After the wedding, he said: “I had a fortune
teller read our charts; they said this month is
bad for intimacy; there’s a risk of bloodshed.”
I believed him. I made excuses for him.
He wanted a stable future, I thought.
Finally, the supposed “time” arrived. In bed,
he couldn’t perform.
<
He looked at me with guilt: “I was too
nervous, I love you too much, I need you to be
prepared.”
Now I see it all: a web of lies.
I’d seduced him, flirted with him. He seemed
to accept it, but he only thought of someone
else.
“Sarah.”
His brother’s adopted daughter. He harbored
forbidden feelings.
To conceal them, he married someone else.
Back in my room, I felt drained.
I put on a sexy black dress and called my
best friend, Ashley.
“Your brother’s agency just hired some new
trainees, supposedly hotter than Mark. Take
me there.”
She was excited:
“Girl, you’re finally breaking out of your nun
phase.”
く
21
“I’ll take you. Tonight, we’ll try every flavor of
man!”
I got ready to go, but ran into Mark at the
door. His expression was grim.
“I have a business meeting, I can’t go with
you.”
“Clara, be reasonable, don’t cause trouble.”
To him, I was just a drama queen?
A bitter pang struck me. I took a deep breath.
“I’m just going out with Ashley.”
“Your work is important; I won’t bother you,
not anymore.”
He seemed to realize his tone was off and
tried to recover:
“Be safe, don’t get too close to men.”
Funny. I was going to men.
In Ashley’s car, a text arrived: my visa,
arranged by Jessica.
She texted that work prevented her from
coming, but she’d handle the divorce and visa
when she arrived.
I smiled. The people who loved me were
always there.
