Chapter 4 Unveiling Shadows

The following morning, I was woken up by my phone ringing on the nightstand. Half-asleep I handed it to them and tried to focus on the illumination of the screen. The message was from my close chum, Kiara, with whom I’ve been close since, to the extent of being a considerate friend to her but she had been away on a business trip. Kiara: Hey! Politely: Just arrived back home. Can we meet up? Miss you! Kiara, the lady who was the center of my attention, I can hardly wait to see her again… I smiled. We always would chat about anything and have been my go-to person I could always share my troubles with. With everything moving so quickly, I had hardly a chance to explain to her that I was married to Kai. I replied immediately to the text message and proposed that we meet at the café that the two of us preferred later in the day. In preparing for and going out, I felt like I was in two very separate worlds or realities. One was the normal and relatively peaceful life I was constructing with Kai, the other was the hurricane of the family issues and the overwhelming conflict of feelings. Meeting Kiara felt like returning to reality, to something usual which helped me feel comfortable and calm. Kai left before I left the apartment and therefore I did not see him. He had been going to work and coming back home most of the time in the early morning hours and evening, he looked like a man who was concealing something from his wife. A small voice in my head urged me to walk up to him and shake him, yell at him to tell me everything, to explain why he’d left me, but a much bigger voice told me better not to. There was much traffic when I got to the café; the aroma of coffee and baked goods reached my nose. Kiara saw me standing from a distance and waved at me, she was as happy to see me as I was to see her. We embraced rather tightly and for those few seconds, I could somehow forget all the terrible things that were happening. “Vanessa! I’ve missed you so much!” Kiara said hugging me and pulling back to look at me. “You look. . . different. Is everything okay?” I hesitated, then nodded. “Oh Yeah, things have been. how should I put it erm? A Bit Crazy I Guess. I Got Married. ” Kiara was shocked, out of her expectations. Insert an explosive gasp, Who? When? and to whom? We sat at a nearby table and consumed some beverages; then I narrated to the man the series of incidents that led to marriage to the man known as Kai Ace. Kiara remained silent and her eyes widened in shock, but the transformation to worry could be seen on her face. “Oh wow that is. . . quite a lot to digest,” she said throwing her head backwards and giving out a laugh. It is Not A stop Shop for bullying or gross misrepresentation but this creep never asked “But are you happy I mean do you even know this guy” I let out a long, deep breath and idled around the table, stirring my cup bottoms up. ”It’s a bit tricky He is… he is not what I thought he would be. He has got something to hide. But he has treated me nicely in his odd way. He even said he would pay for my mom’s treatment. ” The words sobered me up and before Kiara could continue, she grabbed my hand across the table and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Take care okay? I understand that you are doing this for your mother, but do not forget yourself in the process. ” The conversation we had informed my mind long after she left my side. As I strolled back to the apartment I kept on thinking of what she had said to me and I was relieved yet uncomfortable. Kiara had reminded me of something that I lost and that was the life I used to live and now all I am is the phantom of the past. But it also taught me how ignorant I was to Kai and his life and how ignorant I was to the existence of a different world altogether. When I got home the apartment was rather calm. I took my way to the kitchen and began preparing dinner; perhaps, organizing the thoughts in my head would be easier while cooking. I began cutting the vegetables and was somehow thinking again of what Kai said the night before. He had been so careful not to talk to me, not to get close. And yet sometimes I felt as if I was seeing the man behind the veil, the person he was inside. engrossed in thinking I nearly jumped out of my skin upon the sound of the front door opening. Kai entered as he often does and I could see that he was as drained as I was. He smiled faintly at me. ” "Dinner smells good. " I simply nodded at him, deciding to smile back at him since he was being friendly. I’m almost done – how was your day? He looked at me and moving his shoulders, he put down his bag on the floor. "Busy. But productive. " We got down to the table and there was no tension or terrible coldness that had occupied our meal times for the last couple of days. We speak about the usual topics; the weather, the news, and events, and are sure to be extra cautious not to talk about anything serious. Although it was concealed, the conflict was still present, and no matter how hard we tried, we could not look past it. To my surprise, after dinner, Kai proposed to watch a movie. It looked like reaching out for some regularly, for a new beginning, and I took it. We sat on the couch, and for a while, I didn’t engage more of my brain, allowing myself not to think about the many questions I still had about him. But once the credits started to appear on the big screen and the movie was finally over a sudden cold shower was produced. Suddenly, I felt a great feeling of bravery inside of me and I looked at Kai. “Kai, and as for you, I would like to know more about you, more about what is happening.” After a moment he let out a sound like a laugh and raked fingers through his hair. “It’s not that easy, Vanessa.” “Perhaps not,” I said as calmly as I could. But I’m your wife now, at least for the next six months or whatever time is left in this sham of a marriage. Don’t you think I deserve to know what I’m mixed up in? The man stared at me for what could be a minute, and I could not decipher anything from his face. Then he nodded slowly. “Well, you want me to know and the truth is, I do deserve to know. But we can’t just talk about it now It’s not safe for you to be privy to too much. ” I had a pounding sensation in the chest and I eagerly inclined towards the doctor. “Safe from what? Safe from whom? ’’ Kai stopped, frowning his face becoming dared. “For a select few there are people — dangerous people — who wouldn’t bat an eye at using you to get to me. ” “The less you know, the better. ” Which causes a shiver to run down my spine. This was more than I had envisaged for. “But why? What have you done? ” He clamped his jaw and shifted his gaze aside I waited for him to find the words. I have created enmity, powerful enmity and now because of this marriage you are in danger too, my lord. I lost my heartbeat for a moment and was filled with utter frustration. That is why I have a question, what was the point of engaging me at all, why get married to me? He looked at me and for the first time, the animosity in his eyes had been replaced by some warmth. “To protect people close to me, people I love. To free myself, my family, my friends. And you… You’re not just a piece in this, Vanessa. You mean something to me. ” The way he spoke to me was so genuine that I found myself forgetting who he was for a brief time; I saw some form of weakness in his expression. This was sufficient to make me doubt all my presumptions to him. It was still early in the day and before I could utter a reaction word Kai’s cell phone rang on the coffee table. He quickly looked at it and the look on his face became stern. “I have to take this. ” He rose from the chair and went to the study shutting the door on him. I stared at him in disbelief and plain confusion and my mind went blank, but it was filled with questions. However, I could tell that Kai was seething as if he were holding something about himself or the situation, something deadly, back. And now, I was also on the receiving end of whatever the hell it was they were up to. Alone in the living room, you realize that you are surrounded by secrets and lies while the man at night you know is your knight in shining armor but in the morning he is a stranger. But within her increasing power and resentment and increasing bread, I still felt a strengthening bond with him that I could not understand. But with danger lurking in the shadows and truths yet to be revealed, I knew one thing for certain: The experience was very shocking and from then on, my life would never be the same again.