“What??”

As the filthy audio played to his hearing, his face could not hide the absolute disgust and contempt as he imbibed its contents.

He shook his head and turned it off. Then he faced her. “And she actually sent this to you?”

Princess nodded sadly, tears running down her cheeks. She thought she had shed enough to last the rest of the year, but her tear glands were far more productive than she thought.

“Ei! What kind of sick woman is this? So fucking someone’s husband isn’t enough? You have to insult and disrespect her like that? Christ, what kind of witch is this!”

Princess shook her head as she wiped the tears. “I have no idea. Not the slightest idea. But this is what I’ve had to deal with for so long. Ferdinand bringing in different girls, giving them the license to disrespect me… this one is just the worst of them all. This one is just the biggest slap in the face, like, how can you do this? Have sex with my husband and send it to me? What kind of cruel, callous…”

She trailed off, the pain rising like bile to her throat.

He simply sat there, his thumb slowly moving along his lower lip. “Princess, you should have told me all this was happening. I would’ve come in and saved you from all this bullshit. You deserve better than this.”

She nodded, still sniffing. “I know. I know. And honestly, as I sit here, I wish I had. I can’t understand for the life of me why I didn’t come here sooner.”

“You still felt bound by your parents’ words, I’m guessing.”

She sat still for a moment, deep in thought over that statement. Then she nodded. “Yep. And my own decision, to be honest. I thought I could handle this without going back to the past… but who am I kidding? I’ve just been made a bloody little doormat for Ferdinand Danso to trample upon, and oh my God, that man has trampled all over me. He really has.”

“And your parents don’t say anything about how he treats you?”

“Andy, I gave up on telling them what’s going on. They don’t trust me. They think I’ll do whatever it takes to get out of a ‘good, decent marriage’ and come running back to you. I already tried that one time, and my mother was all like ‘you think we are stupid, eh. Many single girls will do anything to have a man like Ferdinand as their husband and you are there concocting rubbish!’ They forced me to go back and just be the humble, submissive wife I ought to be.”

He shook his head. “Unbelievable. Even with scars, they won’t believe you?”

She shook her head. “They know their daughter is one crazy bitch, Andy. They wouldn’t.”

He sat back and rubbed his face with both hands. “Chale, I’m not gonna lie, I’m just sitting here wishing you had told me all this was happening. Coz sweetheart, I did not recognize you when you walked in. No offence, but you looked like one of those first-century ladies who’s just been sentenced to stoning. Like, chale, where’s the sexy Princess I used to vibe with back in the day, looking all stunning in those hot pleated skirts of yours? Girl, you were the bomb! The absolute fucking bomb! Now this motherfucker’s turned you into some Mary Magdalene clone? Babe, my blood is fucking boiling right now!”

Then he shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “But then again, I can’t entirely blame you. I mean, considering you had to say goodbye and all, so… I dunno. But I swear to Christ, if I knew this was the type of shit you were enduring, that asshole and his skanky lil bitch would be sawdust by now!”

Princess sighed and nodded. “I know, Andy, I know. And uh, now that I’m here, there’s something I really need to get off my chest.”

Andy nodded. “Sure, sure. Talk to me.”

“Ummm… Andy, I’m sorry for everything that happened between us. I really am, from the bottom of my heart. I know we’ll say that it’s not entirely my fault and all, but… I just felt so terrible. From the moment that damn newspaper exposed you, and you got arrested, and my parents saw our pictures on my phone, it was just hell. You know how they always complained about me choosing the wrong crowd and not living as a decent lady should. It was fire and brimstone, Andy! They told me that they’d only ensure I didn’t get arrested if I swore to break things off with you. They told me it was time to become a sensible girl and seek a sensible life, and I can’t lie, I bought into it. I thought, maybe it’s for the best that I say goodbye to the dark side and become a regular girl. And that’s when they hooked me up with Ferdinand, and I just took it from there.

“In hindsight, though, that was one of the biggest errors I made. I never should have cut you off. I never should have ended it all with that rushed text message. I wish I had damned the consequences and stuck with you. Because everything that followed this ‘new life’ was nothing but hell. Ferdinand’s sweetness and caring nature all ended from the moment I became his wife, and everything just went downhill. I became this… this scourge in his eyes. He went from being a sweet soul to a devilish demon. And the worst part of it all was the miscarriage. After treating me as some mere carrier, he started claiming I killed our baby. Even after the doctor himself told us it was nobody’s fault. That man’s shown me no respect whatsoever as a human being, much less his wife.

