After what seemed like an hour, Alora was finally able to drag her eyes away from the double doors which remained closed. She turned to the clock hanging on the wall and stared at it the same way she had been doing all night. It was 1 AM, an hour past her wedding anniversary.
"He is still not back"she thought.
Picking up her phone which sat beside her, she turned it on, expecting a call or even a text from Evander. It was their wedding anniversary and she had reminded him via text. She had tried calling him since the previous night and that morning but got no response. His Secretary, Carolina Dexter wasn't picking up her calls either and it made her worried.
At first, she blamed it on his busy schedule. He was a billionaire and CEO of Steel Companies worldwide.
Secondly, he never forgot important dates like her birthdays and anniversaries. He never missed it for anything in the world and that was why she still waiting even when it was past midnight.
Just as she was about to dial his number one more time, she heard her mother in-law Grace voice from behind. "It is such a pity. How sad!"She Said.
She immediately dropped off the phone and turned around to face her."π»ππ€ ππππ βππ π βπ ππππ π‘βπππ?"she thought. "Mother... You are still awake!"
"And you are still wasting your time!"
Alora sighed and glanced at the door. "He is on his way. He is just running late!" She said, wishing it was true.
"Keep dreaming, Alora. I already told you my son is tired of you. You cannot expect a man like him to be faithful after six years of childless marriage!"She yelled
Alora lowered her head to the ground, trying hard to hide her tears. She knew everything would boil down to thatβπ»ππ ππππππππ‘π¦ π‘π ππππ πβππππππ πππ‘π‘ππ six π¦ππππ ππ ππππππππ.
"Your son will never cheat on me!" She raised her head and stated firmly. "He is just busy with work but I assure you, he will make up for it. He always does that"
Grace scoffed and shook her head. "For a woman who cannot produce an heir for her husband, you have so much faith in him!"
With that being said, she walked off, leaving Alora behind. It was only then she let the tears roll down her cheeks. She immediately wiped it off with the back of her hand and glanced at the door one last time. Maybe Grace was right. A man like Dalton Steel with so much wealth and power wouldn't remain faithful to a barren woman like her.
Quietly, she picked up her phone and walked into the dining room which had a cozy and inviting atmosphere. The table was set with a white linen tablecloth, and in the center was a large bowl of fresh fruits all glistening with dew and a cake. She had taken time to prepare all of Dalton's favorite meals.
On the side of the table, a pitcher of iced tea and tall glasses waited to be poured. The chairs were upholstered in a deep red velvet, and the chandelier hung above the table, casting a soft glow.
Alora pictured Dalton sitting at the head of the table while they ate and chatted away happily. They always celebrated their anniversaries indoors and she always made sure it was perfect and different from the other years.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to call it a night. Already, her pretty green eyes were heavy and fatigue could be seen written all over her features. With the help of the maid, she cleared the table and retired to bed, hoping she'd get explanations for Evander in the morning.
"Good morning, Mother, did you sleep well?" Alora greeted and asked once she walked into the kitchen the next morning.
Her eyes were heavy with bags hanging underneath them due to lack of sleep. Her thick, glossy brown curls were matted and tangled, with some strands sticking out in odd directions.
"What is good about the morning, Alora?"Grace asked absentmindedly and sipped her herbal tea while reading a book.
Alora dismissed her question and carried on with making breakfast. She was used to Grace's cold attitude towards her and knew better than to respond. Besides, she had not eaten the previous night and didn't have any atom of energy to dance to her mother-in-law's music.
After preparing breakfast, she sat to eat alone in the dining room. When she was done, she suddenly remembered she had not checked her phone since the previous night. As she turned it on, she got notified that she had a message from Dalton.
It says "Sorry,it's coming late....".
The next thing after the message was an attachment.
Alora immediately clicked on it and the moment it opened, all the blood drained from her face. She stared at the screen with wide eyes and mouth agape. Her eyebrows were raised in surprise, and her jaw had dropped to the floor. What she had seen had completely taken her by surprise.
