Smiles of Betrayal

“How long will you keep pretending with that pathetic thief? Come to me, where you belong. I’ve always been the only man who truly deserves you.” Carlos’ intense gaze pierced through me, his voice a raw, unyielding command. I stood frozen, my hand unconsciously cradling my pregnant belly.

I frowned at him, the small smile I had disappearing. “Carlos, I value our friendship, but my loyalty is to my husband. Don’t ever disrespect him or me again. Disrespecting him is disrespecting me.”

Carlos didn’t flinch, his confident gaze unwavering. “Mia, can you just listen to me? I’ve loved you for so long. Please, give me a chance. That poor fool doesn’t deserve you!”

“Are you serious right now?” I couldn’t help but raise my voice. “I’m six months pregnant! What is wrong with you?”

“I know, but I don’t care. I’ll take care of you and the baby. I’ll pay Marcus off, whatever it takes. I just want you so badly,” Carlos pleaded, his strong cologne making my head swim.

“Enough, Carlos! I love my husband, and he loves me. Don’t ever bring this up again. Leave my life alone,” I said firmly, feeling a fierce determination to protect my marriage.

Carlos and I locked eyes, and I felt a wave of disgust. What was it about me that kept him chasing for so many years? It was unsettling.

“I have to go now,” I said, turning to leave. As he tried to grab my arm, I jerked away and shot him an angry glare.

Carlos is my childhood friend and he had loved me even before I met Marcus, my husband. Carlos is a spoilt brat I would say though very handsome and classy but he just was not it for me.

I fell in love with Marcus as soon as I set my eyes on him when I had visited my Dads office after graduating from college. He was the clerk then but now he is my husband, the best thing that had ever happened to me. I couldn’t wait to go see him. He was sick the time I left for my antenatal appointment and though I didn’t want to leave him but he insisted I did.

It was so wonderful and it seemed fate was on my side becuase my antenatal sessions were rescheduled due to some hospital issues. Anyway, I don’t know why the nurse was explaining but then I was all happy because I had the time to go take care of my man.

The journey between Marcus and I has been very rough as my parents had disproved of our relationship because he was a clerk and only finished high school. I could care less about all that because education doesn’t really define a person and I ended up being right. Marcus was the sweetest man in the world and when we talk about princess treatment, I sure got that from him.

…

Shaken by the encounter with Carlos, I hurried home, my thoughts in turmoil. I needed to see Marcus, the man I loved, to find solace. On my way, I impulsively stopped by a game store.

“I want the Play station 5” I said to the storekeeper on my way back home.

Marcus has always been a fan of virtual games. He had play station 4. He works a lot so some fun time for him to heal faster. I packed the Playstation in my car and drove back home. I started to feel drowsy but then I managed to control myself. Marcus had pressed that I was being driven by one of the drivers but then I refused because I wanted to exercise but it seemed I made the wrong decision.

Finally got home and asked one of the guards to help with the play station. I could imagine the beautiful smile that would be on Marcus' face when I presented the play station to him. Each step I took felt as though my waist would break and I couldn't wait to give birth for real.

“Eunice came around?” I asked, Realizing Marcus’s cousin's car was in the compound.

“Yes Ma’am” the guard nodded.

I nodded “okay”.

Eunice was the only Cousin of Marcus that I knew. She’s really sweet and helpful. I feel they are just naturally built to be loving people in their family.

“Babe” I called out as soon as I entered the lounge.

“Should I drop it here ma'am?”the guard asked pointing toward the direction of the old PlayStation

“Yeah, you could leave it here” I said after accessing the room. “Just drop it right to that” I pointed to the old play station.

I couldn’t wait to meet Marcus to get my usual leg massage from Marcus because my legs hurt so badly, I sure was going to manipulate him to massage me even though he was sick. Marcus was everything in one man. My right hand camped on the right side of my waist as I climbed the stairs. The closer I got to our room, I heard the sound of classical music. I smiled because Marcus was a big fan of classical music.

According to him;

“Classical music is for every classic moment” butterflies flew in my stomach at the thought of how he always said it to me.

The classical music wafted through the hallway as I approached our bedroom. It was one of Marcus’ favorites. The smile on my face vanished when I opened the door.

I opened the door slowly. The broad smile I had slowly and suddenly drained. What has happened to my husband? My eyes went wide, my body became cold and my hands trembled as I saw him on the bed. Was he dead?

“Mar… mar cus….” I stuttered under my breath as hot tears streamed down my cheeks. My legs became extremely weak.

No, Marcus wasn’t dead, he was behind Eunice, his cousin, nailing her so hard with a smirk on his face as he spanked her. Marcus was cheating on me with his cousin.

“Marcus!” I screamed at the top of my voice with the ounce of strenght left inside of me.