Dear Laura 2

Chapter 13

Abdul woke up earlier and told me that he had a meeting in Johannesburg. He also told me that he found a tenant for me and would give him the lease to sign. I asked him to ask Emma for her number and he agreed.

I on the other hand had not started at my new job but Abdul sent me forty thousand bucks to thank me for agreeing to live in Cape Town. He said that he was giving me a taste of what my month ends would look like. I loved having that amount of money in my account.

Since Abdul was not around, I saw that as an opportunity to visit a gynae at the nearest hospital. I was almost twelve weeks pregnant. According to Dr Marylyn, my baby was healthy. I even took the scans home. I hoped that Abdul would not see them until I was ready to show him. Dr Marylyn said that at my next appointment, which would be in four weeks, she would be able to tell me the gender of the baby.

I was too excited. I was already thinking of names. If it was a girl, I would name her Amira or Anaya, and if it was a boy, I would name him Abdul Junior or Cairo. Yes, I spent some time on the internet finding names that resonated with Abdul's culture. Which is where I learnt that Amira meant princess, Anaya meant protection and Cairo meant victor. I also learnt that Abdul meant God's servant. The irony huh.

Abdul sent me a message with details of my tenant and said that we'd celebrate when he got back. The rent would be six thousand two hundred and fifty. Apparently, the man was a big negotiator.

As I was waiting for him at home, I felt my baby kick for the first time. I was so glad Abdul was not around because I did not want to hide the immense joy I felt when that baby kicked.

"Hey baby. It's your mommy. Kick for me again. As though it heard, it kicked again. Tears of joy prickled my eyelids. I did not think it would make my heart so full just to feel him or her move. It made me feel whole.

"Mommy loves you so much my baby. I cannot wait to meet you." I rubbed my tummy in joy. I was already imagining him or her in my arms. I had no idea how I was going to navigate being a mom while I was so far from mine, but I looked forward to it. I felt hopeful and excited. A huge part of me wanted it to be a girl. My Amira. My Anaya.

An hour later, Abdul walked in through the door. He gave me a peck on the lips then fell onto the couch.

"Long day?"

"You have no idea." He sighed heavily.

"Did you manage to get Emma's number?"

"Oh shoot! I knew I was forgetting something. I'm sorry baby." He looked at me apologetically.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. Do you want something to eat?" I asked as I got up from the couch.

"Yes please."

"What would you like to have?"

"You." He pulled me towards him so that I would straddle his lap. He bit his bottom lip before pulling me further into his lap.

"I'm not on the menu." I chuckled.

"Well, why not? You taste better than anything I could possibly have in this house." He placed kisses on my nek and above my breasts. He seduced me with his tongue and sucked the skin on my neck.

"Come on Abdul, Im being serious. What should I make?"

"I'm being serious too. Take off those pants before I rip them off of you." He spoke into my mouth then hardened his grip on my waist. I broke our kiss and tried to push him off.

"Abdul, stop!" It first came out as a tired whisper. And because it was more of a whisper, I figured he did not hear me because he did not stop. He continued to kiss me everywhere. When he attempted to take the pants off himself, I pushed him off again and tried to stand up.

"Abdul, let go!" My voice was higher and stronger that time, so he did stop.

"What the, you're being serious?"

"Yes." It came out with a big sigh. I felt defeated after trying to fight Abdul off.

"Screw you!" He pushed me off him and my back hit the glass table as I fell to the ground. He then stood up and left the apartment.

"Ouch!" I could not believe him. But then he was good at hurting me so what did I really expect from him? I was surprised my child was healthy given all the stress that Abdul was drowning me in. And where the heck was he going?

I could not help but think that he would find a woman to satisfy him because I couldn't. The thought scared me, so I attempted to call him multiple times to tell him I had changed my mind. He was not picking up. In fact, at some point his cell started going straight to voicemail.

My back still hurt so I decided to take a bath and soak my body for a few minutes. I checked on the mirror and my back was badly bruised. The green-ish mark was throbbing and I still could not believe that he did that to me. He had shown me who he really was and I was failing to comprehend it.