The Husband Defender

Chapter1:The Day They Called me Blind I was 22 when I married David.He was the kind of man that many girls at church meetings, stop mid prayer just to watch him walk past.Tall,sharp,and a smile that makes you forget you own name.I thought i was the luckiest girl alive when he choose me.A daughter of a Civil servant,me zara,i have nothing to offer but a heart that beats to fast whenever he looked My way. I was very much in love with him that made me to accept any kind of wedding from him. The wedding was small.My mother cried and told me,if he breaks you,don't come running Back with your pride in pieces".I laughed then. I told her love doesn't break.love fixes. I was wrong. The first time i found out,it was a message.11:47 PM.A w******p message from a number saved as client. I miss last night.Can we meet again tomorrow ? I was literally shocked and down,then I dropped the phone.David was asleep beside me, I didn't wake him.I deleted the message,blocked the number,and told my self i was over reacting. Men get messages.May be it was a mistake.May be she texted the wrong number.may be i was just Insecure.Alot was going through my mind. I chose to believe him when he wokeup and kissed my forehead. Did you sleep well baby? Like a baby i said to him. That was the day I became the Husband Defender. The second time it wasn't a message.It was his sister.. Aunty gracia came to our house uninvited,her voice was so sharp like a glass. Zara do you know what your husband is doing.? I stood in the kitchen,stirring soup that had long stopped boiling.What do you mean aunty? I mean he was seen at cee's Bar with a girl young enough to be his daughter.Laughing.Touching like You don't exist. I set the spoon down.y hands were steady,but my chest wasn't. David my darling husband wouldn't do that to me. Wouldn't?She laughed,bitter.Open your eyes girl.His disgracing this family.'' She left calling me blind. I went to the bedroom and sat on the floor. I couldn't cry,but i was asking my self a question, instead of getting angry,i prayed instead.God let me be wrong.let my husband be the man I married. The third time the whole street knew. A video.David and a woman leaving a hotel.It was blurry,but it was my husband,his walk His laugh,the way he ran his hands through his hair when he was nervous.Someone posted it On facebook.My enemies tagged me to see,just for mockery.My phone didn't stop ringing. my father called. Zara,pack your things.cone home. Daddy it's not what it looks like. it never is,he said and hung up. My mother came her self.She sat me down and held my face in her hands child,pride won't keep you warm at night.leave him before he leaves you With nothing.'' mum,I love him.'' love doesn't it beating and call it food,she said. I walked my mum to the door too. At work my colleagues whispered.At church the woman leader pulled me aside and said, We are praying for you,sister.God will give you strength to leave.I smiled and said we are praying For him too.His going through something. Because that's what i did.I defended him. To my family.To his family.To strangers on the street who shook their heads when they saw me Always starring at me with pity. He's stressed from work''. He is trying to provide for us. He would never hurt me on purpose. lies? May be.But they we're my lies.my choice. The truth was,i was terrified of being the divorced whose marriage failed.Terrified of being The divorced daughter my father warned me about.But in all i love him so much,i was not seeing Everything that was said about my husband.I was also terrified to admit that the man i gave everything to didn't want me the way I wanted him. So I stayed because of love I cooked his meals.I ironed his shirts.I covered for him when he came home at 2Am Smelling perfume that wasn't mine. Where were you?I would ask,with a sweet voice Business meeting zara.You know how it is. I nodded I always nodded. And every time I defended him,a piece of me went quiet. my friends stopped calling.My sister said i was dead to her.His family Stopped inviting me to events they said i was enabling him.may be i was. But it doesn't matter as long as my husband is happy, But loving doesn't keep score.Not the kind i had. I loved him to a fault that I can't leave his house no matter anything The night everything changed,David came home drunk.He didn't even try to hide it. He stumbled into the room,dropped on the bed,and said,Zara I don't think i can do this anymore Do what? This.Us.you're too good for me.I'm tired of pretending.' I sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand. Then don't pretend.just stay.I know your drunk and you need me,say what you want, And stop teasing me first. He laughed,a broken sound. you're crazy,you know that? May be, i said.But i'm your crazy.'m He didn't answer.He fell asleep with my name on his lips. I knew he was serious with what he said to me,but i just want to cover up.like i Always do. I stayed awake all night,listening to his breathe. outside,the rain started. And for the first time since I married him,I wondered if love alone was enough to keep a man who didn't want to be kept. I didn't have an answer. But I wasn't ready to let go yet. Not yet because as long as he was mine,even in his name I would defend him. Even against my self. Morning came slow I woke up first,the way I always did.The room was quiet except for the sound of his breathing and The rain still dripping from the roof. David stirred beside me,turning as the light hit his face.for a second,he looked like the Man I married. Zara,he said slowly,with a thick voice with sleep. I didn't answer right away.I was watching him, Waiting to see the version of him would show up today.The regretful one,The angry one? The charming one who made me forget everything by morning? Love isn't easy He turned towards me,his arm finding my waist out of habit .His eyes were half open, still heavy with sleep and whatever his been drinking the night before. I'm sorry he said.Not loud.Not dramatic.just a whisper that hit harder than a shout. I swallowed for what? For everything.'' And he kissed me, We made a crazy love,it was emotional,crazy,and love that i poured in to,make my self happy, Thinking of his cheating will make me go astray, I was satisfied,then he slept again. It wasn't the careful,guilty kiss of a man trying to cover his tracks. It was so obvious that he received satisfaction outside,but his my satisfaction. I should have pulled away.I knew I should have. But when he kissed me like that,I felt like the night before never happened .like the messages, The video, For all the time he would made me feel small,this man still needed me. He woke up again and dragged me to his chest.We lay there for a while ,tangled together,the world outside forgotten.His forehead rested against mine,and for a moment,it was just us again.just David and zara,before the betrayal,before the rumours,before I became the woman everyone pitied. I was still tangled in his arms when a knock came at the door. Not the usual knock. This one was heavy,urgent...like someone had come to end everything. Episode 2:loading..........