THE BEAUTIFUL BEGGAR
I didn't know there was any issue until madam returned. The next morning, as usual, she sent for me to report immediately to the living room.
I walked up to her without hesitation. I thought she was going to assign me another task, as she normally did, even though I had not finished the one I was already doing.
But this time, it was different.
She was furious.
"What were you doing with my boyfriend in my absence? Chatting and laughing with him?" she asked angrily.
"Nothing, madam," I replied quietly.
"Don't lie to me."
"I am not lying, madam."
"Now go upstairs, pack your things, and leave my house."
My heart skipped. Leave? Just like that?
"I am sorry, madam. I didn't mean to have any discussion with him," I said as I dropped to my knees.
"Then start talking," she demanded.
"He was the one who came to me. I tried to avoid any conversation with him. I didn't want any trouble."
She stared at me with eyes full of suspicion.
"If he comes back and I find out that you tried to seduce him and lie to me, I will not only send you out, but I will deal with you before firing you."
I nodded quickly. "Yes, madam."
I returned to continue my work, praying silently that Lailam would find a way to calm her down and explain everything. I knew she could be unreasonable when she was angry, but I hoped things would settle.
Unfortunately, when he returned, instead of peace, there was more fire.
They started arguing almost immediately. At first, it was low voices, but soon it escalated.
Then I heard madam shout, "I don't blame myself for employing someone like you. I blame your mother for not raising you properly."
"What did you just say?" he roared. "Did you just insult my mother?"
I could hear everything clearly from downstairs.
Then she added, "Keep your mother out of this."
That was when everything scattered.
He slapped her.
The sound echoed through the house.
I was rushing upstairs when he was already coming down, and madam was chasing him with a bottle in her hand. She was blinded by anger.
"Madam, please!" I shouted, trying to stop her.
But in the confusion, the bottle missed him and landed heavily on my head.
Everything happened so fast.
I lost my balance, fell on the stairs, and rolled all the way down to the next floor.
My world turned dark.
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on a hospital bed. My entire head was wrapped in bandages, even my face and jaw. I felt sharp pain on my left jaw and deep aches in my head.
The doctor was saying, "She is lucky. The fracture on her skull did not cause severe damage."
Lucky.
That word sounded strange to me.
Lailam was sitting beside me. When he noticed I was awake, he apologized repeatedly. He told me madam was the one who brought me to the hospital, paid my bills, and left.
He stayed behind to check on me.
Then he told me something that shocked me.
Because I was unconscious, madam had begged him to remain and ensure that, if I woke up, I would confirm that it was an accident.
That was how they reconciled.
I realized I had become the bridge that joined them back together. The sacrifice they used to settle their fight.
I was wearing thick bandages that covered almost my entire head and face, like a mask. Even after I was discharged, I still had to keep them on.
When I returned to the house, madam behaved as if nothing had happened. One evening, she casually told me that her fiancé who was abroad would be coming soon.
I froze.
Deep down, I knew exactly who she was talking about.
My runaway husband.
I was anxiously waiting for him to return; my runaway hubby. Every single day I kept hoping he would suddenly appear at the gate and call my name the way he used to. But life no be film. Things don't just fix themselves like magic.
Despite my condition, I was still doing house chores. Nobody sent me to be a maid, but I had no choice. My head was wrapped in thick bandages to hold the fractures and protect me from any further injury. Even my face was plastered and covered. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I could hardly recognize the woman staring back at me. My cheeks had sunk in. I had lost so much weight.
I used to be a little chubby, not too much, just fresh and strong. The kind of woman people would turn to look at twice. Now I looked like a shadow of myself. Life can humble someone, honestly.
That morning, my madam walked up to me. Her heels were making that sharp kpa-kpa sound on the tiles. She stopped in front of me and said in a cold voice,
"The ears that will soon follow a corpse to the grave don't always listen to warning. I hope you are going to keep your mouth shut."
I was confused. I didn't even understand what she meant at first.
"Okay, madam," I replied quietly.
She folded her arms and continued, "My fiancé is coming from abroad. He is the man who owns this house, the car, and the company. In fact, he owns me too, because I will soon become his wife."
She paused and looked at me from head to toe.
"When he asks you what happened to your head, tell him it was an accident. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, madam."
"That is the first thing," she said firmly. "He might ask you if you saw me with another man or if I stayed out late at night. Tell him you never saw me with any man, and you never saw me come home late."
"Okay, madam," I repeated.
Then she pointed at a framed picture hanging on the wall. "That is his picture there. Immediately you see him, keep your mouth shut."
She opened her handbag, searched inside, and brought out a bundle of banknotes. She counted some and handed them to me.
"This is for you. For you to stay quiet. I will also increase your salary."
I collected the money slowly. I understood what she was doing. She was trying to buy my conscience. But one thing is certain; money cannot hide the truth forever. No matter how long it stays in the dark, one day it will come to light.
I kept wondering what she had told her manager and what she planned to do to stop him from showing up unexpectedly. But I reasoned it out in my mind. The same way she gave him the job with certain conditions was the same way she would make him keep it, by controlling the situation.
She had used my runaway husband before. Now she was using another man. Yet none of them seemed to realize it. It was like she had mastered the art of turning men into tools for her benefit.
Whatever influence she had over them made me question myself. I am a woman too. I don't think she was more beautiful than me. In fact, before all this happened, people used to say I was finer. But maybe beauty is not the only thing that controls a man.
Then I began to understand something. My husband always wanted to be in control. When he saw that I owned the house and the shop, it did not sit well with his pride. His ego was threatened. Instead of building with me, he chose another path.
Men and their ego.
So he stripped me of everything and she helped him build his own empire, placing herself as the queen beside him. And I was left picking up the broken pieces of my life.
I was still recovering; physically and emotionally. The pain in my head was one thing, but the pain in my heart was heavier.
One fateful morning, close to noon, the doorbell rang.
Before I could even move, I heard the gateman shout excitedly as he rushed to open the gate. My heart started beating fast. Something about the way he shouted made my body tremble.
I walked slowly to the door and opened it.
The moment my eyes landed on the man standing there, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
"Tara!"
TBC…