Chapter 3: Secrets exposed

Chapter 3

Secret exposed

“Grey is a chronic cheat!”

That was the voice echoing through Lila's head as she leaned on the door, her ears perked up to sense any tiny whispers emanating from the room.

The statement always reminds her of an old friend's first word when she tried to lay her complain about Grey's cold attitude

But the room remained silent.

“Why am I not hearing a woman's voice? Could he be talking to himself, or maybe watching a movie? But–what a coincidence that his movie will be talking about signing a divorce paper.” Different thoughts flooded her head.

Lila clenched her fist, resisting every urge to push the door open, but the unending silence felt like she'll have to wait forever.

“Maybe, it's my illusions.” she thought to herself and began to gently turn the door knob, but the sudden sound that began oozing out of the room left her frozen.

“What a fuck?” The sound of skin slapping against each other grew more vigorous.

“Ughhh. Swallow me Kaycee.***”.

Lila stood frozen.

Kaycee? She has never heard of anyone bearing that name, but that masculine voice, she can tell who owns the voice even in her dreams.

Her breath hitched.

Everywhere felt like it was spinning around her head.

“Really? Is this how it hurts to catch one's partner in bed with another woman? How did those women who are married to some freaky cheating bastards still manage to keep a smile on their faces?” she thought to herself, incontestable tears streaming down her face.

For three years, her husband has never moaned her name whenever they're making out, but he just divorced her some days ago and he's already frolicking with another woman?

The thoughts of how Grey and his family persuaded her to consider giving into marriage at an early age flooded her head.

***

“If only I had known.” That was the only thing she could think of.

Tears burned the back of her head.

“Lila, you have to leave this place for your sanity. You can't handle this.” a voice in her echoed, but another voice counteracted.

She tried to lift her toes, but her feet were rooted to the ground.

“Why not..” another voice in her echoed before she got interrupted by the sudden choices of words from the room.

“I must admit, marrying Lila remains the worst decision I ever made.” Grey cursed hoarsely.

“But I warned you to cancel the wedding before then, yet you never listened.” The lady's voice interrupted before Grey could finish his statement.

“You can't say that, Kaycee. I had to go ahead with the wedding because Lila would kill herself if I didn't marry her! Can't you see it, she's mentally deranged already! She loved and trusted me too much!” Grey cut in.

“Well, the only good thing is that I'm still not at a loss. At least, possessing most of her properties after is one of my greatest compensation for managing her for three whole years. It won't be a bad idea if I tell it in court that she was unstable.” He added.

What!

Lila stood speechless.

She flew her hands to cover her mouth and suppress the raging anger in her.

She didn't know she was already crying, until she felt the cold drop of liquid on her legs.

That voice sounded familiar; just like her sister's. But the name– she's never heard of it before.

“Jannell and I have missed you so much, honey. Grey, please… I want us to live as a complete family. Is that too much to ask?” The lady continued.

“I know… but she's yet to sign the papers. You know, we can't–besides, she's your sister! You have to take things easy.” Grey mentioned.

“She can never be my sister! I even wish that she's dead!” she added grudgingly.

“Gosh!” Lila didn't know when the word escaped her mouth.

That's definitely her sister's voice.

So, it wasn't enough that Grey cheated on her, and now, he has a daughter already?

And… as though that wasn't enough, his mistress is wishing her death!

She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that she'll find herself waking up from a dream when she finally let her eyes open, but the wave of betrayal hit her hard when she discovered that it was not a nightmare.

She stood still, her hands trembling as she managed to pull the door open.

“Cynthia!”

Lila exploded.

Lila lowered her head and took a deep breath before leaning on the wall for support.

“Li–Lila. What are you doing here? You could have at least knocked on the door.” Grey stammered, his voice cracking as he ran his fingers over his head.

“Com'on, sweetheart. Shouldn't you be scolding her for badging into our privacy? Why are you talking calmly as if she deserves some explanations?” Cynthia countered as she started pulling up her clothes, looking unbothered.

Before she could say the next statement in her mind, a heavy slap from Lila reached her face, marking it with the design of all her five fingers .

“You bloody bastard!” Lila cursed.

“How easy it is for you to forget everything I did for you within the twinkling of an eye!” Lila yelled, sniffing uncontrollably.

