Mrs Lord

Nathan

Exactly like the day before, James is at the entrance near the elevators when we return to our apartment. Today he is wearing a famous white designer shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers. The Rolex watch on his wrist and his step screams confidence. His cologne reaches us before he does.

I flinch when he embraces my wife. The bastard winks at me while squeezing Amari in his arms.

“I am so sorry about your mom,” he says gently while anger and something I can’t quite describe, rise inside me. I tell myself that I have no right to be jealous when Amari was tricked into this marriage. My pride does not seem to have received that memo though. I clench my jaw and bite my tongue. Speaking out will make me seem like an insecure idiot.

I am taking deep breaths to calm the storm brewing inside me when Amari reacts.

“Let go of me. What is wrong with you?” Amari yells and pushes him away. She looks and sounds angry with her beautiful eyes blazing at him. The push must have been strong because the idiot stumbles backwards and holds on to the wall to stop himself from falling.

“Babe, I was just passing my condolences,” he explains, acting all hurt.

I want to kick his balls for addressing my wife like that, but I can’t. I bite my tongue once again.

“Babe? Have you lost your mind? I am Mrs Lord to you. Do you go around embracing married women?” Amari fires questions at him and just like that, my insecurities are gone. It’s now my turn to wink at the idiot.

I notice his nostrils flare before he lifts his arms to surrender. “I am sorry. Just calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. Stay the hell away from me!” Amari is now livid, but this guy does not seem to get it.

“Come on, Amari. We don’t have to be enemies. I fucked up and I want to make it up to you. I even spoke to my manager about you. I have a job offer for you.”

My heart sinks. This guy obviously wants Amari back. She desperately needs the job and he is using that to lure her. It’s the oldest and effective trick in the book. I should not care, considering I have only been married to her for a day, but I do. Too much actually.

“No, thank you.”

I am taken aback and thrilled by Amari’s response. I can’t hide the smile on my face when my eyes meet James’. I wink at him and he gives me a murderous look before focusing all his attention at Amari.

“You have not even heard what it’s about!” he cries right before the elevator doors open. Amari pushes my wheelchair forward and presses our apartment floor, clearly not interested in anything else he has to say.

“Amari!” the idiot calls.

“I don’t want to know,” she shouts back. This woman is something. I am glad when the doors close, keeping him away from us. He will be back, I can bet on that, but today I can celebrate that his stupid ego was deflated.

“You and him?” I ask my wife the moment we get into the apartment.

“Don’t ask.”

“Okay?” I enquire.

“He’s my ex and the most stupid decision I ever made.”

I study her expression for a moment. I don’t know her too well. She did not date anyone back at school, but this guy is not the type I would imagine her dating.

“You don’t look very compatible,” I point out and she lets out a laugh.

“You can say he was my Ella.”

I can’t help but laugh at the accuracy of her statement. Ella was the dumbest decision I’ve ever made.

“I returned from varsity a year ago and suddenly had every Tom, Dick and Harry, courting me. I did not read much into it. It’s not unusual to be in the spotlight here when you are new or have not been around. Anyway, James was the kind, down-to-earth and charming one.”

She shakes her head. “Believe it or not, we had so much in common, but it was all a lie.”

I don’t doubt her statement. That guy is nothing close to being kind or down-to-earth. There is obviously a story here. I look questioningly at her and she proceeds.

“It turns out that the guys around here had a bet on who would succeed in getting into my pants. Two hundred dollars was the price for the winner.”

“Bastards!”I exclaim, anger rising inside.

She flashes me a weak smile, takes a seat on the couch and continues.

“James partnered with my bestie to find out stuff about me. He used that information to make me believe that we had a lot in common. He was a perfect gentleman who happened to know just what I needed. I should have known.”

I can tell from her melancholic voice that she still beats herself up about that. I wheel myself next to her, hold her hand and caress it.

“People are good at disguising their true characters, Amari. You cannot blame yourself for that.”

“True, but there is always a slip up. I think I saw what I wanted to see and ignored the red flags. Anyway, he must have gotten impatient with me and ended up sleeping with my bestie,” she concludes with the same depressed tone.

“I am sorry. I will kick his ass.”

I mean every word. She has a way of raising the protective side of me I did not even know I had.

She laughs and shakes her head. “Please don’t. I would rather you stay away from him.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want him hurting you under pretence of self-defence,” she says firmly, prompting me to nod. She obviously knows this guy better than me.

“Why didn’t you take the job?”

I am thrilled that she turned him down, but I am curious about her reasons. I know that she is desperate for a job. The money in her savings will not pay for the electricity bill and groceries for next month.

“And be indebted to that egocentric, manipulative liar? Can you imagine what I will have to do to repay him?” she poses questions back at me.

“Still, some people would take that risk,” I suggest.

“I am not some people. I might be desperate for a job, but I will never sell my soul to the devil for it.”

Her statement tells me a lot about her character. I might have struck a diamond here. She excuses herself to go and prepare our lunch, giving me the opportunity to text Brian. I instruct him to settle the hospital bill and funeral expenses as soon as possible.

I am surprised when Amari returns with a tray with our lunch within ten minutes. My stomach is already rumbling by the time she places lasagna, green salad and a glass of water on the coffee table in front of me.

“When did you cook?” I ask, already digging in. We left very early this morning. She was awake and breakfast was ready when I woke up. I did not think she had already cooked lunch.

“At five this morning. Sorry, I have not checked what you like.”

I look at her, the same feeling I had yesterday consuming me. I brought nothing into this union, yet she treats me with so much respect.

“You are a very good cook. I will eat anything you make,” I say sincerely while she rolls her eyes at me.

“I am serious, Amari. I am afraid I will be overweight at this rate,” I add, and she blushes. She thinks I am flattering her, but she really is a good cook. The breakfast and her meals are all simple, healthy and delicious. They taste better than the food from some of the elite exclusive restaurants I have been to.

“Maybe I am showing you my good foot to sweep you off your feet,” she suggests.

“I doubt it. You don’t have any deceptive bone in your body.”

She raises her eyebrows, making me laugh.

“I might not have been close to you, but I know a lot about you, Amari. We attended the same school you and I,” I qualify my statement.

“You remember that?” She is genuinely surprised by my words.

“Here I thought you did not even know I existed,” she adds.

Her statement reminding me of how vain I was. She was Ella’s cousin, and my classmate, yet I barely spoke to her.

She must have noticed my expression because she gently holds my hand.

“It’s okay. We were all kids back then. You ignoring me actually saved me from my cousin’s wrath.”

“Really?” I question. I don’t see how me ignoring her saved her from anything.

“Don’t act like you did not know that Ella fought any girl who so much as ogled her hot Mr Perfect,”she says with a voice laced with amusement while I curl my lips.

“Oh? I had no idea that you thought I was hot and perfect, Mrs Lord,” I tease and her cheeks turn scarlet. Sweet!