The
atmosphere was tense. Silence enveloped the living room. Herbert did not know
what to tell his wife. Agnes stared at him with a cell phone dangling in her
hand.
“Please
I don’t understand the meaning of this text message. Did you kill her husband?”
she finally asked.
Herbert did not believe Daniella carried out her
threat. How would he explain to Agnes that he didn’t have a hand in Daniel’s
death? How would he make his wife realise he was pushed into this illicit
relationship that was about to shatter his life?
Daniella was his secretary/personal
assistant and she had worked with him for over eleven years. He knew her before
he met Agnes. Then, Daniella was working as a clerk in his friend’s organisation.
When his friend relocated abroad, he asked Herbert to employ her and he agreed
because she was a polite and hardworking girl.
Initially, there was no romance— it was
just boss/subordinate relationship. After two years, Herbert got a contract
which changed the fortune of his company. He employed more hands and appointed
Daniella as his personal assistant. Gradually, the duo became very close and a
relationship ensued. But there was a snag— Daniella was dating Daniel, a young
man she met while growing up in the village.
By the time he graduated and got a job, he
asked for her hands in marriage. She almost refused him because of Herbert but
her father threatened to disown her if she did not marry his late friend’s son.
She married him but her heart was with Herbert.
Ironically, Herbert encouraged her to
marry Daniel with a promise that he would not dump her for any woman. He kept
to his words and still dated her even as a married woman and she also lapped up
the love.
To Daniella, her husband was just a figurehead,
who her father wanted. They had three boys and Daniel never had an inkling his
wife was sleeping with her boss. He kept telling everyone that his wife had the
best boss in the world. Why wouldn’t he anyway? Daniella was getting thrice her
husband’s income and she could afford many luxuries including choice cars and
houses.
She called the shots in the office and all
the best accounts and clients came through her connections. Herbert could not
call it quits either because he was afraid to lose her contacts, which brought
fortune to his company.
After five years, he decided getting
married to Agnes, a young graduate. Agnes was introduced to him by his brother.
When he told Daniella about this girl, she disagreed with him. To her, a wife
in his life would cause a friction in their relationship but he assured her of
his love. He said he needed a figurehead to act as his wife too, just as Daniel
was her husband.
He married Agnes and they also have three
children. For the five years they were married, Agnes never knew what was happening
between her husband and his personal assistant, who her husband eulogised as
the hand behind the fortune of the company.
All
went well until Daniel became ill. He was
diagnosed as having cancer of the blood. It was a trying time for Daniella, who
felt her husband’s illness kept her more at home instead of the office. They
travelled abroad for medical treatment but the doctors said Daniel had six
months to live.
To be continued
N.B Names and individuals are fictitious
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