It has to be a dream. It's a dream. I muttered under my breath as I stared from his outstretched hand to his face. It's just a bad dream. There was no way that was my Ralph, the same Ralph I had chosen over my entire family. There was no way he would treat me this way.
"Please stop it, Ralph. You are hurting me," I said, ignoring Jane who was now glaring at me. I felt a lone tear steal its way out from my eyes but I did not attempt to wipe it off. Ralph needed to see how much he was hurting me. "Please, not after everything."
But instead of the pity and head reset I expected, a frown marred his face as he glared at me, flashing an apologetic glance to Jane.
"I never asked you to do all that you did for me, nor did I ask that you desert your family. Your family was… in fact, the reason I had gotten involved with you in the first place but you stupidly eloped. You are so naive, honestly...to think that I ever loved you."
"Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money," he continued, "Maybe little in the past but you're worth nothing now. Take the money and save us all of these troubles."
I remained speechless as my breathing hitched. Even though I had been feeling pain for quite a while now, each hurtful word from him filled me with a different kind of pain. I diverted my gaze to Jane who was now seated on the bed, her expression amused, a palm under her jaw, and her gaze fixated on me…at my dilemma. It looked like she pitied me but I know that was far from the case. She might be seeing me as a type of lab rat at that point.
"You sure are one hell of a gold digger," Ralph sighed when it dawned on him that I wasn't going to take the cheque. But just as I was about to have a trail of hope that he was back to his senses, he tore out a blank cheque and signed it before he handed it to me.
"Name your price," he said. His tone dripped with annoyance and pride as he outstretched the cheque to me.
"This was not what you promised me. You were the one who asked me to run away with you. I gave you everything, money, my virginity, my…,"
"What are we….in the 80s?" Ralph snapped, his voice raised as his eyes darkened a bit. Subconsciously, my body froze as I flinched. I wanted to leave so bad but my feet felt so wobbly that I doubted I would be able to carry my weight. "
"I think it's meaningless to reason with you. I had wanted to be nice to you but you know what? Fuck it," He exclaimed as he dumped the chequebook on our…his bed. "How do I spell it out for you. I-never-liked-you. Not even for a second. Well, I did like how well you played the wife role but the time's up as you can see for yourself."
Ralph bared his teeth in a menacing smile as he pulled Jane up from where she'd been sitting and sealed his lips to hers, shattering my already shredded heart into more pieces. His hand trailed down her body and gripped her well rounded ass in a firm grip, his eyes fixed to mine the whole time.
"Looks like your toy likes watching us get nasty. Why don't we give her something entertaining," Jame suggested as she moaned into the kiss.
"If I were you," she continued, "I would leave this country and never return."
At her words, my tears which seemed to have initially gone on a holiday began to gush down my cheeks and I took it as my clue to leave. Forcefully, I pulled my wobbly legs out with me. As I shut the door, my eyes met with Ralph's and for a nanosecond, I saw a flicker of emotion flash through his face. But it was gone so quickly that I wondered if my mind was just playing a trick on me. Wiping as many tears as I could from my face, I ordered an Uber, and a few minutes later, it arrived.
The cab man kept stealing glances at me but I paid him no attention.
"What do I do now?" I wondered inwardly. For the past four years since I eloped with Ralph, I have stopped working and acted as a full-time wife. I had also transferred my entire savings, including the money I had stolen from home into his account. He'd used most of the money to invest in his company which had been going downhill at the time and I didn't bother as he said the money would be enough for both of us and I could work in his company whenever I wanted. But now, it became crystal clear. He had used me. He'd taken advantage of my naivety.
Retrieving my phone from my jacket, I dialed one of the two numbers that were saved to my phone. The other one was Ralph's.
"I'm coming over to your place," I said once the call connected, my eyes meeting with the cabman's through the rear mirror. I felt anger bubble within me but I held myself, knowing that he wasn't the cause of my predicament.
"What's wrong, girl? Why are you crying," Alexia's electronic voice, asked, her voice slightly raised and alarmed.
My eyes glistened with fresh tears as I wondered if Alexia loved me genuinely or if she was also faking it but I immediately brushed it out of my mind.
"I would be there in a few minutes," I sniffed, ignoring her questions and I was relieved she didn't push further.
"Okay, baby."
About forty minutes later, I was standing outside Alexia's door, dishelved and everything but presentable.
"Who did this to you?" Alexia exclaimed as she pulled me into a hug. "Who hurt you, baby?"
"It's Ralph. He's cheating on me."
Surprise clouded her features as she pulled away from me, hands on my shoulder while her eyes searched mine in disbelief. Exactly the reaction I had expected as if someone had told me that Ralph would ever do something like this, I would have laughed so hard. He was the ideal man, every girl's dream man. He had always treated me right, going as far as to treat Alexia, my only friend with equal kindness. More tears gushed down my face as she pulled me back to herself, and wordlessly patted my back.
Alexia welcomed me into her home and even though I hadn't come with any of my luggage as they were still at Ralph's, she somehow knew I had come to stay and made me feel comfortable.
"Ralph's an asshole for hurting you like this. It's his loss though as he lost a rare gem for cheap metal. Now it's time to get wasted with.…"Alexia cut herself mid-speech.
I looked up to her through teary lashes to see her holding two buckets of ice cream while she stared into space.
"You know what?" she continued, "How about we grab a few drinks and get boned."