Chapter 8

“Oh yes, Mily… surprising right?” Alicia asked, although she was surprised at Emily's sudden reaction.

“Dylan is in town?”

“Yes. I was surprised to see him too.”

Emily went mute over the phone. Her grip on the phone tightened, her breathing grew uneven, and though Alicia’s voice was still pouring into her ear, her mind had already drifted back to that memory she never wanted to remember.

“Mily, are you there?”

No response.

“Hello ooo… Mily, can you hear me?”

“Yeah, yeah… Alicia, I'm still here,” she said, breaking from her trance.

“What’s the matter, Mily? What were you thinking about? You are distracted.”

“Ermm… Aly, it’s nothing serious. I just thought about something,” Emily said, trying to dismiss the topic.

But her mind had slipped back, uninvited. Back in the university, Dylan had once come looking for Alicia in her hostel. He hadn’t found her, so he knocked on Emily’s door instead. She could still remember the rush that went through her, how badly she wished he’d stayed for her, wanted more from him. But Dylan hadn’t crossed that line.

“Emily, my girl… I know there is something you’re not telling me, but whatever it is, be ready to tell me everything whenever we meet,” Alicia said, laughing out loud.

Emily forced a small laugh, though her chest tightened with the weight of an old memory better left unsaid.

“Alicia, but it's really nothing though,” Emily added sharply. “Alicia, your husband was here again this afternoon after you had already left. He was not happy you weren't here anymore,” she informed, switching the topic.

“You mean my soon to be ex-husband? Why does he behave like he cares so much about me now? I want him to sign the divorce papers I'll be sending to him soonest. I'm really fed up with all of this ill treatment from him, his mum and that bitch of a girl who calls herself Andrea. Of course she has succeeded in ruining my marriage.”

“Seriously, Nathan did not do well, especially toward you… Alicia, honestly you didn't deserve all of that. I'm glad you aren’t anywhere close to him anymore.”

“Yeah! I am too.”

“Nathan even threatened to get me arrested if I didn't tell him where you are now. But I told him that I don't know your whereabouts,” Emily said, laughing.

“Trust me, Nathan wouldn't do any of that. He was only trying to get the information from you.”

“But Alicia, where did you find a place to stay?”

“All thanks to Dylan. He contacted a friend who helped me find a new apartment and Dylan paid for it too.”

She heard Dylan's name again. Emily sighed. Her breath was shaky.

“Alright Aly… I need to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay, no problem… Take care, Mily,” she responded.

Alicia dropped her phone on the bedside table. Her mind raced back to her husband, Nathan. She thought about how much she loved him, but he in turn always treated her with scorn and disdain.

Her mind flashed back to the night when Andrea had just recently come back from the States; she came straight to their house. That night Alicia was to spend it with her husband. Even though Nathan did not really treat her well, he still made love to her. But that was before Andrea came back.

She had finished eating her dinner that was served in her room. She took her bath, then put on sleeveless sexy lingerie, took out her most expensive perfume and applied it gently on her skin, her wrists, behind her ears and on her torso. After that she carried the fruits she had earlier instructed one of the house help to bring in a tray and made for Nathan's room.

She took long shallow breaths as she stood facing his door. Looking at herself one last time she knocked.

Nathan opened the door; he only had a boxer on and the robe hung loose over his body, slipping off his shoulders and exposing the full width of his broad chest and the hard lines of his abs, giving him a presence hard to ignore.

“I came to give you this, baby,” Alicia said, showing her upper teeth in a small teasing smile as she lifted the tray of fruits she was holding.

“Don't call me that, madam!” Nathan snapped, furrowing his brows. “Do you see the time? I don't do night time snacks. Do you not know there’s a time for everything?”

Alicia felt her chest tighten. She felt her courage leave her body; the tray nearly fell from her hands but she held onto it firmly.

“Nathan, you are my husband, remember? We are legally married. I do not see any reason why I shouldn't address you this way,” Alicia said in a low voice. “I thought we should spend quality time together as couples, not just by having sex with each other, but being really intimate tonight.”

Nathan stood there staring at her, his eyes filled with disdain.

“Look, these are your favorite fruits, you'd love them. I know you haven't had some lately,” Alicia said, forcing another smile with her teeth.

“So Alicia, you have the guts to disturb my sleep because of this nonsense?” Nathan yelled, his veins showing. He pushed the tray out of her hands and the fruits came crashing on the floor. “Now leave!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than she saw a hand wrap around his waist, massaging it gently.

“You are such a pest, Alicia,” Andrea said. “Too bad Nathan doesn’t need you or your stupid fruits at this point in the night. We were almost on the verge of having something nice.” She stepped from Nathan's back to face Alicia. “Now get lost and do not disturb our good time. Make sure you clean up this mess too.”

