Deceitful Vows (2 page)

Chapter 2

Friday morning Kayla woke up feeling like a bus had hit her. All of the crying from the night before had left her with a massive headache and huge bags under her eyes. She crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom to release her bladder and see just how much damage her blubbering had done to her face. She could smell the coffee pot brewing, and she heard the cabinets opening and closing downstairs in the kitchen. After relieving herself, washing her face and brushing her teeth, she went downstairs in search of the awesome aroma of hazelnut. She had almost forgotten about last night until she saw Mark.

Kayla stopped dead in her tracks and took in the sight of her six-foot-two, two hundred and twenty-five pound husband. His light cocoa skin was smooth and shiny. As if he could feel her staring, he turned around all of a sudden and flashed her a smile, displaying all thirty-two pearly whites. Although Mark was five years older than Kayla, at thirty-two years old, his consistent workout regimen kept him buff and toned. He wore his hair cut low and faded and always dressed in expensive suits. He wouldn’t be caught dead without his signature cologne, 1 Million. To Kayla, Mark resembled the actor Michael Early because of his sexy eyes. And whenever his hair grew out a few inches, it curled on the ends.

Kayla met her husband’s gaze and gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Realizing that last night was not a dream, she decided to inquire about his evening. “How was your night? I didn’t even hear you come in. It must’ve been pretty late when you finally got here.”

“Oh yeah, babe…my fault. It was a little late. Those niggas ain’t want to shut up, and I didn’t want to bother you, so I stayed downstairs.” Then, Mark stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth and avoided Kayla’s eyes.

Kayla knew something was up. Mark
never
talked urban smack. He often used slang to annoy her and make her drop conversations because he knew how much it bothered her. Determined to uncover whatever her husband was hiding and get to the bottom of it, she pushed the issue. “So you only went to
Friday’s
to have wings and a few beers with your boys? Well…oookay,” Kayla said slowly before she turned and headed for the steps so that she could get ready for work.

As she climbed the stairs, a nagging feeling churned in the pit of her stomach. Although she couldn’t put her finger on it, Kayla knew there was something her husband wasn’t telling her and she had to find out what it was.

****

She walked into her office confidently with her usual bright-eyed smile and cheery attitude. Although her marriage may have been on the rocks, she had only one rule when it came down to her attitude in the office: Never let them see you sweat
.
Kayla was the youngest and the only African-American psychologist in her office. She landed the position right out of graduate school. While her co-workers considered their patients as pathetic welfare recipients who only wanted to defraud the state out of eight hundred dollars a month, Kayla looked at them as young women in need of guidance or simply someone to talk to. She maintained the biggest caseload in the agency, but it wasn’t because she was naïve enough to believe that her peers respected her. Kayla took pride in helping the young women she counseled. On Fridays, she didn’t see patients, though. She spent the day reviewing notes and cases in preparation for the following week. She also made calls to some of her more at-risk patients who needed a little more TLC, just to check in with them. This morning Kayla walked in with no intention of making any special calls. She had no plans to review a bunch of notes either. There was something more pressing on her mind…like saving her marriage. 

Kayla made it a habit not to call Mark when he was showing a piece of property. It was his job, and she believed he should be left alone when conducting business. Mark was a top commercial real estate investor in his family’s firm. He had followed in his father’s footsteps and was next in line to take Mr. Jack Barnes’ position as CEO of Barnes Real Estate in a couple of months. After the out of place text last night and Mark’s strange behavior this morning, Kayla was anxious to find out what was going on. She called his phone, and it rang three times before it rolled over to the voicemail. Finding that strange, she decided to send him a text message instead.

Kayla
: Hey! I was thinking date night tonight with my sexy husband.

   
Mark
: Maybe…I might have to show a property later.

She inserted a sad face before the words:
Okay. I miss you.

Mark
: C’mon Kay don’t do that. This is a big deal I’m working on.

Kayla
: I know. I still miss you.

Mark
: As soon as I close this deal we can go on a vacation. Just pick a place.

