CHAPTER 3

Jane searched for words to explain herself; she was torn between telling Abbie the truth or avenging Don's betrayal. As Jane gathered her thoughts, her heart raced with a desperate desire to set things right.

The words piled up within her, and she was ready to tell Abbie the truth and get out of that mess. She felt it was right for her to clear up the misconceptions that Abbie had about her and Don. She wanted Abbie to know that it wasn't what it looked like.

"Listen, Abbie, this is a misunderstanding; it's actually not what it looks like." Jane finally gathered the courage to clear the air.

"Shut up! I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to my boyfriend!" Abbie got furious. Don tried to maintain calmness, trying to keep the peace in the room.

"Please calm down, Abbie; there is no need to yell." He said softly.

Anger was visible in Abbie's eyes as she stared at Don, her voice firm with anger and hurt.

"Don't tell me to calm down! You have no right to tell me how to behave because you have absolutely no idea how I feel. Save your advice for someone who cares!"

"You couldn't handle a man, and now you want to ruin my relationship with Don! What is wrong with you, woman, huh? I'm just confused.

Tell me, how could Don fall in love with such a creature like you? Oh, he never did; he just paid you to marry him. How pathetic!" Abbie's voice was seething with anger.

It was in that moment that Jane remembered the truth about her relationship with Don. It was as if she woke up from an eye-opening dream, and in a flash she felt the spirit to fight within her—a spirit to fight Don's girlfriend and actually fight for what was rightfully hers.

She couldn't ignore the fact that Don was still her husband, and the vows that they took together were still not broken yet.

She couldn't let this woman trample all over her. Even though Abbie knew that Don asked for a divorce from Jane, it didn't give Abbie the right to insult and disrespect Jane. As far as everything and everyone was concerned, Jane and Don were still husband and wife.

"Don't disrespect me, Abbie; Don is still my husband. What we do together is none of your business." Jane was ready for war.

"So you will let her talk to me like that, Don?" Abbie was astounded

Subsequent to Don shouting at them for causing a scene and fighting over useless issues, Abbie got very furious. She couldn't control her anger; instead, she opened the door quickly and started running down the stairs. She felt her temperature rising.

During her dash downstairs, her heart pounded in her chest. As she moved away from Don and Jane, she saw the need to walk away as far as possible from the situation that was causing her so much agony.

The faster she ran down the stairs, her pace remained in sync with the rapid flow of her thoughts; she felt like she was losing her sanity.

Abbie's anger was justified because Don always gave her the princess treatment. She knew that her boyfriend was strict, but he had always been soft towards her. She strongly felt that Don humiliated her in front of Jane.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Abbie realised that she couldn't just leave yet. She was not the type of person to quit without an explanation.

Just before she went out the door, she stopped and looked back, taking a few steps backwards. She was not prepared to let Jane treat her like that; she was determined to give her a piece of her mind, and for Don, there was still hell to pay. She wanted to ensure that he doesn't repeat his behaviour in the future.

Jane on the other hand was not ready to let things go. She followed Abbie downstairs, a surge of anger and frustration moved through her veins. Her mind was filled with all the ways she had been disrespected and mistreated by Don and his girlfriend, and she was determined to confront them. She was not going to let Abbie escape that easily.

As Jane reached the bottom of the stairs, she spotted Abbie, and it was as if she was waiting for her. Jane took a deep breath to secure herself. She approached her with determination. Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke, and the pain and hurt were easily spotted in her voice.

"Excuse..me," she said firmly, her tone demanding attention.

"Where do you think you are going? I'm not done with you. I won't tolerate being disrespected anymore; I've had enough!"

Abbie turned in a rage and faced her.

"I deserve to be treated with respect, just like anyone else. You really crossed the line earlier on, and I won't let it slide. Don is still my husband; he is mine! Ok? And you will treat me with respect as his wife."

"And what if I refuse to treat you with respect, huh? What will you do?" Abbie's words were filled with anger.

"In actual fact, you are the one who is supposed to respect me! Know your boundaries. Don is mine now; he is my boyfriend, and I want you to stop forcing yourself onto him," she continued as she took steps closer to her.

Everyone in the reception was taken by surprise; they ceased their activities and directed their attention on the drama that was happening. At first, they were shocked when the CEO's wife was introduced as one of their colleagues, taking the secretary position, and now this! 

