Valerie found herself struggling to breathe. She felt Brandon's hot breath all over her face and it carried the smell of alcohol. He had been drinking this early in the morning?
Brandon's face was twisted and he released a short grunt and yanked at her arm. Valerie felt alarm bells tingling in her head. She put up a resistance but it only aimed at angering the already mad Brandon.
He threw her arm away and grabbed at her neck, choking her slightly. His other hand reached for her hair and pulled it hard till her scalp felt like melting away. She gasped in pain.
"Is this how you pay me back for all those years together? By marrying another man?" It was obvious that he wasn't aware of the piece of news that was core to knowing why she married Oliver.
She would have loved to explain but right now her scalp was screaming and her neck was getting choked out of air. She struggled helplessly. "Brandon…you're hurting me…"
As if the voice softened him, Brandon lessened his grip on her neck. "Why? Why did you put me through such humiliation? The shame…"
Valerie coughed a bit. "I can explain, Brandon…"
Another pull at her hair shut her up and she began to whimper and gasp in pain. "Do you know how much it hurts? I left everything I had just so we could be together yet you married someone else without blinking. You didn't care about my feelings!"
Brandon's eyes were bloodshot with anger. He was hurt that Valerie had played him for a fool. He was hurt that he had been working his ass off trying to make a better life for both of them yet she was lusting after another man. He felt so dumb right now.
His grip was still on her hair and neck. Valerie, feeling the pain, began to cry. She was crying because she felt so unfortunate. She was crying because she was weak. She was crying because she was forced to live with the man that assaulted her. She was crying because she hadn't been able explain things to Brandon. She was crying because Brandon now hated her—everyone did. Most importantly she was crying because the man she loved was about to choke her to death.
"I was ready to fight the world for you and I even proposed and you said yes. Was all that a game to you?" Brandon asked though he knew that his grip on her neck was preventing her from speaking.
"Please…" Valerie pleaded between sobs. Her heart ached. It was her fault wasn't it?
Brandon wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. "You're just a piece of shit!"
He raised his arm and flexed his muscles aiming to hit her on the face. His hand fell towards her cheek but was gripped by someone else like a vice. He struggled to free his arm but it was futile.
He pushed Valerie with the hand that was gripping her neck. She fell to the floor and rolled a bit. It took her a while to raise her head from both shame and pain. She propped herself up, the intense pain of the fall traveling through her waist and elbows.
Brandon turned himself to face the person holding onto his arm. The moment he turned, a punch met his face. The hit blinded him for a few seconds and he stumbled around like a blind man. He gasped while holding his jaw.
Not intending to waste time, the newcomer aimed a kick at his stomach and he fell to the floor and stayed there. It was Oliver. He was heaving with anger as he stood over Brandon.
He glanced at Valerie and his eyes darkened. He retracted his gaze and turned to the man on the floor who was nursing his jaw. "Don't you ever touch her again! If you want to kill her do it somewhere else not in this house!"
He kicked Brandon again and he scrambled to his feet while cursing. Oliver was sure he heard him swearing to take revenge before scurrying away.
Oliver turned to Valerie who had struggled to her feet with a dumbfounded look. She was still sobbing bitterly. She was hurt and Oliver knew that it wasn't because of the physical pain. To her he was the worst man on earth. To her he was a nightmare and seeing his face made her want to die.
He hated himself a bit now. His gaze was still on Valerie. She rushed towards him and pushed him aside. She ran inside the house while muttering, "I hate you!"
Oliver stood there frozen in place. It was only minutes later that he walked over and carried the small bag he had dropped. He went inside the house.
….
A week later.
Detective Mark took of sip of his coffee while looking out the window. He glanced at his colleague who was tensed up. "You know you should relax."
Ashton scoffed. "We haven't made any progress with the case and you want me to calm down?"
"Not like that," Mark shook his head. "Don't act so rashly this time."
They were sitting just opposite the Dwayne's Medical Centre. Across the street was a small restaurant where they now sat. The sight of the hospital building itself gave Ashton some weird vibes.
"Dr Harris should be here any moment from now." Mark looked out the window again.
"You think she would really rat out her friend? I mean they go way back." Ashton seemed unconvinced that they would get anything from the doctor.
"Perhaps," he nodded. "But look at the bright side; we get to talk to her!"
"Maybe for you it's fun but all I want is to put that womanizing idiot behind bars!"
Mark sighed heavily. He wasn't sure if Ashton was even using his brain right now. "You know you can't arrest a man for sleeping with a hundred women at once as long as it's not rape?"
Ashton chose to ignore that question and instead looked out the window. He tapped Mark on the shoulder and nodded at the window, "there's Dr Harris."
"Let me finish this!" Mark raised his finger and downed the last content of the coffee cup.