Kayla
: OK. Enjoy your day. Until tonight…

Slumping down in her office chair, all kinds of thoughts ran through Kayla’s mind. On one hand, she was aware of how hard Mark worked to make things easy for them. On the other hand, she still couldn’t get that text message out of her head. She tried hard to reflect on Mark’s behavior over the last few weeks. There had been no signs of an affair. But then again, she never pried or tried to chain him to a leash. So he always had plenty of room to mess around, and she wouldn’t have been the wiser. Realizing that she was going to be on her own tonight, she decided to go out. There was a romantic comedy in theaters that she’d been dying to see for weeks. But since Mark wasn’t into those types of movies, he had refused to take her. Kayla purchased a ticket online and headed out the door. She hated standing in long lines at the movies, especially on a busy Friday night. The Kiosk was out of the question. It seemed she always got stuck behind someone who had no idea what they were doing. Once the system came up, Kayla logged onto her online banking first. Financially, she and Mark were good on cash. Considering how much she had struggled all through college, she now enjoyed looking at the zeroes in her bank account to remind her of how far she’d come. Once the Bank of America screen loaded up, and Kayla saw her accounts, she smiled to herself. She was about to log off, satisfied with her balances, but her credit card balance caught her eye. Actually, it was Mark’s card, but because she was an authorized user on it, she was able to view the balance also. Taking note of $387.13 balance, she decided to schedule the payment. Neither she nor Mark liked to carry balances on their credit cards. Because he often forgot to schedule the payments, he’d added Kayla to the account for that purpose. She was good at keeping up with the finances and making sure everything got paid on time.

Kayla clicked the hyperlink to go into the account and instantly turned red. The building started spinning, and she felt like she was about to vomit. Staring back at her was a hotel charge for the Marriot Hotel and a purchase at Fogo De Chao, the popular Brazilian steakhouse. Both charges had been made on the same day. Immediately, Kayla began thumbing through her text messages to try to figure out where Mark was
supposed
to have been on that particular day. She ruled out that these purchases were work right away. Kayla was certain of that because Mark hadn’t used his corporate credit card for either transaction as he usually did for business. He never stayed in a hotel as long as his business took place in the state of Maryland. He always made his way home no matter what. The hotel stay and the meal at Fogo De Chao had been personal. She was sure of it. It was painful for Kayla to receive, but Mark had been entertaining someone—more than likely, another woman.

Finally, she reached the series of text messages that she and Mark had exchanged on that particular day. According to the text messages, he was supposed to have been in Richmond, Virginia, working on a deal to buy the space for a big new outlet mall. Without warning, a whirlwind of emotions overtook Kayla. She went into an uncontrollable bout of tears and sobs. It didn’t matter that she was at work, breaking her number one rule. Her professionalism had flown out the window. Kayla’s heart shattered into a million pieces, and her reputation no longer mattered. In fact,
nothing
mattered anymore. The love of her life…her soul mate…the man who had vowed to love her unconditionally until death, had broken his vow to her. And she was completely clueless as to what to do about it.

After discovering the text messages that Mark had sent her in an attempt to cover up his cheating ways, Kayla drove home in a blur. She vaguely remembered getting permission to leave the office early for the day. At the time, she was an emotional train wreck. All she wanted was to arrive home, crawl into her comfortable bed and sleep her life away.

***

The smell of bacon, eggs, and coffee filled Kayla’s nostrils the next morning, alerting her that her cheating husband was home. She tried to get up, but she wasn’t really ready to face Mark just yet. A few minutes later, he entered the bedroom with a tray of food in his hands and a smile on his face.  Kayla wondered how someone so deceitful could do it with such a straight face. Mark sat the tray down and went to draw the blinds open to let a little sunlight in the room. Kayla had to admit that her husband looked very handsome in a pair of True Religion jeans hanging low on his waist and a black Ralph Lauren polo shirt. His overall appearance was quite casual for a day at the office. Before putting a piece of bacon in her mouth, Kayla took the opportunity to inquire about last night, considering she had slept most of the day away. “So how did the meeting go?”

“It went well. We should close in the next sixty days.”

“That’s good. I’m sure Jack will be excited to finish one last big deal before he retires. And I’ll be excited that I get my husband back.”

“Yeah, my dad is pretty happy about it.”

“So what time did you get in exactly? I don’t remember hearing you come in.”

“It was pretty early actually. I was in by eight-thirty.”

“I must’ve been beat. I don’t remember a thing. So, what do you want to do today? I was thinking we could go look at some new patio furniture.”