“Come on baby, come make me moan, ignore this nonentity,” she said as she grabbed Nathan by his hand and they shut the door in Alicia’s face.

Alicia dropped her shoulders, her head lowering. She stared at the ground, hardly blinking, her hands hanging at her sides like all the strength had left her. Her weight shifted forward and back, like she couldn’t decide if she should walk away or just give in and sink right there.

One of the house help was still awake; she came forward to help Alicia clean up the floor.

“Thank you…” Alicia muttered.

Alicia headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water; she needed to cool herself. Before she drank from the glass, she stood by the dispenser trying to hold back her tears. When she turned, Andrea bumped into her and the glass fell from her hands, shattering on the floor.

“What is wrong with you?” Alicia asked through clenched teeth.

“I should be asking you that. Bitch! Oh she's crying ha ha! You are so pained that your man would be in between my legs tonight, moaning right?” Andrea threw her head back with a sharp laugh, her eyes narrowing as she spat out the words.

Alicia pressed her lips so tight they almost bled, her chest rising and falling fast, her hands curling into fists at her sides.

“Well if you must know, I came to serve some fruits for my man on a golden platter. We are going to be having some tonight. Let me get them.” Andrea snapped again, baring her teeth.

“The irony now. Wasn't it Nathan that said he wouldn't be having fruits because it was already night time a few minutes ago?” Alicia thought.

“Deal with that!” Andrea snapped, yanking fruits from the fridge one after the other. She tossed them carelessly onto the golden platter on the counter, smirking as she tried arranged them just the way Alicia had done earlier.

Alicia’s chest tightened, but she wasn’t going to let Andrea see how much it cut. Instead, she forced a bitter laugh, sharp enough to sting.

“Are you not ashamed of yourself, Andrea?” Her voice rose, steady but burning with fury. “You are sleeping with a married man, someone’s husband, right inside his matrimonial home. What does that make you?” She leaned closer, her eyes narrowing, lips curling with scorn. “If I must let you know, Andrea, it makes you a bloody sex toy!” Alicia threw the words like knives, watching for the reaction she knew would come.

Alicia's words hit their mark and Andrea abandoned what she was doing and charged at her. She pushed Alicia to the floor and grabbed her hair so tight that Alicia winced in pain.

“You evil bitch!” Andrea cursed.

Alicia tried freeing herself from Andrea but the grip on her hair was firm. She screamed and pushed at her.

“Let go of me, Andrea,” Alicia screamed as she held onto Andrea's hands.

“Not until I rip your hair off your head,” Andrea yelled, pulling at her hair with a firmer grip.

The pain in her head grew unbearable; Alicia knew she had to do something. She raised her leg and kicked Andrea hard in the stomach. 

Andrea crashed onto the floor, a sharp crack echoing as her legs scraped over the broken glass pieces. A thin line of blood rushed out, staining the tiles beneath her.

“Oh nooo!” Andrea screamed at the top of her lungs.

Her shout alerted Nathan, his mum Mrs. Anita, and some of the house helps who were around the house.

Andrea was still sprawled on the floor, blood running from the cut on her skin, when Mrs. Anita came rushing at Alicia. Without a word, her palm landed hard across Alicia’s face, the sound ringing sharp in the kitchen.

Nathan bent quickly and lifted Andrea from the floor. He brushed at her dress with rough hands and waved to one of the house helps to come and clean her wounds.

Then he turned. His face was dark, his chest rising fast. In one quick move he grabbed Alicia by the hair and pulled, dragging her across the floor tiles.

“Please, Nathan, you are hurting me badly!” she cried, holding his wrist as her body scraped against the floor. Her scalp burned, her nightwear dragging across the tiles, her hands clutching at his wrist, but his grip only tightened.

“If anything happens to Andrea, I will kill you with my bare hands,” he said through his teeth, then walked past her and carried Andrea out of the kitchen.

“You idiot, good- for- nothing girl. Be very careful when it comes to Andrea next time,” Mrs. Anita said, throwing the words in Alicia’s face before walking out after them.

Alicia gently stood up. Her heart squeezed, her cheek burning where the slap had landed. She looked at the closed door, her legs heavy.

The pieces of broken glass were scattered by her feet, the smell of fruit rising in the air. The two househelps there came forward to start cleaning up.

Her hands shook, her whole body felt weak.

Then her phone rang loud beside her bed, dragging her back from the bitter memory. She blinked hard, sat up, and reached for it. The name on the screen made her stomach twist.

It was Nathan calling.