities, her great mothering skills and incredible business ideas and initiatives she always churned out for him. Liz found the fire, comfort and that “extra special something” she wished her husband had. She found a phenomenal guy who was in touch with his emotions and showed her constant care and affection. She could no longer see her husband’s fidelity, hardwork and undeniable love for her… she’s seen the light now. They recently celebrated their fifth anniversary privately in their cozy rented apartment with a home cooked meal and long cuddles.

Well, single guys and girls aren’t threats to marriages anymore… some married folks now play the role of the “side-piece” pretty well, making it seem as their second marriage outside their original marital home. We live in a “micro wave” generation where broken things aren’t fixed anymore. We drop whatever is broken and set out to find another replacement before we get swallowed in our very own loneliness. Perhaps, the vows should be altered to “till unhappiness and boredom do us part.”

The new side chics are sadly also married!