Don followed Abbie and Jane, and he was amazed when he reached them still fighting, worse in front of his employees. He felt his heart beating faster, like it was going to explode in his chest. With a thunderous voice, he shouted at Abbie and Jane, calling their names loudly and demanding everyone's attention.

"Enough!" He shouted, his frustrated voice demanding authority.

"What on Earth is wrong with you two? This is a workplace, not a battleground! Stop what you are doing right now; you two are behaving like high school kids!" He barked at them.

Abbie and Jane were tongue-tied, their eyes wide with shock and shame. For the first time since they started quarrelling, they realised that what they were doing was wrong and that they were not proud of fighting in front of the employees.

But the damage was already done, and there was nothing they could do to rectify their mistakes, and Don was not making things easier for them by shouting at them in front of his employees.

"All of you here are watching like it's a movie; you are professionals," he continued, his voice taking on a tone of disappointment.

"I expect better from each and every one of you. This behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated." He moved his eyes across everyone who was in the reception, his eyes locking with each individual caught up in the chaos. 

"Return to your duties immediately," he commanded. Don didn't have to shout when speaking to his employees because they always obeyed him, since he was very strict and hardly laughed at work.

After they were commanded to go back to work, the employees quickly rushed back to their working stations, feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

They kept their heads bowed down as they moved around to avoid eye contact with Don. As the crowd dispersed, Abbie and Jane stood in the middle, not knowing what to do, and Don went back to his office without saying another word to them.

Abbie stormed out without stating the actual reason why she came to see Don in the first place. Jane realised that it was still early and that she had a long day ahead of her.

Jane went to her work station and stared at Joyce as she tried to show her how everything was done. She hardly heard or saw anything because most of the time she was staring out the window, looking at the sun's rays as they gently warmed the grass outside.

Everyone was staring at her as if they were waiting for some kind of explanation from her. Not only did they stare at her, they also walked carefully around her as if they were walking on eggshells. The situation was tense for her; she grabbed her cell phone and rushed outside, banging the door behind her.

She ran like a headless chicken and reached her car, her heart beating faster. She waited for a few minutes, trying to steady herself, then called her father. It rang once, and he answered.

"I can't do this anymore, Dad; I just can't! Why does he hate me so much? What have I done to him to deserve such treatment? I cursed the day I first met him," she cried uncontrollably.

"Don't cry, my child; tell me what happened. I can come to you if you want me to." Moses tried to calm his daughter.

"He hates me, Dad. I will look for a job somewhere else, and then I will repay him all his money. I can't be treated like I'm stupid anymore; I just can't. I've been a slave for the past two years; I can't take it any longer," she continued to sob.

"Listen, why don't you come home and talk about it over a cup of tea? You know I hate seeing you suffer; it really breaks my heart, Jane." 

"Not yet, dad; we will talk when I get home. I have to give that man a piece of my mind. I'm the one who lets him disrespect me, and I will be the one to put an end to it." She wiped her tears, and she felt energised and ready to confront her husband.

"Jane, just don't do or say something that will land you in trouble. Please,  my child, you know how heartless that man is. I don't want him to hurt you," he said in a worried tone.

"I promise I won't, dad. Thank you for always being there for me when I need you the most."

She hung up the phone, wiped her face, and went back to the office. As she entered, all eyes were on her, as if she were some alien.

"Listen, if you want to say something or ask anything, just do it and stop staring at me. If you are not aware, staring at someone is rude."

She snapped, one by one, they removed their eyes from her. She was also surprised by her behaviour; she didn't know she was capable of standing up for herself.

Jane didn't waste any more time; she quickly rushed upstairs to Don's office, pushed open the door, and closed it with a loud bang. 

"We need to talk, right now!" Jane said as she made herself comfortable on the black leather couch in his office.

"Don't you have work to do? I don't have to remind you what will happen if you keep on annoying me and refusing to work," he said, keeping his eyes glued to the screen of his desk top.

"Your threats don't scare me any more. Don, if you wanted to throw us out, you would have done that already. am I lying, huh? So why don't you stop what you are doing and let us talk like adults?" She talked in a tone that scared Don. He shook his head and looked at her. 

