My Neighbour's Husband in Warri Had Me for Two Years. I Was 24, He Was 45.

I was 24 years old, living in a self-contained in Warri, fresh out of NYSC and working at a small filling station. My landlord's wife's husband , the man we all called Uncle Tony , was the one who started it. He was 45, married with grown children, and he lived two doors away.

It started small. He would knock on my door with food his wife had cooked, say she sent it for me because I looked like I needed feeding. Then the visits got longer. He would sit on my single bed and talk about how his wife did not understand him, how she spent all his money on church. I was lonely. My own family was in Imo and I had not seen them in a year. I let him stay.

The first time he touched me, I froze. I did not stop him. Omo, I was not attracted to him. I was just grateful that someone was paying attention to me. Before I knew it, I was sleeping with him twice a week. He gave me money , sometimes 10k, sometimes 15k. I used it to pay my rent and send something home to my mother.

It lasted two years. The day his wife found out, she came to my door with her church women. They prayed for me and told me I was a Jezebel. I moved out that same week. Looking back now, I was not a wicked person. I was just a girl trying to survive. But I still carry the shame. If you are a young woman living alone in this Nigeria, please be careful who you let through your door. Loneliness will make you do things you never thought you would.