BETRAYAL

JADE

"What? How can you say I disgust you?" I asked. "Henry, it's me, Jade, the one who went above and beyond to save your life."

"Yes," he replied. "I know you are the Jade who saved my life, and also the Jade who stabbed me in the back."

"I stabbed you in the back?" I asked, puzzled. "What are you talking about, Henry?"

"Don't pretend before me, Jade." He snapped. "I know how you went about having sex with different men at your place of work."

I shook my head, "No, baby, I didn't do such a thing."

He scoffed, "You didn't do such a thing? Tell me, how did you get the money you paid for my treatment?"

"Well, actually," I tried to explain. "Listen, Henry, it's not....."

"Don't tell me that," he yelled, interrupting me. "Yes, I am grateful for what you did, but you know I would never have given my consent for you to do that. How could you betray me in such a way?"

"Henry, you were dying, and your mom told me to do whatever was necessary. I never planned to do such a thing. I went to my boss and asked him to pay me upfront, but he refused. Then an opportunity came, and..... I didn't want to do it, but I thought about you. You were lying in the hospital and fading away. I did it just so you could live," I explained in tears.

Henry got up, "I'm sorry, Jade, but I cannot be with someone who sleeps with men for money."

"How can you say such a thing to me?" I asked.

"You know what, you should just leave. My heart is still bleeding from your betrayal," he replied.

I wiped my tears and said, "I'm going to work but I'll be back."

"Don't come back here," he replied but I ignored his words and walked away. I didn't know how he found out about what I had done to save him, but I believed he was unhappy because of what I went through to save him.

While at work, I was distracted and could not stop thinking about the words Henry had spoken to me. When I couldn't bear it anymore, I asked a colleague to cover for me and went back to his house.

The white SUV I had seen earlier was still parked in front of his house. I had wanted to ask him earlier but with everything that went on, I forgot about it. I noticed a familiar pair of sandals at the entrance of the house and wondered where I had seen them before.

When I went into the house, I was surprised to see Henry and Cassandra sitting together and holding hands. They weren't even friends so what was she doing in his house? They were so close and kept staring at each other that I felt a knot in my chest.

"What is going on here?" I asked.

"I can't believe you're shameless enough to still show your face here!" Henry replied. "Didn't I make it clear enough to you, Jade?"

I glared at Cassandra, "Really? Cass! I mean, you were the one who told me to do anything to save his life, and you turned around and ratted me out to him?"

"Wow, Jade!" Henry responded. "So you were planning to keep it from me, right?"

Cassandra folded her arms without a shred of guilt on her face, "Listen, Jade, this is just how the world works. You didn't value Henry; otherwise, you wouldn't have cheated on him. I value him, and now we're in love."

I could not believe my ears, "Wow! Henry, you accused me of cheating, and now you're with Cass? How can you do this to me, after everything I did for you?"

"Get out of here, Jade!" Henry bellowed.

Cass had a look of triumph on her face while I glared at the both of them as I heaved, "Fine, I will leave but first, give me back my money."

"What money?" Henry asked.

"My hundred thousand dollars," I replied. "Okay, fifty thousand went into your treatment, so, return the other fifty thousand dollars to me right now."

"I don't have it," Henry said.

I scoffed, "What do you mean you don't have it? Give me back my money, Henry, otherwise, I'm going to make a scene!"

"Go ahead and make a scene, you'll only be embarrassing yourself. Didn't you see the SUV parked outside there? Yeah, I bought it and there's no dime left. The car is mine, so, get lost.

Jade, I trusted you, but you betrayed me. What do you think, that I'll still get married to you? Get out of here!"

The clock ticked by as I stood there, staring at both of them in anger. Eventually, I turned and walked out of the house.

Outside, I was filled with rage as I stared at the car. Since there wasn't anyone close, I noticed a plastic bottle used for gasoline not too far from the SUV.

I crossed the road, bought a lighter in the store opposite, and crossed back. I picked up a stone and broke one of the windows of the SUV. I threw the plastic gasoline bottle inside the car and set it on fire.

Afterward, I moved away and hid in a corner watching the car as it went up in flames. A few minutes later, Henry and Cass hurried out of the house.

He stared at the car in a daze for a few minutes before screaming, "My car!!"

Cassandra suddenly went back in and picked up her bag. When she came outside, she said to Henry, "I'm sorry but you are too cheap for me."

As she wanted to leave, Henry caught her hand and said, "Come on, Cass. We just started dating a few days ago and you told me you loved me."

She smiled at him, "Yeah, I said all that because I needed someone to drive me around. Now that you no longer have a car, what would I do with you?"

I watched Cass walk away while Henry kept screaming. Finally, I came out of hiding and began to leave as well.

I heard him calling me all sorts of names and accusing me but I said nothing in reply, nor did I turn to look at him. My heart was heavy because the one person I loved the most had betrayed me. I would have gladly given my life for Henry but I had come to realize how foolish I was.

In spite of the pain I felt in my heart, I refused to shed another tear for him. I had made a mistake but I had learned from it; I would never trust anyone again. I would pick up the pieces of my life and move on, no matter how hard it may be.

Just as I got close to my place of work, two policemen approached me.

I was about to ask them what the problem was when one of them took out cuffs and handcuffed me as he said, "Jade Hart, you are under arrest for the destruction of private property. You have the right to an attorney, you have the right to remain silent because whatever you say here can and will be used against you in a court of law."

People came out to stare at me and tears rolled down my cheeks as I was being taken away.