“Babe, you don’t remember? I have to help my dad start clearing out some things from the office this morning. It shouldn’t be long, though. But when I’m done, we can go do whatever you want to do.”

“Oh yeah…” Kayla lied slow and deliberately. She hadn’t remembered that at all. In fact, she recalled Melissa telling her that she and Jack were going skiing this weekend in the Poconos. Mark’s mother wasn’t exactly in love with the fact that he had chosen Kayla for his wife. Melissa had hoped he would choose a girl from their side of the tracks with a better pedigree. It didn’t matter that Kayla had earned two degrees and wasn’t what one might consider ghetto. She simply wasn’t from the suburbs, and her family didn’t fit into their social circle. Neither parent earned a six-figure salary, nor were they privy to certain luxuries in life. They couldn’t afford a service staff or exotic vacations. Vivian and William Todd were plain old middle class. She was a sixth grade history teacher, and William was a foreman for a local construction company in Pittsburgh where Kayla grew up. Mr. and Mrs. Todd had worked hard to give Kayla and her sister, Courtney, very comfortable lives. The Todd sisters never wanted for anything. And they were showered with lots of love and attention. Because Vivian was an educator, academics were very important in the Todd household.  However, Kayla’s education and successful career weren’t good enough for Melissa. She simply believed that Mark could’ve found a woman from a better family with connections to high society. Therefore, Kayla had not been fully accepted into her family or her social circle. Melissa and Kayla only spoke to one another out of cordialness—nothing more and nothing less. Any and all of their conversations were purely for the sake of keeping their men happy. Kayla’s guess was that this was her husband’s “
lie of the day.”
Mark knew that there was no way Kayla would want to go with him or call to confirm his story since it would mean possibly seeing or speaking to Melissa. What Mark didn’t know was that last week she had run into Melissa leaving out of the bank. During their brief chat, his mother had mentioned that she and his father were going skiing this coming weekend. She had insisted that they join them for dinner the following weekend after they return home. Mark was also clueless that Kayla had woken up the night before during the time he allegedly should have been home and discovered he was not. Normally, Kayla wouldn’t have given any of this a second thought, but after the text messages and the charges to the credit card, she knew something was up. And she was determined to figure out exactly what it was.

Chapter 3

After eating only half of the breakfast Mark had prepared and served her, Kayla showered and got dressed. Keeping it simple, she put on a casual white blouse with jeans and wedge heel knee boots. She swept her hair up into a messy bun and was ready to head out the door. Known for wearing very little makeup, she applied a coat of lip gloss in the car. Kayla was a natural beauty, without exotic features like slanted eyes or high cheek bones. She had caramel colored skin, which was free of all traces of acne and blemishes. She had big brown eyes, full lips, and her nose did make her look like she had some form of island decent but to her knowledge she did not. Kayla was petite in stature, standing a few inches above five feet. She only 5’3” and weighed around one hundred and twenty-seven pounds. She was far from having a video girl body shape, but her full 36DD’s gave her small frame just enough enhancement to make her stand out.  Kayla didn’t mind that she didn’t have any super special features about her to make her stand out over the top. She enjoyed that she could still turn heads without having to spend hours in the mirror to make it happen. Kayla often kept her shoulder length hair pulled up or back. Very seldom did she wear it down.

After pulling out of the driveway, Kayla found herself driving to the only person she could share her recent concerns about her husband with.

Thirty minutes later Kayla pulled up to Stephanie’s condo and got out. The cool brisk winter air hit her, and she welcomed the breeze instead of running from it. Lately, she had been feeling like she was suffocating, and finally she was able to breathe.

It felt good.

After greeting the doorman and taking the elevator up to the thirteenth floor, the familiar suffocating feeling suddenly came back. She had difficulty breathing again, and she had the urge to vomit. Kayla ran from the elevator to Stephanie’s door. She knocked continuously and consecutively until her friend appeared. Sprinting past her, she reached the half-bathroom down the hallway in time to empty her entire breakfast in the commode.

“Do you need water?” Stephanie asked from the threshold.

“I do. Thank you.”

“What brings you here so early and what happened to you?”

“I didn’t know where else to go or who else to talk to,” Kayla answered, wiping her mouth with tissue.

