I Paid Dowry, Booked the Church, Then Found Her in Another Man’s House at Midnight
My name is Joseph Ouma, a businessman based in Kisii Town, Kenya. For three years, I was in a serious relationship with Mary Atieno, a soft-spoken woman from Bondo, Siaya County, who worked as a tailor in Kisumu. We met during a cousin’s wedding in Ahero, and from that day, I believed she was the woman I would grow old with. She respected my parents, attended church with me at Kisii Central SDA, and spoke often about building a family. Everyone knew Mary as my future wife.
After long discussions between our families, I paid the dowry in full. Cows were delivered to her parents’ home in Nyawita Village, Bondo, elders blessed us, and ululations filled the compound. I booked the church, printed invitation cards, and paid a non-refundable deposit for the reception venue at Kisii Guest House. The wedding date was set for October. My mother, Agnes Ouma, already referred to Mary as her daughter-in-law. I felt proud and settled. I had no reason to doubt her.
In the weeks leading to the wedding, Mary became distant. She said she was stressed with work and wedding pressure. Sometimes she would not pick my calls, only replying hours later with short messages. I ignored the red flags. Love can make a man blind. On one Friday evening, Mary told me she was staying late at work in Kisumu to finish urgent orders. Something inside me felt uneasy, but I brushed it off. I decided to surprise her with dinner and drove from Kisii to Kisumu that night.