“Honestly, Andy, I was sold a big, fat lie. And I held fast to it, thinking it was the better way to go. All it gained me were these physical and mental scars. And to think my parents told me that you would actually be a cruel, callous choice of a partner, while Ferdinand would literally worship the ground on which I walk. Huh, the irony.”

Andy shook his head in amusement. “Hmmm, the irony indeed. Well, I guess there’s a silver lining in every cloud. Yeah, you walking out on me crushed me like you wouldn’t believe. The only thing that lifted my head was getting off the hook, thanks to Mr. Graham’s connections working to make the case a useless one. And that helped me a lot. Helped me to move in silence and grow my underworld empire. Now here I am, with a number of boys working for me. I mean, you know this is me through and through. That regular 9 to 5 life shit isn’t my thing. So… I guess things worked themselves out.”

Princess sighed. “Yeah, I guess they did. I’m still sorry, nonetheless. I hope you’ve forgiven me.”

Andy laughed out loud. “Forgive? Babe, if I hadn’t forgiven you, you wouldn’t be here. I’d have let my boys break your neck the moment you showed up at this duplex if I was mad at you. You know that.  Trust me, I forgave you the moment you told me you wanted to come back. There’s no way I’m keeping any resentment towards you. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved and will ever love.”

Princess’ lips curved upwards. “You mean nobody else managed to capture your heart throughout these last four years?”

Andy shook his head. “Princess, my heart’s been a locked up room ever since you were snatched away from me. And there’s no soul upon the face of this earth who has the key but you. Princess, you mean the world to me, and I’d do anything for you. Anything. Even if I had to give up this life of the dark underworld just to relocate to a secret place and spend the rest of my life with you, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’m not even joking, honey. I mean it.”

Princess felt a shy smile part her lips. It had been ages since she had heard such sweet words, and for the first time in a long time, she felt pretty light-headed. “Awwww, Andyyyyy,” she cooed.

“I’m dead serious, my sweet Nefertiti!”

“Awwwwwww, you still remember the nicky!” Princess gushed.

“Of course I do. It’s stayed evergreen in my mind, and I’m glad I get to use it again. Believe me, sweetheart, all is forgiven.”

Princess reached across the table and held his hand. “Thank you, Andy.”

“Nah, thank you, Princess, for turning this crooked bastard into a lover boy once again. I feel like Wilson Fisk in Daredevil.”

Princess laughed out loud. “Yeah, that guy was mad evil, but his soft spot for his lady was something else.”

“Uh-huh. Anyways, you know what? Now that you’re here, I’m gonna make sure you’re as comfy as can be. I’ll let one of my boys take you to our quarters, set you up in my room, and get you some fresh clothes. I’ll come over later and we can… you know, catch up.”

Princess giggled as he winked at her. She knew what kinda catching up he meant, and boy, how she needed it!

Andy then cracked his knuckles. “Then from tomorrow, I start working on dealing with that son of a bitch for putting my Nefertiti through all that hell! That fucker is gonna pay!”

Princess shook her head. “No need for that, Andy. No need.”

He turned to her, the most shocked of expressions on his face. “Wait, what! Princess, you want me to just let this motherfucking beast off the hook? With all he’s done to you? Hell no, girl! If I don’t make that man scream in pain for all the shit he’s put you through…”

“Relax,” Princess hushed him, placing her hand on his. “No need for all of that, Andy. Trust me. Leave it to me.”

The incredulous look on Andy’s face remained. He had already shown he was open to forgiveness, but this insinuated kind of forgiveness… not in the slightest did he approve. “Princess, are you telling me you’ll just let it go and let him be?”

Princess giggled and shook her head. “No, silly. I said leave it to me. I’ll be the one to make him pay for all that hell he put me through.”

Andy raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

“Andy, that bastard ruined my life. For no reason whatsoever, he made a pariah out of me and treated me worse than dirt. I probably might have just let it go at a certain stage, but no, ever since he and his lil prostitute chic banged each other and sent me that voice note unprovoked, something died inside me. That was the most degrading, most insulting, most demeaning thing they could ever think of doing to me. And I’m not letting it go. They ripped my heart and soul to shreds with that, and I will make sure they feel every drop of agony and woe they inflicted upon me. They will see that it is no joke that hell truly has no fury like a woman scorned. All I need is the assistance of some of your guys, and it’ll be done perfectly.”

Andy smiled. “I like that. I like that a lot. Alright then, I leave it in your hands.”

Oh boy! Looks like Princess’ heart is set on dealing with them. Considering this boyfriend of hers is an underworld boss, you can only feel that Ferdy and Kirania are in trouble…