"That truly was a great romantic story. Thank you for sharing it with me."
"Did it bring back any memories?" Devon asked hopefully.
"If that was my life, it was amazing, romantic, and enjoyable to hear. But somehow, I feel there must have been more in my life. Nothing seemed to jar even the slightest memory or evoked the slighted feeling of love and happiness you describe."
"Nothing?" Devon asked, concerned.
"I'm sorry I don't mean to disappoint you. Maybe there was more pain than happiness?"
"No! Not true!" He exclaimed.
"How can you only remember the bad? And what is this bad that you are recalling?"
"We both are tired; it's been a long day. Maybe I'll share it with you tomorrow. Good night Dev." Zari said, sashaying out of the dining room to the guest bedroom.
******
After breakfast, Zari found everything hard to believe. She was confused, like she was outside of herself, looking in. It isn't easy to explain. And she will never mention these things again to the lovely gentleman claiming to be her husband. She was curious about the woman he had married. She begins, for the first time looking through her closet. Zari could see she wore costly clothing. Gucci this and Gucci that, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Anne Taylor suits, Fendi, blouses. She snooped in her underwear drawer and saw Victoria's secret panties and lingerie from Bloomingdales with tags still on them. Her eyes popped when she saw a little nightie with a title of $1000.00 attached to it.
"Did I wear these types of things?" She asked herself, rubbing her hands over the silk fabric.
Zari jumped when she heard the door close down the hall to his room. Devon was back; the short drive helped him get some composure after breakfast. But as he lay in bed thinking, someone kidnapped his wife. A man, but what man? Then he thought about the guy, the neighbor who told him that day he could take Zari away from me any time he wanted to because of how she's always smiling at him. Devon regretted letting Zari hold him back! Now he wished he would have beat him to a pulp for even having such thoughts! Could it have been him? Devon thought, staring out the window at the man's house. He had many regrets, like moving his wife into a neighborhood that wasn't interracial. Especially when Zari had begged him to do so, he never thought people would be so against his marrying her.
She purposely left her room with him in the house to try and interact with Dev. When she came out of the room and went into the kitchen where he was preparing dinner, she could see he was happy to see her. But he looked at her strangely but didn't say anything to her. I knew it had to be the hair and makeup.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. How is work going?"
"Super busy; I took off a few weeks, but I feel bad about my younger brother Evan having all the workload on him, but he can handle it." He said, smiling.
"So you have a younger brother?"
"Yes, I have a brother and a sister; my sister's name is Mina. Does it ring a bell?"
She stood there thinking for a minute or two. "No, I'm sorry it doesn't."
"You and Mina become good friends. She visited you in the hospital. Evan, well, you didn't get to see him because he was always so busy. But you met him at the wedding. I have been asking if you would like to look at the wedding photos and pictures. This may help you recall something. But only after you tell me what memories you are having."
"I don't know."
"You can tell me anything. I won't get upset."
Zari took a seat at the large island in the kitchen. "Where do I start? It's all not in order, but I'll start at where my memory begins."
"Okay," Devon said, cutting up the seasoning for dinner.
"When I met my husband, he had all the markings of a guy from wealth. The way he spoke and how he dressed. Most times, wearing a suit and tie with a well-manicured beard. His style, I recalled, caught my eye, but I didn't want to be in a relationship and the woman who said she was my mother. I remember her telling me.
I had to tell someone what I had experienced. My mother, I guess she's my mother."
"She is Zari," Devon reassures her.
She tells me, you are beautiful. Open your eyes, child! Who says you have to marry someone just like you? It's a new day and time! Your smooth brown skin, golden-brown eyes, jet black hair, and figure mama blessed you with. Any man would desire you."
"Zari, please allow the man to at least buy you dinner, sweetheart, don't take yourself so seriously."
"I've already refused his offer, besides...I don't know, mom. I wasn't planning on dating anyone."
"That's just it. It's not even a date, and it's certainly not marriage. I'm not going to say anymore. It's your decision."
"I must have listened to her because from there, we had a whirlwind romance and fell in love; it seemed overnight."
Devon leaned on the island. This is getting off to a good start. Did you notice I have a light beard?"
Zari looks at him. "Anyway,
I was young and just finished college; "I wholeheartedly trust you," I told my husband, don't break my heart..." I said as we sat in my mom's living room.
I honestly felt he had given me no reason to worry, especially when he surprised me in front of everyone by asking to marry me."
After only a few blissful months near the prewar residential homes here in North Caroline, we lay in bed. I bit down on my bottom lip and tried to breathe. I glanced back at him, doing his thing.
The sex was good for an inexperienced girl like me. After all, he was my first man. Initially, it was confirmed that we couldn't keep our hands off one another. Though we had our challenges, the neighbors didn't like me. His family didn't think I was good enough for him. I was lonely at home and wanted to find a job was one of them. In my career interest, it was a super competitive market for the position I was pursuing. But I kept looking while perfecting my skills in being an excellent wife to my lover. My husband gets particularly bothered when I call him hubby. It was a change he requested me to make, but more and more small things became apparent, nothing significant at first.
