Suspects: murder case

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

She grabs her phone and starts texting away, completely ignoring me, ‘’Babe!’’ I place my hand over hers but she still doesn’t look at me. ‘’I am sorry for what happened this afternoon, you misread the situation, Meira and I were just working, maybe we got too carried away with the wine but it’s not what you think it is.’’

She remains unresponsive, I sigh in a deep frustrated sigh, ‘’I am really, I know what the rules are and I wouldn’t do anything to break them, I am in this to the very end. I really hate seeing you like this please cheer up.’’

‘’She likes you, I saw how she was looking at you.’’

‘’I know she likes me, I know she does.’’

‘’Wow! Just wow!’’ she exclaims.

‘’I told her I am married, I only tolerated her because she is an associate who was recommended by my boss and we are working on a project together, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to upset you.’’

‘’Do you know what this could do to my social media influence? Do you know what people would say about my husband dining and winning with women like that, you guys had a bottle of wine that was almost empty, what sort of business were you discussing? Look Daniel, you can be with whoever you want I don’t care but for the duration of this marriage please respect me.’’

‘’I am sorry.’’

She stands up, ‘’Thanks for the flowers, I have left you some slices of pizza,’’ she says.

And with that she grabs her car keys and exits the house, slamming the door behind her back.

KRISTY

I shouldn’t be jealous, I have no right to feel this way, he is not mine after all, this is just a game but I can’t help it. I saw how she looked at him- I also can’t deny how beautiful she is, I seriously feel threatened. My life with Daniel has been beautiful, he has brought a peace into my life I never realized was missing, I just want to have him all to myself for the next couple of months and when it’s time to go our separate ways all the risks I have taken would have been worth it.

I drive around in circles for some time before I decide to call Jada.

‘’Mrs. Mumbi!’’ she exclaims upon answering.

‘’Girl, how are you?’’

‘’I am fine, you don’t sound fine, is everything okay?’’

‘’Not really.’’

‘’What’s wrong?’’

‘’I had an argument with Daniel.’’

‘’What happened? I thought you two were getting along fine.’’

‘’Yes we are, I took lunch to his office and I found him with a woman, they looked so cozy together, I felt angry so I left and when he got back home he confessed that the woman actually likes him though she is a business consultant.’’

She laughs, ‘’my! My! My!’’

‘’This isn’t funny Jada.’’

‘’Are you honestly telling me you don’t understand what’s happening?’’

‘’What?’’

‘’You got jealous because you found him with another woman.’’

I shrug, ‘’I wouldn’t call it jealous, I just felt angry that he is fooling around with other women, what if someone from social media finds out and they start a thread about how loose my husband is, I can’t handle that kind of humiliation. I have a reputation to maintain girl, he needs to stick to the end of the bargain.’’

‘’Kristy, I think you are falling in love with this man.’’

‘’What?’’

‘’You are falling in love with your husband.’’

‘’That’s not true.’’

‘’I can smell love from afar and--.’’

‘’No! Jada, I don’t believe in love, love makes people weak, I can’t be in love with Daniel.’’

‘’You are in love with him and the sooner you realize it, the better for you.’’

‘’No! This can’t be happening.’’

‘’You need to stop being afraid of love.’’

‘’You know my story girl, you can’t tell me that, I can’t allow myself to fall in love. I can’t give this man access to break me into pieces, you know how hard it’s been for me to pick up the broken pieces of my life, I can’t go back to that life.’’

‘’Daniel is not your father, you need to let go babe.’’

‘’I was just a little girl when that man walked out on us, when he choose another woman over mum and I. I was very young Jada but I could tell how broken my mother was, she tried to act strong in front of me but several nights when she thought I was sleeping, she would break down in tears, my mother went through the most because of that man. I can’t allow myself to go through that kind of kind of pain, no, I can’t.’’

‘’Daniel is not your father, he is different.’’

‘’I guess my mother felt the same way when she met my mother but see how it ended.’’

‘’Let’s meet tomorrow and talk, lunch on me.’’

‘’Okay.’’

‘’I will pick you up from the office.’’

‘’I will be waiting.’’

‘’Please don’t panic.’’

‘’I won’t.’’

‘’Goodnight.’’

‘’Goodnight.’’

"For everyone who can relate to Kristy's pain. Sending love and hugs your way. I pray you heal from those deep wounds." Ella

Kristy

‘’Love! No! I can’t be in love,’’ a feeling similar to freaking out is beginning to fill my chest.

I start my car a couple of minutes later and drive home, when I get home, I find Daniel pacing back and forth in the bedroom.

