The Mistress Had To Die

ChapterFour

After washing her car, she went straight to pick up her son, Charles, from school before heading home.

That evening, Belinda was sitting at her dressing table applying her skincare routine when Jackson entered the room.

“Welcome back, honey,” Belinda said, smiling at him as he walked in.

Jackson merely nodded at her as he dropped his briefcase into his wardrobe.

“Honey, please help me with my zipper,” Belinda said softly, standing up and walking over to him.

“Turn around,” Jackson said, not looking at her face.

Belinda turned her back to him while he zipped up her dress.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Jackson said immediately, still avoiding her gaze.

Belinda smiled painfully. She remembered how her husband used to be; he would never zip her dress without touching and caressing her back, or kissing her neck. Saying nothing, she sat back down at her dressing table and began scrolling mindlessly through her phone.

A few minutes later, Jackson came out of the bathroom with a white towel tied tightly around his waist. Belinda looked at his bare chest; she swallowed hard and took her eyes back to her phone.

“Where’s Charles?” Jackson asked, rubbing his cream on his body.

“He’s at Evelyn’s place,” Belinda replied with her eyes still glued to her phone.

Jackson frowned immediately. “Evelyn? Who’s that?”

“Oh, she’s a girl from his school,” Belinda said. “I think they are in love with each other.” She smiled sadly as she said the words “in love.”

Jackson turned to her, his face now tight with a deep frown. “In love? Since when?”

Belinda looked at him, “Honey, please don’t tell me you’re angry. This is exactly how we started then—and we were even younger than them at that time.”

“Whatever,” Jackson said, waving it off. “It’s fine. He just needs to be careful.”

“Of course, he’s always careful,” Belinda said.

Jackson finished dressing in silence and went to lie down on the bed. Belinda joined him. The moment she got under the covers, Jackson immediately turned his back on her. Belinda didn't mind his reaction; she moved closer and wrapped her arm around him. Jackson didn’t react. He kept his back turned. Belinda started caressing her hands on his chest as she took it down. Jackson sat up immediately

“I want to let you know that my company will be hosting a party tomorrow to celebrate a successful project we launched a few days ago. You’ll be coming with me as my wife,” he said.

“How can you tell me about this tonight when the party is tomorrow?” Belinda asked, almost getting angry. “What if I don’t have anything nice to wear?”

“I’m sorry, but you don't need to overdress anyway,” Jackson said casually.

“Jack, this is not fair at all!” Belinda snapped at him. “And about the project,” she continued, glaring at him, "you didn’t care telling me about it all these while before you guys launched it.”

“Uh… sorry. I forgot,” Jackson said, rubbing his head. “You know a lot of things have been on my mind lately.”

“It’s fine,” Belinda said quietly. “No problem.”

Jackson lay back down beside her. But just when he thought Belinda had fallen asleep, he felt her hand again moving toward his waist. He quickly shifted his position, moving out of her reach.

Jackson’s POV

“What are you doing?” Jackson asked his wife. She had shifted closer to him again.

“It’s been so long, honey. I’ve missed you,” Belinda whispered slowly into his ear.

“Not tonight, please. I’m exhausted,” Jackson said, pulling away from her once more.

“This is always your excuse whenever I want us to be intimate!” Belinda complained, tears threatening to fall down from her eyes. “You always push me away. You never cuddle with me anymore. You don’t even ask me how I've been coping lately!”

“I promise—” Jackson began.

“Don’t promise me anything, Jack,” Belinda cut him off. “Either we do something tonight, or you—” She paused, unable to finish her sentence.

“Or what, Belinda?” Jackson asked, his tone turning sharp. “Oh, so now you’re threatening me?”

“This is not fair, Jack. It’s really not!” Belinda cried, wiping the tears from her face.

Jackson got out of bed to leave the room. Before he could reach the door, Belinda called out after him.

“Are you cheating on me, Jack?”

Jackson turned to look at her, but without saying a word, he turned back and left the room.

“Jack, you better come back here and answer me!” Belinda shouted.

He ignored her, walking straight to the guest room to sleep. Belinda collapsed onto the bed, as tears streamed down her cheeks.

The next morning, Jackson woke up very early and left for work without saying goodbye to anyone. However, he didn’t go straight to the office; instead, he stopped by Angela’s house.

Angela’s POV

Angela was brushing her teeth when she heard a knock at her front door.

“Who’s that?” she shouted from the bathroom.

“It’s me, sweetheart,” a voice replied. She didn’t need to be told who it was.

Angela opened the door and found Jackson standing there, smiling sweetly at her. She rolled her eyes, turned back toward the bathroom, and left him to close the door behind himself.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Jackson asked, walking into the bathroom and hugging her from behind.

“Let me take my shower first,” she said.

“We could actually do that together, darling,” Jackson said with a wink and a mischievous smile.

“Not now, please,” Angela replied almost immediately.

“Okay, okay. If you say so,” Jackson said, raising his hands in defeat before walking out to the living room.

A few minutes later, Angela came out fully dressed for work.

“Let’s go, please,” she said with a serious face.

As she stepped toward the door, Jackson pulled her back by the arm.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asked, facing her.

Angela hissed in frustration. “What we discussed last week—you haven’t given me any feedback yet.”

“But I already told you to give me some time, at least until after this party tonight,” Jackson replied. He held both of her hands tightly. “I promise I will give you an answer soon.”

“Honestly, I’m tired of this—of being hidden away from the world,” Angela said, pulling her hands back. “I want our affair to be public. The sooner you divorce your wife, the sooner we can truly be together.”

“It’s fine, my darling,” Jackson said smoothly. “I’ve already planned everything out. Once this party is over, I will put the plan into action.”

“Fine,” Angela said, rolling her eyes. “I’m only giving you a little more time.”

“Thank you, my darling,” Jackson smiled, opening his arms. “Come and give daddy a hug.”

Angela finally smiled back and hugged him. When she pulled away, she said, “Let’s get to work before we're late.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Jackson agreed. He held her hand as they walked out to his car and drove off to the office.