ALWAYS AND FOREVER

Kathy Pov.

The thought on my head throughout the rest of the day was, how was Cross going to react to the news of us having a baby, we haven’t talked about having a kid before, but I don’t see him having any problem with it, he was excited for the birth of Anna’s twin which was due next week which is why he wanted us to be in Arizona when she gives birth, we were leaving for Arizona by Friday, so much have changed since I got married and left Arizona, I have changed a lot too, maybe gotten more mature, and now I am going to be a mom too, Marilyn had asked me if I could handle both a child and a career, and honestly, I haven’t thought much about it, so I just told her I will go with the ride, if it gets too much for me then I will pause school and concentrate on being a mom, I can always go back to school anytime.

I called Cross already that I was home and he didn’t have to go pick me up from school. I went to meet Nora in the kitchen, I wanted to cook something for Cross myself, feed him and then tell him we are going to be parents, I still needed to do a scan to further confirm but we had done it multiple times and Marilyn had said it was hundred percent sure that I was pregnant, I could already feel the symptoms anyway, I wanted Cross to be there when we do the scan.

“Nora,”

“Hi dear, I thought you will take a rest, so you want lunch now?”

“No, I am not hungry, I wanted to inform you that I will like to make dinner for my husband myself, so when it’s time for dinner, I will do it, what’s on the menu today?”

“Steak, and sweet potato fries,”

“Okay, just don’t do it without me,”

“Alright, I made cake don’t you wanna try it?”

She asked, but I rejected, I wasn’t hungry yet, or rather I was much too excited to eat.

“No, thanks Nora, I need to rest,”

I said as I walked back to my room, Cross said he will be back early, I laid down on the bed, with my hands on my still flat tummy, I imagined myself getting bigger with our child, I didn’t know having a child could make one feel like this, I have always known that I wanted to be a mother someday, but never in a million years did I think it will happen when I am twenty-three, I have always thought maybe when I am thirty and above, and I never imagined Cross will be the dad either, in fact at the beginning of the year I didn’t even know I was going to be married and didn’t even dream of it being with Cross, the thought never crossed my mind, now here I am, expecting my first child, indeed life was unpredictable, and even though I couldn’t predict what would happen I hope that only good and happy things would happen in our lives, I fell asleep to the thoughts.

I woke up to my phone ringing, I checked it and the number calling wasn’t familiar to me, I picked up anyway, thinking it must be someone I know who changed the number.

“Hello?”

“Katherine, it’s me Pearl,”

The person on the other end replied.

“Pearl? I don’t remember any Pearl, may I know where you know me from?”

I asked, I couldn’t remember someone I know by that name.

“I know you might have forgotten but I am Pearl, we know each other through Louis,”

She revealed and it finally clicked.

“What do you want from me Pearl? Why are you calling me?”

I asked, my mood suddenly getting ruined.

“Relax, I am not the enemy here, I am trying to help you,”

“What do you mean Pearl? Go straight to the point, I don’t have time for all these,”

“I can see you are just as disrespectful as always but I didn’t expect anything else, I am still going to tell you anyway,”

She replied.

“Tell me what?”

I inquired getting curious, I wanted to know how she got my number too.

“How did you get my number in the first place?”

“I got it from Dylan,”

“Dylan? Who is Dylan?”

“Oh, sorry, you know him as Louis, I got it from Louis, his real name is Dylan,”

She revealed I couldn’t believe for all the months Louis and I dated I hadn’t known his real name, I didn’t even know anything about him as all the things he told me turned out to be made-up lies.

“But, Louis or Dylan doesn’t have my number,”

“Oh, but he does, and he is going to call you soon, which is why I am trying to help you here,”

She said.

“Help me with what? And how did Louis get my number?”

“That I can’t tell you, but he has something on you and is planning to use it to get money from you again,”

She revealed. I really didn’t want to believe what she was saying but she got my number, only a few people did, and I didn’t see a reason why she would call me just to lie against her boyfriend.

“What are you guys planning again Pearl? Haven’t you done enough?”