‘’You are back!’’ He exclaims, ‘’I was worried about you, I thought something bad had happened to you.’’

I stare at him and my stomach drops out of my body- I love him. More than I have ever loved anyone.

I need to go back to the drawing board, I have been over excited, I shouldn’t have allowed things to get this far.

I talk to myself in the privacy of my head.

I need to put an end to this, we need to go back to the rules that we earlier set and keep this relationship strictly business.

‘’Are you okay?’’

I look at him again and a wave of nausea nearly knocks me over.

‘’Talk to me babe!’’

‘’Please don’t call me babe,’’ I breathe.

‘’I am really sorry about what happened, I didn’t mean to disrespect you, I will talk to Marie, I will set boundaries between us, I swear I will keep my end of the bargain, I will not do anything to Jeopardize what we share.’’

‘‘Do you mind if you sleep in the other room? I would like to be alone.’’

‘’Has it gotten to that?’’ he worriedly asks.

‘’I can sleep in the other room if you don’t--.’’

‘’It’s okay, I will go to the other room,’’ he cuts me short.

‘’Thank you.’’

He walks to the closet and pulls out some pajamas before walking back to me, he stares at me for a moment, leans in and kisses my forehead, ‘’I am sorry about what happened, I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. Goodnight.’’

When the door closes behind his back, tears well up in my eye and they slide down my check, down my neck. My heart is breaking, I am scared of being vulnerable, I am scared of ending up like my mother. Breaking down, I cry until I fall asleep exhausted. The next morning I wake up earlier than usual, take a quick shower, I get dressed and leave the house before I have a chance to bump into Daniel, I have to try as much as possible to stay away from him.

When I get to the office I immerse myself in work, trying to forget this feeling at the pit of my stomach. Daniel has been trying to call and text me but I have ignored his calls and I haven’t responded to any of his messages. At lunch time, Jada picks me up from the office and we drive to one her favorite restaurant in town. She resumed work a couple of days ago.

Upon arrival at the restaurant, we order our food and settle down at the far end of the room. I love that this place is not crowded and despite it not being too expensive, it’s quite neat and their food is amazing.

‘’Have you noticed that you have gained weight?’’ she asks. ‘’Ichupo nachikusumina.’’

‘’Uli nkonko Jada!’’ I click my tongue.

‘’But you have gained weight and you look really amazing.’’

‘’Thank you doll.’’

‘’Are you sure you are not pregnant?’’

Her words make my heart race and I quickly say, ‘’No I am not pregnant.’’

‘’You guys have been using protection?’’

‘’No but he has been pulling out.’’

She laughs, ‘’you trust his pull- out game?’’

‘’What is wrong with you?’’ I ask, getting irritated.

‘’Did you think about what we talked about last night?’’

‘’Which part exactly?’’

‘’That you might be in love with this man.’’

‘’I am not in love with him.’’

Our food arrives and we dig in almost immediately, I didn’t eat anything since morning, I was too busy to even get myself some coffee. The next few minutes are nothing but a blur of taste and salt.

‘’What makes you think you are not in love with him.’’

‘’I know I am not in love with him.’’

‘’How?’’

‘’I don’t know how to explain it, I just know.’’

‘’Stop denying this feeling.’’

‘’Fine, maybe I am in love with him but I will work on it, I will distance myself from him, I will no longer share a bed with him, I will stick to the first of rules that we set for the remaining months of our marriage and when it’s over my life will get back on track.’’

‘’And you think it will be that easy?’’

‘’I am Stella Msizi, there’s nothing that’s too hard for me to do.’’

‘’You shouldn’t do something that you will later regret. You should open up to this guy and tell him how you feel. I am more than certain he feels the same way for you, I saw how he looked at you last time--.’’

‘’But you know this was just a game and we had rules set up?’’

‘’Rules are meant to be broken.’’

‘’How are is Else?’’ I ask trying to change the subject.

‘’Baby girl is fine, I miss her almost all the time when I am at work.’’

‘’I am sure you will get used to being away from her soon.’’

‘’I don’t think I can ever get used, that little girl is my world.’’

I smile, ‘’It must be interesting to be a mother.’’

‘’It is, you should try it.’’

I laugh, ‘’you are such a fool, motherhood is not for people like me. I have nothing to offer a child.’’

‘’You were good with Joan and you are good with Else too.’’

‘’That doesn’t mean I will be good with my own child.’’

‘’You need to get rid of that pain and bitterness I swear.’’

‘’Whatever.’’

She laughs, ‘’you are so weird but I love you still.’’

‘’And I love and appreciate you.