Chapter 3

Violet's POV 

I'm staring at the used condom inside the toilet bowl and this only confirms my suspicions.

I want to pick it and throw it in James' face to show him my instincts don't lie, but I can't bring myself to pick it.

Tears sting my eyes but I let them fall freely, I cry not because James cheated but because of the sacrifices I make for him daily because I make sure to help him in every way I can, sometimes I even steal money from my Dad, he never knows cause he has enough but I do it for James, I do it for love, my first salary at my workplace I give it to him to support him because I felt he loved me back but this is just proof it's one-sided, this is just proof that I'm being used and I have been wasting my time on a man who has been feeding me deep lies.

I want to believe this is a dream but it's not and it hurts so much, I just feel like I've been scammed.

*Flashback*

“Ma, please be here to pick up James' laundry, he won't be coming home early today, he said I should help him pick them up,” I said, to the laundry lady standing over the counter.

“Yes, he called and said his fiancée would be coming, are you the person?” She said stylishly sizing me up, I don't take that into account because I am here strictly to get James clothes.

“Yes, I'm the one,” I nod.

She let out a mocking laugh, her indirect rudeness was annoying but I chose to keep quiet, “Please forgive my manners, you must be Violet?” she asked with a knowing look.

“Yes!” I say unable to hide the annoyance in my tone.

“Okay,” she crouches down and brings up a pile of neatly arranged clothes sealed in laundry nylons and puts them in a bigger bag and hands me the bag, “Here, sorry I didn't arrange it before you arrived, I was a little busy,” 

I take the bag from the countertop, “It's alright,” turning to leave but the lady stops me.

“Sorry, this underwear came with James's clothes, they must belong to you,” she said, shoving the red lace underwear my way and I know pretty much that that wasn't mine, I don't wear pants that can't cover at least half my butt cheek, if they can't I don't see a need to wear them, because it's more like wearing discomfort for me.

“I'm sorry, but that's not mine, maybe there was a mismatch or something,” I state.

“No miss, we don't make such mistakes here because some customers can be so loud over a little mismatch or even worse sue us, so we are very careful with our customer's clothes,” she explained, I didn't say anything because I'm quietly stunned by her confession.

“If this really doesn't belong to you, then it will belong to someone your man is seeing, it was in his pants pocket,” she said with a hint of mockery in her tone, I just turned and left the underwear with her.

*Flashback ends*

I hiss when the flashback ends and I think about how long I've been fooled.

I've been rigid in my position for the past two minutes, my eyes fixed on the used condom that's afloat in the cubicle.

I breathe out and walk out of the toilet, I don't bother to wipe away tears, my heart is clenching with pain.

As I come out of the room, James looks like has been spun over a hundred times in a turbulence, his nose and cheeks are red, and his hair looks like his fingers have passed it one million times.

He looks at me not knowing what to say, I guess he has used all his lying cards on me and he has run out of more lies to make up for what he is in his bathroom.

“You didn't come up with any lies this time?” I shrug weakly, fresh tears give me out even when I try to be strong and not break down, “You can't come up with lies to make up for this one now Huh? You can't come up with any lies to deceive me?” 

He puts his hands up defensively in front of him, “Look baby, I can explain, what you saw was a mistake,” as he was preparing to confuse me from my reality my eyes fell on another lace underwear he tried to hide under the bed obviously because of me but he didn't get any chance to hide it properly.

My blood started pumping hard, and I could even hear the sound in my ears. I stooped to get the black lace pants from the floor, but as I pulled it I saw another hand trying to pull it from under the bed.

“What!?..... James!... the lady is even under your bed?” He drops his shoulders in resignation, his cover is finally blown.

What a day! 

“Tell her to come out,” I ordered him, and he was shocked by my demand. He squinted in shock, looking at me agape like the will to talk had been taken from him.

Before I can get to repeat myself, a lady crawls out from under the bed, and lo and behold, she is no one else but Annabelle, My younger sister clad in just her bra, the rest of her body is revealing, she draws up the sheets to cover herself.

I watched the scene before my eyes in disbelief, taking steps back, my hand rushed to cover my mouth as my jaw slacked.

More tears stream down my face but nothing close to remorse or regret is on my sister's expression. Instead, she looks annoyed, my sister is just twenty years old. What is she doing with my fiancé?

“I told you she might still find out, but you insisted I hide, isn't this humiliating?” Her audacity despite hurting me appalled me.

“Look, baby, let's go outside this room I'll tell you everything you need to know please,” James begs but I can't bring myself to even believe a word he says, his words sound like needles forcing their way into my ear.

“You have been sleeping with my sister?” My tone was laced with utter disbelief, the pain in my voice was palpable.

“No, it's the first time,” he counters sharply but before it sinks in, my sister, no not my sister, his mistress counters his claim.

“Tell her the truth James,” she counters, folding her arms across her chest she's seething silently, her boldness is even more infuriating.

“So how long have you been sleeping with my fiancé?” I ask her, finally giving her my attention, “I thought we loved each other. Why are you being evil to me? So you've been sleeping with him all this while and lying to my face Annabelle?”

“He said you aren't good enough for him, he said you weren't giving him sex, he said you are some naive virgin that doesn't know dick about anything, he said you are his cashbank…….”

“Don't listen to her, she's lying she doesn't know what she's saying,” James cut her speech short.

“She has already caught you, why are you still lying to her? Tell her how much you don't like her the way you sing it in my ears,” her unwavering boldness totally caught me off guard, I'm shocked, confused, and even embarrassed, I don't know which emotion to feel.

“Look I met your sister….Do you know your sister is a stripper in a club close to her college that's how my affair with her started and I tried to stop but I couldn't, I'm sorry if I hurt you but I didn't mean for it, to happen like that,” 

“You couldn't stop because you didn't want to stop, you didn't care about me, you didn't think about my feelings for even once because if you did, you would worry about how I would feel if I found out that you're cheating on me, if you loved me you wouldn't let anything happen between you two in the first place, but you didn't care and maybe you never did, I'm angry at myself because I didn't find this out since, and the part that even hurts the most is that my sister isn't even scared of me finding out that she's sleeping with the man I'm in a relationship with, I came here to surprise you for your birthday since I got fired from work but instead I got surprised, now I regret every penny I've spent to make you happy, to make sure you're not lacking any necessity, you even told my sister that I'm your cash bank?” My voice was cracking with emotion, tears flooded my face like never before.

I couldn't bring myself to say any other thing to James because this facade James was putting on would fade the moment I crossed his door.

I just walked over to my sister and looked at her, her defiance was unyielding.

“I wish you all the good things in life, but you'll never find true love,” that may be the least of the things she wants but I don't care either.

I just found out that two people I thought loved me were deceiving me, my sister's betrayal hurt me deeply because I would do anything for her, I don't even want to go to the stripper part I feel too heartbroken to advise her, I treat her like my child, everyone in my family does she's the youngest amongst the both of us, our mother trained us to love each other, but she has grown up to be evil but it's alright.

I picked up my bag and leave the house.

I was oblivious to any sound around me as I walked on the road, I just felt like my whole life had been crushed with one hand.

As I crossed the road, I didn't see this car coming until it hit me, my knees gave out and I fell. The last thing I see is people standing above me saying things I can't hear before my eyes finally close.