Korku pushed Esi back fiercely, his face torn to shreds as raw pain blasted through him.
“You liar!” he whispered fiercely as he gazed at Esi with horror and pain. “Afia would never do a thing like that!”
“Oh, yes, she did!” Esi said spitefully. “Your precious Afia was cheating on you with Tony, yes! Why do you think she refused to forgive you after she saw us in the bath? She planned the rape thing with me to get rid of you so that it would pave the way for her to marry her darling Tony!”
“No!” Korku said pitifully and raised trembling fingers to his lips. “No, no, no! Afia would never do that, no!”
But I saw the doubts in the depths of his eyes, and it scared me, oh yes, it scared the hell out of me! Above all else, I wanted Korku to remember me as the principled, loving wife I was to him!
It shattered my very soul to see the bitterness on his face, the rage that was beginning to grip him, and I knew that the beginning of hatred for me had been planted in his heart by this witch.
I floated around his neck and wrapped my arms around him, trying in vain to make him feel my presence and to feel how sorry I was, and just how much I loved him.
“Kork, you know me!” I cried brokenly. “I wouldn’t do this to you, please! She is lying, my love. You’ve always remained my true and only love, and yes, I admit I was such a big fool to have fallen for the machinations of this evil bitch! I beg of you, Kork, my love, my precious love…remember me! I wouldn’t do such a thing to you!”
He walked to the bed on dead legs and sat down gravely, burying his face in his hands as he sighed with great misery.
Esi, seeing her ploy was working, approached him and dropped to her knees in front of him, and then put her hands on his exposed thighs.
“I’m so sorry, Korku, please forgive me for going along with her,” she cried painfully. “I tried to tell Afia to tell you the truth and leave you. I tried to prevent her from using that plot to ruin you, but she wouldn’t listen to me. She didn’t want to appear as the one that hurt you, no. She wanted to dump you for Tony, but she still wanted you to appear the guilty one! Afia was a horrible beast! You never really knew her!”
I screeched into her head and slashed furiously at her face, my frustration and pain spilling over, and in my rage, the lights dimmed rapidly finally, but Korku’s face was still covered by his hands, so he failed to notice.
Esi noticed, though, and she looked around with sudden trepidation.
And then my Korku began to weep pitifully as he finally accepted the evil lies Esi was spinning to him. His frame shook, and when he dropped his hands I saw to my horror that his face was wet with great tears.
It killed me again, I guess.
To see the man I love, the only man I had ever wanted, and so stupidly pushed away, hurt so much really cut into my soul. I could not blame him for believing Esi though, no, how could I?
If I had believed him capable of rape, why couldn’t he believe me capable of the most heinous crime of getting him to rape my best friend and using it as an excuse to dump him?
I slowly rose to the ceiling with great strife and misery as I watched his pain, and knew that this man would no longer have fond memories of me, but would hate me as long as he drew breath!
I watched, sick to my stomach, as Esi stood up and sat beside him on the bed, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly as he wept bitterly.
Very craftily, she used his grief against him, pushing him back slowly on to the bed. I felt the searing, unbearable pain as she began to weep too. She put her face against his cheek and wept, her right hand thrown across his chest and her right thigh draped across his thighs.
It was only natural that in the depths of the pain she had caused him, his soul needed release, and so I really did not have any blame for him when Esi lowered her lips on his. He tried to turn his lips away though, but she held his cheek and turned his face toward her as her tears fell on his face.
“I’ve felt so guilty for that act ever since, Korku, and I have not been able to accept any man’s proposal,” she whispered quaveringly. “I have hated myself, and I guess it is only natural that this feeling of remorse eventually turned to a great love for you. I want to heal your heart from the pain she gave you, Korku. Please, allow me to make you happy!”
Her lips found him again, and this time his right arm went around her!
And I died a third time!
I hovered on the ceiling and my pain was unbearable as she continued to kiss him, and my jealousy mounted and mounted to such an extent that I slammed down hard on the bed, slashing frantically across Esi’s back, only wanting to tear her back to shreds and maim her forever!
