Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Halal was fixing breakfast for herself when Valentino charged at her, "What the hell were you thinking last night?" his deep growl startled her.

She jumped a little frightened because he'd caught her off guard for a few seconds, stiffening her spine, she turned back to the pancake batter in front of her. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" she responded coldly.

Valentino yanked her arm, forcing her to face him. "You brought your stupid boyfriend to my house, how dare you?" he growled but Halal wasn't fazed by his anger.

"I have no idea what you're saying Valentino, let me go. He's not my boyfriend, he's my doctor. And you embarrassed yourself in front of him last night, kudos" Halal said, her cold eyes meeting his heated ones.

"You have no shame at all Halal, you have no morals, bringing a man you're sleeping with into your home. How many times have you defiled our bed?" he asked roughly.

Halal scoffed " Our bed? you mean my bed, how many times have you slept with me on that bed since we lost our baby? Anyway that aside, I'm not sleeping with him yet, when I do you'll be the first to know" Halal hissed. He glared at her before letting her arm go.

"You know why you can't have children Halal? it's because slüts don't deserve children, you're a slüt" Valentino sneered.

"I learned from the best, you're a cheating man whôre and I've lived with you for nine years, it's only natural for me to turn out as a whôre!" Halal spat back.

"Don't speak to me that way, don't you dare speak to me that way. You will show me respect as your husband" Valentino commanded.

Halal laughed mockingly "Husband, respect? Those two words stopped making sense the minute you left this house, the minute you left this house to go hook up with your mistresses!" Halal spat with such venom that Valentino recoiled.

"Who is he? Who is the man you're throwing away your marriage of eight years for, is he worth it?" Valentino asked.

"Look at us Valentino, forget your pride and really look at us. Does this feel like marriage to you, do you even act like you're married? This wasn't what I bargained for, you said you would love me and treat me with respect, you said you would cherish me, that you would never look down on me, you know you said a lot of things that day Valentino yet here we are" Halal said sadly, she willed herself not to shed any tears for the man.

"You also promised to love and respect me, do you love me?" Valentino asked.

"No, not because of another man but because of the way you've been treating since the death of our child. I have done everything to please you Valentino but you on the other hand, you haven't done anything. I'm just another decoration in this house, the trophy wife. I'm not even a trophy because you don't flaunt me, you like to keep me hidden and away from your friends, your business and everything that concerns you" Halal said calmly now.

"Bullshït! all this sermon is because you've started spreading your legs for another man. You're a disgrace!" Valentino accused.

Halal was tired of defending herself and trying to make him see her point of view so she walked over to him. "You know what Valentino, let me tell you the truth. I've kissed him, and I liked it. I liked it so well that I asked him to come home with me to defile our matrimonial bed. And if you haven't been home last night, I would still be in bed with him right now. Satisfied?" Halal hissed, pushed past him and walked out of the kitchen.

She went into her bedroom and brought out a white Fendi traveling bag from her wardrobe , she picked up a few items from her wardrobe and stashed it into the bag. "Moving out already, your boyfriend offering you the bed at his house?" Valentino sneered from the door way.

Halal turned to him "Do you have any idea how much you have hurt me Valentino? Do you have any idea? I need some space. You think I'm going to see another man, no, I'm not. I'm going to a hotel, I can't do this with you anymore" Halal said and turned back to her wardrobe.

"Don't do what you will regret, you've lived with me for nine years now, do you have any idea how your life without me would be?" Valentino asked.

Halal turned back to him "You gave me a taste of that every time you went to port Harcourt. I guess it won't be so bad after all" She said coldly before taking out her tennis shoes from her shoe closet.

She put on her shoes and picked up the bag and her phone. "I'll call you when I'm settled in, if you need anything, message me. I'm still your wife, I just want my space" Halal said before walking out of the room.

She had hoped he would come after her and apologize but her husband walked into the kitchen, took out a pack of beer and walked back to the living room where she was checking her bag to see if she'd taken every essential thing she needed.

"Guess I'm going to use this period to have all the fun Lagos has to offer before you get back" Valentino said opening a can of beer.

Halal eyed him in disappointment before walking out of the house that was once her home.

Darrell was the first person she called when she checked into the low-key hotel she'd opted to stay in.

After three rings, it went to voicemail so she left a message hoping he'd check it and call her later. 'Hey Darrell, I know you're still mad at me and you don't want to talk to me but I'm really sorry. I'd like us to meet up and talk, call me back when you get this' she sighed as she sent the message .

