Chapter 2

Foolishly? Perhaps that was the doing of love. Because when you grew up idolizing the concept of love and marriage, you would foolishly jump into one, especially when you are drawn to the man. 

Heartless, what made her so? Was it an abomination for a lady to fight for love? 

A nobody? At least her late father was a decent school teacher who commanded some respect. 

So that she believed was unfounded. But she understood that emotions could sometimes carry people away and lead them to say things they never intended. 

Hidden motive? That was laughable. What motive could a man she considered her guardian possibly have? He must have done that out of love and pure kindness. Or because he felt his son was a perfect match for Tracy.

Tracy and Charles had played the pretense game in the early days of their marriage. 

In the first six months of their union, the whole of Purple City knew of their marriage. They set the standard for marriages and epitomized true love and happiness.

Tracy felt like a queen and understood what her late mum must have felt when her late father made her his utmost priority. 

Charles made her feel on top of the world and she was in love. The times they spent together made Tracy believe that anything was possible.

They spent weeks moving from one resort to the other and had the moments of their lives. 

It was not as romantic as Tracy would have wanted, having Charles around her was more than satisfactory. 

Although they shared a kiss, it was light. But she was okay with it.

Nonetheless, a few weeks ago, she got a call from her friend Louisa. 

Louisa was a lady she met at a library where she had gone to read some books. They both talked for hours and have been good friends ever since. 

Louisa told Tracy over the phone, "I bumped into Charles and Fiona at the restaurant and they were with Jean, Charles' younger sister. 

But Jean left the two of them and entered a taxi."

"I do not mean to be nosy, but they looked more than friends. I think you need to have a word with Charles. I will send you some photos to confirm my suspicion. Maybe I am over-thinking, but you be the judge." She added and hung up. 

Tracy's phone beeped. Louisa had sent her the photos and she concluded that Charles was more than friends with Fiona. 

She made further investigations and located Fiona's house. A luxurious apartment in the heart of Purple City that Charles rented for her.

Tracy later interrogated him and upon several attempts to refute Tracy's evidence, he said the phrase "I want out" for the very first time. But Tracy didn't think much of it till he came clear asking for a divorce.

Tracy had gone to see Fiona. They had a heart to heart talk and Fiona claimed there was nothing between her and Charles. She reaffirmed what Tracy already knew. "I am just an orphan coiled up in my shell. I don't mean to cause any trouble."

"Pardon me if my frequent interaction with Charles is causing troubles for your marriage. I promise to stay out of your way." She begged. 

"Look at this stupid girl. You must be out of your mind to think that I would not fight for Charles' love. These are early indicators, and you better get used to them or just go diving into the sea." Fiona said to herself.

Tracy thanked her and believed her words and left without creating a scene. She felt Louisa had misinterpreted what she saw and called her back to debunk her claims. 

Charles had found out about Tracy's visit to Fiona's and that triggered their noteworthy argument in the hallway. 

Granted, she was foolish and heartless. But that was because she was going crazy for Charles' love. 

But she wouldn't accept that she was 'a nobody' and her guardian had a 'hidden motive' behind her getting married to Charles.

But she recalled an incident on her way out of Fiona's house that day. Charles had kissed her on one of their many trips, although it was not intense. 

She thought deeply about it and couldn't point out why he kissed her if there was no love. 

She concluded, " I guess I am just a toy to be used." And laughed at herself.  "Or he faked the kiss," she concluded upon sober reflection on Charles' drama in the hallway.

Indeed, she was just a toy. Charles had never said the four letter word l-o-v-e to her before. 

Even during their exchange of vows on their wedding day, he said 'my woman' when the pastor asked that he say 'my love.'

She was now convinced that she sure did force herself into Charles' life because he only saw her as a toy his dad had pushed him to make his wife. 

Tracy stood over the broken portrait and gazed at the photo of the two of them on their wedding day. She looked excited and overjoyed. But she could not say the same about Charles. He looked indifferent and his smile was stale. 

The footsteps intensified. Mr Edward Parker and Jean showed up in the hallway and saw blood oozing from Tracy's right hand. 

A portion of the broken glass of the portrait cut her as she tried to remove the photo from the frame.

