The Ballerina's Puzzle

Chapter 9: Draped in Silks, Swathed in diamonds ...

In all her life, Kenya never had anything of such magnitude, engulfing her, until she met Levi Ruthford. Her life had been one of absolute tranquility, bordering between her passion for dance and her passion to live her life to the fullest. But the emergence of this man, Levi Ruthford, her husband, just turned her life, upside down.

Before Levi left, he had asked her to speak to Tamar, their housekeeper, for anything she needed. He had said 'their,' with such conviction that had almost made her weaken her resolve. And she doubted she was going to need anything from Tamar or any of his staff, if she had a choice. She stayed a little and allowed tears roll down her eyes at all the events that had recently occurred.

First, she found out about Hank in the midst of all the buzz of her come out as the star dancer. Then she found out about Levi's role in her debut. And worse she found out that he was responsible for the death of Hank- well indirectly. Yet, his reasons were understood and that was what weighed on her conscience. Because, Hank had hurt her so gravelly, so much that she had lost bits of her memory as a result. Memories which had been precious to her, no matter how little.

Dissociative Amnesia, the doctors called it, when she finally came to. A situation where due to a grave trauma, bits of personal memories could be lost by a victim. Although the doctors assured her that the memories would be regained, slowly. Yet, it was painful struggling to gain back what was lost. No matter how little the memories were, they were still valuable memories. And Hank's actions that night had robbed her of them.

Somehow Levi's description of everything that had happened that night, jolted a particular feeling back to her. Like an instinct. A dread of Hank and how she used to feel in his presence, when he was alive. She couldn't put her hand to details at the moment, because of her memory setback. But since Levi narrated that tale to her, that foreboding feeling crept back in, making her shudder.

A fleeting picture suddenly crossed her mind and she found herself recalling how Hank used to argue with her about her decision to take things slow, whenever they made out. How he would try to force himself on her and she would fight, trying to uphold her virginity. She regretted how her mind couldn't currently recall that night he had tried gang raping her. But she was relieved that she could at least remember how dreadful he had been with her at some point. It gave her some clarity and a reason not to continue to mourn the man. Yet, she couldn't shake off Levi's awful methods. They were diabolical and she wasn't certain she wanted to be a part of such a world. And now she was married to the man, with little or no options. His legal captive, for a life time.

Choosing to stay on the beach a little longer to clear her head, Kenya allowed tears to flood her eyes, as she mentally assessed the life that had been set before her.

***

It was 7pm in the evening and Levi could feel the exhaustion of the past few hours weigh on his bones, as he stretched. He had been entrenched in a series of meetings since he left Kenya earlier and he hadn't had a moment's break since then. Except for the occasional coffee breaks that had been allowed in the virtual meeting. The meetings had mostly been election related, with only one of the meetings with the Chicago STA Constructions Architecture and Building department. Giving him a rundown of the reasons for the recent upsurge in the dissatisfied clients in the Chicago branch. The cause, a change in supply of building materials by one of the chosen vendors. An action which had cost Levi countless of profits in the last months. He finally decided that a lawsuit be served the said vendor for the negligence. At least it would teach his other suppliers that he was a reputable man in business and he valued efficiency.

As for the meeting with party members, they had wanted to discuss the recent allegations that had been thrown at him by Crompton. Allegations, which the party members suggested he addressed in a press conference. Crompton had recently accused Levi of being involved in conflicts that had torn one of the African countries for over three decades. However instead of taking offence at the allegations, Levi had been amused and that had amazed the other party members. Stretching further their admiration for him.