Immediately, Kayla broke down and poured her heart out to Stephanie.

“Why would he do this to me? We make love at least five times a week, we go out on dates, and I don’t nag him about working all the time. I’m the same woman he married. I just don’t understand why he would do this to me.”

“C’mon don’t do this to yourself. You aren’t even sure if he’s having an affair. You’re just assuming he is. Don’t drive yourself crazy over a thought.”

“It’s a strong thought. He was supposed to be in Richmond that weekend, not at the Marriott or at some restaurant eating. The fact that he put it on his credit card knowing that I could see the statement shows me that he doesn’t care anymore. He didn’t even try to hide it. What if he wants to leave me for her? What would I do without him? He is my whole world, and I would die if he left me!”

“Kayla Barnes, let me tell you something right now! You will
not
blame yourself for the actions of a trifling ass man. I told you he was no good. He thinks with his little head, not his big head, like most men. What you have to realize sweetie is that men love new pussy and there’s nothing you can say or do to change that.”

Kayla noticed Stephanie staring off as she talked to her. Kayla knew that this whole ordeal was taking Stephanie back to when her ex cheated on her. She felt bad for sending her friend on a trip back down memory lane but appreciated the support she was getting.

It felt good for her to be able to tell someone else about the pain she was experiencing. Kayla continued to talk for what seemed like hours and now that the words were coming out of her mouth, she was convinced that her husband was having an affair, and she knew she had to confront him and get the truth. 

Stephanie listened to her best friend of the last four years cry her heart out about her husband. The day of the wedding, Stephanie tried to warn her about him, but Kayla had insisted that she was in love and Stephanie was wrong in her thoughts about Mark. Kayla blamed Stephanie’s doubt about her future husband on the pain from her recent breakup with Chris. Stephanie and Chris dated for two years. Stephanie was ready to settle down but Chris was just warming up to the idea. He cheated on her with several women. The breakup with Chris caused her to hate all men. Stephanie was certain that Mark was a liar and a cheater.

She knew it wasn’t a good time to say, “I told you so,” because that would only break Kayla’s heart more. So instead, she just listened and rubbed her best friend’s hair while she poured her heart out, all the while thinking that not only was her friend right about her thoughts of her husband but she would sure enough end up heartbroken.

***

Less than an hour later, Kayla found herself walking around the Inner Harbor aimlessly. Stephanie had listened to her story and offered her support, but she couldn’t spend very much time with her. Chad, her new beau, was going to take her to the National Harbor to spend the day, and she was running late because of Kayla’s breakdown session.

Kayla did a little shopping and got a bite to eat at the Cheesecake Factory before heading back home. Once again left alone with her thoughts and tears, she decided to give her husband a call. After just two rings, he answered, and despite the fact he was an adulterer, she smiled when she heard his voice.

“Hello?”

“Hey, babe. What you doin’?”

“Nothing much. I just got to the office. I’m about to start packing some of the old man’s things.”

Kayla cringed. “After thirty years, I’m sure there’s a lot to pack.”

“Trust me. It is, but we have time. He won’t officially retire for a few more months, so we don’t have to do it all today. What’re you up to?”

“I just left Steph’s condo. Now I’m at home watching a movie.”

“Oh really? You just left Steph’s condo?” Mark replied in a mocking tone.

“Don’t do that, babe. You know that’s my girl.”

“Yeah, I know. It still doesn’t mean that I have to like her. But I know she’s your girl.”

“Why can’t the two of you get along?”

“Look, babe, I have to go. I don’t want to be here all day. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, babe. I’ll see you later.”

It was crazy to Kayla how, even though, there were so many signs of infidelity there, she still couldn’t stop smiling like a school girl whenever she spoke to Mark. She stopped scrolling through the TV Guide channel and finally settled on a Lifetime movie. She had slept half of yesterday away, and she had only been up a few hours today, but it didn’t take long for sleep to overcome her.