She was groaning and moaning as she got on top of him, wriggling seductively, and when I saw her hand darting underneath his robe and caressing the front of his boxers, knowing this traitor was going to have my lance, I bounced so fiercely into the ceiling that the ornamented bulb holder fixed on the ceiling shattered with a blast and rained glass on the floor in tingling cacophony!
Esi screamed with fear and bounced off Korku.
Luckily, the bulb itself did not shatter, only the holder.
The bulb shone brightly now, further illuminating the room. Korku stared at the glass fragments on the floor, and then he looked up at the ceiling, and for one brief horrible moment, it seemed as if he looked right through me, and saw my agony.
He got up slowly from the bed and smiled sadly down at Esi.
“Give me a little time to assimilate all this, please,” he said sadly. “This is really hurting me, and I need a little time alone to get it all in.”
She nodded, but her face was a little scared as she stared up at the ceiling and down at the glass fragments, obviously remembering the bowl of porridge I had shattered in her office.
She put her arms around Korku and hugged him tightly.
“Yes, my love, of course,” she whispered. “Take all the time you need. Let me help you through this pain, Korku, because this heart of mine really loves you.”
He nodded and then opened his lips to accept her soft kiss.
Esi used his cell phone to flash her own phone, and then she stored his number. She promised to see him the following evening, and he nodded in acceptance.
Her face was filled with victory as he accompanied her to the door and opened it for her. She smiled, closed her eyes and raised her face, and he granted her wish by kissing her gently on the lips.
When she walked out, he shut the door quickly and then used the back of his hand to wipe the traces of the kiss from his lips with obvious disgust, and I laughed and cried at the same time as it dawned on me that Korku was disgusted with her, and had played along just to make her leave his hotel room.
He walked to the bed, and I saw his tears of anguish flowing down his cheeks suddenly.
He reached under the pillow and picked up three photos of us.
I screamed in anguish when he suddenly tore the photos into pieces, walked up to the dust bin in the corner, pressed down on the foot knob to open the lid, and then he dropped the pieces of the photos into it.
“I hate you, Afia,” he groaned with deep agony. “How could you do this to me? I regret the day I set eyes on you, yes. I hate you so much! I’m going to begin living my life again, and this heart of mine will always remember you with hatred!”
No, no, no, no, Kork, my love! Why can’t you give me the benefit of the doubt? I know I treated you like hell, and never gave you a second chance, Kork! Please, I beg of you, don’t hate me…don’t hate me, Kork, I beg you, I beg you!
He turned away with disgust and picked his phone.
He made a call to a friend.
“Hey, Ben,” he said miserably. “I don’t think I will stay for the week as I promised, okay? Found out some really distressing things. I’ll try and locate my son and see him tomorrow. I’m leaving the hotel right now, but I’ll call you from my new hotel. After seeing my son, I’ll leave this Godforsaken hellhole tomorrow evening or the next day.”
As they continued to converse, my horror increased!
Korku was leaving town!
He would go back to wherever he had been hiding, and I would not see him again! This was my third hovering day, and after today I would have just two more days!
I waited with him, weeping silently in my futile agony as I watched him pack his things. He checked out of the guest lodge, and I knew he was trying to get rid of Esi. That gladdened my heart at least.
He had a sleek car in the parking lot, a beautiful, white Lexus four-runner, and it struck me that he had not been doing too badly. I sat in the back seat as he drove, and I draped my arms around him and pressed my face next to his.
Oh, how I wished I could assuage the pain of my prince!
I stayed with him until he checked into a new hotel, and stayed long enough to hear him calling Tony again and asking to see his son. Tony obviously told him Abram was with my parents, and Korku cut the call.
Now he would try and see my son at my parents’ home, probably this evening!
Suddenly, I needed a voice!
I wanted so much to tell him the truth, and stop him from hating me! Yes, I wanted my love to forgive me, and live with our son and retain his loving memories of me!
I needed a voice badly…
Yes, that boy at Esi’s store, the little boy with the bicycle wearing the same uniform as my son!
I needed to find him fast!
But first, there was something else I needed to be sure of. There was still some four hours left before my son closed from school. I had to find that boy, yes, after I had gotten answers to the nagging questions in my heart.
I glided across the skies fast toward the home I had shared with that snake Tony!
To be continued
