Chapter 4 Final Blow Of Betrayal

• Final Blow of Betrayal
• I woke up in what looked like a hotel room, head spinning like I had just gotten off a rollercoaster. I instinctively reached out for the area where the syringe had been inserted. It still hurt.
• The ordeal of yesterday was definitely one I was not forgetting soon. I still hoped it was all a dream and I would wake up by the side of my husband, wrapped and comfortable in his arms.
• “But wait, did the mystery man abduct me for himself?” I shouldn’t have trusted the man who promised me forever, not to mention a stranger I met yesterday.
• “You’ve been out for two days”, a male voice interrupted, cutting short my inquiries.
• My heart skipped a bit when our eyes met. He was tall and had a banging model body. Dressed in grey sweatpants and a sweatshirt rolled up to his elbow, his hair covering one side of his forehead as his dark blue eyes locked into mine.
• “What?”. “T–T–Two days??” I asked with a look of confusion.
• “Where am I? And who are you? Why did you save me?”. I stared deep into the face of the man who had now unmasked himself.
• I instinctively checked my body and found out the clothes I wore when I was thrown out had been removed.
• “Did you—?”
• “Easy…slow down. I didn’t touch you. I got someone to change your clothes.” He said, erasing all my suspicions.
• “Thank you for saving me, but who are you?” I asked one more time.
• “Who I am is not your business. I’d have left you here, but you took so long to wake up. I wanted to make sure you’d be fine at least. You can now leave.” He said coldly, not meeting my eyes, like I wasn’t his burden to bear.
• Bold of me to think I was important to a stranger. I couldn’t help but notice the bandage on his palm. He must have gotten injured from the fight that broke out two days ago.
• Reaching out for his palm, “Please let me help–”
• Pulling away from me so swiftly, like I could infect him with a disease, “Don’t touch me. I don’t need your help. I prepared a ticket out of the city for you. Take it and leave,” his jaw and fist tightening at the end of his statement.
• His face was blank with unreadable eyes, not showing any emotion.
• I guess I overstepped. Or I was already a burden to him.
• He turned on the TV as he lay back on the chair.
• A newscaster read, “Billionaire Zane Wesley's wedding location is still kept secret from the public, trust us to stream it live for you when we discover–”
• “Wedding location?” I turned to look at him, but it seemed he already knew, by the expression on his face.
• “Zane is getting married?!”, I placed my hands on top of my head as the words of the newscaster continued to slice through my skin like blades.
• I wanted to believe I had misheard it. That this was some cruel misunderstanding.
• “But then we can’t avoid the question on the nation’s lips. “Where is Zara Smith in the midst of all these?” The newscaster continued.
• “I heard they had divorced days ago,” another added.
• “Must be sad and–” The mystery man who had refused to tell me his name switched off the TV, cutting the newscaster short.
• “It won’t do you any good listening to anything about Zane,” He said, this time with concern in his voice.
• “That’s why I already arranged for you to leave the city, lady”. He said with a tone of finality.
• The voices of the newscasters were still hovering in my head, so I couldn’t pay full attention to what he was saying. A storm of disbelief and humiliation swelled inside me. I was no longer the muse with shiny hair and a million-dollar smile. I was now someone talked about on national television, dragged into headlines and shows I never consented to. Not for a good thing but for shame and betrayal.
• A thousand expectations, a thousand sacrifices, a thousand memories, but I was easily discarded like an expired product.
• “Where is the location? Where is Zane getting married?” I asked, facing him.
• “Do you really want to go there? Can you handle it?” a man, once cold now looked caring, leaving me confused.
• “Yes, please take me there.”
• “I need to see this for myself.”
• “Okay, but you will need a disguise. You don’t want the media swarming all over you”. He reached into the wardrobe and brought out a pair of black jeans, a black hoodie, and a black cap.
• “Put these on”, he said, handing me the clothes, then pointed to the bathroom.
• +++++
• “Do you take Elora Shane to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and–” the voice of the priest greeted me as I arrived on the scene where my ex-husband planned to seal his betrayal.
• “You are the best thing that happened to me.”
• “You make this world a better place to be in.”
• “I promise to love and cherish you with everything I have, Zara.”
• Zane’s words on our wedding day, in a scenery like this, echoed through my thoughts.
• I had believed him.
• But I guess love cannot be forever. Especially in the face of ambition and greed.
• I suddenly started to feel dizzy. Maybe I was still distraught from the terror two days ago. I still needed rest. As I tried to get my footing, a few media people noticed me at the back, where I was. I immediately knew I was in trouble. They rushed towards me with their microphones and cameras. It was total humiliation that I had never experienced before.
• Their voices around me blurred into a dull roar as I fell to the ground and everything went dark.