Chapter 06

Rhoda got dressed and walked out of her husband's house. He had gone to work and since she had no work to do, she spent most of her time with her boyfriend who had no idea about her sudden marriage yet.

Nas, her boyfriend, also arrived in the country a few days after her marriage. Rhoda knew she should keep no secret from him, but not something like marriage. She  knew him well enough. He was quick to make decisions. He was very quick to jump to conclusions. She could lose him and that was the least thing she wanted.

She pressed the ignition button on her car and drove out of the compound, making her way onto the road. She could not stop grinning from ear to ear and humming throughout the drive to Nas' house.

She slighted from her car and walked into the house. She must confess that she loved the house even though it was nowhere near her husband's. Jeff was a billionaire, but her boyfriend wasn't and that was perfectly fine. 

She still finds it hard to believe that he was the owner of the house. He had made it a surprise and had not talked to her about it until the first time she was here. And he had revealed his intention of them moving in after their marriage. 

Not that he was going to marry her soon, though. He was studying to become a chartered accountant. According to him, he wanted to become more established before getting married. Nas was goal-driven and that was a good thing for her. Perhaps, she would have found a way to get herself out of the mess of a marriage she had gotten herself into. 

Rhoda saw him in the living room and her smile broadened. She rushed over and hugged him. "Hey, baby!" She said, "I missed you."

Rhoda pouted her lips. "So, you don't believe me?"

Nas chuckled. "I do, ma'am," he said and held her hands, placing gentle kisses on the back of her hands. 

Rhoda suddenly started feeling guilty about everything. Maybe she should tell him about the marriage. He might understand. No. He would understand because he loved her. And who knows? He might be able to come up with the perfect solution to get out of the marriage.

She sighed. She should gather every ounce of courage she had.

Nas leaned over and kissed her on the lips a few times before standing up with a smile. "I should get you a drink."

Rhoda sighed again. Maybe she should tell him later. 

"Rho?" Nas called.

She glanced up. "Huh?"

He sat back down. "What's wrong? You keep sighing."

Rhoda felt more guilty. He was too kind to be hurt. She suppressed another sigh. She was about to tell him nothing was wrong, but he cut in before she could utter a word.

"Rho," he knew she loved being called Rho. "Don't tell me nothing is wrong. You know I won't buy that."

She nodded. She should just spill the beans. "Okay. Do you trust me?"

Nas smiled. "You know I do."

"Okay. You also know I love you, right?" She asked, fighting the urge to cry.

Nas smiled and held her hands. "I know. We've been together for four years. How could I not know that? Just tell me what the problem is, babe."

"I… uhm… I feel so terrible right now, babe. But I do not want to lose you. I really don't want to," she cried.

Nas drew her closer to him and gave her a hug. "You won't lose me, baby. I promise."

That calmed her down a little. Nas was always a man of his word. She just hoped that would be the case at the moment. She pulled back and looked at him. He wiped her tears with his thumbs.

"My parents got me married the day I arrived in the country," she confessed and stared keenly at him to see his reaction. 

His face went blank. His fingers froze on her cheeks before dropping. "What?" He asked, but she said nothing. "What do you mean? I mean, uh… I don't understand you. I must have heard you wrong," he said and smiled briefly.

Rhoda started crying. "You did. I… am... married,"she sobbed and explained everything to him, without leaving out a single detail.

It took him a while before he opened his mouth and recovered from the shock. But what he said shocked her more.

"Let's break up, Rhoda."

Rhoda was shocked. He only called her by her full name when he was talking about something serious. But how could he be serious about breaking up? Maybe she heard wrong. "Wh.. what?" Her voice came out as a broken whisper. 

He stood up. That meant the end of their discussion, but Rhoda wasn't done. 

"No!" She sprang to her feet and went to stand before him. "Please. You can't do this to me."

"Really? Well, I clearly did not expect you to get married to someone else and lied that it was arranged, either."

"No, babe. It's not a lie. Please, don't break up with me, I beg you." She got on her knees and pleaded. "Nas, I love you, please. You promised that I won't lose you."

"I never thought it would be a drama."

She looked up at him from the ground. "Dr..drama?"

"Yeah. It's obvious you've been cheating on me and that's why you didn't tell me about it. I just don't understand why you would make up a story like that, you cheat!" He screamed.

"Nas, no! Listen to me, I…"

"You know I should have never trusted you in the first place. What commitment was I expecting from someone who was deprived of parental love? I am so disappointed in you, babe. And I hate you so much for this. You're just a whore!" With that, he dragged his leg from her grip and walked out on her, but not before saying, "See yourself out and never come back."