Secret Betrayal

Episode 30

Life after the wedding day
saga felt so rosy and aroused
the concretisation of the
saying that ‘it’s not about the
start but the end.’ We might
not have started well, but I
believed we were on course
to bliss. Collins became a
darling once again. He treated
me like a king would treat his
queen, holding and squeezing
my hands occasionally and
pecking my forehead as a
conclusion to every decision
making. He would pat my
back with assurance and
cupped my face in his hands
when he wanted to clarify me.

Few days after my black eye
had disappeared and my red
eye also, we set for Dubai.

Our trip started on Facebook
before we flew on Snapchat
and later landed on
Instagram. All other of my
social media handles had their
fair share. This time, my
settings were not altered
rather I had to tag some
people in a bid to ensure the
posts never eluded Vera. She
had become a silent preacher
of marriage and good homes
with some decent pictures of
blissful moments with
Desmond. They were
expecting a baby even.

A cold wordless war was going
on between Vera and me, a
cyber war. If she was aware
of this war was something I
never gave a hoot about
rather I had solace in the fact
that my fan base had
increased drastically because
of my slay pictures and short
videos. My several pictures
around the fleet of cars that
graced Collins’ compound,
including that of his
neighbours helped me a lot. I
simply entered the Range
Rover Sport and took pictures
in the driver’s seat, behind
the wheel, playing music and
turning my head left to right
like a standing fan and before
a minute, it had hit over a
hundred likes and hearts with
comments from drooling
admirers.

I began hosting contests and
rolled out huge amounts of
cash on Facebook and
Instagram. My road to fame
was made easier than others
road to toilets, or so it
seemed.

As soon as we arrived Dubai
International Airport, we had a
chauffeur driven car waiting
to take us to a cabin near the
beach. The interior was state
of the art and luxuriously
furnished with furniture sets,
chandeliers, a plasma TV and
a 70’s recorder. From the
bedroom upstairs, we had
access to a view of the beach
with white and black skins
bared under the
sun. Everything about the
cabin felt like I was shooting
in a music video. In my
mind’s eyes, I put golden
chains on Collins over a big
white t-shirt and sagged pair
of white jeans trousers and
loafers; he looked like Davido.

I just needed to dance and
twerk and frolic around Collins
before a camera, under lights
and boom mic, for the feeling
to be complete.

It felt even cooler​ being made
love to by Collins on that large
bed. We spent more time
idling about, s£nsu@lising our
bodies. Touching and teasing
erogenous parts; his n—–s,
ear lobes, back of my neck,
my arms and lot of other
places. The cuddling was
grand.

We spent our honeymoon on
sightseeing and shopping in
several of Dubai’s malls. The
highlight of our stay was a
visit to the Seven Star Burj Al
Arab Jumeirah. The sight of
gold stung with me as I
gawked at the golden walls
and decors of the massive
hotel that was symbolic of the
United Arab Emirates. That
day culminated in an intense
love making.

All these happened and not a
thing missed the social
media. My fans went with me
to Dubai, they knew and could
tell my story better than me,
especially those prolific and
talented writers among them.

I was ponderously rummaging
the cabinets and dark corners,
looking for nothing exactly,
just idling away as I waited for
Collins to return from a
business meeting he had
scheduled after luckily
running into an old associate
of his father’s​.

My mind idled on why Vera
had never reacted to any of
my posts; not even a single
shade talk more of a
sub. D–n! That girl was
saner than I had thought.
What ever was wrong with
her, I rebuffed the thought
with a jeering face.

I decided to check our
clothings and other stuff in
preparation for our departure
since we had barely three
days left. I was searching the
wardrobe when I found a
round knob at one end. I
didn’t understand it but just
decided to turn it. I tried
turning it clockwise but it
didn’t move so I tried anti-
clockwise and it broke free
after the second
attempt. After turning the
knob, the board behind it
loosened and I shoved it
inside. I needed a flashlight
and quickly recouped one. I
flashed it in and found some
framed pictures and other
photos stacked together. I
pulled them out and retreated
to the table to study them.
The face I saw in the framed
photos looked familiar. Yes,
my brain quickly called it up. It
was the huge dark predator at
the post wedding party. It was
Shrek, the ghoul Collins had
addressed as Buggy.