WHEN A WOMAN CHEATS
When A Woman Cheats - Episode 7
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"I hope you and that guy at work have nothing going on."
I almost dropped the peeler I held in my hands as Dawson's
words hit my ears. I abruptly turned round to look at him. I was
standing near the kitchen sink peeling potatoes for sunday
Lunch and he had come to get a drink of water and had
settled on one of the kitchen stools.
"What makes you say so?" I asked in what I hoped was my
normal voice.
I couldn't afford to get busted. Not now especially when things
between Oscar and I were so good. We had continued our
affair despite my having tried to put an end to it a couple of
times.
"The glow in your eyes and you seem happier these days...I
have noticed and Caleb has noticed too. In fact he thinks you
are cheating. He is certain you are cheating and trust me
when he finds out you won't like what he will do to you and
your lover."
I swallowed hard. I knew Caleb was ruthless but then again
what was Dawson trying to gain by all this. So far he had been
good to me but he was Caleb's friend and how certain was I
that he wasn't sent here to see my reaction. His gaze on me
was so intense and I realised that he was trying to read me. I
casually shrugged and turned back to my work.
"I wouldn't dare put any one in any form of danger. I know
who my husband is and what he is capable of,"I said picking
up the peeler.
"I hope so for your sake,"Dawson said before getting off the
stool amd then walking towards me.
Without warning he titled my face to look at him.
"I care about you Kasamba. No one deserves to be treates the
way you are but we all know that Caleb will never let you go.
He has made that extremely clear. The only way you will be
free of him is in death or he dies."
llowed. I wanted to say to him that he had promised to
protect me from the monster my husband was but it now
sounded as though he had decided he was better off being a
spectator.
"Caleb has become extremely powerful with his new
connections. He is capable of anything and I fear for you so if
there is anything going on put an end to it. He wants to have
someone follow you around."
I stared at him blankly as fear gripped my heart. I knew there
was a warning there. He dropped his hand when he heard
Caleb call out to him and immediately created space between
us. Caleb appeared at the doorway within a minute. He looked
at Dawson who was standing by the fridge now.
"You forgot about us? You want to be a woman now?"Caleb
said in his booming voice.
Dawsin laughed. "I was complimenting your wife on her
excellent culinary skills and trying to entice her to teach
Thandi one or two things. I mean if am going to spend my life
with a woman then she needs to be a master in the kitchen
and mine isn't."
Caleb laughed. "But she is a beast in other areas," he said
with a wink.
Dawson laughed as he raised his hands in surrender. "I give up
on you mate." He then turned to me. "Please take our
discussion into consideration and give me feedback soon."
I nodded and then continued peeling the potatoes. I heard
footsteps retreating and thought both had gone till I felt arms
around me. I stiffened.
"Relax,it is me. Why are you so nervous?"
I swallowed. I could feel the dangerous glint in his voice. I
hoped my heart beat wouldn't betray me.
"I don't care what you and Dawson were discussing but I will
not have you being alone with a man in a room whether he is
my friend or not. You are mine and only I have the right to be
alone with you!" He hissed into my ear.
I nodded knowing any utterance from me would earn me a
backhand.
"Good girl," he said then kissed my neck before pulling his
hands away.
I only let out a breath when he was out of the room. I leaned
over the sink amd allowed the tears to fall. I knew without a
doubt that my life was at stake. Dawson had warned me and
now Caleb. I had to act.
OSCAR
I felt like I was walking on sunshine. Loving Kasamba was so
easy. She was different from all the women I had ever been
with. I had never imagined myself falling for a married woman
but here I was head over heels. She brought sanity in my life
and the few stolen moments that we normally shared were the
highlights of my days. It wasn't just sex but it was more.
"You don't need sex to be intimate," I found myself telling my
cousin over drinks. "There is nothing sexier than a woman with
a brain but who is down to
and very warm."
I said all this with Kasamba in mind. She had shown me that
she was more than just a pretty face. She could cook and she
was well organised. The one time we went to Livingstone for
work we booked a room at Fallsway apartments and she
showed off her cooking skills. Afterwards we lay on the couch
cuddling and drinking wine. We never made love but that in
itself was more intimate than I could fathom. She let ne into
her brilliant mind. She shared her hopes and dreams with me
and I was more than sure she was the one meant for me. She
had just married the wrong guy. The beep on my phone
brought me back to reality. It was Kasamba. I hadn't seen her
all morning. She had been in a series of inteviews for a new
Revenue accountant.
"We need to talk."
The message was blunt and straight to the point. I was
Puzzled. There was always warmth and a teasing tone in her
message.
"Come to my office at lunch." I knew my secretary would be
working half day as she had asked for that.
Lunch took forever but at exactly half past one I heard the
click of heels down the passage. I smiled as I jumped up. I
knew it was my woman. I was at the door before she even
walked in and immediately she came in I locked the door and
pulled her into my arms for a kiss.
She didn't respond as I
kissed her. I felt a stab of disappointment and I let her be
when she pulled away. She walked quickly towards the
window,obviously trying to create some distance between us.
She stared out the window for a while before she turned to
look at me. I was still standing at the door. She was in a black
long sleeved wrap dress and she wore heavy make up.
"We need to end this," she said quietly.
