DIANE
David had given me the cold shoulder treatment that night, even going as far as to spend the night in the guest bedroom. This would normally have gotten me upset and worked up, but I was not particularly fazed by it.
No matter how upset David was about me snooping through his phone, I knew that the text I had found had gotten him at the end of a gun barrel, and it was my finger on the trigger.
More importantly, he knew this too. The next morning, while he continued to sulk and stomp around as he got ready for work, I, in complete contrast, was bright and cheery, like I did not have a care in the world.
Acting like he could not stand my presence, David did not even stick around for his usual cup of coffee, while I had a long, leisurely breakfast before ordering for a cab to take me to the boutique.
Unlike David, who was no doubt panicking because he did not know when or how I would use the information I had found, I had a plan, and was totally relaxed and in control.
I fully intended to forward the text to his little whore to bring her down a peg or two and make her realize that she was not the only one David was fooling around with. If she had even half a brain, that would make her re-think the affair, especially once she realized that it did not really offer the security that she currently thought it did.
I, however, was not in a hurry to do so; first, I would milk it for all it was worth to David. Tracy had advised me to build a nest egg ‘just in case’, and I was determined that this single text was going to begin to build me that safety net.
To an onlooker, my actions might have appeared to be those of a woman scorned who was simply out for revenge, but nothing could be further from the truth. The truth was that there was a method to my madness; I fully intended to rebuild my marriage, but I knew that in order to do so, I had to first destroy the affair that had taken him away from me in the first place.
DAVID
I was not surprised Diane had been snooping through my phone, for it was totally within her character; what I was surprised at was my lapse in vigilance at deleting any incriminating texts, in addition to keeping it out of her reach in the first place, and I mentally kicked myself for my carelessness.
Diane was sly and vindictive, and I had no doubt that she would hold the information she had discovered over my head, and try to use it to get me to give her whatever she wanted or felt she deserved.
And just when I thought things could not get any more complex, it turned out that it was not only Diane who was planning to use the money I had sent Sandra as a bargaining chip; ironically, Sandra herself had the same idea.
As promised, I had sent Julie the money for her fees and school shopping, and within an hour of me sending it, Sandra had called me. That was the first red flag; even Julie did not call me while I was at work; so, for her sister to do so, was a step a bit too familiar for comfort. I, nonetheless, kept my tone civil and polite as I answered her call.
“Hi Sandra; is everything alright?”
“No, everything is not alright! Julie has asked me to go back to our mum’s place early; did she tell you she was going to do that?” she demanded angrily.
That was the second red flag; her tone implied that her sister’s action was somehow unacceptable, and that she expected me to defend her. Again, that was a presumption that I found too familiar for comfort.
“Yes, she did; why?”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing; it’s a matter between you and her; so, it really wasn’t my place to comment one way or another.”
“Oh, but it is, because the only reason she wants me gone is so she can get me away from you; you do know that, don’t you?”
I was so shocked by her bluntness that I didn’t know how to respond; so, I made a quick escape.
“I’m sorry, …uhm…..I’m at work, so I….I uhm….can’t talk now,” I stammered nervously. “I’ve got to go now; talk to Julie about it.”
I then hung up, my heart pounding. This was not good. This was not good!
JULIE
I’m not sure how I expected Sandra to react to me giving her the money for her fees and school shopping, and then telling her that I wanted her to return to our mother’s place that day, but it certainly was not with the indignant outburst she had.
“Why? School doesn’t start for another week; so, why do I need to go back now?” she demanded angrily.
“I think we both just need a bit of space,” I answered, my voice calm. “I don’t need space! In fact, I don’t think you do either; I think the only space you are concerned about, is the space between David and me!” she literally spat out.
I jerked back like I had been slapped; I had tried so hard to convince myself the previous night that I had been imagining things when I thought I had walked in on something between Sandra and David, and had pretty much succeeded – until now. Why would Sandra even imagine that I was concerned about the ‘space’ – or lack of it – between her and David, if there was nothing going on between them?
If I had had any doubts about the need for Sandra to leave, her reckless remark had just erased them, and I was now even more anxious for her to be gone as soon as possible.
I definitely wanted her gone before David passed by that evening, because now that she had re-ignited my initial suspicions that I had walked in on something between her and David the previous evening, I needed to raise the subject with David, and see what he had to say.
That is not to say that I intended to accuse him of anything, for I didn’t; rather, just ask him if there was something I needed to know; if he said there wasn’t, then I would tell him what Sandra had said, and ask him what he made of her remark.
David had often called me naïve, and maybe, to a certain degree, he was right; but at the same time, I believed that I could read people rather accurately, especially people that I was close to, and I was confident that if there was something David had to tell me, I would be able to see it in his eyes.
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