"What is going on here?" Jean queried. "Birthday girl, gosh that's a lot of blood. What happened?" Mr Edward Parker also asked and as Tracy turned he saw the broken glass that had cut her. "Quickly, call the doctor." He ordered. 

"What is the point in all that?" Tracy cut in. "Maybe it is best that I bleed to death." She said as tears kept flowing down her face. 

"And why is this one talking like this? Has she lost her mind?" Jean teased but was immediately rebuked by her father. "Will you stop talking trash and call the doctor already?" 

"I don't blame you jean. Your dislike for me has been an open secret ever since we were kids and it does not bother me. But here is some good news that will make you feel better about yourself. Today, your brother asked for a divorce." She announced. 

The news indeed lit Jean up and she beamed with joy. Her father was left shocked. His jaw dropped as he struggled to utter any more words. 

"W-h-a-t?" He screamed. "You heard me right sir. Your son wants a divorce." Tracy echoed her earlier statement.

"I had three reasons to remember this 7th day of September. First, it is my birthday because I was born on this day. The second, is the tragic accident that happened on this same day some years ago and resulted in my parents death. The third is my wedding anniversary. Charles married me on this same day three years ago. But I have a fourth event to remember for the rest of my life." She said and screamed. "Charles asked for a divorce on this same day." 

She reached out to the divorce papers on the shelf with her left hand and said "it is finished." And made her way to her bedroom. She continued to bleed as the droplets of blood stained the floor leading to her room. 

She locked herself and read the terms of the divorce. Charles had stated that there was no love in the marriage which she agreed to. And to compensate her, she would get fifty million dollars as alimony.

Meanwhile, Mr Parker kept knocking on her door urging her to open up. But she refused. The blood stained her entire room as she kept pacing about. 

She chanced on an old photo of her and Charles back in college. That picture was taken on a day that Charles had fought a guy who stalked and made Tracy's life on campus uncomfortable. That was the day she liked Charles even more.

She considered him a  protector and felt safe in his company anytime they were on campus. 

Before she took on the Parker name as her last name. A few suitors had come her way. But she refused because of Charles.

The first was Thomas Smith. He went to the same college with Charles and Tracy and his father was friends with Mr Parker. He made his intentions known to Tracy but she blatantly said she was not interested. 

Then there was Ivan More. He was the gentleman that made Tracy's life uncomfortable on campus which later led to him suffering some beatings from Charles. Ivan was persistent and had once screamed In front of an entire class that he was in love with Tracy, but the beatings he got form Charles and Tracy's indifference made him back off eventually. 

"I am not interested. Please don't send me any more flowers." Tracy said to John Clark one time. His father was also a billionaire widely known in Purple City. Tracy caught his attention at a supermarket in Purple City and he has pursued her since then. But Tracy turned him down 

Another gentleman she turned down was Nicholas Sparks. A self made billionaire who visited Purple City to do some business transactions. He liked Tracy and would not stop going after Tracy. Nicholas's crush, Tina did not take it lightly. She went after Tracy and warned her to stay away from her man.  Tracy could not keep up with the drama and warned Nichols to leave her alone. 

But looking back in the past, she felt she should have paid attention to at least one of her many suitors. 

"Such a foolish thing to do." She teased herself. 

She had graduated with a degree in media and communication studies. At the age of twenty. Her degree meant that she was ready to take on the world and do greater things. 

Her goal was to become an established television personality.

But life after college gave her options. She was to leave Purple City for another City to start her career. 

And that meant losing sight of Charles which she could not handle. So for his sake, she took a meager role as a secretary at Parker Enterprises. She did that to be closer to Charles. 

Tracy put her dream of becoming a television personality on hold because of Charles.

But now reality was hitting her hard. She had been foolish and childish for wanting to be with someone who never wanted her. 

The whole place looked blurry and she felt the room twirling. 

Mrs Briggs, Tracy's nanny and caretaker of the Parkers, opens her door with a spare key. 

Tracy is found unconscious lying in a pool of blood.

"Tracy, Tracy!" Mrs Briggs shouted and rushed to her side. "I cannot feel her pulse." She added