ππ... ππ ππ‘ π€ππ 'ππ‘ πππ π ππππ! She kept repeating in her head as her phone fell off from her hand. She sat frozen, her back ramrod straight and her eyes unblinking. Her pounding heart was the only muscle in her body that was still able to move.
When the shock wore off a bit, she gathered every momentum and picked up the phone which still displayed the picture on the screen. In the picture Dalton was lying shirtless on the bed with Naomi curled up beside him, her head resting on his chest.
As she stared longer at the screen, the breakfast she had managed to eat threatened to make a reappearance." This is not happening ! This is not real!"She thought.
She tried to console herself as tears flooded her eyes. She immediately wiped them away, knowing Grace could walk in at any time. She couldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing her in tears.
She finally scrolled down to the last message.
"Happy Anniversary,I guess"It said.
"I need to see him,he need to explain all these to me"I thought.
"I'm here to meet my husband!" Alora informed the reception who stood to welcome her on her arrival. "I haven't been able to reach him for days now"
"So sorry about that, Ma'am, he traveled to Tanzania..."
"I'm well aware of that" She replied, trying hard to keep her voice calm and collected. The only thing that wasn't giving her away was the dark eyeglasses that concealed her puffy red eyes.
"He returned this morning and is currently at the hospital..."
Her eyes widened. "W... What happened to him? Is he okay? What is the name of the hospital?"
On arriving at the hospital, she met one of the nurses who directed her to where Dalton was. She immediately rushed off but was distracted when she saw a familiar red-haired inside one of the rooms.
Carolina... That was the Secretary. She said to herself and walked in to meet her admiring her newly polished nails. Dalton wasn't in the room which meant he was elsewhere. πβππ‘ βπππππππ π‘π βππ???
"Where is my husband?" Alora demanded at once. There was no way she was going to believe some fancy picture of them together without confirming it from Dalton.
"With the Doctors"
"Why? What happened to him?"
Carolina finally looked up at her, her face pungent. "Why ask so many questions, Alora? Are you finally tired of sitting around and doing nothing?"
Alora stared at her in shock and couldn't believe she had spoken to her in such a manner. She even addressed her by her first name, instead of Mrs Steel.
"Forget I asked. I'll find him myself!" She finally replied and turned to leave.
"Aren't you going to ask what I'm doing here? Aren't you going to ask about the pictures? I'm sure you must've seen them"
The reminder caused sizzles down her spine as her heart started beating heavily. Slowly, she turned around to face her. "Yes, I saw them. How could I have missed?"
"Well?"Dalton asked and smirked smugly.
"I do not believe them. My husband will never cheat on me!"
Carolina's loud laughter rang across the room. "Says the barren woman!"
"Call me that one more time..."
"You cannot do anything, barren woman!" Carolina cut in and smirked. "You are as harmless as a baby bunny. And oh, you should thank me for giving Dalton what you could never and will never give him."
She paused and raised her hands to her stomach. Rubbing the flat surface, she added. "In here is a priceless jewel. His unborn child, his heir!"
"You liar!!!" Alora yelled, not believing a word that had poured out from her mouth. "No,it is not he can't do this to me"Alora yelled at her.
"It is the truth! Why then do you think he is with the Doctors, huh? We've been making love. It's apparent he got tired of your dumb ass and couldn't keep up with you anymore. You were worthless to him so he had to find someone more useful. And that was me. Now, look! His seed is blooming inside me!"
Without thinking, Alora charged towards her across the room and landed a hard slap on her cheek. The force of the slap threw her off to the ground but Alroa wasn't done. She straddled her thighs and kept landing slaps on her face. The only thing that saved her were the nurses who heard her screams and rushed into the room.
Dalton was immediately informed but before he arrived at the scene, Alora was nowhere to be found.