I screamed as he continued to beat me, "Please James." I pleaded in pain and he stopped and looked at me. "Honey, I'm sorry." He apologized and came closer to me, I shifted back scared.
I held the pillow close to myself crying uncontrollably like a baby. "Honey, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, it's the devil." He paused and looked at me picking his belt. "I love you so much that I can't hurt you." He continued.
I looked at him with anger, it wasn't the first time that I was beaten by him, he was a drunkard, he was working before we got married, I married a responsible man but he turned out to be an irresponsible man.
"Are you going to forgive me or you'll just stay in here like an animal, hurry up and prepare for work, I'm leaving." He said.
"Leaving? To where?" I asked surprised.
"None of your business." He answered and walked into the bathroom. I opened the door and came out of the room, I walked down the stairs, Lily was no where to be found. I sat on the dinning table as tears flowed down my cheeks. I remembered my mom's warning not to marry him.
Flashback.
I walked into the house holding James's hand, he was giggling excitedly, he wanted to meet my Mom, I was also anxious to see her after five years.
"Mummy." I shouted dropping my bag as I ran to hug her. She hugged me back and we both started crying. After I relocated to Los Angeles, we stopped contacting each other, her phone was stolen and I didn't have the chance to visit because of my job.
"I've missed you, my dear." She finally said withdrawing from my tight grip, she seemed to notice James smiling at her and she looked at me. "Who's he?" She asked.
"Mom, I love him, I want to get married to him" I answered. I noticed the expression on her face change immediately.
"You can't marry him, I see danger looming ahead of you" She said immediately and my heart raced. I knew that my mom had the gift of seeing things but I was totally in love with him and I couldn't give him for anything.
"Mom," I called out in annoyance. "Who still follows seers, I can marry who I want to marry anytime anyday." I replied.
"Lisa, you've got to believe me, I won't lie to you, if you marry him, something bad will happen to you, I see it and you can't avoid it." She said and I looked at James speechless.
End of Flashback.
I married him without my mother's consent and maybe she was right, something bad did happen to me, I had a miscarriage.
I managed to eat the fried potatoes on the small plate, I needed to eat to stay alive like my father would say before he died.
The first bite tasted like drugs in my mouth, I continued eating as he came down from the stairs and walked towards me. "I'm sorry for today, I don't want to ever see Lily in this house again." He said and I stood up.
"What was the reason for beating me?" I asked. "Was it because she came to this house or because she ate the food you cooked for us?" I asked angrily.
He looked at me and smiled, he walked up to me, planted a kiss on my forehead and left hurriedly.
I took a napkin from the dinning table and cleaned my forehead, I needed to bath, I ran up to the stairs, taking off my night gown. I walked into the bathroom and closed the door.
Turning on the shower, I quickly got in and began to bathe, I met the water flow for minutes resting my hand on the wall along with my head. I came out of the shower after cleaning my body with a towel, I was too weak to do anything, I picked a gown from the wardrobe and wore it hurriedly, I was almost getting late.
Slowly walking down from the stairs, I held onto the railing keeping myself balanced from my dizziness.
I took my bag and walked out of the house locking the door, he had an extra key but did he carry it?
I took a bike to Bee's Restaurant, I worked there as a waitress after I was sacked by my former employer. I walked into the restaurant and smiled to the workers. "Please, is the boss around?" I asked changing into our uniform as I put on a customized apron that showed our restaurant's name.
"Of course, she wants to see you, it's surprising that you're her favourite." Nancy replied.
"I'm not her favourite, she likes everyone." I said, obviously I was lying, I knew that I was her favourite, sometimes she just called me into her office to chat while the others attended to customers.
"You just came here six months ago, I've been here for three years and I'm not her favourite but you're her favourite." Lucy said. I could sense the jealousy in her voice.
I ignored her and walked into Mrs Victoria's office, she was using her phone and didn't even notice me. I cleared my throat noisily and she looked at me.
"Hey Lisa, why are you late? We had an agreement, I wanted you to meet my brother." She reminded slightly annoyed.
"I'm sorry, it was my husband who caused my delay, he beat me up." I said and she stood up immediately and walked towards me. I showed her the injury I sustained on my right leg due to how James beat me.
She frowned.
"This is the height of it all, is he crazy? Who does this to a beautiful lady trying to get a comfortable life, is it a crime that you married him?" She asked.
"But I still love him." I reminded and she frowned.
She walked to her table and brought out a document. "I want you to sign this papers." She said and I raised my eyebrow in surprise.
"What does it say?"
"If you sign it, James will lose all his properties and you'll divorce him." She answered and my heart skipped a beat.