The pastor wives 3️⃣ Written by ©️ Oluchi M. Okike How can the smallest voice in the room end the loudest war? While three women battle for power, one quiet usher holds the truth that could tear down everything—and raise something unexpected in its place. Joy Benson was the kind of woman no one noticed. She moved with the grace of someone used to staying in the background. A soft-spoken usher. A single mother. A face often hidden behind white gloves and church protocol. But on that Tuesday morning, she became the headline. The Press Conference The church gates were flooded again, but this time not with fighting wives or chanting members. Joy stood alone, flanked by two women from the legal aid clinic and a file of documents. No makeup. No drama. Just quiet pain. She held up a photograph—an old, blurry image of her and Pastor Gideon at a beachside retreat. She didn’t cry. She didn’t shout. She simply said, “He promised to protect us. But when I got pregnant, he begged me to keep it secret. Said it would destroy everything. So I did… for eight years.” In the photograph, a small child could be seen playing in the background. Her daughter. The media had questions. Too many. But Joy didn’t stay long. She handed over the DNA report—signed, verified, and stamped. And just like that, everything changed. The Silence That Followed Mama Glo refused to speak to the press. Chinaza went completely off-grid. Stella collapsed at a pharmacy later that day and was taken to the hospital. Inside Fire River Ministries, the congregation began to murmur. Some felt betrayed. Others confused. But the board had to act quickly. By the following Sunday, a church bulletin was released: “Pending further verification, the burial of Pastor Gideon is on hold.” Chinaza’s Secrets Surface Just when things seemed to settle, something unexpected broke online. A clip. Grainy, uncut, but chilling. It showed a deliverance session from five years earlier. A private, behind-the-scenes moment somehow leaked to the internet. In it, Pastor Gideon was praying over a woman possessed by a "marine spirit." That woman… was Chinaza. The video showed her writhing, screaming, speaking in a voice not her own. And at the end, Pastor Gideon whispered something into her ear—words the microphone barely picked up. But someone enhanced the audio and shared it again. It sounded like he said: “Your secrets are safe with me… as long as you stay mine.” People were stunned. Was Chinaza delivered—or marked? Was she a wife—or something darker? And if so… why would he marry her? Stella’s Test Results Arrive Meanwhile, Stella was discharged from the hospital. Her test results came in. The truth? The child in her womb was not Pastor Gideon’s. The betrayal cut deep. Not just for the church, but for Stella herself. She had loved him. Or maybe… she had loved the platform. In an emotional online video, she confessed: “We were already drifting. I didn’t know I was pregnant until after his death. I thought… I could still belong.” It went viral. People wept. People mocked. People debated. But one thing was certain: Stella had nothing to gain anymore. The Unexpected Shift Then came the twist no one could have predicted. Instead of hiding or fighting, Mama Glo did something no one expected. She went live on Facebook. She told her story—not with anger, but with grace. How she met Gideon in the early days, when he was a young boy preaching with cracked lips and torn Bibles. How she fed him, clothed him, prayed for him. How she sold her wrappers to help him print flyers. And how, after all the fame, he stopped calling her “wife” and started calling her “burden.” But she ended with a smile. “I don’t need his name to prove my worth. I knew who he was before the world knew. I only came to give him a proper burial. Now… let the truth rest with him.” That video reached over 2 million views in two days. And Then Came Joy As the church leaders deliberated over what to do, the members quietly began to do something else. They visited Joy. Bags of food. School supplies. Little envelopes tucked with handwritten prayers. A hashtag was born: #WeChooseJoy And for the first time since the chaos began, the church found unity—not through titles or tradition—but through compassion. The Board decided to honor Pastor Gideon with a private burial. No wife would lead. No cameras. Just peace. And standing beside the casket, holding the hand of her daughter, was the woman no one had noticed… but who had always carried the truth. Please like, share, comment and follow my page 👉 Oluchi M. Okike so you don't miss episode 4️⃣