I had waited, pretended for the past week. Honestly, I didn’t know how I did it. How I mustered the patience needed to get my hands on the one responsible for almost killing my wife and child. I pretended not to know what she had done because I had no evidence yet. And now that I had all I needed, it was time to end this madness.
The door swung open, and there she was. Standing in her designer loungewear with a glass of white wine in her manicured hand.
She smirked, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Did she really think she could get away with it? I mean, come on.
"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to visit. I was starting to think you all had forgotten about me and Chayara. Nita has her baby, and we are placed on the back burner."
I stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. "Oh, trust me, Gwen. You’ve been on my mind."
I walked past her into the grand living room. This woman had manipulated me, tricked me because I was handicapped, because I couldn’t remember. Now that I had my memories back, I actually didn’t expect anything less from her.
But her recent action, that... that I didn’t expect.
I sat on the sofa while she sat beside me. "I have something to tell you." I began knowing exactly how this would end.
She relaxed in her chair, her legs crossed, waiting for me to speak up.
"I am taking Chayara away from you." SI found the confusion on her face quite humorous. She sat up quickly, thinking she probably didn’t understand.
"If you want to take her for the weekend, it’s fine. It will give me time to myself anyway."
Time to herself. The woman didn’t spend more than three hours a day with that child. "Not for the weekend, for life."
"Richard, what are you saying? Why would you want to take my baby away from him?" She got up and paced the living room.
"I am going to pretend that you don’t know. So, why don’t you let me start from the beginning? I got my memories back."
"That’s great..." she said, but I saw her face fall.
"You lied to me, manipulated me, and used me." I listed it out.
"What choice did I have, Richard? Tell me! Even without your damn memories, you ran to her. Always chose her. YOU used me, Richard!!! Do you know what it feels like to be tossed aside because you found a new plaything? You told me marriage would change NOTHING." She shouted, her veins standing out and chest heaving.
"Is that why you tried to kill Nita?" I shouted back.
"Yes! Yes! Goddammit! She was trying to take you away from me. To feed you lies. She was going to make you abandon Chayara."
I nodded and sighed. That was all I needed to hear. "I thought you would make this difficult. See, I had no proof that you had hit Nita. It took everything I had not to come here and strangle you. I just had to wait to find the car you dumped. Congratulations. I hear they have beauty pageants in prison."
"Richard... Richa... What did you do?" The color drained from her face.
"Did you think I would let you get away with this? Wow! Your stupidity astounds me."
"Richard, listen to me—please."
I held up a hand. "Save it. The police will be here any minute."
"You’d do this to me? After everything we had?"
I narrowed my eyes. "We never had anything, Gwen. I am sorry you feel like I used you, but that was what you wanted. You wanted the wealth I could offer. All I am to you is a money bag. I could forgive you for that because I always knew you as self-absorbed and superficial. But you tried to kill my wife."
A loud knock sounded at the door, and her eyes darted around the room in panic. "Richard, please
But I was already done listening.
Two officers stepped inside.
"Miss Gwen Prescott?" one of them said.
Gwen swallowed hard, her bravado cracking. "This is insane. You can’t—"
"We have a warrant for your arrest in connection to the attempted murder of Nita Numero."
I watched as the handcuffs clicked around her delicate wrists.
Gwen whipped her head toward me, her voice shaking. "You’ll regret this, Richard."
I stepped closer, lowering my voice. "No, Gwen. You will regret this."
She screamed at me as they dragged her away, but I didn’t flinch. I had wasted too many emotions on her already.
Instead, I turned on my heel, walking toward the nursery upstairs.
The moment I stepped into the room, everything changed. The tension, the anger—it melted.
Because there, in the crib, lay my daughter. I reached down, brushing a gentle finger against her soft cheek.
"Hey, sweetheart," I murmured. "You’re going to be with Daddy now."
She stirred slightly, letting out a tiny sigh, and my heart clenched.
I leaned against the crib, taking a deep breath.
This? This was what mattered. My daughters. My wife. My family.
"I love you, baby girl."
The house was packed. Laughter and clinking glasses filled the air. My mother had gone all out for the Queen’s party. She was in her element, ordering the staff around and beaming with pride every time someone called her "Grandma."
I stood in a corner, nursing a glass of whiskey, watching as my father danced with Chayara in his arms. She was adjusting well without her mother. I thought she would be up all night crying.
It had been a week since Gwen was dragged away in handcuffs, screaming empty threats. A week since I brought my baby home. Now, all I had to do was make sure she was safe.
And to protect my wife from me. I had tried as much as I could to avoid Nita. She still had no idea I had my memories back. It would make leaving her easier.
I looked over to where she was sitting, the scars on her face finally healing. Everyone fussed over her, and her mom had Queen in her arms. I knew she was tired, but she endured all of these just to make the family happy.
"Stop brooding," My mum arrived beside me, her face a scowl as she took the glass of whiskey in my hand and placed it on the tray of a passing waiter.
"I’m not brooding," I muttered.
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You know in your heart that you love her. What’s stopping you?"
"It’s not so simple, Mum."
"No, it’s self-sabotage."
She patted my cheek. "If you let her slip away, you’ll regret it." With that, she walked away to steal Chayara from my dad.
I spotted Victor on the balcony, looking lost. I made my way toward him.
He turned and tensed on seeing me. I didn’t blame him, even when I knew he had the best interests of Nita at heart; all I saw was a rival. "Richard."
"Do you have a minute?"
"Are you here to tell me to stay away from your wife? Who, I might add, is not your wife anymore."
I leaned against the railing, "Quite the opposite actually. I will be going away for a while. I need you to take care of Nita."