"You need to meet him, Cathy! Who knows, you might hit it off with him. He seems a nice guy," I said, maintaining my persuasive tone.
"I make my own choices, Noel! And in matters of love, I make my own rules too," Cathy replied from the other end of the phone.
"Absolutely. But will you at least meet him? Please! My reputation is at stake here."
There was a long pause on the other side on the phone.
"Fine. Send me the location and the time. But remember, I am doing this to get back at my worthless husband."
"Thank you so much. You're the best!"
"Just one time. I cannot promise you anything more than that."
That's what she said three months ago. But little did she know that Jimmy, Samuel's brother, was not a quitter. Even though he was a year younger than Cathy, he was an aggressive person who would not take no for an answer. Just as two negatives attract each other, the two hotheads hit it off. In the greater scheme of things, I had ended up playing Cupid. They dated for three months before Cathy made known to us her decision about breaking up with Derry and getting serious with Jimmy.
You have to play dirty at times to get what you want.
I wanted revenge. I wanted to see Derry break down to the ground and I wished to give him a taste of his own medicine. I met the two lovebirds and expressed my desire to see Derry left as a broken man. I handed my phone over to Cathy, which contained the evidence of Derry's infidelity, and told her to use it according to her discretion.
"What do you want us to do?" Cathy and Derry spoke in unison.
I saw the two faces who were staring at me in excitement, waiting for me to utter the next syllable.
"Let Derry realise that Cathy is cheating behind his back. If he confronts you, you can use your trump card," I said tapping the phone on the dining table.
I am guilty of involving two lovers in payback for ruining my marriage. But the guilt was overpowered by the emotion of hatred, and so I decided to carry on playing dirty to get what I wanted.
~~~~~~
Life moves on, whether you decide to proceed or stay back regretting the past. My life with Bella was better than I expected. She worked as a nurse and was part of the morning shift. After being diagnosed with uterine cancer, immediate measures were taken to cease the spread of the rogue cells. The support we rendered, and ample amounts of love from everyone who knew her, rekindled in her the fire to fight back.
With Kevin, Bella's son, being sent to his grandparents' home, Bella and I had the house to ourselves. We made love whenever we could: kitchen counter, dining table, living room floor and anywhere the moment hit us. We were like a newlywed couple who couldn't get enough of each other, devouring one another and intoxicated in love.
It was when we were making love that I realized that her mobile camera was recording our intimate moments of passion. Realizing that she was up to some mischief, I allowed her to carry on with her little game. Once we had finished our 'lovemaking' session and were lying on the bed, I decided to address the issue.
"So... how long before you were going to tell me what you are up to?" I said, gently stroking her head which was pressed against my chest.
"What do you mean?" she questioned.
I reached out to her phone and nudged her. Apparently, she found my chest quite comfortable which is why she didn't bother to look at me.
"Oh, that?" she said giggling. "That's a little tease for Kate. You can have a peep."
While one hand stroked her hair, I began to browse through her phone. I found a couple of clips in the phone gallery. I wonder. I opened her Messenger and searched for Kate's name. And as expected, I found thirteen of our 'Love-making' clips forwarded to Kate. I was horrified looking at the clips, which were recorded without my consent. I placed the phone back on the bedside table and wrapping my arms around Bella, began to cuddle her. Why would she do that? Why tease Kate of all people?
The following morning, as I got ready for work, I asked Bella about her intentions of teasing Kate. She chuckled and answered, "I want to tease her. For her, I am the evil lady who is enjoying the man she loves."
"Come again?"
Bella was facing the mirror and combing her hair to get ready for her check-up. She kept the comb down and turned around to face me.
"Right, big guy. Kate still loves you. What I am doing is making her realize that she has to move on. Until she is over you, she is going to hurt herself watching our intimate scenes."
"How long have you been doing this?" I asked as she grabbed my coat and put it over me.
"Been doing this for a month. She needs to find another guy. If not, she will never get over you."
"Hmm... Yes. Maybe we could set her up with another guy. Ah ha! Her birthday is coming up and maybe you can take her out. You know... a girls' night... so that she can have some fun."
Bella gave me a narrow-eyed look and finally, a smile drew on her face. "Well... you sure do remember her birthday." She came near me and wrapped her hands around me, giving me a kiss on the cheek and continued, "We will work it out with her."
~~~~~~
What impressed me about Bella is, she was a person who knew how to get things done. Using her wit and sly tactics, she had people dancing at her fingertips. Where others saw failure, she saw an opportunity lurking around disguised as a catastrophe. She would fight tooth and nail to get what she wanted, and nothing could deter her from her goal. I knew her well enough to understand her, but not well enough to see through her plans; I knew her well enough to console her but not well enough to get her all excited; I knew her well enough to be a good lover but not well enough to be her husband. Knowing that she was always up to something, my mind was always sceptical about her motives.
As planned, Bella had taken Kate to a nightclub to help her loosen up a bit. I stayed home with Sarah and decided to work on our father-daughter relationship, trying to make up for the lost time. After reading her a bedtime story and kissing her goodnight, I went to the living room to watch some movies and kill some time. At half past eleven, I heard Bella parking her vehicle in the garage.
