Chapter 2 The First Break
1140 Words
I could have closed the text.
I could have ignored it.
Instead, I opened the image and watched the first c***k appear in the union I spent years building.
I zoomed in on the image with my heart sinking lower with every passing second.
It showed Nathaniel walking at the center of the red carpet. Beside him was a young lady. I could tell she was the same age as me.
He had never mentioned he had any event to attend, and now my husband is at a red carpet event without my knowledge.
The lady was not too close to him but not too far to ignore. Her short white gown sat elegantly on her body. Her straight long hair smoothly ran down her back. I tried hard to push back the tears fighting their way out, but it was as if they made up their mind to show my weakness.
He had stopped acknowledging me in public three years ago and, rather than his wife, he treated me as an object he could toss around whenever he pleased.
“Maybe she is his secretary.”
“His business partner”
“What if she was also invited just like him?”
Denial made lots of jokes out of me. Even with the evidence in my hands, I still searched for a reason to believe Nathaniel was not cheating on me.
My eyes were about to slip shut when my phone vibrated. I picked the call. The person on the other end sounded polite and formal.
“Good evening, ma'am. Mr and Mrs King have requested your presence at the Family dinner tonight”. She said politely.
“Thank you for the information.” I replied before hanging up the call.
The word “requested” made everything seem insincere. I braced myself up, ready to go for the feast.
I arrived at the King's mansion in my white 2019 Range Rover. Stepped out and gathered the hem of my long black gown, its fabric designed with countless tiny diamonds underneath the evening light.
A wave of weakness washed over me as I neared the long table. Mr Richard occupied the seat at the head of the table, the position my mother often referred to as the leader’s chair. Mrs Victoria sat beside him with a little space in between them. Her wrinkled face still retained a natural elegance that age had failed to erase. Her two stepsons Adam and Everest, who had recently returned from Japan, were also there.
The conversation around the dining set crashed the moment my presence was noticed. Every pair of eyes turned at me as I pulled out of the chair and took my seat. Uniformed servants moved around, placing dish after dish before the family table.
I picked up my fork and knife, ready to cut into the beef steak coated in rich truffle sauce, just then Mrs Victoria cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention.
“When will Nathaniel be here?” She asked, her hand carefully slicing the meat.
How do I tell her he is with a strange woman I suspect he is having a secret affair with without looking like a desperate homemaker?
“He will be here soon ma, so sorry ma." I replied.
“If only you had given up an heir, there wouldn't be a need to worry about his lateness.” Her eyes held onto mine.
“Very soon ma”.
My hands trembled. If only Nathaniel were here, maybe he could have explained to his mother how hard we are trying.
The entrance of the house was guided and Nathaniel was led inside by the security guards. He walked into the dining room and headed straight for the chair opposite mine. Without a word, he lifted the silver cloche covering his plate.
“Seems you are so famished. Isn't Brittany feeding you?. Mrs Victoria asked, she had a look of concern on her face.
Nathaniel smiled, his white set of teeth showing.
He never for once looked in my direction.
“ She said very soon she would produce an heir,” his mother said.
I held on to the feeling that I wanted to scream so loud, that I wanted to challenge her authority and see the outcome. I wanted to know why she despised me so much. Why didn't she see how much I was trying?
“Did she? Maybe she just needed that as an excuse for her barrenness”. He said without any guilt.
Adam and Everest were lost in the conversation. They constantly looked at each other and asked themselves what was wrong.
I couldn't hold my anger anymore, I was so furious.
“I would love to make use of the toilet." I stood and left the table.
My chest tightened as I turned my back. I had thought my legs wouldn't make it to the restroom. A man I loved so much called me a barren. I wiped the tears that streamed down my face and adjusted my clothes.
When we got home, I sat down on the couch waiting for Nathaniel to make his way to the room. I could no longer stop myself from crying, my pajamas were already soaked.
Nathaniel entered the room, and started undressing.
“You called your wife a barren woman in front of your mother. I stood up and faced him.
“Aren't you one?” he said, like the word was normal.
“Do you know how much I have sacrificed, how hard I have tried to keep this family together?”
“A family consists of a husband, wife and children. Checking around, I see no child here”.
“If it was so easy for your mother, she could have had a whole football team while she was still a nursing mother,” I said angrily. He looked in my direction briefly before turning back to continue undressing.
“Who is that lady beside you on the red carpet? Is she your side piece now? Who is she?” I asked, shouting on top of my lungs.
“Tell me”.
He tied his white towel around his waist and passed beside me as though my words meant nothing to him.
“I wouldn't blame you, you are nothing but a mummy’s puppet.”
He ran to where I was, his wide palms held my neck so tight I could hardly breathe. I tapped him countless times, trying to signal to him, I was going to die.
“She is your replacement."
My vision blurred, and his voice faded into a distant murmur. Then he pushed me hard and I landed on the marble.
Floor with painful thud
The world went dark after that, or maybe I had left the world for good.
- Writer
