Jeff could not stop staring at his wife while she was asleep beside him on his bed. He reached out and tuck her hair behind her ear. He started wondering when he developed feelings for her. He would never have thought that he would fall in love with her. Who would would even think he would admit it to her when they disliked each other so much?He smiled at her peaceful posture as she slept. He watched as her eyebrows started furrowing in her sleep. He looked closely and realized she was having a bad dream. She started shaking her head from side to side. "No. Please, don't hurt me," she said and kept repeating the same thing.Jeff touched her face. "Hey, babe. It's fine. You can open your eyes," he kept telling her since he doesn't know what to do."No!" Rhoda screamed and jerked awake and started scanning the room and all over her body. "Oh, my God!""It was just a bad dream. Come here," he offered and hugged her while she buried her face in his chest."It was a terrible dream, Jeff.
Jeff brought a tray of breakfast into his room for his wife. She was still sleeping, but stirred awake after hearing her name. She pulled herself up and leaned her back against the head rest and covered her bare breasts with the duvet. "Good morning. Oh, my goodness!" She exclaimed with a broad smile at the sight of the food tray and covered her face with her palms. Jeff placed the tray on her thighs and kissed her forehead. "Good morning, sunshine. Come on, don't be shy, please. I have always wanted to do this for my wife when I get married, so…"She tucked her hair behind her hair. "Thank you so much," she said and started getting off the bed. "Give me a few minutes. I just need to brush my teeth." She rose to her feet and walked into the adjoined bathroom. She emerged some minutes later and smiled at him. Why are you staring at me like that?"Jeff smiled too. "I just —" He shrugged. "I just can't believe this is happening. I mean… Never in the world did I see this coming when we
Jeff's eyes went straight to his wife as he heard what his mother-in-law had just said. Divorce? What was going on? He thought — Scratch that. They were told divorce wasn't an option. Their marriage had been for life, so what was going on? He could not even bring himself to start thinking about divorce.He decided to give the mother and daughter a private space. He locked eyes with Rhoda before making his way up the stairs into his room feigning deaf to Rhoda's calls.Rhoda faced her mum. "Mum, what are you suddenly talking about? What's all this? You said I should endure everything. You said divorce wasn't an option, so —," she said as she took some steps and entered the living room to sit."I am so sorry, baby. That was what I thought, too. Your father lied to us, Rhoda. He lied," her mother uttered and sat beside her.Rhoda looked confused. "What are you saying? What do you mean he lied?"Her mother wiped her tears. "His business wasn't liquidating, Rhoda. He was not going bankrupt
Jeff had never been so disorganized. He felt helpless as he waited in the waiting room for his wife to come out of surgery. The surgery had been so terrible that she injured her head and had to go into the theater. He looked at her phone which had been given to him by the doctor. There were stains of blood on it. He did not realize when a tear fell onto the screen of the phone.He silently prayed that God would heal his wife. He folded his arms and stomped his feet on the floor gently, but anxiously.One after the other, Rhoda's parents and Kelly arrived and sat with him, waiting for the surgery that has been going on for three hours to come to an end."This is all your fault, Fred. This is all your fault. Just know this," Rhoda's mother said and cried. "I should have stopped her from leaving. Had I known this would happen, I wouldn't have allowed her to leave," she blamed herself in tears.Jeff said nothing. He could not even bear to say a word to anyone. Not even when her sister got
Eleven years ago…Jeffrey laughed hard at the jokes of his friend's discussion about how they approached a random lady on the street and acted as if she was about to get kidnapped. He gulped down a glass of alcohol as he laughed. He was already high from the drugs he had taken with his friends.They were all in his father's house, but of course, his father was not around to see what they were doing. He did not get along with him since he was always about how bad his friends were and how they could lead him astray. He used to talk about how he had changed from how he used to be, from the quiet and easy going boy to a drug addict and a trouble maker. He had bailed him from the police custody a couple of times.But Jeffrey didn't think that was his fault. He admitted that he did change a little after his mother's death from leukemia, but taking drugs relieved his stress and made him forget his sorrows temporarily. That was what his friends introduced to him to cope with the loss of his mo
Francis dragged the red button on his phone to ignore a call from Karen. He shifted on a side on the bed as Kelly walked out of the bathroom in a mini towel barely covering her butt. He watched as she sat in front of the dressing mirror and started applying different lotions onto her skin and face.Women with skin care. "Has Rhoda woken up?" Francis asked. He could have chosen to visit his best friend to cheer him up, but he felt too guilty to do so. He had no idea how he was going to react after seeing him. Not even when Karen was on his tail. "No, babe. The doctor said it might take a week or so. But why haven't you visited Jeff already? It's been two days," Kelly said. He had given him no other reason other than being very busy at work. She was starting to think he didn't want to go, but could not accuse him of that since she had no solid evidence.He pulled himself up and out his feet on the floor, putting on his slippers. He walked towards her and leaned against the wall besid
