Chris got home earlier than usual, but was surprised when he met his mistress at home too. She should be in school by now, why is she home this early too?
"What happened?" Aziza asks as she walks up to him and helps him take off his jacket. "What are you home this early?"
"I got suspended from work."
Hearing this statement, Aziza stopped helping him take of his jacket and looks at him briefly. "What did you just say?"
"I got suspended from work today."
"Why?"
"Due to some financial issues caused by the mismanagement of funds in the company." Chris exhales. "This happened because of the newly appointed director, he embezzled a lot of money. So almost half of us were suspended from work."
"Then why did you come here?" Aziza asks.
"What are you talking about? If I don't come home where do you expect me to go? Stay on the streets?"
"Home?" Aziza scoffs. "You call my apartment home? If you are now jobless how do you expect us to survive?"
"But you work too."
"I got dismissed from work too!" Aziza yells. "Someone found out I was the cause of the divorce with your wife, so I lost my job too."
"Ohh!!!! I am so sorry about that." Chris sighs. "My suspension is just for six months, you can start looking for a new job. If you want, I could help you talk to a few of my friends-"
"Did you just say six month?" She asks cutting him off.
"Yes." Chris nods.
"I can stay with a man that is jobless, I am so sorry. Pack your things and leave."
"Leave?"
"Yes!!!!" Aziza yells. "Leave this instant."
"Where do you want me to go?"
"Pass the night in a hotel."
"Aziza." Chris calls softly. "I still have savings, we could actually use that to manage ourselves for the time being."
"Savings?" Aziza asks and scoffs again. "You call that little thing in your account savings?"
"But that was the best I could save, you shop every month using more than half my salary to get yourself clothes. I would still be the one to pay the other bills in the house too." Chris says a little annoyed this time.
"You only performed your duty as a man, the moment you stopped being capable of performing your duties, you immediately turn to garbage."
"What?"
"Yes." Aziza nods.
"This is not the first time I will be getting suspended, I have been suspended three times. There was a particular time my suspension lasted a year! And my wife never made life difficult for me. As a matter of fact, my savings was more than enough for us to spend."
"That was your wife." Aziza replies coldly. "I am not your wife."
"Aziza!" Chris calls loudly.
"Why did you think I had the affair with you? because of love?."
"Aziza." Chris calls again calmly.
"I had the affair with you because of your money!" She says loudly. "What? Suspended for a year? If I were your wife I would have pushed you out of the house."
It was all true anyways, what Chris's friend had told him earlier that day about Aziza was all true. Actually, Chris was never suspended. It was all an act, he wanted to see her true intentions, and it happened to be that she was after money. He quickly thought of his wife that always supported him no matter what happens, she even helped him save to buy a house, the one which he lost to her after the divorce.
What was her going to do?Will he go back to his ex wife? Will she even take and accept him back? Will their daughter ever forgive him?
"Thank God I found out about your real intentions this early."
Chris whispers and walks in straight to the room, packed all his belongings and left, as he drove off, he thought of going home, but after a second thought he decided to pass the night in a hotel.
The silly decisions Chris made some months ago will forever disturb him and forever leave a stain no matter how he tries to make up for it, the worst decision he ever made was filing for Asma's custody. The pain he felt made him feel like his heart was about to fall from his chest.
The next day In school,Emerens remembers her mother's words and warnings 'never to live as someone else's shadows' as she walks into the classroom and matched straight to her seat ignoring everyone in the classroom, including Jessica.
Emerens and Jessica sat pretty close to each other, their seat was kind of separated from the other seats as theirs was located at the back corner of the class.
"Why did you come late to school today?" Jessica asks.
"I woke up late." Emerens replies as she picks a book from her bag, not even looking at Jessica.
"What about my assignment?"
"Which assignment?" Emerens asks still not looking at her.
"The assignment given to us in the class yesterday."
"Do it yourself!!!"
There was a little bit of fear in Emerens voice, she was scared to her bones but had to do it. The earlier the better, that was why she avoided eye contact.
"Emerens, you are so unbelievable this morning." Jessica says loudly that she caught everyone's attention. "Why are you acting up? If you annoy me, you won't keep living the luxurious life you live with your mom."
Emerens wasn't expecting that, it sounded like bombshell. Immediately, the students started whispering to themselves. Ella and her friends were watching the scene too.
"I told her the table was going to turn again, and when it does she would be on the table for bully and threat." Darifa says and her friends looks at her.
"It's gonna be a tough one." Asma says and sighs.
"Jessica." Emerens calls softly with fear. "Please let's talk outside." The embarrassment was just too much for her.
"Let's talk here." Jessica smiles. "What? You don't want people to know you suck up to my mom to get the kind of life you are living?"
"Wow, her mother is a sucker?"
"Unbelievable!!!!"
The students chats and whispers to each other still watching the scene. Emerens stood up gently, picks up her note and walks out.