Highest Disrespect

Crystal's POV

'How more useless can you be, Crystal?' Eric asked me quietly as he put down the teacup in his hands. He made sure to drop it carefully so that he didn't spill tea on his hand.

I knew that when he spoke to me like that, it meant that he was upset with me. I had made the tea just the way he liked, but somehow, that morning, he didn't like it or maybe he was just in a mood to make me feel bad. He did that whenever he felt like hurting my feelings.

In the past two years, I have come to know that I must not say anything to him when he is angry. Even saying sorry would trigger him. He had slapped me often for saying sorry to him.

'First my suit, now my tea all in one morning? Are you trying to provoke me into killing you?' Eric asked but I said nothing.

I kept reciting one to one thousand in my mind just to keep my mind occupied and let him rant all he wanted.

When he was satisfied with his abuses, he took his briefcase and left in anger. I sighed in relief to see him go. The first time Karen had seen Eric talk to me that way after she came to work for us, she had been so shocked that she had walked around the house all day looking gloomy. Karen started working for us a year ago. Our former housekeeper was an elderly woman who retired to take care of her grandkids.

Eric was my worst nightmare and I had no other option than to endure. Endure every shit he throws my way for the sake of my grandmother.

I went upstairs after I was sure he had driven away. I had my bath and came back downstairs to eat.

I was almost through with my food when the doorbell chimed. Karen went to get the door.

'How may I help you?' I heard Karen ask whoever it was.

'You must be the housekeeper. I am Eric's girlfriend,' a female voice answered

'Girlfriend?' Karen asked in shock.

'Yes.' Are you surprised? He invited me over for the week,' the female voice asked.

I left my food and walked briskly into the sitting room. The first thing that caught my sight was the big travel bag the lady was holding.

'Who are you?' I asked as I came face-to-face with the lady.

'And you must be the wife Eric doesn't want,' the lady said looking at me from head to toe in pure disgust.

'You seem to know who I am. Who are you?' I asked allowing the disgust I felt to seep into my voice.

'As I have said before, I am Eric's girlfriend. My name is Adele,' she said giving me a fake smile.

I noticed that she had a voluptuous chest and hip just the type Eric would go for. He used to parade them on his hands whenever he attended parties until a blogger got on his case and labeled him a cheat. Netizens came after him as if they had been waiting to deal with him. He had stopped parading them after that and only did his dirty business away from public glare.

During the two weeks of his dragging online, he had made sure I felt the heat as if I was the one who set the blogger and the netizens on him.

'You are not ashamed to come into a married man's house and declare yourself his girlfriend? Are you that shameless?' I asked. Her audacity was annoying.

'My baby asked me to come so I don't owe you any explanation,'' she said leaving where she was standing to sit down.

'Leave this house this minute,' I said to her. Eric never brought his side chicks home so why would he ask her to come?

'Ma'am, I think we should call Sir Eric first before we make a decision,' Karen said. There was a look of panic in her eyes.

I knew she was scared for me. If I threw the lady out and she was truly asked to come by Eric, it would all bounce back on me and the repercussions might be dire.

'Ok,' I said, then went upstairs to take my phone. When I returned, Adele, or whatever her name was was sitting comfortably putting her legs on the sofa.

'I will suggest that you put it on speaker so that I can laugh at your foolishness when he says that he asked me to come,' Adele said, taking the television remote and changing channels.

The call rang off the first time, then I called again, and he picked up with a groan as if I had disturbed something.

'What do you want? I told you never to call me except my house is burning. I hope you have not set fire to my house with your foolishness and stupidity?' Eric said as if he recited it.

'There is somebody here. She says her name is Adele and she is your girlfriend. According to her, you asked her to come,' I said rushing every word.

'You have a problem with that?' Eric asked.

'You never brought them home. I was just...'

'The last time I checked, that place you are right now is my house. I can do whatever I want there. If it doesn't please you, go back to the gutters you come from. Is that clear? Show her to my room,' Eric said and cut the call.

'Where is my baby's room?' Adele asked standing from the sofa. I had not put the phone on speaker, but I knew she could read my countenance and knew how the conversation went.

Karen mouthed that she was sorry and then led Adele to Eric's room. On the stairs, Adele looked back and smiled at me triumphantly.

'You know what wifey, I will make sure my baby invites you into the room when we are banging each other so that you can see how to properly fuck a man's brains out so much that he will not want to ever leave you,' Adele said mockingly then sashayed after Karen.

I went back into the kitchen and sat down staring down at my now cold food. Even if it wasn't cold, I wouldn't have been able to continue eating it. Because I had lost my appetite.

'Why don't you divorce him and leave,' Karen asked from the kitchen door. There was pity in her eyes. She was the only one who saw what I was going through in the hands of Eric and his family. Karen was much older than I was so she could easily be my big sister.

'You think I am here because I want to? I am here for my grandmother, Karen. I am doing all this for her.

'If Sir Eric didn't want you, why did he accept to go ahead with the wedding?' Karen asked.

'He and his family especially his mother were afraid of being ridiculed if the wedding was called off.'

'He can easily divorce you now. Why isn't he?

'For the same reason he went ahead with the marriage. They can't afford to allow people to get wind of the fact that the all-powerful Eric of Conner Holdings got divorced,' I said sarcastically.

'It is the highest level of disrespect for a man to bring his girlfriend under a roof with his wife,' Karen said hissing lightly.

'What would you have me do Karen?' I asked dejectedly.

'Fight for yourself. Ask for divorce. How more dehumanizing can this get before you back out?' Karen asked.

'You can't understand Karen,' I said and stood up. I took my plate so I could wash it at the sink, but Karen took it from me and asked me to go.

I walked up the stairs with heavy feet. I got to my room and slumped on the bed as tears glided down my face into my hair.

I wasn't crying because of what was happening but I was crying for the future I might never have. I had plans with Midas. We had plans. We knew it was not going to be easy but we were ready to struggle and make it.

I stood up from the bed and opened my wardrobe to bring out a file in which I kept the pictures of Midas and me.

I took them out and looked at them with tears rushing down my face. Midas had promised to make it, then he would marry me, and we would live happily ever after.

'Where are you Midas? Why did you leave me? You didn't fulfill your promise Midas. You promised that I will be happy. I am not happy Midas. You need to get me out of this,' I cried as I talked to his picture.

There was a knock on my door, but I ignored it, hoping the person would go away when I didn't answer, instead, Karen opened the door and entered my room.

'I knew you came up here to cry,' Karen said, then took me in her arms. She rubbed soothing circles on my back but she didn't for once say that I should stop crying. 'Everything would be fine. It is okay to hurt but you will be fine,' Karen said repeatedly.

Eric was getting worse with his abuses and disrespect. As Karen had rightly said, it was the highest disrespect for a man to bring a girlfriend to the house his wife stays, but then I was just his wife in name only!