“Little girl, I am just trying to help here, Dylan and I separated a long time ago, he went about squandering the money he got from you by himself, and I didn’t see him again until recently, he had used up all the money and he said he was planning on how to get more from you which is why he was in New York, and he has another woman working for him, I don’t know her so don’t ask me, I am just trying to warn you not to make the same mistake twice by giving Dylan your money again,”

“Why are you telling me this? I thought you hated me,”

“Well, I don’t like you but I can’t let Dylan keep robbing people, anyway I have done my part, just be careful, and bye,”

She said and hung up before I could ask any further questions, I called the line again but it was off, I tried a few more times before giving up, I wondered what it was that Louis or Dylan had that he wanted to use to get money from me, I couldn’t come up with anything, the thoughts were still running through my head when my phone beeped in my hands signaling an incoming message.

I clicked on it, expecting the usual kind of message, I was used to this number, it was the one that always asnd details of what Cross does for Ginna, I wanted to delete it without checking but, at the same time I was curious to know what he did for her, and I shouldn’t have checked, I should have deleted because as I clicked on it, my throat suddenly went dry and all the blood drained from my system, I felt myself floating, I dropped my phone and cleaned my eyes, I must be hallucinating, there was no way that was real, no way Cross would do such a thing to me, I picked up my phone again wishing that I had saw wrongly but then, my eyes were right, they were photos of Cross, with that woman, photos taking of them making out, of them on a bed, the angle the photos were taking from didn’t quite show their faces, but I would know my husband with my eyes closed, and these photos, whoever sent it, just turned my happiness to sadness, still having little doubt, I flipped through the photos and the more I looked the more nauseous I got, and to further make it worst whoever sent the photos sent another text.

I clicked on it hurriedly and it read, “Just so you are doubting the photos and thinking they are Photoshopped, I am sending a video,” and a few seconds later another message came, I clicked on it and it was indeed a video, I dropped my phone, and buried my head in the pillow to resist myself from screaming, I was going crazy, my whole head suddenly ached I didn’t want to open the video because I already knew what was there, but I did anyway, I played the video, it didn’t have any sound, but I saw Cross and that woman, and yes they were making out, I couldn’t watch anymore, I stopped when he took off her shirts and threw my phone away as the tears fell from my eyes, I couldn’t believe it, Cross played me for a fool, he has been cheating on me all these while with her, all these while and he had been smiling in my face and being all perfect.

“God, I am so stupid,”

I cried out, I should have seen this coming, I should never have believed him, he did all this today and still talk to me on the phone, he had been at her house when I called him, I got up from the bed, walked up to the window and back to the bed, I didn’t know what to do or how to react, this was beyond me, I never knew I would experience this no pain I have ever felt in this world prepared me for this, I never saw it coming, never.

“I should have known, I should have known better than to trust him, he lied to me, he has been lying to me all these while, I am such a fool,”

I said out loud, this wasn’t it, this wasn’t what I wanted, I can’t deal with this much betrayal, my heartfelt like someone opened it up and poured chili powder in it, I could feel it burning, my whole body activity, and I couldn’t feel my dry throat, I was drowning in this mystery, I was losing my mind.

“Oh, my God,”

I said, as I went over to where my phone was picked it up, I got another message and it was from the same number, I clicked on it, I was already experiencing hell, nothing can make it worst, absolutely nothing.

“I hope you like my present,”

The text read, I texted back while saying it out loud.

“Who the fuck are you?”

I waited for a reply to come but after five minutes, I knew whoever it was, wasn’t going to reply, I dialed the number but it was switched off, I threw my phone in the bed, my head pounding, my whole body was hot and I suddenly became feverish.

“Was this it? Was this what Pearl had been talking about? Is this what Louis has been planning?”

I asked myself out loud trying to make sense of the whole situation but it just didn’t make sense, if this was it then how did he plan on getting money from me like this? This must be her then, the woman Cross was cheating on me with, she must have wanted me to know to make me jealous and it worked, I wasn’t going to stay married to someone who cheats on me behind my back and act like the perfect husband in my face, I wasn’t going to stay married to him, not when he didn’t love me and didn’t even care about my feeling either, he didn’t even respect me as a person if he did, he wouldn’t have done this to me, I was going to give this marriage my all, love him even though he didn’t love me back, but now I see that I have been the fool, staying with a man who didn’t love me and who had no plans of ever being faithful to me, I can’t do it, I can’t stay married to him, I will wait for him to come back, there is no way i am spending another night in this house, no way, I am going to leave Cross, I am getting a divorce…