I sat in the cab, looking confused. Tina was my husband's lover? How come? Tina would not dare! I looked inside the restaurant again and saw her and Michael conversing. What is going on? Just then, her son came trotting along, filled with smiles as he greeted Michael. It all made sense.
Michael's assistant had told me the other day that he had gone out with his wife and son. So this was it. Tina was the so-called wife and her son was Michael's! I had been fooled all this while. Why me? Tina was supposed to be my best friend, but instead, she was the one who had been behind my broken home. I felt more betrayed than ever. I thought it was only in the movies that things like this existed but here I was, a living victim!
I began to trace back all the times I had tried to reach Tina but for some strange reason or another, she wouldn't be available to take my calls. I put all the pieces into place and there it was, boldly staring me in the face. Tina was indeed Michael's mystery lover, as painful as it sounded. Just recently, Tina had told me she had found love again, but I never knew it was my husband she was referring to as 'her newfound love.'
I had been genuinely happy for her, happy for the love she claimed to have found, and happy that her son would at least have a father figure in his life and no longer feel left out like the other kids in his school. The devil had been right under my nose for this long and I had been too blind to see it. I had been searching the wrong place when I needed to look within my small circle of friends to find the culprit.
I started to reminisce on everything, from the moment I told her about Micheal's infidelity towards me. She did not sound surprised because she knew already. Instead, she cooked up a lie about being aware of Michael's cheating ass and not wanting to tell me. Bullshit! Even when I had called her just a while back, to talk to her, her staff had told me that she had gone out on a date, a date with Michael, of course. How could I have been so stupid?
I had even accused Becky of being Michael's mistress when I had the answer to my question so close to me. Poor Becky! I kept looking at them seated in the restaurant. I wanted to go in, but I couldn't bring myself to confront them. I picked up my phone and called Michael. I watched him from where I was as he looked at his phone ring. He busied the call and acted like everything was fine.
I called Tina afterward and I watched as she got up to pick up my call, "Hey, Mabel. What's going on? She asked me if everything was alright. What a slimy, deceitful daughter of Jezebel! She asked to call me back, that she had important customers that came around her restaurant and she was attending to them. "I'll call you back, girl. Just give me a minute," she said as she ended the call.
Wow! Important customers? I couldn't believe my ears. She ended the call and got back to her where she was seated as she resumed whatever conversation she had with Michael. I couldn't bear the pain. "Please take me home," I said to the driver, who acted immediately. I knew I promised myself not to cry anymore, but this time, I couldn't hold myself back. I cried helplessly, not minding the fact that I wasn't alone.
Michael and Tina chose the worst way to betray me. Never in my wildest dream would I have imagined that I would feel the type of hurt I was feeling. Tina could have chosen a different person, but she chose my husband. Even with the fact that she knew I was carrying his child, she still went ahead to carry out her evil plan. "I curse you, Tina! I curse you and all the days you will walk on this earth," I screamed, clenching my fist against the chair in anger.
The cab driver looked at me like I had gone mad, but I didn't mind. I was hurt, in deep pain, deeper than any I had felt since Michael gave me the divorce papers to sign. This was the height of it all. "You win, Michael. You will have what you've been looking for," I muttered. It was time to move on, so I decided to sign the papers as soon as my lawyer had gone through them.
I got home after what seemed like a long drive and went straight for my bedroom. I drowned myself in my tears for a long time before I mustered enough strength to get myself up. I looked at my dressing mirror and rubbed the small belly bump that had started to form in my stomach.
"I'm so sorry, baby. Mommy tried to patch things up with Daddy, but I'm not sure if it will work anymore. I promise to give you the finest things of life, one way or another," I said, still rubbing my stomach as tears flowed down my cheeks. The world I had been trying to mend had finally crumbled and there was nothing I could do about it.
The wedding picture of Michael and I seemed to disgust my sight and I picked it up and threw it so that the glass would shatter into tiny pieces. I went around the house and did the same thing to every picture I saw, as long as Michael's face was in it. There was no need to pretend that we were a couple. According to Michael's outburst earlier, we were never a couple since his sole purpose was to use me to get to where he wanted, and he had achieved that already.
I needed to call someone, but I was tired of relying on Sophia. Who would I call? There was no one to call except her. I couldn't trust anyone since I had been betrayed by my supposed best friend. At least Sophia was Michael's relative and there was no way she would betray me in such a way. If she wasn't Michael's cousin, I would have suspected her too.
"Hey, girl," Sophia responded as soon as she picked up. This wasn't a time for pleasantries, so I went straight to the point. I told her everything I had found out and how betrayed I felt. I cried as I narrated how Michael had busied my call and how Tina had lied about her whereabouts. Sophia listened as I went on, venting my frustrations on her.
"There's more, Mabel. Forgive me for not believing you all this while," Sophia spilled. "What do you mean by that, Sophie?" I asked. Sophia confessed that she had always known about Tina's involvement with Michael, that was why she never liked her, but she didn't want to sabotage my friendship and everything I shared with her. What? Sophia knew? Why had she always protected Michael and made it seem like I didn't know what I was saying?
I couldn't believe my ears. "I trusted you, Sophia, and you knew all along but decided to keep mute about it," I said painfully. "I'm sorry Mabel. I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I didn't want to ruin your friendship with Tina," she said in her defense. Damn the friendship! Who cares about a friendship like that?
Sophia apologized for a long time and I let it go. I can't lose two friends in one day, I still needed one person by my side at least. She thanked me for forgiving her and promised to be a better friend. "Do you want me to call him?" she asked. I was done allowing her to intervene each time Michael and I had issues and there was nothing she would do that hadn't been done already.
It was too late for anything. Even if Michael apologizes for cheating, I would never forgive him nor will I forget, especially the fact that he cheated on me with my best friend. I thanked her for all the times she came through for me and for all the times she made extra efforts to be by my side. I wanted to end the call, but Sophia said she had one more confession to make.
What was new that I had not heard before? "I'm all ears, Sophie," I drawled. She began, "I lied about seeing Michael all by himself on the night of my birthday party. He was with someone, Mabel. I'm so sorry I lied about it. Please forgive me. I was protecting Michael like any cousin would. Please don't use this against me."
I was already drained. I was tired of everything and I just told Sophia that I would talk to her later and ended the call. Michael had other girls he was seeing apart from Tina. What a sick man I married!
I called my lawyer after the call with Sophia, and he picked on the first ring, "Mrs. Adams, what can I do for you?"
"I need those divorce papers and I need them now!" I blurted.