Dexter, blinded in anger, had run into Karen, who retaliated with a thunderous slap.
"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked with a venomous tone.
Dexter rubbed his face as he tried to speak. He wasn't prepared for an encounter with Karen right now and was at a loss for what to say.
"Mo...ther.. " He stuttered.
"I'm not your mother you rotten bastard!" She screamed. "What are you doing in my house?"
Dexter was in pain. He wasn't a bastard. His mother was alive and well in Africa. Karen watched him think and raised her hands to slap him again, but Dexter caught her hand midway.
"How dare you?" Karen screamed as she grabbed Dexter's shirt.
Lena came out of her room having heard her mother scream. She had a short robe on, but Dexter could see Terry's semen dripping down her legs. Dexter choked in rage. Before Karen banned them from sleeping with each other, Lena had insisted he used a condom whenever he slept with her after Ronnie's birth, but she allowed Terry to not only sleep with her but release inside her.
"Mom, what is going on?" Lena asked in a fake concerned tone.
Dexter then realized he had married a good actress who delighted in playing with his emotions.
"Who allowed this bastard into my house?" Karen asked, staring at Lena.
Lena rolled her eyes in disgust. "Mom, he even barged into my room and began yelling at me," she said in a horrified tone. "Can you believe that?"
Dexter couldn't believe his ears as he listened to Lena spew out trash.
"Why don't you tell her who is in your room right now," Dexter said, trying so hard to keep his emotions in check.
Karen stared at Lena with a questioning look.
"And who is in my room?" Lena asked nonchalantly with her hands crossed over her chest.
"Terry!" Dexter yelled. "I caught her cheating on me with Terry," he said to Karen.
"So?" Karen asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dexter stared at Karen baffled. It also meant nothing to her. He shouldn't be surprised. He should have known she was the architect of all these problems he was facing right now in his marriage. She had literally destroyed his matrimonial home. But why? What had he done to deserve this? Why did she hate him so much?
"Mother, Terry said he had been with his girlfriend for the past two days," Dexter heard Lena say and snapped back to reality.
"What?" He could barely hear his voice.
"Yes!" Lena snapped. "You were busy having a good time with her and left me all alone. Now you are blaming me for cheating on you when you are basically doing the same thing."
Dexter's face crumpled. Lena never allowed him to touch her, and now she was accusing him of cheating. What a great performance. She was the perfect definition of a chameleon.
Karen stood smiling as she watched them exchange words.
"I should have listened to Mother," Lena, wiping at the tears that suddenly began trickling down her face. "You are no good. I shouldn't have married you,".
Karen pulled her into a close embrace and helped her wipe her face. " It's okay sweetie," She said. "Now you know I'm always right,"
"I'm sorry Mom," she said, sniffing loudly.
Dexter watched them in amazement. This was a good show put up by Lena and Karen. He never knew they were this good at acting.
"Lena... Do you think.." He began.
"Shut up!" Karen yelled at him, interrupting him. "Don't you dare deny it you shameless reptile,"
Dexter chose to ignore all the vile words she spoke after all Sir Richard had put up with her smartmouth till his death and he was going to do the same. No matter what happened, he would fight for his family for Ronnie's sake. He couldn't bear to walk out of the marriage because he wanted Ronnie to have the love and care of both his parents. It was something he never had as a child.
"Mother, let me speak," he said firmly.
Karen gestured with her hands. "Alright go ahead," she said. " Tell us where have you been for the last two days?"
"I was in the hospital," Dexter responded.
"No you weren't," Lena spoke up. She was done sobbing. "You were with her,"
"Who is her?" Dexter yelled. He was sick of the toxic acts. "Give me a name!"
"Don't..you ... dare....yell at my daughter you prick," Karen screamed, pointing a finger in his face.
"I don't need to tell you a name," Lena said calmly. "I don't recall the names of prostitutes,"
Karen giggled wickedly. " I wonder who the fortunate girl is. Only a low-life creature would allow thissss," she said gesticulating at Dexter. "To touch her,"
"Thank you very much," Dexter said as he turned to walk away.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Karen yelled.