Jeff immediately became perplexed. What was going on? Why would Rhoda ask him who he was? He looked at the doctor, then at Kelly before returning his eyes back on hers."Rhoda… Uhm… Looks at me, babe," he said and sat before her on the bed. "I am your husband. I am Jeff. And that's my sister, Kelly," Jeff explained in the best way he could.Meredith and her husband entered the room. "Mum? Dad?" Rhoda said as she saw her parents."How are you, baby? I am so sorry this happened to you. I really am," Meredith said and hugged her.Jeff could not have been more confused in his life. Why would she act like she didn't know him and then hug her parents? He turned to the doctor. "You had better have a better explanation for this, doctor."The doctor sighed. "I do. But I can't explain that here. Shall we go to my office?" He said, and Jeff made the first move and walked out of the ward while the doctor followed behind.Kelly glanced at Rhoda one more time and felt uneasy about it. She looked so
Sharon emerged from her room carefully in hope of getting out of the house before 'her husband' noticed. She needed to go to the ghetto and oversee the situation herself. As she walked past Jeff's room, she carefully watched her steps and walked as quietly as she could.She had gotten to the door and had opened it ajar before she heard footsteps behind her. "Rhoda?" Jeff called and she froze on the spot. She stood upright and turned back to answer. She should have gotten used to being called the name but it was just so annoying that she could not help the hatred that developed in her heart each time. She just needed to get rid of Rhoda quickly and claim what was hers. "Yes? Baby?" She looked unsure at the pet name. She was trying her best to act like someone who lost her memory, but it wasn't easy. But she needed to buy herself some time for the perfect execution of her plan.She must admit that Rhoda had a very handsome husband. He even looked familiar as if they had met before, b
“Oh, gosh! Rhoda!” He exclaimed as soon as he barged inside. “How did you fall?” He asked as he rushed to her side. She was in tears and couldn't utter a word. He helped her up and hugged her. “It's okay now. You're fine,” he consoled and she tried to subdue the tears. She shook her head in disagreement to what he said. “I'm not fine, Jeff. I don't think I'll ever be able to walk again. I can't even stand up by myself after falling. I am doomed!” She cried. “Sshhh!” He said, looking her in the eyes. “Don't say that. You are not doomed and you'll walk again. I'll make sure that happens,” he assured, wiping her tears with his thumbs. She sniffed and nodded. He lifted her up in his arms and was about to put her back on the bed when she stopped him. “I need to use the restroom,” she said, looking everywhere but him. He smiled at her shyness and helped her to the bathroom and waited outside to help her back to the bed when she was done. “Are you okay now?” He placed her on the bed, po
After being discharged, Rhoda decided to go to Jeff's house. He didn't oppose it. He was surprised instead. Why would she want to go to his place instead of her boyfriend's? And why would the guy agree to it? No matter how he looked at it, it seemed odd to him. She wouldn't even go to her parents' house. Well, Rhoda gave him the excuse that she had to stay with him because of her parents since they didn't know about the boyfriend. Made sense, but at the same time didn't. He said nothing as he drove her to his house and helped her out of the car onto her wheelchair. She has not been able to stand and walk on her own properly even though there has been improvements in her condition, but the doctor insisted that she should keep using the special chair for a while. And of course, just as Jeff had predicted, Rhoda had been against it but had been left with no choice. As he was about to put her on the chair, she glared at him. "Are you kidding? I am not sitting there. I have legs," she
Few days later, the doctors finally concluded that Rhoda had had enough rest and could be visited, but one after the other. Rhoda said nothing as she saw her father walk in. Her mother had just gone out and she knew he was going to do the same thing her mother did. Apologize. And she was already tired of that. She had forgiven them and had told her mother that. She hoped she would relay the message to her father. She was getting bored with the apologies. When would he even come in? She thought. "Dad," Rhoda called and smiled. He held her hand and squeezed it a little. "I am glad you're better now. Rhoda, I am …"She nodded repeatedly. "I know, dad. I know you are sorry. You regretted it. Not telling me about Sharon, the marriage and sending me abroad? I know. I've forgiven you. So, you don't need to apologize."When would anyone ask her how she was feeling and not just assume that she was better? It seemed no one was interested in that even though she had just been to the moon and
