'My family thinks I arranged my best friend for my father to marry'

“Wuraola, please tell everyone to meet me in the living room. I have an important announcement to make,” said my father.

Quickly, I ran to deliver the message to my mother, stepmother and siblings and in less than five minutes, everyone was seated and waiting for this very important announcement. 
“As the head of this family, I have made a decision which all of you may frown at but it doesn’t matter anyway because it is what I want. I have decided to take a third wife,” he revealed. We were all quiet and shocked because no one expected my dad to make such an announcement.

“Dear, what do you need a third wife for? Don’t my senior and I satisfy you anymore? Have we done anything wrong? After all, you promised not to take another wife, so, what prompted this decision?” my mother asked.

He retorted that nobody had the right to question his decision. “Nobody has the right to ask me why I made this decision. Anyway, she would be here any moment from now. I want to officially introduce her to the family. So, I want all of you to start getting used to the fact that there would soon be a new addition to the family.” As we were all still seated waiting for this stranger, there was a knock on the door.

As I rushed to the door, my father said, “Don’t bother, I will get to the door. I am sure it is my angel.” We were surprised because my father was behaving like a teenager falling in love for the very first time. As he graciously walked towards the door, we were all very eager to see this woman who has come to spoil a happy home. “Come in my dear, the whole family is patiently waiting for you,” he said as he welcomed the new arrival.

Darling, I am sorry the traffic is terrible. But what matters is that I am here now,” said the woman. “God, this voice sounds familiar. No, it can’t be Vivian, it can’t be her,” I said to myself.

As I was still trying to convince myself that it wasn’t Vivian, she walked hand-in-hand into the living room with my dad. An air of tension and anger enveloped the room. Everyone knew Vivian as my friend and she turned around to stab me at the back? “I want to officially introduce Vivian who will soon be my third wife to the family,” my father gladly announced. I noticed that all eyes were on me. They were not just looking at me; it was the look of hatred and betrayal.

They all believed I arranged my best friend for my father to marry but why would I do such a thing? I know nothing about their affair. My father is a 56-year-old businessman with two understanding wives and six lovely children. My mother is the second wife.

Each wife has three children. We live happily under the same roof where the wives behave like sisters and the children do not differentiate their mothers. Since I knew what was right from wrong, I have never seen our mothers quarrel or fight over anything. Instead, they ganged up against my father to get whatever they wanted. On my birthday last year, I got a surprise visit from my family.

I guess because it was a Saturday, so, they all decided to come and spend some time with me. It was that day they all met Vivian whom I introduced as my best friend although we don’t stay in the same room.

Also, some weekends, we both visit our house and return to school first thing on Monday morning with huge sums of money from my father. In the kind of family I come from, they accepted her immediately. About two months after my birthday, my room-mate came in one evening and informed me that she just saw my father standing in front of one of the female hostels. I told her she was dreaming. “O girl you dey dream o. I spoke to my father about 10 minutes ago and he did not tell me he was around.”

Maybe you saw one of those sugar daddies that come to pick up students. Definitely not my father,” I insisted. In a short time, Vivian started cruising around campus in a Honda jeep. “Vivian, your jeep is cute but who bought it for you? I know that your parents cannot afford this car so how did you get it?” I asked. "You're right dear friend but I met this man who is willing to do anything for me. I jokingly requested for a jeep and in less than a week, he surprised me with one,” she explained.

I told her she was very lucky to have met such a man, however, she should not only focus on material things. “Vivian, please do not focus on material things alone. If he truly loves you and wants to settle down with you, do not hesitate,” I advised. A month later, she informed me that she was moving out of campus because that was what the man wants. “Wurola, I will be moving out of campus next week. He got me an apartment outside campus, though not too far. I guess he wants more privacy with me, Vivian revealed.

I told her I would visit her if he wouldn’t mind and she said, “He would mind ooo.” After she moved, our friendship became severed because we hardly saw each other and whenever we did and I talked about visiting her, she’ll snap and tell me, “Don’t you understand? He does not want to see anybody in my apartment. I am sorry girlfriend.” Well, I decided to give her space because I realized that she was always behaving funny and uneasy around me.

I didn’t know she had some evil plans up her sleeves - having an affair with my father and they are even planning to get married. Before my father introduced her to us, Vivian and I saw last about four months ago. We had not even communicated for more than two months because she neither picked my call nor replied my text message. This came to me as a surprise like every other person. They think I am deceiving them. “Vivian, you? So you have been having an affair with my father all these while.

I never believed when my roommate told me she saw my father a couple of times on campus without coming to see me. Now putting everything together, it makes more sense. You want to marry a man old enough to be your father abi? I know you don’t love him. You only love is money,” I alleged.

“Wurola, I love your father and he loves me too. After all you were the one who advised me not to focus on material things alone. You also said if he truly loves me and wants to settle down with me, I should not hesitate. So, what are you talking about now? No Jupiter can stop me from marrying him,” she stressed.

Vivian you are evil. How was I supposed to know that the man you talked about was my father? Leave my father alone because he is too old for you,” I emphasized. My mothers and siblings just sat and watch us accuse and counter accuse each other. Finally, my step mother said, “Wurola from all that has been said here, you arranged your best friend for your father, our husband to marry as third wife isn’t it? How could you?” “Please, leave her out of this. She knew nothing about our affair,” my father said. I have explained over and over that I knew nothing about their affair but what they are holding against me was the friendly advice I gave to Vivian.

I am so confused right now I don’t know what to do. I don’t feel comfortable at home anymore because everywhere I turn to, the only thing I see are eyes staring at me in disgust and betrayal. What does my father even need a third wife for? Which other way can I convince my family that I am innocent?