Kill My Husband

CHAPTER2

“What was that? Just give me a second.” Emma said as Harold tried to touch her after what he had done. She was still trying to wrap her head around what just happened. Emma started gasping for air, and Harold sprung up to his feet immediately.

“Where do I get it?" He asked as his heartbeat increased.

“The first drawer in the room." She struggled to say as she hit her chest continuously while gasping for air. Harold rushed to get it and ran back to her, shook it, and placed it in her mouth while he pressed it for her. Emma saw the blood dripping from Harold’s hands and quickly reached for his hands.

“Oh My! You're bleeding, and you're going out. What are we going to do? We have to treat that." She said all at once. Harold pulled his hands away from hers.

" Are you okay? Let me see.” He tucked her hair behind her right ear and saw the cut he caused on her cheekbone.

“Oh no! I did this to you, I did this to my wife, what have I turned into? Please, tell me I'm dreaming.” He said all at once and Emma quickly pulled him in for a hug.

" It was an accident, it was an accident,” Emma whispered repeatedly as she patted him on the back.

“I want you to know that I would never do that to you.” He assured her and exhaled deeply.

" I know, baby, I know.” She whispered, still patting him on his back.

***

Emma helped Harold dress his wounds in the bedroom and he stood up facing the mirror as he backed Emma. He sighed.

“You know I have to go to work. I have an important meeting there.” He faced her.

" But if you want me to stay, I promise, I won't go anywhere.” He added as he walked up to her, squatted, and took her hands. She pulled away from him.

" No. You should go since it's important. I wouldn't want to stop you.” She said and smiled briefly as she stood up and walked to the mirror checking how bad the bruise was.

“Before I go, let me help you with that." He tried walking up to her, but she moved away and ran her hands through her hair, trying to keep her cool.

‘I could swear I didn't see a sign of violence in him.’ She exhaled deeply through her lips. Harold noticed a hint of fear in her eyes and tears gathered up in his eyes.

“Emma, I wouldn't want you to think of me as a monster. I swear, I wouldn't intentionally hurt you. What happened today will never happen again.” He said and walked up to her. This time, she stood still; she didn't want him to feel bad about what he had done unintentionally.

" I'm not scared, okay? I'm fine. I know it won't happen again.” She placed a kiss on his lips and hugged him.

Emma sat by the mirror after Harold left the house, took out her foundation from the drawer, took a proper look at the cut, and sighed.

“It was an accident, Emma. You'll be fine." She muttered to herself and began to apply it to the bruise. She didn't want to dress her wound because of the pain, and she knew she had already had enough for one day.

She remembered Alan hadn't had breakfast and quickly rushed out of the room to set his breakfast in the dining room. On getting to the dining room, she bumped into him.

“Good morning." She greeted and bowed her head so he wouldn't see her face but it was already too late for that.

“Uhm, I wanted to come set your breakfast on the table since you haven't had anything yet." She stared up at him briefly and averted her eyes again.

“I just ate." He said simply and Emma nodded and started walking out. He wanted to ignore what he saw on her face but he couldn't. He had heard some clamoring when he was working in his bedroom but didn't know anyone got injured.

“What happened to your face?” He asked and she stopped.

“Uhm, it's nothing. It's just…”

" That's not nothing. Did he do this to you?” Alan interrupted, and she turned, facing him.

“No. He didn't. It was an accident. He didn't mean to." She said as she tried to act cool. Alan took a deep breath as he tried to suppress the anger almost bursting out of him.

“Leave him." He said firmly and Emma stared up at him as tears gathered up in her eyes. She chuckled lightly and tucked her hair behind her ears.

“That's nonsense. Harold loves me." She said, trying to avoid his gaze.

“I can see that. Emma?" He called and she looked up at him, her eyes boring into his.

“He's going to kill you." He said and she gulped. The way Harold swung his hands at her flooded her mind again, and the thought of it happening again scared her.

“I'm fine, Alan. And I think you should learn to mind your business." She said and started to walk out.

" It's going to get infected if you don't treat it," Alan said and she stopped again.

“Come sit at the dining table. I'll get first aid." He said and began to walk out without letting Emma utter another word.

He got the first aid box and met her sitting quietly at the dining table. He shook his head as he felt bad for her. He knew Harold to be violent but didn't know to what extent. His hatred for Harold doubled. He sat next to her with a sigh and began to clean her wound with cotton wool and a methylated spirit. They were quiet for a while until she winced in pain.

“Be calm. I'll be done in a minute." He whispered with a reassuring smile.

‘I didn't know he could smile.’ She admired his smile. She exhaled deeply.

“You feel bad for me, don't you?" She noticed the way he looked at her and knowing he felt bad for her made her uncomfortable.

" Did you know someone who was in an abusive relationship?” She was curious as to why he reacted that way on seeing the cut on her face. He sighed trying to avoid the question.

“You don't have to answer that if you don't want to." She said. The last thing she wanted was to make him talk about something that was triggering to him. Alan, on the other hand, decided to tell her if it would help.

“My mother. She was abused." He paused with the cleaning and stared at her blue eyes.

“I would be in my room, hearing how he slammed her head to the wall and beat her up. Sometimes, he forcefully had his way with her, and…” He chuckled lightly and continued.

" I always asked myself what made her stay there. My mother would say that we had nowhere else to go.” He sighed as he thought of all that he had witnessed and how powerless he was to do something about it.

" My uncle, Harold's father, tried talking to him out of it, but he wouldn't listen, so I had to make something of myself so we could leave him, and when I opened Clay Communications, it started growing vastly, she…” He hesitated for a while. He wondered why he shared so much information about him with someone he just started talking to. Emma sighed.

“What happened to her?" She asked as her mind thought of the worst that could happen.

“One day, My mother had complained about a headache, and that day, my father came back home angry and frustrated as always. My mom made dinner, and it wasn't to his liking, so he stood up, scattered the food on the table, and kicked her chair so hard that it made her fall to the ground and hit her head hard on the ground, and that's how she died.” He explained and covered the cut on her face with a little plaster.

“All done." He said and put the things in the box. Emma sighed.

" What about your Dad? Did he go to jail?” She asked and Alan shook his head.

“He died shortly after. Old age I guess." He said and stood up to leave when Emma held him softly by the hands. Alan looked at his hands and she pulled away immediately.

" I won't let that happen to me.” She said simply and he walked out with the first aid box.

***

It was late already, and Emma lay in bed waiting for her husband to come back. She placed a few calls, but he didn't pick up, which got her worried. He then pushed the door open and got in. Emma sat up.

“Baby, you got me worried. I've been calling but you wouldn't pick up." She said, but Harold smiled faintly as he walked towards her, dropped his briefcase on the floor, and leaned in to kiss her.

“I'm sorry, love. I was closing in on a deal. We're going to a friend's party tomorrow. He's a Goodwill ambassador and he just opened his second company today.” He said and flashed a smile at Emma.

" Baby, I can't. I'm really tired, and besides, this scar on my face wouldn't go unnoticed." She explained and he furrowed his brows at her.

“Are you trying to remind me of what I did to you?” He half yelled. He looked at her reaction to his words and sighed.

“We're going tomorrow and it's

not up for discussion, okay." He said with a stern look, and her eyes searched his eyes.

“Okay." She said simply.