"I'll be on my way out. Please take care of her, Sir Henry." She said, curtsying before she turned.
"Now, tell me what's wrong." Tom said after Lesedi was gone. "Did he hit you?"
Cara was reluctant to answer his question. Instead, she wrapped her hand around him and placed her head on his shoulder.
"Talk to me Cara, did he hit you?" Henry pressed further.
"No," Cara lied as she released him from her grip. "Tom would never hit me."
"But what is this I see on your face?" Henry asked, squinting at her face. "It looks like you were hit here."
"Yes, we had an argument." Cara began. She noticed the lines forming on Henry's forehead. "He didn't hit me," she quickly reiterated. "He held me, and I was struggling to leave, I hit my face on the headboard."
"He held you in the bed?" Henry questioned. He hadn't gotten a clear picture yet. He had no reason to disbelieve her since she had never been caught lying to him.
Cara turned her face from him and stared blankly at the ground in front. She had to come up with a story to tell Henry. She didn't want Henry to see Tom in a worse light than he was already seeing him. "We were discussing the marriage plan. He wanted it soon, which I didn't want. He insisted that I give him a particular time frame, but I refused. He held me on the bed and said he wasn't going to leave me until I told him. I got so mad at him for disturbing me so much about the marriage plans, and I struggled to get up, I slipped and hit my face on the headboard. He tried to get up and help me, but I was still mad at him and I…"
Tears rolled down Cara's eyes as she remembered how she struggled to stop him from molesting her, but now she had to lie to save his image.
"You did what?" Henry questioned.
"I hit his head with a bottle of wine," she answered.
"Ouch!" Henry exclaimed and shook his head. "That's really not good."
Cara sniffed in and wiped the tears off her eyes.
"I left immediately without waiting to see if he was fine or not."
"What?" Henry widened his eyes at her. He was shocked that she could do such a thing. He let out a breath. He decided not to judge or be disappointed in her. He wasn't sure he had gotten the picture of the circumstance at which it happened clearly enough.
He inhaled and exhaled deeply as he closed his eyes and buried his face in his palms for a second. He raised his head to check the phone in his hand, and a message had entered. He gave it to Cara to read.
She collected the phone and unlocked it. The message was from Tom. She opened it and placed her phone to allow Henry to read.
I'm sorry, Cara, I"m sorry for not being patient and for troubling you about marriage, I'm sorry for forcing you and hurting you. Please forgive me.
More tears rolled down Cara's eyes as she read the message. She felt guilty again. She was the cause for his anger and loss of control. If she had given him a specific reply about the marriage, it wouldn't have degenerated into something that was worse.
Henry pulled close to himself with an arm. "You have to stop crying now, Cara. we have to go now and check if he's alright."
Cara moved back a bit to stare at his face.
"Yes, we have to go there now." Henry repeated.
She could not protest. Since Henry was going with her, she believed it would be a reconciliation between her and Tom. She loved him and was not willing to do without him. She also was not willing to disappoint her father and others who were expecting them to get married.
Cara asked for a few minutes to change her clothes.
_________
The Visit
She drove back to Tom's house with Henry. They got there in twenty minutes. Cara led Henry in after confirming that Tom was still in the house from the gardener in the compound. She knew Tom would not just leave the house like that, he had good enough first aid materials to take care of himself in the house and the maid she met on her way out of his house used to be a nurse could help him with it.
"He should be in his room," She said to Henry when they got to the living room.
Henry followed slowly behind her towards the room. She went straight to his main room first but found it still locked. She proceeded with Henry to the guest room.
The door to the guest room was not locked but was slightly ajar, a sign that Tom was still there. She stopped at the entrance and took a very deep breath.
"He's in here," she whispered to Henry, who was behind her.
"Good," Henry whispered back and gave her a reassuring smile, encouraging her to go in and make amends. He patted her on the shoulder and took some steps away from the entrance.
Cara pushed the door gently and walked in. She had already closed the door behind her before she looked up and met the shock of her life.
Tom was there, his eyes staring straight at her. She stared back into his unshaking eyes, shivering. She could see the wound he got from the bottle crashing on his head, it wasn't that much and it was obvious he was already getting first aid treatment on it, but there were blood stains all over the bed. The place was messier than she left it, something else had happened while she was away.
_____________
The Rapist
Tom was there, his eyes staring straight at her. She stared back into his unshaking eyes, shivering. She could see the wound he got from the bottle crashing on his head, it wasn't that much and it was obvious he was already getting first aid on it, but there were blood stains all over the bed. The place was messier than she left it, something else had happened while she was away.
For some reason, Cara could not move her feet. She was not only shocked but scared by the sight before her. The body of the maid lay sprawled in the bed lifelessly, with her clothes all torn to shreds. Tom had not just had his way forcefully with her. He had also used the broken bottles on the floor to inflict injuries on the woman. It didn't look like she was still alive.
Tom was sitting on the seat she had met him when she came in earlier, but this time it was turned towards the door. He was on the top of the backrest, and his feet were on the seat. There were still blood stains on his head, and blood was still dripping out of the wound. He had a flat paper in his hand containing some white substance. Around his nostrils were also traces of the white substance, which Cara suspected to be cocaine. He was shocked to see her return. He never expected that she would return, especially after he had called her several times and sent her a message without getting any response from her.