“You–slapped–me?” Cynthia muttered slowly, her palms clutched to the cheeks that had been bartered by Lila's slap.

“And I will do worse if not for the little tolerance still left in me!” Lila yelled.

I accepted you even when everybody rejected you with Jannel's pregnancy! I fed you, Cynthia! I…”

“Enough!” Grey cut in hoarsely, his voice causing Lila to tremble with fear.

Lila shifted her gaze towards him and parted her lips, but she could utter nothing more than silent murmurs.

For three years, she has never seen Grey raise his voice at her just as he did today, and to make it worse, he's protecting her from a person that just betrayed her!

Her breath hitched and in a few seconds, her eyes were heavy with tears.

If only there's a way to unsee what she had seen, Lila would have opted for that.

“The next time you try to raise your hands on my wife, you would have me to content with.” Grey warned.

“Yes, she's your sister, but I find love and peace with her. At least, I can wake up every morning to a child's voice calling me "Daddy," something you failed to offer for a whole period of three years!” He continued and widened his arms to give Cynthia a tight hug, slowly wiping away her tears with the back of his hands.

Lila took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to let go of every hurt in her heart, but her tears couldn't stop rolling.

“If this is how you chose to repay my kindness to you, then, so be it. But trust me, this is not over yet.” Lila declared and wiped away her tears with the back of her hands before proceeding to the wardrobe to get hold of her belongings.

The thought of how she alone stood up for Cynthia when even her parents rejected her with jannel's pregnancy felt like a painful lump in her throat.

Janell is Cynthia's two-year-old daughter.

Cynthia conceived her when she was in her final year at the university. Every effort to make Cynthia reveal who was responsible for her pregnancy proved abortive. She open-mindedly told her family that she'd be forced to harm the baby and end her life if they continued to bother her about the child's paternity because that was a secret she had decided to keep to herself.

Cynthia's father and her mother, Elena, threw her out and threatened to disown her completely and if not for Lila's consistent pleas and unwavering support to Cynthia, the whole family would have been shattered.

What she doesn't know is that Cynthia's mother is fully aware of everything regarding Cynthia's pregnancy, but was forced to feign hatred in order not to go against her father.

For a moment, the room went silent.

Grey and Cynthia sat on the bed, exchanging surprise gazes as they watched Lila gently folding her belongings into a box without throwing any tantrums.

“Shouldn't she at least beg me to consider her feelings? Isn't she supposed to protect the love we once shared as she always claims to love me?...” Grey grumbled inwardly.

“Cynthia, Grey, I wish you good luck. But I hope you can dance to the tune of the drum that you're beating.” Lila concluded with a dangerous smile before descending the staircase.

She couldn't control her hidden tears as her eyes met with the domestic workers.

“Dan, how long has this been going on?” She asked their gateman.

“M…….ma, I…I..I”

“There is no need to be afraid. I'll not confront your boss or his mother. So, your job is safe. I just need to know how long Cynthia has been seeing my husband!” She retorted.

“Ok, ma, this has been going on since the first time Cynthia visited you two months after your marriage. Since then, all those three days and one week of business trips that my boss used to go on are not truly business trips, but the driver has to always be carrying him to the apartment he rented for her in the state capital.” Dan exposed everything to her.

“Ok, thank you. Take care of yourself.” She squeezed five thousand dollars in her hands and gave them to him as she left.

The forty minute ride back to Charia’s house seemed like an everlasting journey that lasted for days. And for a moment, Lila pursed her lips and smiled before slouching to the kitchen.

“Hey. I love what I'm perceiving. Wow! This is the perfect definition of a delicacy.” Charia’s flattering voice echoed as she stepped into the living room.

“Really? You can't be serious, Charia! I never knew that one could perceive an aroma of water. Are you sure you've eaten in the last seven days? ” Lila chuckled.

“You don't even know what I'm cooking, and you're calling it a delicacy already. What if you discover that I was only boiling water? I thought that as we're all grown now, your love for food might have deteriorated.” She added.

“Whatever.” Charia said reluctantly, waving the conversation away.

“That aside,” she added with a groan and continued.

“With this pleasant smile on your face, I could only imagine how your day went. So, tell me, what was Grey's reaction when you handed him the divorce papers?” Charia asked.