'God I hope I'm doing the right thing, I just need to figure which man I want in my life. My husband, a man I've been married to for nine years or my ex boyfriend whom I've known for years. God please help me, I know we don't talk much these days but right now I need you to forgive me and help me' she muttered a prayer.

Minutes later, she sent a text to Valentino telling him she'd checked into the hotel. She didn't expect a reply so she saw surprised when he texted her. 'Come back home, I'm sorry I'm such a jerk. I love you, I miss you and I can't live without you' She read the message and scoffed in disbelief.

Love indeed, he was probably drunk and out of his mind.

She just needed a few weeks to herself, a few weeks to get her head in the right place.

Halal called Darrell twice the next morning but he still didn't pick up, he didn't even text her back when she sent him a text.

She wondered if she was trying too hard and decided to call Daria. Daria picked up almost immediately. "Hey D, are you busy?" Halal asked.

"No, but I'm not supposed to talk to your or anyone else today.  Femi decided we should have Femi and Daria time today, he even took the kids to his sister. I've got to go now,  he insisted we put all our phones away. He's downstairs now, he went to get a bottle of wine" Daria whispered.

"Oh... I'm sorry" Halal muttered feeling bereft.  "Got to go now, I think I hear him coming" Daria dropped immediately.

"Wow, this is what my life has become" Halal sighed sarcastically before switching on her data. She browsed a few sites on the net trying to ease her boredom. She eventually logged on to Facebook and chatted with Oma from highschool. Her Oma was now based in Atlanta with her husband and three kids. They didn't talk a lot these days because they were both different people now but occasionally they checked on each other. She was about to log out of Facebook when a page shared a link with her, she opened the link and saw it was an ad for a job.

She smiled excitedly before clicking on the Ad. The job description didn't seem so hard,  she was bored and she wanted a job and some independence.

In a way she was still stuck with Valentino, he was still paying her bills even the bill of this very hotel. She wanted to earn her own money, even if it was little.

A pop notification showed up on her screen after a few minutes of filling out the online form on the website.

She clicked on the pop up icon and saw that it was a message inviting her for an interview by two o'clock in the afternoon.

Wow, that quick and easy. If she'd known getting a job as a translator was so easy She'd have applied sooner.  She got out of bed and went over to her bag, she opened it and scanned it's content. She had packed in a hurry so she wasn't sure what she'd taken from her wardrobe.

There was nothing worth wearing to a job interview in there so that meant she'd be going back to the house to get more formal clothes. Well, there certainly was no time to waste, she had to prepare herself for an interview before two o'clock.

She went into the bathroom to have a shower, amongst other things. In about an hour she was done, she got out of the bathroom and took out a yellow, red and black striped T-shirt and a grey joggers from her bag.

After she got dressed and put some rollers in her hair, she picked up her phone and car keys. She hoped Valentino was away from the house, she didn't want to deal with him twice in one week. Yesterday was bad enough, she didn't want to experience that again especially not when she was in such a good mood.

Luckily for her, Valentino was out as usual when she got to the house. The house looked almost as she had left it, only tidier.  Valentino was a neat freak so it didn't surprise her.

She went into her bedroom and took out a few clothes from the closet. She was folding and putting them into another bag when she heard the sound of Valentino's car. She cursed at her bad luck and quickly picked up the bag,  she could just ignore him, she didn't want to deal with him.

When she got to the door, she discovered he was not alone. He'd brought a woman with him,  she scoffed and walked out of the house but he followed her.

"Halal it's not what you think, come into the house I can introduce you to her" Valentino said sounding desperate. Halal turned to him,  surprisingly she didn't feel angry, bitter or jealous, she didn't feel the way she always felt each time she saw Victoria in Darrell's office.

"I get what you're trying to do Valentino and I don't care. I brought a man home, you brought a woman home, we're even" Halal hissed.

Valentino shook his head in disbelief "If you want to act like a bïtch, go ahead. Just remember that you're making a mistake and you're throwing a good man away.  For your information, that woman in there is a cook. I brought her home to cook for me since my wife moved out to go and be with another man" Valentino said.

Halal felt a tinge of guilt "Val, I'm not with another man. And I told you to call me if you needed anything" Halal said.

Valentino frowned "So I'm supposed to call my wife to come home to do her duties as a wife?" Valentino asked flaring up.

Halal sighed "If you had done your duties as a husband, I wouldn't have to run away from my duties as a wife. I need my space Valentino, don't try to guilt me, respect that" Halal said before walking towards her car.

