My ex is my next door Neighbour .... should I tell my husband?

Femi was part of my wild past. A wild past during my first sojourn in university.

My parents and I were very careful to keep this period of my life hidden. It was a past of failed examinations, alcohol, and drugs. Femi was my boyfriend in those turbulent times. He introduced me to all the bad habits that led me on many days. When I was threatened by my parents to drop him off, he proposed marriage. Just so he gets access to the generous allowance my parents were sending to me as well as the high bursary I was entitled to as a Lagos State indigene. I was so naïve I did not listen to my family and friends. When my parents who had stomached enough arranged to move me to another school, Femi also made arrangements for us to get married. Luckily, my friends got to know and alerted my parents who at the nick of time, swooped on the registry and before I could say 'I do' bundled me into a car. That very night, I was on a flight to the United States.

Luckily for me, this was not the time of mobile phones, internet, or social media so my parents were able to keep us from communicating. After a while, I forgot Femi, faced my studies, and graduated top of my class as a chemical engineer. It was during my stay there that I realised how close I was to losing my life as a result of reckless living and Femi's influence. The experience scarred me and I kept away from men.

Until I came home for the first time after being away for ten years. It was to be a trip of two weeks but I have now been here for four years. Why? I met my soul mate. Tunde, my husband, friend, lover and chief advisor is a shy, unassuming medical doctor but very determined and tough when you get to know him. He was my mother's doctor and she was always going on about him. When I eventually met him, I was completely unimpressed. But two hours in his company, I was laughing at his jokes and the way he made fun of every situation. I was laughing two weeks later as he 'jokingly' proposed to me and was smiling broadly eight months after as my father led me to the altar to say 'I do'.

After spending two months at his bachelor pad, my new husband and I agreed that the place was too small for a married couple, so we started looking for a place. Our search revealed the other side of my husband: he was too proud to receive help from anyone, including me to pay the rent. Unfortunately, all the places we liked were too expensive. Eventually, we settled on a very spacious two bedroom apartment in Surulere, to which my new husband struggled to gather the rent.

On a fateful day, a new tenant moved into the next flat from across us where our neighbour had just moved out from. Imagine my shock and horror when I found out that it was Femi. Thank goodness, he did not deem to have recognised me. My husband with his medical background took one look at him and said that he suspected him to be an ex-junkie and a substance abuser. He advised me not to get too friendly with him.

Was this the right time to tell him of my history with Femi? If I did, my proud husband may likely insist that we move but how do we pay for another place? I could also keep quiet, pray that Femi or any of his visitors do not recognise me. But if they do and my husband finds out, he may never trust me again.