10/11
THE v!rg!nWIDOW.😱
{A Night That Never Pas-sed}
EPISODE 10.
Stefan’s P.O.V.
“I believe you, Tera.” I said to her because it is the truth. The way she looked talking about her dead husband, its quite obvious that the memory is a very bad one for her.
I saw the relief that c@m£ to her face at my words and she took de-ep shuddering breaths.
She looked away from me to stare at the blank television screen. “Like I said, he had issues that made him lash out all the time. Every little thing is a hvge situation for him.”
“What kind of issues did he have?” I asked quietly, still reeling from the fact that Daniel used to l@yhis hands on her.
The thought had my muscles bunching and I suddenly wished the man never died just so I can kill him again.
“At first, I thought he was impotent. He just c@m£ into my room on our wedding night and we k!$$£d for a while but that was where it all ended. I was quite happy, you know. Because it hasn’t been months you broke up with me and I still don’t want another man’s t©uçh.” She stated suddenly.
“But after our wedding night, the next four moths were like that. Daniel didn’t try to initiate S-x with me and that was when I began to worry but I never asked him about it. I started suspecting that maybe he has a mistress. But why marry me when it’s obvious his mistress keeps him satisfied? That was the question that probbe-d my mind them.”
I didn’t interrupt her. Just allowing her to speak.
Astera’s P.O.V.
I’m trying not to allow the memories to drag me into it’s horrific depth and that is why I found myself taking interest in little little visual things.
I stared at my nails and suddenly realised that the nail of my pinky f!nger is crooked.
“Then, one p@rticular morning, I was listening to loud music as usual while I help Maria my housekeeper to get work done. Daniel rushed to me and gave me a dirty sl@p.” I revealed.
I ignored Stefan’s intake of breath and continued, And that was how it all began. He cried and he apologized but he always beats me again…the next time worse than the last. From there, he started ridiculing me.” Just speaking it has goosebu-mps spre-ading all over my arms and I felt the memories dragging me in.
“One night he c@m£ to my room and ordered me to get n-ked. Finally, he wants to do intimacy. The beating and everything made me really scared of him even when I tried to look br@ve. I quic-kly discarded my clothes and following his instrument, I la-id on the be-d.”
“But, Daniel didn’t t©uçh me or anything. Instead, he started taunting my b©dy…mocking me. Big ugly brea-sts, wi-de unattrac-tive h!ps, pale skin like death.” I shivered with the memories, “He ridiculed my b©dy and laughed at me, ma-king mockery of it.”
My eyes burned and tears filled my eyes. “He said I’m the reason he hasn’t taken me to be-d…said he couldn’t get an erection because it’s me.”
“Motherfv¢kering sonofabit-ch.” Stefan cussed.
I didn’t hear him well because I was well buried un-der the memories.
“I tried to get up from be-d but he beat me up within an inch of my life. It bec@m£ a routine every night. He’ll taunt me, ridicule my b©dy. I used to have self-confidence but not anymore.” I closed her eyes ti-ght to block the images. “Everyday, I look at the mirror and I see every single thing Daniel did to me.”
Silence descended after that.
Stefan’s P.O.V.
I’m trying to get control of myself. I can’t believe everything Astera was saying to me but then again, a lot of thing was starting to become clear.
Especially how she had changed so drastically from being carefree to ba-rely smiling.
I can’t believe a man would look at such beautiful exquisite creature with a gorgeous b©dy like her and still taunt her about it so repeatedly that she’ll believe it to be truth.
Something crossed my mind.
“You said you used to think he was impotent….does that mean he’s not?” I asks clearly baffled. It’s just ha-rd to believe that another man would have problem taking Astera to be-d.
His Astera has always been a knockout. She still is.
She raised her hand to her hair as if unconsciously, then, her eyes found the window behind my back.
“The week before the day he died, I finally found out the whole truth.” She paused, “Daniel was g@y.”
EPISODE 11. THE MISun-derSTANDING.
Stefan’s P.O.V.
“Daniel is g@y.” Astera said.
“What!?” Whatever I expected, it wasn’t that.