I shook my head in disbelief. I thought she was jsut kidding.
"Oscar! We need to end this for our own good," she said in a
pained voice.
"No!"I heard myself say as I took quick strides towards her.
"Tell me this is a joke,"I said grabbing her arms and shaking
her.
She cried out in pain. "You are hurting me!"
I released my hold on her then turned away;ashamed of my
reaction. But then I stopped. I hadn't been too rough. Without
much of a thought I turned back to her and grabbed her arm
as her eyes popped out. She wasn't sure that I would roll up
her sleeve but I did just that. I dropped her hand as though
scorched as I saw the bruises on her arm.
I looked at her and she looked away in shame.
"What happened?"
"I fell."
I laughed bitterly. This was a sick joke. I should have seen the
signs. How could I not have seen the signs? The sadness in
her eyes. The way she curled into a ball when something
frughtened her. Her fear whenever the husband called.
"How long?"
She looked at me wondering what I meant.
"How long has he been hurting you?"
Understanding dawned in her face. "Long enough," she said
pulling down her sleeve.
"Take him to the cops. He deserves to be locked up."
She laughed bitterly. "I am just another statistic. No one will
do anything to him. He is a powerful man with powerful
connections."
I looked at her not liking the way the words rolled off her
tongue. Gone was the calm and warm Kasamba. Before me
stood a woman who harboured bitterness.
"We need to end this...today," she said looking at me deep in
my eyes.
I shook my head. "I am not ready to give you up."
She smiled sadly. "Then be
Ready to end up in a body bag,"
she said before turning to walk to the door.
I watched as she paused at the door. "I was beaten last night
because he knows I am cheating. He just doesn't know with
who. He told me in no uncertain terms that if he finds the guy
no one will be able to stop him from killing him."
I hurried to her. "Those are empty threats. Let us just run
away."
She shook her head. "He has changed. From the time he
joined government he has changed. He is more ruthless and
the look in his eyes told me that he is really serious," she said
in barely a whisper.
I touched her gently. "Please run away with me."
She shook her head. "I love you too much to put you at risk.
He will find us and when he does I will be tortured and you
killed. Caleb is not one to mess with. I am sorry I put you in
this situation. I am sorry that I will never be able to feel you
close to me ever again or enjoy your love."
I reached out to touch her but she pulled away. I watched her
unlock the door and I stood by helplessly as she exited my
office.
KASAMBA
I had heeded Caleb's warning. That night he had beaten me
like never before. Dawson had been the one to pick me up
from the cold floor. I had watched as he filled the tub with
warm water and then helped me take off my bloody clothes. I
felt no shame or embarrassment as he helped me into the tub.
I yelped a bit as the water touched my wounds. He let me
slide into the watee while he went out. He returned later with
dettol antiseptic liquid, a clean white cloth and a bucket that
had ice blocks.
"Where is he?" I asked as he dubbed the cloth with dettol and
started cleaning the cut on my forehead.
"He has gone out. I saw him drive out. He has no idea I am
home," he said.
I grunted a bit as the sting of the dettol hit my body. I had no
idea how long I was on the floor. I had no idea why I was
beaten black and blue when my only sin was to serve his
friends and him snacks as they watched soccer. He had asked
me to do that but now I had been beaten because his friends
had conplimented the sticky chicken wings and my beauty.
"I heard him on the phone. He won't be back tonight,"Dawson
said again as he dubbed the cloth again.
I nodded as tears spilled. I felt like the world had failed me. I
was ready to die. In.fact I had wished for death as blow upon
blow landed on me. I had stopped caring at this point. I looked
at Dawson and wondered why he was helping me. I watched
him as he worked and I told myself to ignore the pain. After he
was done he got the ice and place it on my swollen face.
"Hold that. I will be right back," he said.
I nodded and watched him walk away. Life was indeed unfair.
Here was Dawson a very good man and I was stuck with a
monster. I couldn't help but wonder what crime I had
committed in my past for me to be treated this way. Was I
cursed? I was a good person so why was I made to suffer at
Caleb's hand.
Dawson returned a few minutes later with a cup of chamomile
tear.
"This will help you relax."
I got the cup and smiled thankfully. He nodded then gathered
the items he had used for cleaning. He then left the room and
I sat back in the tub as I drank the tea. That was all I
remembered. I woke up the next day to find myself wearing a
tshirt and I was in my bed. I looked around and I even
touched myself but all seemed fine. I got off the bed and went
to pee before brushing my teeth and washing my face. I
avoided the mirror as I had no desire to see how much
damage Caleb had done. I then grabbed a chitenge and wore
it before heading to the kitchen. There was no way I was going
to go for work in my condition I thought as I limped to the
kitchen.
Dawson was at the table having tea and toast. The maid was
clearing up what I had failed to do.
"Morning," Dawson said.
I smiled suddenly feeling shy about my nakedness. I hadn't
even considered thatas he helped me last night. I guessed he
had been the one to dress me and tucked me into bed. The
maid must have guessed we needed to talk so she discreetly
left.
"You laced my drink."
"You needed to sleep. It was the best way to get you into deep
slumber."
"Thank you."
He smiled. "That is what friends are for."
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To Be Continued
NEXT EPISODE
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