"You know, if you were this commanding and demanding, our marriage would still be going on. You remind me of the days we made love. Do you remember them? I'm sure you do; you see, all days you were either shouting at me, demanding something, or commanding me." He smiled and then moved to sit next to her.

"Stop it! Just stop, Don; I'm not here for that," she said with an annoyed face.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about. It turns me on, you know," he said, glueing his eyes on her.

"You are being a pervert right now; I'm not here to talk about that, and don't even think about it," she shifted away from him, making some space in-between them.

"Don't flatter yourself; I'm with someone better!" He said.

"Don, I want you to listen to me very carefully."

She looked at him straight in the eye, then continued,

" I won't tolerate being disrespected anymore, not by you, your employees, or your girlfriend. It stops now! If you don't want me here, you can say, and I will look for a job somewhere else. I don't care if you chase us out of your house; I will put my father in a shelter while looking for a job then I will find us a place to stay. I hope I'm making myself clear," she said with a loud sigh.

"Jane, if you want to be respected, I suggest you begin by respecting yourself first and respecting the space that you work in. I can't just let you cause chaos here and keep quiet about it just because we shared a bed. No, that won't happen!" He said firmly.

"I'm sorry about that, You know, I'm not someone who likes fighting; I was pushed to the limit by your girlfriend. I'm not justifying my actions; I could have handled the situation better, and for that, I'm really sorry. You could have handled the situation better yourself, but you chose to humiliate me in front of everyone."

"In the future, just avoid this kind of behaviour, and I won't have to shout at you. I hope I am clear. I'm done. You can go back to work." He stood up and went to his desk. Jane looked at him and smiled.

' You would swear he vowed to never apologise in his life' she thought and left.

Joyce began to get used to Jane after spending a couple of hours with her and realising that she was actually a sweet and lovely person caught up in a bad space. She gathered the courage to extend a hand of friendship to her.

"Ma'am, I was wondering if you would like to join me for lunch today." Joyce addressed her with so much formality.

"You can call me Jane, and please don't be too formal and cautious around me," Jane said, giving her a slight smile.

"You are the boss's wife. I can't do that; imagine getting fired for calling you by your name," Joyce explained herself, and it proved how strict Don was.

"No one will fire you; don't worry about that." With every word she said, she was cautious, avoiding words that would raise questions about her marriage.

"Oh, I see, but you must know that it will take time for us to get used to addressing you by your name."

"I have all the time in the world; it looks like I will be spending the rest of my life here." Jane got lost in her thoughts.

"And what was that supposed to mean?" a concerned Joyce asked.

"Uh, nothing; don't mind that," she dismissed her friendly

"Ok, about lunch, what do you say? There's a nice little café just a few blocks away; they have a variety of options, from sandwiches to salads; it's a popular spot among the employees." She explained to her quickly because lunch was approaching.

"That sounds lovely. Joyce, I really appreciate the invitation, but I will have to decline it. I'm expecting an important and long call around lunch time. I think I will just look for a quiet spot around here and wait for the call. I will see what I will eat fast after the call. Next time? Jane lied, and she was worried that maybe her lies were showing.

"No problem; I will be looking forward to next time." Joyce believed her, and Jane was worried for nothing. 

In no time, it was lunch time, and Jane looked for a quiet place around her workplace. She finally found it under a tree just next to the wall fence. She really wanted to be alone.

She sat there and reflected on her life. She felt like a complete loser; her peers had absolutely everything—houses, cars, and good paying jobs—and she had absolutely nothing.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she couldn't hear the footsteps that approached her. Her heart almost stopped when someone tapped her shoulder. She wasn't expecting anyone, and it was difficult for people to find her in the spot where she was sitting. She looked back, and she was shocked to see her husband standing behind her.

What are you doing here?" She balanced herself and stood up.

"I'm here to give you this," he said, giving Jane a brown envelope.

"What is this?" She extended her arm and took the envelope from Don's hands.

"I don't want the conversation we had earlier to give you ideas; those are the divorce papers. Go through them tonight and bring them back tomorrow,  signed." Jane couldn't believe him.

"You are welcome to give me your complaints; I'm out of here."

'How could this man be so heartless?' 'How did I survive staying with him for two years?' Jane's mind was filled with thoughts questioning her marriage to Don.