Devon cleared his throat, listening but very uncomfortable.
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“Devon what should I do?” She asked after muting the call. “Take the call.” Devon poured himself a cup of coffee.. He could see Zari was deep in thought. So he took a seat at the table. She looked at him. Her body heaved, again and again. It was time to purge. Zari told Devon. “I agree we can’t keep ignoring his phone calls.” “Yes, so you should tell him goodbye so we can move on with our life." Devon hugged her, and her stomach finally settled. Now she could finally put it all to rest finally. “Hello Evan. Please listen to me first. I'm so sorry, I had no idea not responding to your call for these months would bring you here. I am the biggest procrastinator there is. I'm the type if something is happening today or a problem arises. I tell myself that I will worry about tomorrow. It's the way I have coped with issues by telling myself to deal with them tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, I face something new and have forgotten all about yesterday's concerns. But now that I'm appl
Zari remembers Devon, not from her past and she doesn't recall the vows from the past. The tragic kidnapping and accident have erased pieces of Zari's memory, including the recollection of her first wedding. The memory from photographs, pictures that capture the passion between them on that particular day, is her only memory in pictures. But she can't forget her loving husband, Devon she has now. After making court appearances, his brother's lawyer, in the end, pleaded insanity. Evan was going away to a mental institution where hopefully, he'll get the help he needs. Since his health didn't permit it, Devon's father had to humble himself and ask his oldest son to take over the family business entirely. Devon encourages his father to trust his sister Mina, who can manage the family business more successfully than he could ever. Once the dust settled, the reality of the problems of the Hightower family hit home. It was now time for Devon and Zari to concentrate on their life. Zari d
After telling Devon what happened to her, Zari could see that Devon was beyond angry. “Devon, I don’t want to share anymore. All you need to know, baby, is that I fought and fought to keep him from taking me until he put that towel over my nose and forced me into the back seat of his car. "Do you remember the make and model of the car Zari?" Devon anxiously asks. I think so, but I only remember the color, nothing much else, because before I passed out, he covered me with a blanket, and I quickly lost consciousness. Upon waking, I felt drugged and limp; my hands and feet were bound, and once inside his house, I was forced into the shower to shave. "Shave?" "Please don't make me share details." Devon nodded, "Tell me." Zari continued. "The man led me across the hall into a room; I tried to get away many times. That's when he handcuffs and leaves me alone for I don't know how long. Until I was dying of thirst and starving for food, and that was the beginning of my nightmare and
Zari finally awakened and she wasn't sure about anything. She just wasn't sure of much anymore only that she was unhappy and then suddenly happy. Being that the caretaker dropped the dose of meds, she was giving Zari. She began to cry a lot. She cried when it rained. She cried at the sound of gloomy music on the tv and radio.She cried over the fact that she cried and she cried because things lacked substance. Zari felt as if she was moving in slow motion, swimming through a sea of shadows. Then she said, “What an awful Metaphor,” she thought, and then she laughed asking herself, “What is a metaphor? How did I know that word?”Even though she didn't know what the word meant anymore, she had the feeling she'd known it, once before. She'd known a lot of things. Then again, maybe not. Something was wrong with her. Wrong, she thought.He told her the doctors said she was ill. Not that she recalls seeing a doctor. He told her that she had additional problems. “Your memory was failing her.
He stared at those pink panties she wore. His hand lingered over her center as if too excited to touch it. His eyes cascaded down her thighs to her legs. He realized she still had on her shoes. He hurried to the foot of the bed. “I'm sorry, that should have been the first thing I removed. Please forgive me, dear.” He said, looking up at her face and chuckling. Once he removed her shoes from her feet. He climbed back into bed, smiling non-stop. He wanted her; she was almost too precious to touch. But his twisted mind convinces him to make her his bride and wife. And he felt the only way is to have intercourse with her. That way, she will become his, and he would be able to wipe away the grime she's been living with all this time. "She will be all mine," He repeated breathlessly in heat. The sound of labored breathing, the crescendo of gasps and moans escaped his throat as he removed her bra and panties. His right hand cupped her breast while the other rubbed her mound. Zari lay th
She felt someone grab her from behind. She tried to scream as the white cloth was placed over her mouth. He held it there until she stopped moving and completely collapsed in his arms. He knew he had to avoid the cameras. The only one he saw was the one across the street. He maneuvered around the building getting behind the camera. He opens up his car door and puts her in the back seat. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Why didn't she just listen?” He got in the car and drove off. As Zari lay there on the backseat, knocked unconscious. He was rambling as if she could hear him. “Why didn't you listen?” He asked as he let out a sigh. “You heard everything I told you, and you know I was right about that punk Devon the first time. He shook his head, his lips trembling. “I don't get you, Zari. After all the abuse you've gone through, I'm here to protect you, and you don't want it.” He was coming in and out of insanity and sanity. “What did you say?” He looked back to the backseat