Humiliated
1525 Words
Nathan
“How about the school tuck-shop?” my excited wife asks. “It’s been advertised, we can sell food to the kids there,” she adds with sparkling eyes.
“The two of us?” I ask and she nods.
“You don’t have to…”
“Working and seeing my wife every minute sounds like heaven,” I say and she blushes. Gorgeous! I can’t stop myself from kissing her and ravaging her sensual lips. We are breathless when I break off the kiss and excuse myself to head to the bathroom. I need a distance away from her to cool my hormones down. I hope she did not feel my manhood erecting. This impotence issue is becoming hard to maintain.
I return a few minutes later to find my wife dejected.
“I called the school to find out if their tuck-shop was still vacant,” she tells me and I can already tell that we were turned down.
“The principal does not want to be caught up in our scandal. We are not good associates for the school,” she adds with a melancholic voice.
“I am sorry. We will think of something else,” I suggest and she flashes me a weak smile.
“It’s not everyday that I have my wife all to myself. How about we visit Palmland gardens?” I suggest and she nods.
“That’s a great idea. I can do with nature and fresh air,” she beams. It’s really so easy to cheer this woman up.
An hour later, we get off the cab and stroll around the botanical gardens. We, unfortunately, are no longer in our relatively kind, unassuming neighbourhood. We ignore a lot of curious stares and scoffs. Maybe this was not a good idea after all.
We are still enjoying the nature and doing our best to ignore haters when we run into the last people I expected to meet.
“Oh, great, the peasants are here,” Ella sneers the moment she spots us.
Her attitude still surprises me, but not as much as whom she is with.
“Ella, Michael,” I greet my ex fiancee and former best friend with a neutral tone.
“Long time, Micheal,” I add, my eyes landing on their entwined hands.
Ella rolls her eyes and lifts her nose in disgust as usual, while my former best friend shrugs his shoulders. I wonder how long the two of them have been together. I must remember to ask Brian to look into this.
I feel Amari’s hand squeeze my shoulder. This is her way of telling me that I am not alone. I look up at her, cover her hand with mine and smile. I am strangely okay with the witch I almost married being with my former friend.
“I guess congratulations are in order, Micheal.”
It’s Ella who responds, while Michael avoids meeting my eyes.
“If you must know, Michael and I love each other. We always did. He is the real man, unlike you, an impotent cripple!” Ella yells. The laughter from the bystanders seems to cheer her on.
“It’s good to know. When is the big day?” I ask and notice a change in her expression. Michael’s parents are very strict and particular about whom he dates and whom he will marry. I doubt that they would easily accept Ella, whom they know used to date his best friend. I suspect that is the reason Ella is so desperate and fabricating the story about me cheating on her and lying about sending Amari money. She needs to prove to them that she is not a gold-digger.
“None of your business, Invalid!” she snaps. I guess I struck a nerve. I don’t bother with her and turn to Michael instead.
“Do me a favour and stop that witch from spewing lies about my wife,” I warn and Micheal goes ballistic.
“What the f**k did you call my woman?”
I laugh at his anger and pride. I now know the gold-digger he is with. Ella is no woman any man should be proud of having. He clearly does not know her. It makes me flinch knowing that I was once him.
“I said, tell your materialistic, master manipulator to stop smearing my wife’s name,” I say slowly emphasising every word, and he loses it and punches me on the face. I am still shocked by that when he pushes the wheelchair over, sending me flying to the grass. I can’t believe that this is the same man I once regarded as my best friend.
“Nathan!” Amari cries and runs to help me sit up. The worry on her face pulls at all my heart strings.
“You are a cripple, a nobody! It will help you to know your place,” Michael roars and gets a loud cheers from the crowd. He must be pleased by the audience because he pulls Ella to him and passionately kiss her. I guess that is meant to rub it on my face, except I feel nothing. They both walk away holding hands.
“Are you okay?”Amari asks and helps me back on the wheelchair. I pinch my bleeding nostrils and watch the two disappear. I can’t help recalling how I helped Micheal get where he is. He knew nothing about running a business and I thought him everything he knows. He is now the CEO in one of the companies because of my recommendations. You would think he would remember all that, but no. Whoever said a dog is more loyal than most people was right. The interesting part though is that he has no idea who his real boss is.
Amari takes out a wipe from her bag and quietly cleans my blood before pushing me towards the tap, where I wash my hands. We are still there when I see the guards approaching us.
“Sir, Ma’am, I am afraid we have to remove you from the premises,” one of the guards says.
“What? This is a public garden, accessible to everyone,” I respond and see them shift uncomfortably.
“We have reports of you upsetting the rest of the visitors. You either leave on your own will or we will make you,” another threatens.
“By the rest of the visitors, you mean Michael and Ella?” I press on.
“Let’s just go,” Amari says, but I can’t accept this. This is a public area. Everything here is payed for and maintained by taxpayers. Michael and Ella don’t have more rights than us by virtue of them being perceived to be better off by us.
“I am curious, how much did they pay you?”
My question must have struck a nerve, because they are no longer civil.
They forcefully push us like criminals all the way to the exit.
“Do you still love her?” Amari asks the moment we get home.
Her question takes me by surprise. I narrow my eyes and study her closely.
She takes steps away from me when I don’t respond. I grab her hand and pull her to sit on me.
“Please look at me,” I plead when she refuses to look at me.
“All my life, I don’t think I knew what love was until I married you.”
She just stares at. I don’t think she believes me.
“Even if I did love her, I would be a fool to still have any feelings for that materialistic bimbo.”
I still don’t get any reaction from her, making my heart flutter than panic. I chuckle and plants a kiss on her cheeks. My wife is jealous and it’s just awesome. I am supposed to be nothing. We just got humiliated at a public space, yet this treasure is jealous.
She huffs, not impressed with me.
“Have you met my gorgeous wife?” I ask and she rolls her eyes while I burst out into laughter.
“I am a married man and would not have it any other way. My heart, soul and every fibre in me, loves you and only you,” I declare.
She looks at me, our eyes finally meeting. I hope she can tell that I mean every word.
She wraps her arms around my neck and sighs.
“I am sorry. It’s just…,” she hesitates. “You were in-love with her for years and...”
I don’t let her complete her statement. Just the thought of me being in-love with Ella makes my stomach revolt.
“Yes, I was with her for years, not in-love,” I refute her statement and cover her lips with mine. Her breathing quickens before she lets out a moan and I completely lose control. I can’t break the kiss off despite the heat rising in my belly and my spear waking. I curse out loud when she breaks off the kiss with widened expression. My cover is blown.
- Writer