"What kind of wife are you, letting another woman cook for your husband?" Valentino yelled as she went to her car.

Halal knew she shouldn't reply but she couldn't help it. She turned to him irritated, "What kind of husband are you?" she walked to him.

"Look at my fingers, I haven't worn my wedding band in weeks and you didn't notice. A good husband pays attention to details" Halal hissed.

Valentino frowned now "Where are your rings?" he asked.

"In a better place, where they now belong" Halal replied going back to her car.

"What does that mean, why aren't you wearing them?" Valentino asked.

"I don't have the time for this, I have important things to get to" Halal hissed and got into her car, she locked up to prevent any further communication. She ignored the angry glare on his face and focused on getting out of the compound.

The secretary was wearing a sophisticated black jumpsuit and a black blazer,  she had a tight smile on her face. "Monsieur Jacques will see you now" she said to Halal who smiled brightly in return.

She stood up, straightened her cream linen skirt and walked over to the black double doors, she wondered if there was a beast behind the doors.  Every staff she'd seen had been putting on black, that only scared her.

She walked confidently in to the office with a cool smile on her face. There was no beast there, just a grey haired man sitting at the back of a mahogany desk, holding a cup of coffee with a huge grin on his face .

"Wow, so you're the angel who had decided to help this old idiot"he said a teasing smile on his face. He was speaking in English so Halal followed suit. She flushed at his compliment before "Hello, Monsieur jacques" she said confidently.

"Sit down, sit down please" The man gestured to the chair in front of him and Halal nodded before sitting.

"So why did you apply for this boring job, you have nothing else to do with your life, you don't want to go to the club, hang out with rich men like all the pretty girls your age"The man smiled.

Halal shook her head "No sir, I'm married. I applied for this job because it is exactly what I need. Besides, I have always loved French, I took summer courses in French at high school and also in the university." Halal said easily. Well this was going well,  not as bad as she thought. She wasn't even nervous anymore, she felt at ease with this man.

"Married? How interesting. Do you have children?" He asked really interested now.

Halal shook her head and said nothing more. Monsieur Jacques smiled "I don't have one myself, because of a few mistakes I made early in life" Monsieur Jacques said wistfully.

The man squinted eyeing her face "You know, you look like a girl I knew when I was still young and a playboy too. She was Nigerian too, what's your name?" He asked smiling.

Halal wondered if he hadn't gone through her resume "My name is Halal Abraham" She answered, she could have said Amity but the purpose of her separation from Valentino was to find herself again and not the weakling Valentino had turned her into.

"Halal, does this have nothing to do with meat? I dated some Muslims and I picked up a couple of things from them" Monsieur Jacques stated.

"Halal has a lot of meanings, mine means 'shine', it's also a Hebrew name" Halal said smiling.

Monsieur Jacques smiled back "And you shine so bright. You know there is something very familiar in you, something I used to see a lot some years ago" he said tapping his fingers on his forehead.

Oh.... Halal thought silently, she wondered what the man saw. She didn't see anything bright when she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"Anyway, you got the job. I'm sure you already know the job description, I'm a fashion designer and I have a modeling agency here in Nigeria, I also run a magazine. You see my love, this idiot can't write and read English. I speak English only a little and I don't want to learn. In fact, I don't like English, that's why I need a translator. Your job description is simple, you must be with me at all social functions whenever I am in the country, so I do not make a fool of myself. I don't have an appointment on my schedule today so you will resume tomorrow. Whenever I am not in Nigeria, you are free to do whatever you want until my return. I'll ask my secretary to send my house address to your email, you need to be there every morning at ten. Every of my staff member wears black because you Nigerians know how to ruin colorful outfits, can you imagine someone applying for a job here, wearing an orange blouse and a lemon skirt?"  He scoffed in disgust.

Halal didn't know how to respond to that so she said nothing. "You my shiny star, will be allowed to wear only white or cream like this pretty skirt you're wearing now. I want you to always shine" Monsieur Jacques said causing her to smile.

"We will now discuss your salary, I will pay you a hundred thousand every month when I am in the countryside and the minute I leave Nigeria, you will receive fifty instead of a hundred. Any objections?" He asked.

That was very generous, she had no objections at all.  "Thank you very much sir for this opportunity, you won't regret hiring me" Halal promised.

"I have no doubts miss shiny" he said and waved her away, saying he had charts to go over.

Halal thanked him again and got up to leave. "You know your husband is a lucky man" Monsieur Jacques remarked before she walked away.

"Merci Monsieur" she muttered, too bad her husband didn't know just how lucky he was.