2. Wild Accusations

 "What? Holland, you are so cruel!  You devastated me tonight with your actions, and now you insult me! How can you stand there and say something so evil? For three long years, all I tried to be to you was a good wife! 

Holland looked at me with disdain and walked away.

Angry and confused by the accusation hurled at me. I was shocked that after all this time, he thought I married him for his money.  I couldn't believe those hurtful words came out of the mouth of the man I married.  This was so unlike him.  I stood there staring at him with a sad expression because the pain was so deep and hurt. 

“Don't look at me that way! Your tears are fake! And you are full of pretense!”

“Don’t say that! It isn’t true. I love you, Holland.” I broke down and sobbed even more.

“I know the game you are playing, and you've been busted, Amanza! You are no different from all the other women! They act all sweet in the beginning! Spewing lies about how they love you! When they are only after my money! And you are no different from the other girls in the streets! Seeking to find and trap rich men with power and money! You don’t care about who I am on the inside! You don’t care about my opinions or beliefs! All you cared about was the lifestyle I could give you! You Gold Digger!” 

Holland said as he walked away. "Wait, baby, that isn't true!" I caught up to him and took hold of his hand. He slung my hand from his! 

"Listen to me! Please Holland! I care about you deeply!  None of what you are saying about me is true. Holland, I married you because I love you!  Wait a minute! Don't tell me. That's why you are constantly throwing money at me. Whenever I bring up an issue like it will solve our problems." 

“There were no issues! All you care about, Amanza, is money! Won't you just admit it? You're nothing but a user!" He said, walking away from her again.

She couldn't let him get away with these lies! Her lips trembled as his sharp words felt like stabs in her heart.

"Take that back! You don't mean it. That is a lie, Holland!" she yelled as the tears flowed.

He glared at her with his lips balled up angrily. "I mean every word I'm saying."

"Stop it! Holland, Stop it! Don't make up lies and excuses! If you don't want to celebrate our anniversary, just say so! But don't write me a check;  I think I will be happy with that! As if I'm some gold digger! Because you are dead wrong, Holland!  I’m insulted by that!”

He picked up the glass of red wine off the coffee table and drank it

“You are insulted?! What do you think I am?! Amanza! You don't love me at all. I already know that you've cheated on me with other men!”

“What! That’s not true! I promise! I've never cheated on you! Where are all these lies and false accusations coming from!?"

“Oh, you want evidence! I got the evidence, Amanza! You’ve been caught red-handed!”

Holland took a stack of photos, and as I reached for them, he threw them in my face. The photos fell to the floor. I stood there in shock for a moment. Slowly, I glanced down at the pictures and saw that it was me. I bent down to pick them up and examine them further.  

“Who is that man, Amanza? And you say you love me.” He scoffed. “Don't I have the right to say something about my wife being out with another man? I'm the one insulted and humiliated!”

I scanned through the photos. “Oh my goodness! You've been spying on me? Holland, you don’t trust me? I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“That’s right! I had you followed! This past year, you have changed! Always leaving out of here talking about you're meeting a friend. You are a liar and a cheat! You were meeting this silver fox!” He picked up one of the last pictures on the floor. “You even let this man kiss you!” 

“Holland, listen, sweetheart, it’s not what you think. This man I’m having dinner with is not some silver fox. This charming gentleman kissing me on my cheek is Clinton, my father.” 

Holland smirked. "Do you think I'm a fool, woman?!" He yelled.

“I would never cheat on you, baby. My father had come into town, and I was spending time with him, and we were having an innocent lunch, that's all.” 

“I don’t want to hear the lies, Amanza! You know as well as I do that this marriage was nothing more than an arrangement by my grandfather. You might have fooled my grandfather into thinking you are a good woman. But you’re not fooling me anymore. Now I know the truth!”

He snorted at the silver-haired man in the photo and tossed it on the coffee table. “I now know you prefer men a bit older, " he said sarcastically.

“Please, please, baby, believe me. I told you who that man is; I don’t have any reason to lie to you. I’ve been nothing but faithful to you. Trust me, it's all a misunderstanding. You are the only man I’ve been with these three years. I love you.  Holland baby,  is this why you were out with Susie tonight? 

“Don’t try to turn this around on me now that you have been busted!”

“Holland! Tell me! What is she to you? Why were you with her on our anniversary? I saw you at the restaurant giving her flowers and hugging that woman instead of me." 

Holland refused to answer me. I cried, needing and wanting answers, and that’s when Holland's phone rang. 

“Hello,” Holland says, glad for the distraction.

"Hey, it's me, Susie. Can you come over?" 

"Are you listening to me, Holland? Who are you on that phone with?” I asked him.

"Hold on one second.” Holland leaves out of the room for privacy.

“Was that your wife, I heard? Can you talk now?”

“Yes. What’s up?”

“Can you come over, baby?" 

“Sure, how are you feeling?" 

"Not so good. I feel sad. Especially since you’re not by my side." 

"I'll be there; give me twenty minutes," Holland says, hanging up the phone and returning to the living room to face Amanza, who is crying profusely. 

"Who was that? Was that girl calling you? I have the right to know. What is happening here?”

 I stood there begging Holland, “You are the only man I want to spend the rest of my life with. Please don’t do this to us. Why are you hurting me this way?”

Holland said, “Yes, it was Susie, and there's nothing you can do about it.”

“What!  Susie? Your ex-girlfriend? Holland, I don’t understand. Holland, do you still feel for this woman after all this time?  This is our anniversary. Doesn’t that mean anything?"  

“She needs me right now.”

"Oh my God, I feel sick. This isn't happening." His words and actions were like a direct punch to the gut! I squeezed my eyes shut and was doubled over from the immense pain. Hoping all of this was some nightmare and that it couldn’t be real. But I could barely breathe as my heart felt like it was crushed into a million pieces.  When I opened my eyes again, he walked to the front door. I knew it was real! 

I could hear him grab the car keys, and I couldn't help but run behind him.

 “Wait! Wait, Holland! Please don’t leave me tonight, of all nights.  It's our anniversary! I need you here, too! Baby, I want you here with me!” I cried out. 

His response to me was that he left the house in silence. I fell to the floor; my heart shattered into a million pieces!

I eventually dragged my limp body back into the living room. I glanced down and saw the check lying on the coffee table through my tear-filled eyes. I took it and ripped it up, screaming!

“I hate him! I hate him!" I tore up his check, furious, crying, and sobbing.  

A few moments later, my pride and anger simmered. I won’t sit in this empty house while he’s out with another woman! Two can play this game!’

 I  changed into a sexy dress and made a text. 

“I need you tonight to help me forget about Holland. Can you come and pick me up?”