‘A Love of Inconvenience’ by Adesuwa O’Man Nwokedi: You get what you give

Would you marry someone you know from your home country just to help them avoid being deported? It is someone you have loved since you were five years old, if one can really know what love is at that age. But he never paid you any mind. And now you know that he has a fiancée, he will never leave because he made her a promise. This is the plot of A Love of Convenience by Adesuwa Nwokedi.

We follow Ezioma, also known as Ezi, a Nigerian-born woman living in the USA, where she has achieved more success than she ever dreamed of.

Ezi grew up in a family of four children. In her mind, her siblings were the most beautiful because they resembled their father more than she did.She grew up believing that nobody noticed her, unaware of her own strength, excelling in school and becoming the standard by which other parents measured their children’s behaviour and achievements.

This low self-esteem made her believe she was not worthy of love. Every time she got into a relationship, her focus shifted entirely to the person who claimed to love her at the time. This pattern continued through university in the United States until she decided to change her life when she started her new job in New York. She finally chose to focus on herself.

“I’d done a re-assessment of myself and decided it was time to focus on me for a change. Looking good finally made me feel good, and I finally came into my own person.”

One day, while sipping coffee at a coffee shop, Ezi sees someone she thinks she knows from home. She runs outside and, lo and behold, she meets Dili. They had grown up together; their fathers were friends, and Dili came from a wealthy family, unlike her own. She is surprised to see that life hasn’t been kind to him.

“Here I am worrying about Dili, Chief Dike’s son, feeling out of place. I am saddened by how much the tables have turned.”

Ezi learns that Dili is on the edge of being deported because his visa has expired. He has no money and no place to stay. He’s moving from one friend’s place to another. Jobs are hard to find without a green card. This is when Ezi suggests that they get married so Dili can obtain legal status to remain in the US, find a job, support his family back home, and eventually bring his fiancée, Onyeka, to the US.

They get married and move in together. After some time, Dili receives his green card. He is over the moon and declares that he would do anything to show his gratitude to Ezi for helping him without expecting anything in return. Ezi, now 38 years old, asks for the only gift she can think of, a child. She promises never to tell anyone that Dili is the father. Dili is shocked but agrees. And that’s when the drama begins.

Once they start getting physical, as it often happens for many women, Ezi begins to hope that maybe Dili will finally fall in love with her. She carries this hope and does everything she can to be chosen.

Eventually, reality hits. Dili reminds her that he can’t leave his fiancée, no matter what he feels, because he made a promise to her.

His past haunts Dili. He vowed never to be like his father, who hurt his mother by chasing other women. But what we resist often finds a way in, and he ends up hurting both Onyeka and Ezi.

Ezi knew what she was getting into. But it’s hard not to feel for her. Sometimes, no matter what we see, we still hold on to the hope of a different ending, especially when it comes to love.

Nwokedi reveals the darker side of this “love story” through the harsh reality of cancer, which claims Ezi’s mother and sister. She captures the brutal toll of treatment, so intense that many give up after one cycle, and shows how the presence of loved ones can make life feel worth fighting for.

A Love of Convenience is a love story built on infidelity. But it’s also about the lengths people in genuine love will go to for each other. It’s about finding hope when there’s nothing left to hope for. It’s about how love, even when it’s complicated, can help you heal.

Most of all, it’s about loving yourself. Accepting who you are. Believing you deserve to be loved and seen. It’s a reminder that the love you give yourself sets the standard for how others love you.

Jane Shussa is passionate about books, coffee, nature, and travel. She serves as a Senior Digital Communications Officer for Twaweza East Africa