WARMING THE BED OF MY BROTHER-IN-LAW

On my eighteenth birthday, I not only got broken up with but also learned of my ex-boyfriend’s plans to marry my older sister. Keen to find out the truth, I went to the man responsible for my aching heart and confronted him about the news. “What do you think you’re doing, Noah?” I cried out, failing to handle the emotional turmoil that stirred within me. Rising from his chair, he opened up his arms as he walked towards me to embrace me, “How are you doing, sister-in-law?” “Don’t you think you’re going too far, Noah?” I asked, hyperventilating. “What did I do to deserve this betrayal?” “Betrayal? Are you sure you’re the victim here?” questioned Noah, lacking empathy, something I didn’t know he was capable of. “Who do you think should be blamed here for everything?” “What do you mean?” I asked, clenching my fists to contain my anger. Crossing his arms, he asked me, “Where were you the night before? Or, perhaps, should I ask who you spent your last night with?” “I was in my sister’s apartment. Where else would I be?” I asked, covering my mouth with my hand in disbelief. “Why did you ask me that?” Appearing just as devoid of emotions as before, the man told me, “I know you’ve been seeing someone behind my back, Christie.” “Why would I do that to you when I love you so much?” I asked, struggling to understand his reasons for making such baseless accusations. “What proof do you have of my infidelity?” Giving me a despicable grin, Noah inserted his hand into his pocket and dug out a few photographs that he threw in my face, before brazenly declaring, “You've been making a fool of me for so many years, something that could’ve caused you a limb if I hadn’t loved you.” Failing to sympathize with him, because I knew I hadn’t done him wrong, I picked up the photographs and carefully examined them, “How can this be? Who is this man lying beside me on my bed?” “How would I know who you f**k behind my back, Christie?” asked Noah, grabbing my jaw. “Stop pretending to be innocent, because it can have dire consequences.” “But, I—” Before I could defend myself, the man firmed his grip on my mouth before crying out, “Your life is going to be a living hell. Till now, you’ve only experienced my love. Now, you’ll be subjected to my hate, something I can assure you is not a pretty place to be in.” Tears kept falling down my eyes, as I begged him to tell me about the source of the photographs in which I was naked in bed with a stranger. Instead of naming the person who had somehow managed to take false pictures of me in compromising positions, the man let go of my jaw, took out his gun from the inside pocket of his blazer, placed its cold muzzle against my skin and warned me, “If you ever show your face again in here, you will not walk out of this building alive.” “Noah, why are you doing this to me? Don’t you know I’ve only loved you and dreamed of someday marrying you since I was a little girl? Why are you marrying my sister instead? This is so cruel!” I sobbed while begging him to understand how I had been wrongfully accused. His disgust and rage multiplied, and hence he took the gun away from my face, turned away and urged me to leave, “Get out of here, or I will pull the trigger because I hate you more than I have ever hated anybody else, Christie!” “But, I still love you, Noah,” I insisted, wiping my eyes with my handkerchief. Listening to me mention how much I loved him, he went bonkers. He turned towards me with eyes burning red and lips turned into a frown. I was certain that he would hurt me. Before I could leave as he had wanted me to, he grabbed me and threw me hard enough to ensure I collapsed against the wall behind me. “Noah! No!” I shook my head to express my disapproval of whatever he would do to me. “Do not hurt me!” As if my words were a breeze to his ears, he caged me between the walls and his arms before asking me, “Is it because of this beautiful face that you were able to make a fool out of me for so many years? What would you do if I were to ruin it?” The madness that was reflected in his eyes assured me that he wasn’t kidding, something that made it difficult for me to speak up. Rather than showing pity for my trembling body and speechlessness, he raised his hand and made a fist to hit me. “Noah!” I begged to be released, while simultaneously shivering and shutting my eyes in fear. The fist did hit something, but it wasn’t my face. It was when I opened my eyes that I realized Noah had hit the wall, something that left him with bruised and swollen knuckles. Afraid to see him in pain, I offered to bandage his wound. “Get the f**k out of my office!” reiterated Noah, opening the door and pushing me out, something that led me to fall on my buttocks. Everyone who had been hearing our voices from when I had first made my way into the office, gaped at me with visible disgust. Nobody even helped me to stand on my feet. Even when I hurt my elbow in the process of falling down, I relied on the support from the wall to pick myself up on my own. Not knowing what I should do with myself, I slowly dragged myself out of my ex-boyfriend, or rather brother-in-law’s office, dodging as many repulsive gazes as I could while simultaneously pretending that it didn’t affect me.