EPISODE 2
As Richard drove by, it seemed I could see an ugly smile on his face. Or was it my imagination? The face that had previously been my muse now became so despicable. I glared murderously at his car through the sideview mirror as I recollected my experiences while we were together.
Despite our dissimilarities, Richard had seemed the perfect man for me, or at least that was what I had hoped for. He was not without faults but his appearance was an exact depiction of an 'every woman's dream' kind of man. Richard has an athletic build and is gentlemanly even though he is always late to our dates. It still hurts badly, the relationship having lasted six months. Six whole months of wild goose chasing only to realize painfully that Richard was married with kids and was never ready to leave his beloved wife neither did he ever have plans for polygamy. It was until we split up that I realized that I had been the one forcing myself to love him. I berated myself mentally for being so desperate.
On the pathetic day when we finally separated, I had traced him to an open-air bar downtown after fruitless searches for him at his regular hangouts. He was discussing with a man over a few drinks. I got out of my car and walked towards his table. It was apparent that he had been trying his best to avoid me like a plague. The smile on his face froze when he saw me and his eyes darted about their sockets like a cornered rat. When he discovered that there was no fleeing this time, he breathed in deeply and excused himself from the man. Perhaps he thought I was going to cause a scene. He came to meet me halfway and we moved silently towards a secluded pine tree a little distance from the noisy bar.
"Hi", he breathed haughtily. "I've been looking for you for a while now". He was aware how glaring his lie was and quickly looked away.
I was irritated by his bold-face effrontery. "Yeah, I know." I tried vainly to hold back the tears and my face screwed with the effort.
A deafening silence hung between us for what seemed like hours. I steadied my gaze on him and he shuffled his feet nervously.
"So how've you been doing?" He said to break the uncomfortable silence.
I sighed deeply. "Richard, is it true that you're married?" I tried vainly to hide the tremor in my voice.
"Yeah.... with two lovely kids." He seemed to have regained his confidence from my uneasiness. “I wonder why it took so long for you to know."
"Richard, I trusted you with all my life." I couldn't help the tears which slowly welled up in my eyes. "I've always envisaged a future with you; a family of our own."
"Oh! Oh!! So you want me to leave my lovely family for you? You bitch!" He lashed at me with simulated fury."
"Richard!! You dare to call me a bitch. After all I did for you!! Why did you trick me this way for so long?" I fumed. "If you had no future plans for us then why did you continue to deceive me?"
"Hey kiddo, I never deceived you." Richard retorted with a wicked grin spread all over his damned face. "You were easy and searching so I just needed someone to cool off and you came along like a dog on a leash."
"You gold-digging bastard." I regained my composure. "I'll make sure you pay dearly for your treachery."
"There's nothing you can do." He bragged, although a hint of fear could be detected beneath his bravado.
"Nothing? Well, just wait and see. You'll hear from me soon."
It took all my efforts to maintain a steady composure as I walked back to my car. I could almost feel his piercing gaze. I entered the car and drove off. The moment I left the driveway, I parked by the roadside and let loose the flood of tears.
I never felt so bad. I cried all day and Fola had to skip her date to stay overnight at my place as she said it was dangerous to leave me alone the way I was. Esther could not stay long as her husband was calling repeatedly right from the time she arrived at my house. I forced a smile at the thought that my condition was at least better than that of Esther who was already hooked before realizing that her husband was actually a domineering and overjealous lout.
I had no idea which hurts most: being played like a fool or being drained to fund another persons family. I discovered that most of the exorbitant financial support Richard asked from me were used to pay his children's tuition fees; kids I never knew existed, his wife's needs, house rent etc. How could a man be so vain and heartless? Come to think of it, I couldn't have been more foolish. His inbox was always half-empty. Richard was the perfect player.
Out of trepidation, I had sometimes sneaked peeks at the contents of his smartphone but most of the messages would be harmless missives from his network operator, bank, professional colleagues etc. There was never a message from a girl but everytime I checked his call log, there was a particular number which he always calls for at least six times each day. Since the number was not saved with any name I just had to overlook it. I was scared that if I confronted him, it might turn out to be just a friend or his parent.
However, my mind was not settled so I resorted to my female intuition. No detective could be as expert as a woman when she is suspicious. An unknown sage even likened women to the Police who even when they have all the evidence they need, they would still demand for a full confession just to ascertain its authenticity. I had copied the number to my notepad and called it with my phone. The call was answered on the third ring. The voice on the other end was a woman's and I guessed she was his sister. I could also hear the voices of some children playing in the background.
"Hello... Who is this?" The voice enquired again and I knew I had to think fast.
"Hello, this is Barrister Rachael." I hesitated before continuing. "I'll like to speak to Mr Richard."
"Okay, my husband is not at home at the moment."
