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Within a week it was clear that church members were talking about the sex video which was circulating. The issue led me to pay Pastor Derick and the wife a visit to sympathise with them and also to see how the news had affected them. When I got to the house, I realised that Asafomaame’s eyes had swollen. I held her hand and said to her empathetically, 

 “It is alright, don’t worry the Lord will deal with our enemies and all those who are behind this” 

 She started weeping bitterly; Pastor Derick was rather calm and said,  

“I hope those who are behind this evil plan are happy now” 

 I sat with them for a while and asked him,  

“What are we going to do now?” 

 He replied, “I am confused now but I know the Lord is in control, sincerely this is the most trying moment in my ministry”  

AsaafoMaame got up and entered their bedroom, she could not bear the magnitude of the mess and shame she had dragged the innocent husband into.   

I drew closer to Pastor Derick and whispered to him,  

“I want to tell you what the people are saying. Most of the people in the church who have heard and watched this shameful video are so disappointed in your wife and wish you divorce her at once. If you still want to be their pastor”                                                                                                                                        With teary eyes he said, “Pastor Sammy, I am confused right now, I think I have failed as a pastor, what do you think?” 

I least expected this question but I knew that if he divorced his wife that will give me a better chance of becoming the church member’s favourite pastor. I answered cunningly, “For the sake of the ministry and your peace of mind I think it will not be unfair for you to let her go, after all, you are a good man and you will always find the best woman out there” 

 He sighed and said,  

“Pastor Sammy, prepare to take over the leadership of the church in this difficult moment of my life and marriage thank you for your wisdom and advice” 

On the eve of that same day, I called a meeting of my devout supporters led by Mr Ofori.  I assured them that there was no need to break away and to start a new church. From all indications, Pastor Derick was going to divorce the wife and had asked me to take over since that will cripple his ministry and render him unfit to be the Bishop of the church. It was like a victory won ahead of a battle. Elder Sosu gladly said 

“It serves him well, I thought he was a man and could stand this”  

We laughed over his comment and each one of us passed sarcastic comments about Pastor Derick’s situation.  

There were times that I received calls from my colleague ministers whom I attended the same Bible School with asking me about what was happening at my church regarding my Bishop’s wife.  I told them my Bishop’s wife was promiscuous and does not deserve to marry a man of God and also added that my Bishop himself is not a good leader and that the church has decided to make me the Bishop in some few months to come. My wife once eavesdropped on my conversation and shouted at me and called me a hypocrite soon after I had just finished conversing with one of my colleagues. 

 “Sammy, why should you rejoice in the downfall of your senior minister and the wife is that what the Bible teaches us?” She quizzed me angrily. I got furious and gave her a satisfactory beating and warned her never to interfere with my issues again. Our child cried when he saw the mother weeping but I cared less.  

I was desperate to become the head of the church. It meant that I could travel outside the country, increase my salary and attend a lot of state functions which created opportunities for me to meet influential people in society. No one, not even my wife will stop me.  

My expectation was that Pastor Derick would come out boldly in the subsequent weeks to declare at the Leaders’ General Meeting that he had divorced the wife but unfortunately, his love for the wife grew stronger and that meant my plans may not come to fruition. He was well composed and handled the wife with respect. In fact, one could not easily tell that they were going through difficult times. The only notable thing I realised was that she no longer sat on the podium and would not participate in church activities.  I had to think fast and do something more pragmatic and destructive to get me to the top as the head of the church.  

I created a unanimous Facebook account with a name that just came to mind. I uploaded the sex video of Asaafomaame busily enjoying sex with a man who is not her husband. Facebook was like the savannah grass which spreads fire with the direction of the wind.  Sharing the video there would let the world know about it and most probably Pastor Derick would not be able to withstand the pressure but to divorce his wife which would then have a catastrophic effect on his ministry. When the agenda was successfully executed, it saw a lot of likes and shares going on with myriads of derogatory comments about Asaafomaame Lesley. Unfortunately for her, she was on Facebook too and in a few days’ time, the news hit the whole church and the area in which the church was located and even caught the attention of some media houses.  