She smiled sadly. “I c@m£ home unexpectedly and heard from Maria that he’s with his friend in his study. I went to the kitchen and took foods from Maria to take to him so he doesn’t have new reasons to beat me up. I opened the door without knocking and found his ton-gue de-ep down Donovan’s throat. Donovan was ru-bbing my husband’s erection. Turns out he isn’t impotent after all.”
“I’m so sorry, Tera.”
She looked down at her hands again. “It’s okay. At least, it made me realize that I wasn’t his problem at all but his S-xuality is. But then again, the damage had been done.”
“The night he died, he was drinking. That was when I finally summoned the courage to ask him about it. Why he made me feel like everything was my fault, why he made me feel less of a woman because of something that was his fault.”
“What did he say?” I grimaced, knowing I won’t like the answer.
“He pounced on me again. And that night, he almost killed me. He left me half dead on the be-d and drun!kily went to his car. He died in a car accident.” Then, she finally turned to me, “I didn’t kill my husband.”
No she didn’t. “Honey, it won’t even matter if you did. I would have just asked you why you waited so damn long.”
Seeing how shaky she was, I walked to her and knelt down before her. “I’m really sorry about your marriage, Tera. Daniel was a bastard.”
As I said it, I started putting other facts together.
Like the fact that she wouldn’t have been slee-ping with him three years ago because of Daniel’s S-xuality.
Hell…..that dead bastard had lied to me. He pla-yed me, I c@m£ to the sickening realisation.
“Tera? Can I ask you a question?” I asked slowly. She nodded her head.
“Did you sleep with Daniel before your marriage?”
She looked puzzled. “No, I didn’t. I’ve never sle-pt with any man before, Stefan.” She finished at last.
The answer was staggering. I felt so many different emotion at the same time. Most of them was guilt for the way I treated this woman three years ago.
And euphoria, that my woman is still unt©uçhed. Had been married but still a vir-gin.
I should have asked questions. I should have doubted Daniel. I should have told her about Daniel’s accusations. I should have known that there are more to that pictures Daniel s£nt to me.
Feeling numb, I got up and walked to the room, telling her that I’ll be back in a few minutes.
Astera’s P.O.V.
I waited for Stefan, trying to get a handle on my emotions. Letting all these out if my che-st makes me feel a little better even though I’m still feeling raw from it.
Stefan can out and strode to me. Like before he knelt down in front of me and then, he handed over some pictures to me.
“Take a look at this.” He gro-an ed, his face so sad you’ve think he was the one that just told the story of his life.
Puzzled, I palmed the pictures and carefully withdrew them from it’s wra-p.
I froze. My eyes wi-de-ned to unbearable degrees as I stared at the pictures.
“Where….!” I trailed off, at loss of word.
“Daniel gave me these pictures three years ago. He c@m£ to me and told me about the ‘illicit affairs’ you too were having. He looked so guilty like he couldn’t bear to keep going behind my back even though you liked to.”
“Oh my God! I never sle-pt with Daniel!” The cry c@m£ from de-ep within me.
“I know that now.” I replied, pained.
I surveyed the pictures, “I remember this clothes. Daniel and I went to Donovan’s birthday. We had a drink and I woke up in the guest be-droom……! Oh my God, he drugged me! He drugged me to take these pictures.”
Stefan saw that I was looking it and he wra-pped his arms around me, offering comfort. “It’s alright, baby. It’s okay.”
“No wonder I woke up feeling disoriented. This is the reason why we broke up, right?” I bur-st out crying.
I’ve always wondered why Stefan broke up with me that way. Everything he said to me….all his allegations. No wonder!
I was able to hold it in when I talked about my marriage, but finding out that Daniel deliberately destroyed our relationsh!pjust to marry me and make my life hell.
Sobs racked my throat as I cried my heart out.
Stefan was hvgging me ti-ght and consoling me. He got up and sat beside me.
I placed my head on his che-st and had the most agonized cry of my life.
“Why me? Of all women, why me? Of all relationsh!p, why ours?” I sobbe-d against his che-st.
“I don’t know, honey. plea-se, st©p crying. I hate seeing you cry, I’ve always hated it and you know it.” He pleaded with me.
“Why me….? Why us….?” I still cried.
Tbc