‘The test came back negative,’ Imani said to her husband. He tried to mask his disappointment with a smile as he always did. But Imani knew that his patience was growing as thin as the hope in her heart. They had been married for five years and they still weren't blessed with a child. Numerous fertility tests had shown that they were both healthy. Their doctors constantly reassured them to be patient as children always came when you least expected it. But Imani’s in-laws had been endlessly churning at the rumor mills. ‘Maybe she is cursed with barrenness.’ ‘I’m sure she has aborted in the past. Look at her. Doesn't she look like the type?’ The situation was starting to put a toll on her marriage due to the pressure her husband kept receiving to marry another wife. ‘Are we to die without grandchildren? Should we suffer because you love a dead woman?’ his mother asked him one day when she visite

d. Imani was also losing patience. Why did it have to be her fault? Making a child was the work of two. Why did they never consider that the man could also be the one who is cursed? But this was Africa, where every marital misfortune was the woman's fault. Her parents were very supportive of her. And also urged her to ignore the gossip. ‘Do you know that a watched pot never boils? All this anxiety that you keep piling up is not going to help you. You need to focus on other things. A child will come at the right time,’ her mother said. Imani decided to take her advice and focus on her career as a baker. A year into business, she started being commissioned for wedding cakes and corporate events. She and her husband rarely saw each other as his career was also taking away all his time. But something had shifted. Although the passion was there, her husband always seemed like he was hiding someth

ing. One night before they went to bed, he broke the news that a lady was expecting his child. Imani couldn't breathe. His apologies went unheard. He said something about being pressured by his sister to meet one of her friends. And he didn't know how complicated things would get. He swore that he loved her and that he would never leave her. He begged for her for

Patience is the mother of a beautiful child.

giveness. That night Imani left and went to her parent's home. She had a big contract to fulfill the next day and she wasn't going to fumble it. Her husband came to talk to her the next evening but she never went downstairs to see him. Her parents urged him to give her time to process everything. He kept calling. She blocked him. He then resorted to communicating with her parents instead. But Imani was stubborn and unresponsive. Her mother finally decided to intervene. ‘You need to talk to your husband. Listen to what he has to say. Give him a chance,’ she said. All their words fell on deaf ears. She was too heartbroken to consider anything that was being said to her. A month later, Imani was rushed to the hospital after falling unconscious at work. Her husband was the first to receive the call. He rushed to the hospital with tears in his eyes. Blaming himself for the stress he had caused her. Thinking that she would die from overworking herself. When he got there, the doctor told him that she was fine and he could go see her. He went into the room. Imani was awake and she was crying. He reached out to her and apologised. ‘It was a trap. The girl was paid by my sister. She confessed that the child wasn't mine. And that she wants to work things out with-’ ‘I’m pregnant,’ Imani cut him off. ‘Three months now. The doctor says it's twins.’ ‘Samira?’ her husband asked her with tears in his eyes. ‘Yes. And Alexander,’ she said