LOGINMADEA “Cassandra, you just got here. Go inside and settle down. We will talk when I get back.” Jason’s tone was calm, detached, as if the tension in the room barely registered with him. A small, involuntary smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it. For a fleeting moment, I let myself believe he might actually be taking this seriously. “Really, Jason?” Cassandra’s voice cut sharply through the quiet, her expression hardening with disbelief and anger. “Are you choosing her over me?” Jason paused, just for a heartbeat, but his expression remained unreadable, steady, a wall of calm in the storm of her fury. “I am not choosing anybody,” he said, his voice clipped, precise, controlled. “I was already heading out when you arrived. You can join us if you want.” Cassandra’s lips trembled slightly as she tried to mask her rising anger. “I cannot believe this,” she whispered, though her voice carried a bite that betrayed her. I stayed silent, my fingers curling slightly at my sides
MADEA I stood in the sitting room, waiting for Jason to grab his keys, my hands loosely clasped in front of me as a quiet tension settled into the space between us. The silence felt unnatural—too heavy, too stretched—as though something unspoken was slowly suffocating the room. My phone buzzed, the sudden sound slicing through my thoughts. A message from my mum. You have been ignoring my calls, Madea… come home. Do not stay anymore with that loser. A slow breath slipped past my lips, but it did nothing to ease the tightness forming in my chest. The weight of everything I had been avoiding pressed down on me all at once. This text was talking about me leaving Jason. I hadn’t meant to ignore her. The past few days had been overwhelming in ways I couldn’t even begin to explain. Every time my phone rang, I simply didn’t have the strength to face another voice—another round of questions I couldn’t answer. Or worse… explanations I wasn’t ready to give. Seeing the message c
MADEA I stood frozen, unsure how to react. My stomach twisted, my chest tight, and my fingers stiff at my sides. What did you expect, Madea? The thought echoed bitterly in my mind. I let out a hollow laugh—sharp, dry, tasting faintly of regret. It trembled in my throat, betraying the anger and hurt I was trying to contain. Did you really think “let’s do this sixty days” meant commitment to you? That still, cold voice whispered. For a fleeting moment, I had actually believed Jason’s words, believed him when he said he had a thing for comedy. My heart ached at my own gullibility. I swallowed hard, feeling the tight knot in my chest deepen. The truth settled heavily: Jason only cared about his inheritance—not love. Every word he spoke had a purpose, and I had been foolish enough to think I was the exception. Shame and anger mingled in my veins. My gaze drifted to Monalisa. She was smiling, mischievous, like she owned the room. A shiver ran down my spine. I felt a prickling ir
MONALISA Jason returned after a while, and the moment I saw him, something inside my chest tightened, sharp and unyielding, like ice had wrapped itself around my ribs. He had been gone just to get towels—but had he really gone? Or had something… someone else held his attention longer than necessary? My thoughts began to spiral into places I couldn’t control. I pressed my fingers lightly to my face, tracing the marks I’d created, forcing a subtle wince. Madea hadn’t touched me—but the illusion had to be perfect. He had to see me as the one who had been hurt. When I planned it, I didn't expect it to go as perfectly as it did. “Are you okay?” His voice cut through the chaos in my head. He stepped closer, eyes wide with concern, one hand hovering uncertainly over mine before resting lightly on my arm. Even now, there was care there, tentative and restrained. “I’m fine,” I said, forcing a small, trembling smile. My chest ached, and my fingers lingered on my cheek a second longer than
MADEA Not long after Jason returned with the ice, he didn’t even glance at me. His eyes were fixed on Monalisa, soft and tender in a way they had never been for me. My chest tightened, sharp and cold, and my throat felt raw, as if I’d swallowed broken glass. “I’m sorry, babe,” he murmured, leaning closer. “I hate that you’re going through all this right now. Here—let me get some ice for your face.” I froze, fingers digging into the strap of my bag until it bit into my skin. Four years. Ten months. And Aiden… Aiden had never looked at me like that. Never. My stomach churned violently. My lungs burned. A wave of nausea twisted my insides. Monalisa tilted her face for the ice. For a heartbeat, her eyes flicked to mine—smug, triumphant, victorious. That look… that infernal, confident, I-own-everything-you’ve-ever-wanted look. Pain stabbed through me, sharp and relentless. My hands trembled. My throat constricted. I wanted to scream, to claw at the world, to tear it down piece
MADEA Was I hallucinating, or had I finally lost my mind? No. This was real. Every word, every movement, every mark on her skin was real, and it left me standing frozen, trapped between my certainty and the evidence that screamed otherwise. “Jason… she hurt me,” Monalisa’s voice quivered, fragile and precise, each word carefully pitched to wound. “This low-life of a wife hurt me, just for trying to talk to her.” Her lips moved, but my ears struggled to catch her words over the rapid hammering of my heart. She angled her face toward him, exposing the bruises in a way that made denial impossible. The marks were dark and layered, shades of purple and red blooming across her skin like deliberate brush strokes. I had not touched her. Not ever. And yet the bruises told a story that was too vivid, too intentional, too convincing, even I almost believed it. The evidence was undeniable and meticulously placed. My chest tightened. Nausea rose sharply, and I swallowed hard, forcing