Rhoda got rushed to the hospital in an ambulance without much time. Her pulse was very weak and she was bleeding profusely from the gunshot and was barely holding on. Jeff drove behind the ambulance with the family and his friend. He had been warned a couple of times to slow down his speed, but he paid no heed to them. He tried to. It just wasn't working. "Jeff, calm down. You don't want to kill us all and then get to know in heaven that Rhoda made it to your funeral," his sister said and he shot her a glare from the rear view mirror, but said nothing and slowed down. They arrived just as Rhoda was being wheeled in. He ran to her and kept calling her name, begging her to hold on. "You have to make it, babe. Please," he pleaded as he pushed the wheel alongside with the nurses with bloody hands and into the emergency ward. He was asked to wait outside the ward as the doctor and nurses attended to her, so he obeyed hesitantly, but not before using everything he knew and believed in t
Jeff's phone started ringing. He rolled over on his bed and looked at the phone beside him to check who the caller was. He didn't bother picking up when he realized it was his best friend. Ex-best friend. Moments later, it started ringing again and that happened a couple of times more until he got frustrated and forced to pick up. He put the phone to his ear. "What's up?""There's something I need to tell you," Francis said from the other end. "And it's urgent. Can you come over now? Please?"Jeff was still sleepy and it was evident in his voice. "Why would I? Sorry, but no. Bye…" he said and put the phone out of his ear. "Rhoda," Francis said as fast as he could before he hung up and Jeff put the phone back to his ear and sat upright immediately. The sleep left his eyes all of a sudden. "What's wrong with Rhoda? Oh, wait! Is she your partner too? Is that what you want to confess?" He was irritated and annoyed and he didn't bother hiding that from his tone. "Jeff, no. You know she'
Rhoda paced her room back and forth as Steve told her about the man he had seen that was following her. From the description, she knew who it was. He had found her. It seemed that fate wanted them to cross paths again. "I told him I am your husband –"She squeezed her face as she tried to re-listen to what he had just said. "You did what? You told him that you're my husband?" That would make him confused. "He wasn't sure if it was you. Well, with the look on his face, he was quite sure, but I stopped him from following you," Steve said as he crossed his legs and relaxed on her bed. He sensed and noticed the anger that was building up in her, but chose to ignore it. She wouldn't get mad at him. And if she would, he was ready for it. He would readily take her anger. He was going to be protective of her until the end. Rhoda had been an amazing person and he had grown to love her. He wouldn't let her go back into a life where she wasn't valued and appreciated. He was even ready to fathe
Sharon got out of her car and walked to the entrance of her parents' house. She paused at the door as she hesitated on knocking. She was going in to see her parents. Her biological parents. She had seen them before, of course, but then she had been pretending to be sick. Now, she was all well and good, going in as their only daughter. The only daughter of the parents who gave her up for adoption because they didn't want her. She wasn't needed. And now, she was going, pretending to be someone she was not. The original daughter. That realization stung and it hurt her really bad. She raised her head and fought back her tears because she wasn't the type that cry. They didn't even look for her. She had wasted so many years thinking they would, but it was sad that they were fine without her. The hurt pierced through her heart, but she refused to let a tear drop. She had become too strong for that. She hoped. It was obvious she was an unwanted child. It was only a matter of time and she wou
Meredith walked closer to where her husband was sitting and took her seat beside him. He had been avoiding her and saying little or no words to her ever since their argument. He was about to stand up and leave when she grabbed his arm. "How long do you plan to ignore me? Please, listen to what I have to say, at least."Rhoda's father said nothing and took his seat again. He ignored her totally and continued with the news he was reading on his iPad. "It was a mistake, Fred. A terrible mistake that I — regret.""Really?" He asked sardonically."Listen to me, please. I admit I allowed something wrong with your brother, but the kids are yours. Believe me," Meredith pleaded. She tried to hold her husband's hands, but he jerked them away. "Don't touch me, Meredith. Why are you so adamant about this? Why won't you admit it? Your secret is already known, why deny it? The kids are mine? Really? Care to enlighten me on how, you whore? How could you sleep with my brother?""I didn't sleep wit
Jeff could not have been more shocked in his life, because, now, he realized what had been going on in his life. Now, he knew the reason he was doubtful of his wife after the accident. It was because of one thing. The wife at home wasn't the one he got married to. Now that he was looking at his wife, he could see the differences between them. But how possible that he was able to confuse the two? They looked so much alike. What was going on? He thought."Oh, my God!" He exclaimed as the answer suddenly struck him like thunder. "Oh, my God!" He exclaimed again and all he could picture in his head was the lady he met at the bar the day he went there with Francis. He started finding it hard to control his breathing. He held his neck as he tried to get the full picture of what his brain was telling him. This lady in question had been the one he saw in the bathroom and had blamed Rhoda for it for months! How could he not know?! But who is the lady? And most importantly, why would she