An emergency meeting was called within the week the video went viral. My caucus of men with whom I usually have closed-door meetings were all available.  Their voices were loudest in condemning Pastor Derick’s wife and by extension Pastor Derick himself for dragging the name of the church into the mud and into total disrepute. I was still disappointed that upon all the evidence that our Asaafomaame was a slut, some of the elders sympathised with Pastor Derick. In the meeting, I kept mute and occasionally would calm down the nerves of my fuming allies although I was in support of their actions. I did not want to give any iota of clue to Pastor Derick that I was part of his predicament. Throughout the meeting, Pastor Derick looked well composed but surprised about the way and manner in which some of the elders were talking to him. He brought the meeting to a close and informed us that we should pray for him and his family and that we should give him up to Sunday. He assured us that he had a message for the whole church concerning what was happening. I was glad and knew that he was finally going to inform the church about his intention to divorce the wife because that was the most honourable and fair thing to do to please the church members. 

Some few hours after getting home, I was hit with one of the most devastating news in my life. I suddenly lost appetite for my food because my mouth had become sour. I had goose bumps all over my body and had to rush out of the house to get to where the incident had occurred. Upon reaching the house of Pastor Derick, I saw about ten cars parked which were very familiar. I got down and immediately I opened the gate I saw some of the church members lying on the floor wailing uncontrollably. When I opened the sitting-room door, my breath seized and I nearly collapsed at the sight of what welcomed me. The lifeless body of AsaafoMaame hanging on the ceiling fun with a note underneath her. Pastor Derick lying prostrate while weeping uncontrollably. My eyes were full of tears and as I took a few steps back feeling dizzy, the police came to cut the rope and hauled her away to the morgue. It was a black day in the life of the entire church and most importantly the widower, Pastor Derick. 

I got home later in the evening and my wife was waiting for me with swollen eyes. She had cried continually. As soon as I entered the room she shouted “I hope you and your cohort are happy now, is this not what you wanted?!” I ignored her and walked past her to the bathroom to take my shower.  

Pastor Derick proceeded on leave and I was asked to be in charge even as he mourns and prepares for the funeral of the wife. By Sunday, the news of his wife’s suicide had spread throughout the neighbourhood and the church. I was given the assignment to officially announce it to the entire congregation. For about fifteen-minute, the church auditorium was filled with wailing and most of the members could not hold back their tears and some had to walk out to return later. We were all still in a state of shock, we least expected her to commit suicide. Church service was rather short that day.  

Few weeks later, the funeral arrangements were done and we were to have the burial service at the church premise and the interment at Awudome cemetery. The burial service saw a lot of dignitaries, friends, family, and sympathizers joining the entire church to console Pastor Derick even as we observed the final funeral rites of his beloved wife. The atmosphere of the burial service was sorrowful and I was the preacher of the occasion. During the burial service, Pastor Derick was to read the tribute of the wife. With a calm voice he began to read his tribute                                                                                           “Lesley, my wonderful wife is my best friend and a precious gift from God to me. A few years after our friendship, I proposed marriage to you but you were unwilling to accept my proposal due to certain shortcomings in your past. You had informed me about your ex-boyfriend secretly filming you whiles having an affair with you and this video was circulated on campus but with time the issue died. It was something that you had to live regrettably with the rest of your life. Beyond this misfortune you were the most adorable lady I have ever met, you sacrificed all you had just to see me succeed. Lesley, why did you have to take your life when you knew my love for you was not affected by your past?” 

The tribute of Pastor Derick to the late wife shocked the entire church, it was clear that Pastor Derick upon hearing about the video and consequently watching the leaked sex video of the late wife, was hurt but already knew about it. He only continued to pray for his wife and ask God to give them the strength and courage to go through such a trying moment. His wife increasingly became traumatised by the public ridicule and most damaging of all was when she heard that some of the leaders of the church were behind her woes. She could not handle it and often will wail and cry “I can’t handle this anymore, my love, I have brought you nothing but shame, I am sorry Derick, this will end soon”  

Little did he know that his wife was contemplating suicide. At that moment I felt like I was nothing more than a murderer.  When it was time for me to deliver the sermon, I was lost for words and could hardly make any meaningful statement, I am sure the people thought I was equally devastated about the demise of Pastor Derick’s wife and that had had an emotional impact on me.