Chasing the Fantasy ||Completed

Chapter 20: Cloud covered Sunshine

Nancy was at home folding clothes into a laundry basket, when her mother called her.

"Have you seen what's happening. It is your husband, he is on the news.", she said with alarm ringing in her voice.

"What do you mean my husband is on the news"
"Channel 7, right now"

She grabbed the remote, switched on the tv, selected chanel 7 and there was horror glazing right before her eyes- her eyeballs were bursting out of her head in shock. On the screen were pictures of her husband in bed with another woman.
The headline read: Pastor Joe of New Redemption Church found in hotel with Mistress.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. It must be a nightmare.

"Joe? Joe? Not my Joe" she placed her hand over her mouth.
More pictures continued to flash on the screen. A sudden waterfall of dreadful emotions gushed through her. She felt she'd been punched in the stomach, she couldn't breath, her heart ached as if it were being ripped out of the confines of her chest, she felt like falling and dying all at once, her world was crumblimg down.

Apparently, Kennedy had planted cameras at every inch of the hotel and had monitored the whole thing all along. The next day he realised images Joe and Juliet in various compromising positions to the 102 different news outlet. It was on TV, radio, all social media platforms- facebook, tumblr, instagram, and had even been printed all over the country. In addition, the blogs were running with it.

She scarmpled for her cellphone, logged in to Facebook and instagram only to see those soul wrenching pictures plastered all over.

She felt so foolish to have ever trusted Joe, her mind went back to the 'photoshopped' photos and Stacy's confession which she was still finding it hard to fanthom. She felt stupid for ever believing him. She began questioning everything she knew about Joe- all along she thought Joe could never deliberately hurt her like this. She felt violated, does she forgive and forget or even dare to trust. Her trust was her fantasy. All along she had been Chasing the fantasy. Will she ever learn to separate her fantasy from reality?

She finally manage to steer away from the TV screen and found herself staring at their wedding photos hanging gon the wall. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

**

Joe went about his day totally oblivious of what was happening- without any idea as to how his reputation was being dragged in the mud; without any idea as to how his good image was being eclipsed by a scandal like a cloud covering sunshine, until he came home to meet a very angry wife. She was tapping her feet, rummaging through hair as if she were going crazy.

"Hey, Nancy what is wrong" he said as he bent down to look at his wife.

"You tell me. How could you? How could you?!", she retorted.
"Please what is the matter?" Said Joe in surprise.

She held her phone up to his face revealing pictures of him and Juliet.
He was speechless. It was like he was toppling over backwards into an abyss.

"Honey, it is not what it looks like", said Joe in total shock as he wondered how the pictures came to be.
"It looks exactly how it looks like", she snapped, took a couple deep breaths trying to cool her rising temper

"Just let me explain. Nancy, please!", he cried and tears could be seen forming at the corners of his eye.
"I can't even look at you right now", said Nancy turning her head in the opposite direction.

"I made a mistake. I swear nothing happened.", he said still pleading.
"How could you disrespect and embarrass me like this", she said, this time punching the air.

"I'm sorry. I am disgusted with myself and with what I did.", he cried. "I'm sorry, I swear nothing happened"
He fell on his knees, then held her legs, doing what looked like wailing.

"Believe me, please, believe me", he cried again.

She walked out.

The next thing he heard was her slamming the door and weeping uncontrollably. Joe felt like the worst person on the planet, broken and weak. His heart ached knowing that he caused Nancy so much hurt and agony.

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