She walked up to him and slapped his face. Dexter clenched his teeth.
"How dare you walk out on us?" Karen yelled, standing tiptoe she spat on his face. "We endured your horrible stench, and you dare walk away,"
Dexter wiped off the saliva with the back of his hand. He took a deep long breath as he stared into Karen's grey eyes filled with hate.
"You are a shame to us, a disgrace to your son and a reproach to the harlot that bore you!" She said with a venomous tone, breathing hard.
Dexter's fist tightened. His mother wasn't a harlot. She was the purest and kindest creature to ever walk this earth. She had dedicated her pure life to missionary work and traveled far and near doing the Lord's work. She was nothing like this vile creature who raised a whore as a daughter and a criminal as a son. His mother was the Lord's bride, a sister in a Covent.
Karen walked into the living room, leaving Lena who gave Dexter her evil eye before going into her room. She soon returned with a letter from the loan sharks.
"Despite my warnings, you still sent me a letter asking me for $300,000,000," she said, waving the letter in his face. "Are you so desperate for money that you reward the kindness I have shown you all these years with wickedness?"
Dexter stared at the letter perplexed. $300,000,000 was a lot of money. He wasn't sure Karen had such a huge amount of money. Richmond company had also been doing badly thanks to Karen's mismanagement and Logan's thefts.
"I...didn't ...send..." he said.
"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Karen asked interrupting him.
"You are the cause of my husband's death and the cause of the issues I have right now," Karen said. "Why don't you go away...somewhere and die?"
Dexter looked down at her as she said those words. He knew. He knew his death would bring joy to her cold dark heart. But he wasn't going to die. He also wasn't going to give up now, at least not because of her.
Karen slammed the letter into his chest because she wasn't tall enough to reach his face.
"Go and tell your fellow abductors to release my son or you will find yourself in jail," Karen said. "All of you!"
Dexter squeezed the letter and made to go into his room when he felt something hit the back of his head. He turned to look at Karen, who had thrown a vase at him. The vase didn't break and fell onto the thick puffy rug.
"Where are you going to?" She yelled.
Dexter touched the back of his head and was glad that there was no blood.
"I said go tell your fellow criminals to release my son," Karen yelled, breathing hard. She wasn't going to let him be. She enjoyed making his life a living hell.
They stood breathing hard, staring at each other for a few minutes. Dexter suddenly turned and walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
Karen stood staring at the door for some time. She sighed dejectedly. She knew Dexter wasn't involved in Logan's abduction, but someone had to take the blame.
"Oh my Logan," she moaned as she sank into a chair. "What am I going to do?"
She couldn't raise $300,000,000 in three weeks and couldn't bear selling off Richmond company. She had to do something, and urgently too.
Dexter walked dejectedly into the cold night without a coat. He had been walking for hours now. People glanced at him as he passed by. Some were astonished while others were wondering what was going on with him but nobody stopped him to find out.
Dexter thought about a lot of things as he stumbled on. Life wasn't fair to him. He had tried so hard to live a legally decent life but couldn't understand why he was so unfortunate. What had he done to the universe? Why had he been born in this cold and heartless world? He didn't deserve to be treated with disdain. He didn't deserve to be rejected. He only wanted to be loved, to be appreciated. He only wanted a place in this world. It wasn't too much to ask. It wasn't.
"Gawwddd," Dexter screamed, looking up at the sky. He began sobbing. He sobbed hard and continued walking, shivering badly.
It wasn't his fault, he was biracial. He hadn't asked to be raised in Africa. But why? Why was this happening to him? No one wanted him. His father never wanted him. His wife...
Dexter broke down. He loved Lena and had wanted a family, but it didn't work out as he wanted. Lena had broken him, broken his heart. He felt so destroyed. Everyone he had accepted and trusted had betrayed him. Terry had betrayed him.