Yasmin – A Story

Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you.

 

 

She stood before them helpless, feeling what was left of her heart shattering on the marble floor around her.

 

“You need to leave now. ”

 

She turned a stricken glance at the man who had been her brother in law for the last three years and her stomach fell at the unflinching look in his eyes.

 

“Why are you doing this?” She asked not bothering to hide the pain that was ripping through her with sharp intensity. “Martha…” She turned to look at the older woman who was also in almost as much pain as she was.

 

“Before you came into our lives, I had a son. Where is he?” Martha asked. “Out there somewhere, six feet beneath the ground. All because of you. ”

 

Martha’s words were like sharp knives ripping her soul apart. She bowed her head as the tears which had been silently falling increased. They were right. She should never have married their son. He’d known about her past, she had told him every sordid detail and still he’d loved her and married her. He had paid the ultimate price for loving her.

 

“Take what is yours and leave now.” The words were spoken by the tall man whose hair was more salt than pepper. Looking at him hurt her afresh. He was what her husband would have been in a few decades. If she had not come into his life. For his sake, she tried one more time.

 

“You don’t understand…I can’t leave now. I’m -.”

 

“We’ll have a check waiting for you. Just go get your things and get out.”

 

She turned to her brother in law. His name was Jude and he had been a friend. He’d treated her like big brother and he had been her closest friend in the family. There was no trace of that friendship on his face. Instead what she read was contempt and outright hostility.

 

Drawing herself to her full height, she took a deep breath and let it out. Wiping her face with the back of her hands, she knew what she had to do. With a nod, she turned and walked out of the living room, up the stairs to what had been her bedroom.

 

She looked around and felt a blessed numbness drape over her. She embraced it and wrapped it tightly around herself like a cloak. It stayed with her as she cleared her walk-in closet of her clothes, taking only what she’d bought for herself or what had sentimental value. She left all the jewelry her husband had bought for her, but took her wedding rings. When she was done, she paused by the door. On impulse she went back and took a grey sweatshirt that had been his favorite. She unzipped her bag and stuffed it inside. She picked up her LV handbag, she’d decided to leave the other designer handbags, and walked out of the bedroom she had shared with her husband for three years. Instead of turning right towards the stairs, she turned left, opened a door that was inconspicuously placed and walked down the narrow stairs that led into the kitchen. She was surprised to see the handful of staff they had standing there. She paused and stared at them, not knowing what to say.

 

“You’re leaving us, aren’t you?” Kendra their chef, asked.

 

Only a few years older than she was, Kendra had become a really good friend.

 

“I have no choice.” She said.

 

“It’s not right what they’re doing!” Kendra’s light brown eyes were shooting fire.

 

“They’re hurting.”

 

“And you’re making excuses for them, even now.”

 

She shrugged, tried to smile, failed and gave up.

 

“We’ll miss you.” Simon was married to Kendra and he had been her husband’s driver and friend.

 

“I know,” she said softly. “I’ll miss you all. Thank you for everything.”

 

Kendra walked to her and drew her close in a fierce hug. “Here,” she said, drawing back and pushing a key into her hand. “You can have this.”

 

She stared at the key blankly, “But you cant give me your car. You need it.”

 

“Aww, take it. How do you plan to get out of this place? Or you planning to ask his highness over there for a ride?” She gestured toward the living room.

 

She felt sick at the thought and unconsciously gripped the key.

 

“Besides, he’ll get me a new one,” Kendra said nodding at Simon. “You know Tai paid us more than we knew what to do with. So we’re rich.”

 

She looked up at her friends and Simon shrugged, the smile on his face was both wry and sad at the same time. Sensing that she needed to leave before her husband’s relatives came looking for her, she hugged her friends, whispered her thanks, and stepped out. Simon and Kendra lived on the property and had their own entrance, which suited her just fine. As she drove off the property, she placed a hand on her stomach. It was still flat, but not for much longer. She had tried to tell them, but maybe it was a good thing they had been in no mood to listen. She was going to build a life for herself and this time, she would depend on no one but herself.

 

 

Hi, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this. So I’m still writing and would love to hear from you. Basically, this is the story of a woman who returned to Africa from the US. Now, where do you think I should go with this…What should the next chapter be about? Please leave a comment.

xx