What a fool I have been…

Freya

I felt a stray tear trickle down my face.

I was still sitting on the bed in my lingerie while Dennis snored away. I looked at the gift box in my hand, and another tear came running. That was all I was worth. A gift to shut me from using my head.

I pulled the ribbon and opened it. It was a necklace. A diamond necklace. It must have cost him a fortune. My fortune. Five hours ago, it would have meant the world to me and I would have sneaked into the bathroom to sing his praises to Sonia, and thank her for giving me the best man, Dennis. She would have smiled and pretended to have my back.

Ohh Freya, what a fool you have been.

I was still wallowing in self-pity when his phone beeped. For the first time in our relationship, I felt the urge to check it. I gently reached into his pocket and took it. It was Sonia and I wasn’t surprised.

“Why aren’t you picking up? Are you home yet?” with so much anger, I went through his text messages, desperate to find something to prove his cheating ass, but found nothing more. There was nothing there to suggest the two were seeing each other. All their conversation seemed so normal, but something felt so off. Dennis was definitely deleting his messages, he must have thought I would suspect him and checked his chats, but then, I was busy trusting him blindly.

I was about to give up when another message dropped.

“I just called again, pick the damn phone up, I miss you, I need to talk to you now.”

“Is the bi*ch disturbing you? Is that why you’re not answering?”

If she had just called, I should have gotten the call, but I didn’t, and that confirmed my suspicion. Something was definitely not right. Dennis had another phone where the real affair took place.

I immediately rose to my feet, and scanned the whole room, trying to figure out where he could be hiding it. I moved around the room quietly, searched everywhere, but to no avail.

After about thirty minutes with no result, I stood in the middle of the room, holding my head to stop the blasting headache that was fast building up.

The car!!! He would want to carry it with him anywhere. That’s the only way he can keep it safe from me. His car!

I threw on my robe and quietly left the room. I hurried into the car, and locked myself in. Another search started, but it wasn’t hard to find it. I just searched the places I knew I would hide things too.

I stared at the phone for a while, thinking of what I had been reduced to. An insecure woman, hiding in her man’s car to check his mystery phone.

I let out a deep sigh and swiped the phone open. I started with the gallery, and my heart stopped. There were pictures and videos of the two having fun and displaying love. All the company sponsored trips that he insisted on going on alone. He had taken Sonia with him.

I thought I had seen it all until I checked his chats and got the shock of my life. Dennis wasn’t cheating on me with Sonia, he was cheating on Sonia with me!

They’ve been together for five years, and legally married!

They got married a year after we started dating. It was on his birthday, his wish was to go to the Bahamas, and I had insisted on paying for all the expenses to make up for my absence. I was sick and knowing how much he wanted to go, I convinced him to go without me and have fun. I paid every dime, not knowing I was sponsoring my fiancé’s wedding to my best friend.

It was their plan all along. The matchmaking, our relationship, it was all part of their big plan to get my money. None of them loved me, they only kept me around for everything I had but me.

As I scrolled further through the chats, I started to wonder if any of it was real with Sonia. Was she ever my friend? At what point did she switch on me and decide to betray me? For over five years, I had taken her as a sister, the sibling I never had. We ate my food together, spent my money together, drove my cars, my clothes, everything I had she also had access to. My dad even got her her dream job in one of the biggest marketing firms in the city. I thought she loved me. Dennis too.

I stopped scrolling when I saw a picture of the necklace Dennis had just given me. Sonia had sent it to him, asking that he got it for her, and he promised to. He probably never expected me to confront him, and he gave it to me on impulse. After all, that was all it ever took to get me off his back.

I took a good look at the necklace and saw the initials on it were even a combination of Sonia’s name and Dennis’ surname!

What a fool I have been!

Not anymore though. I’m not going to let those two play me like this and go scot-free. Their plan was for Dennis to get married to me and make me transfer all my shares and inheritance to him, which he would then elope with Sonia. That was why he proposed only three months after we met, but my dad had insisted that we either wait three years and he gave his blessing or we do it against his wishes and forget about my shares and inheritance. I was mad and threw a fit, threatened to go ahead with the wedding against his wishes. Guess who insisted on getting my dad’s blessings? Dennis! He had been in a hurry before then, but once my dad included the options, he could suddenly wait three years.

That act? It made me love him even more. No man had ever been so thoughtful and intentional about me and I felt so lucky to have him. I remember how I gushed about him to Sonia, and she had seemed so happy for me. I thought her hug, smile, and even compliments were real when, all along, she was just mocking my foolishness.

I closed my eyes for a minute, opened them and tears flooded my face.

The pain was writhing, I could feel it in my heart, belly, head. My entire body felt like it was on fire. The weirdo from earlier suddenly flashed through my mind and, without thinking twice, I took my phone and texted him, hoping I would get a quick response. I was going to do something I had never done before, but I needed it. I wanted a quick numbness to my pain.

“Where are you? Give me an address, I’m coming over now!”

A reply came barely a minute later. I started Dennis’ car and sped off.

In about thirty minutes, I pulled into front of the penthouse. I never knew he was that rich. He looked really simple, like he was just starting to figure out his life, and needed his family’s money, hence the marriage offer. But standing in front of the twenty thousand square foot mansion, I was awed. The whole place was gorgeous and echoed luxury with every step.

I hurried out of the car, and went in. He stood up when he saw me, kissed his lips, ready to taunt me. He opened his mouth to talk but I shut it with a kiss.

“I want you to make love to me right now!” I let out, and then pushed my robe off my shoulder, revealing the sexy lingerie underneath.

Victor didn’t say a word, he only smiled as he took my robe and covered my body.

“What? I thought you’re a playboy? I’m offering myself to you on a platter, so why wouldn’t you take the chance?” I yelled at him, and then tried to yank off the robe again, but he wouldn’t let me.

He held my hands off tightly and as I looked into his eyes, I burst into tears. It wasn’t the usual silent ones. I was wailing. I was writhing in pain. And the more I remembered all that had happened in the last six hours, the more I cried.

“Please just make love to me, I want to feel good, this pain is too much, I don’t want to feel like this anymore.” I begged amid the tears. S*x seemed like the only solution, and though I had never done such before – getting intimate with a stranger, more like a one-night stand - and would probably regret it in the morning, at that moment, I just needed to numb the pain I was feeling.

Victor still didn’t say a word, instead, he pulled me into an embrace and held me for minutes, till I finally stopped crying.

“Are you okay now?” He asked while I nodded softly.

“I can see you have finally considered my offer, right? I’m ready to get you the revenge you want. Dennis doesn’t deserve you. He never did, and I’m going to help you teach him a lesson he will never forget in this lifetime. For now, all you have to do is be by my side. We'd fix our wedding once you've gotten your revenge.”

“Will you be my wife?” he asked again, and I looked into his eyes.

A stranger who I know nothing about other than his last name is asking the most sacred question in the most taunting tone, and I couldn’t imagine that I was actually considering it. But then, I couldn’t let this betrayal go unpunished. Never!

"Contract marriage?” I muttered while he nodded.

"Deal." I affirmed with a sudden boldness.