Kayla was awakened to Mark tracing his warm tongue around her sweet spot. He was licking and tracing imaginary words around her inner thighs while rolling her nipples in between his thumb and index finger. Soft moans escaped her lips as he continued to lick her slowly. He moved from her thighs to her opening and began to suck and lick her clit. The feeling of what he was doing in between her legs and what he was doing to her breast caused her breathing to become shallow and her heart rate to increase. She tugged and rubbed at his head, encouraging him to go deeper as she felt her orgasm begin to build. Without warning, her soft moans turned into slight screams and she felt her body trembling. In a split second, she felt her hot orgasm oozing out, and nothing else could be heard in the room except Mark slurping up her juices. Satisfied with the orgasm she’d just had, Mark flipped Kayla over and plunged deep inside her with just one thrust. Kayla’s walls quickly tightened around him, fitting him like a glove. With each stroke, she arched her back more and tried to keep up with him, not wanting to cum again so quickly. She reached back, grabbing his shirt, causing him to stop stroking. Once he stopped, she began rocking her back to him, getting her rhythm and bouncing her ass up and down on him just like he liked it. She released his shirt and allowed him to stroke her. It wasn’t long before he realized that at this pace his orgasm would quickly approach. So Mark pulled out, flipped her back around and threw her legs over his shoulder once again, and entered her. Kayla arched her back, letting him go deeper, and he knew he couldn’t hold out any longer. Her juices were now spilling out, and she was digging deeper and deeper into his back. Before he knew it, Mark was grunting and bucking like a wild horse, releasing his seed deep inside Kayla before collapsing on top of her.

After their impromptu lovemaking, Kayla decided not to spoil the mood with questions and accusations about him having an affair. Instead she laid underneath her husband, basking in the afterglow and silently praying that she was wrong about his cheating ways. 

***

Continuous chimes woke Kayla out of her sleep. Looking around in the dark room, she realized that it was Mark’s phone. Sliding from underneath his comatose like body, she quickly picked up the phone and silenced it. Not seeing the name on the Caller ID screen, her interest piqued. So she attempted to unlock it. After trying his birthday, her birthday, their anniversary, and address, she decided to try his safety net—his parents’ address. After typing in the four-digit house number to his childhood home, she was able to see ten new text messages. Kayla took the phone into the master bathroom to read the messages in secret. She figured she needed to sit down to read them. She sat on the commode and pushed the message icon.

I had a great time today
, the first message said.

I’m sorry you couldn’t stay longer.

I wish you would tell her and get it over with
.

Brunch tomorrow?

You could make up for leaving me early today.

You home yet?

You must be.

Talk to you tomorrow.

I love you.

Good night

Unable to contain herself any longer, Kayla stormed out of the bathroom and pounced onto Mark like a wild animal who had just stalked their prey. Surprised and caught off guard, he tried to get up and defend himself, but surprisingly, his strength was no match for Kayla’s anger.

“Who the fuck is she?!” Kayla screamed loud enough to wake up anyone in a two-mile vicinity.

“What? Who is who?” Mark asked looking confused and scared at the same time. “What are you talking about?”

“
Her
! Who the fuck is she?!” Kayla responded now with a pool of tears streaming down her face. “And why is she sending these messages?!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kay! Just get off me so we can talk.”

“I’m not moving until you tell me who she is!” Kayla spat as they wrestled with one another.

“She’s nobody!”

“She has to be somebody! She’s telling you that she loves you, that she should tell me about the two of you, and that she had a good time today! A nobody would not have that much to say! Who is she?!”

Mark didn’t say anything. He just kept fighting to get up.

Seeing that Mark didn’t appear to have an answer for the question, Kayla continued. “Is she the same person you were with at the Marriot and Fogo De Chao?”

Instantly, he froze. Panic and fear came across Mark’s face, and Kayla knew that she was right. She had her answer. In a more calm tone, she asked the question that would decide the fate of her marriage. “Do you love her?”

Instead of answering her question, he simply looked away. That was it. That was all she needed to know.

Their marriage was over. There was no way to stay married to a man who loved someone else. So slowly Kayla got up and started up the stairs. Mark sat confused and in silence. Not once did he go after her, nor did he try to explain anything. He just sat there. Even when she came down with luggage the first time, he didn’t move. The second time she brought more bags, he still didn’t move. When she came to retrieve her cell phone from the coffee table in front him, he didn’t bother to make eye contact. Mark didn’t move from the sofa until he heard her car engine start and was sure she had pulled away. Finally, he went to the window to confirm what he already knew. His wife had left him.