His Wife

Chapter 16

I stretch and open my eyes and sighed with contentment. I roll over to nestle against the warm hard body of Daniel but instead, I was met with the twisted sheet and an empty space where he should have been.

I quickly sat up in bed and stare around me. My eyes scanned the room then came to rest on the empty spot where we had hastily shed our clothes, his was gone and mine was now folded neatly and placed on the vanity stool by my dressing table.

I felt all the emotions of the night I sat alone in our room at the villa assail me. I curse myself for being so darn wanton. As I got up from the bed I felt a myriad of painful feelings submerging into my broken heart.

" God mi stupid!" I chided myself as unshed tears burn my eyes and I fight hard to keep them at bay.

As I walk into the shower stall and let the cold water from the shower wash away the scent of our lovemaking, I was just as lost as when I had woken up at the Villa the morning after our beautiful reception.

After dozing off after sitting up waiting for Daniel to return my miss call or replying to my message I had jumped up from my doze to see that an hour had passed and still no reply. I felt angry at this and deleted my message and cried myself to sleep.

I ended waking up late. When I was almost through getting myself ready to leave the Villa a voice note came from him explaining his reason for his departure.

He would have to fly out to New Jersey on a business trip. A medical institute there was interested in a project his company has recently launched. I was instructed that his driver would deliver a car for my disposal that would transport me home after I checked out and he would keep in touch.

I had no intention of staying at the Villa by myself so I checked out leaving instructions for the driver to take the car to my address which I had left at the receptionist.

The minute the voice note ended I was tempted to accuse him of running away. I could not get over how convenient it all played out. I tried not to dwell on the fact that he had ignored my call and message but I simply replied.

"Ok"

But it was not ok. I had wanted him there with me. I wanted to tell him in person he was not the reason for my tears and I wanted for us to make this work, I wanted us to be a true family and man and wife in every sense of the word. I wanted him to know I love him. I wanted to tell him we didn't have to give up.

First, it was a folded note in an envelope attached to my freshly laundered clothes, then a voice note at the Villa. I dread to know what next.

I was so in love that I had failed to realize the pattern that fueled the basis of our so-called relationship and farce of a marriage, but now it was clear, each time we got close he found a way to distant himself and leave me broken. There was nothing he could say to me right now that could ease my shame.

I scrub my body wanting to drive the feeling that will forever linger on my skin if only I could scrub away the ones that tattooed themselves within the very core of me. I had no time for these feelings. I could not give in to the raw emotions that were raging within me. I knew he cared, might even deep down in his heart love me too, so why was he making it so hard?

I towel myself dry after I had finished showering and calling myself all types of fool I return naked into the room and look at the small bedside clock on the bedside table to see how far ahead the time was.

There I saw a folded piece of paper with a white rose nestled on it. I found myself reaching for it in anticipation. He had left a note. I knew earlier that I was adverse against receiving another message but I reach for it and unfold the paper. It was a leaf from my notepad. On it in bold clear writing was the words.