MY WIFE, MY NEMESIS
CHAPTER 15
I gently tapped her legs as I reached the bedpost, in an attempt to wake her up. Her legs slowly moved but she still didn’t wake up. I trotted to where her head was supposed to be, and gently removed the duvet from her head.
She’d closed her eyes but was slowly shaking her head. Her natural loose hair was disheveled, definitely due to the head movement. She was sweating profusely as she breathed heavily through her mouth. The breathing was ragged. Her usually moist lips were dry and that made her looked really pale.
The bruises on her cheeks were faintly visible and my eyes went down unconsciously to her neck. Splattered on her round neck were faint bruises as well. I slowly pulled down the duvet further to reveal her chest. She was putting on a singlet so her upper chest were visible and I saw cuts on it. I was appalled. Seeing the cuts and bruises on her made her seemed so vulnerable to me. She looked so fragile and pitiful. I wondered where the strong, stubborn and mischievous woman I was used to, was.
“Did I do all these to her?” I wondered aloud. I gently placed my palm on her forehead and found out she was burning up. She was feverish.
“Wifey… Blessing… Babygirl…?” I called her gently but the only responses I got from her were mere grunts and groans. I rushed downstairs to pick my phone and call my doctor. I informed him of the situation at hand and he advised me to try and bring down the high temperature first before he’d get to our place.
I put cold water in a moderate washing bowl and took a small towel along to her room. I was supposed to call upon one of the housekeepers to tend to her but I didn’t know why I couldn’t do so. I went back into her room to tend to her all by myself.
I’d dipped the small towel into the cold water, squeezed it gently, placed it on her forehead, and left it there for two seconds before removing it to repeat the process from the scratch again. I also wiped off the sweat dripping off her. After some minutes of doing that, I felt her temperature again with my palm placed on her forehead and realized it’d gone down drastically. She’d stopped shaking her head. Her breathing was rapidly becoming even and normal. The sweating had also decreased.
I was relieved and I released the breath I didn’t even know I was holding. I called the doctor again to inform him of the progress. He commended me and informed me he’d be at our house soon. It was 12pm. I remembered she hadn’t eaten anything so I went downstairs to prepare custard for her.
I knew I was supposed to instruct the cook to prepare the custard for her but I didn’t.
“Hey you, come here. Stay with me while I make custard, I need you to teach me how to do it.” I informed the cook as I entered the kitchen. He was taken aback. That’d be the first time I’d be stepping into the kitchen with the aim of preparing food. I didn’t know how to cook anything.
“Sir, why don’t I just get it done for you? Why do you want to stress yourself?” The cook asked me in astonishment. The question got to my brain and I inwardly asked myself same question. I wondered why I was going all the way out to ensure someone, whom I’d wanted gone, became alright. I concluded I couldn’t think straight because I was flustered so I decided to just do any cra.zy stuff my befuddled mind told me to do.
“You’re not the one that’d tell me what to do. Now, let’s get down to business. Should I pour the custard powder into the pot before putting the pot on fire?” I asked the cook as I rummaged through the cabinet and brought out a small pot.
“What? No o…” The cook began but bursted into laughter midway. I gritted angrily. He quickly comported himself when he saw my mood.
“I’m sorry, sir. I got carried away.” He apologized immediately.
“I hope the stu.pidity that carried you away has brought you back?” I asked him mockingly. He nodded and I scoffed. He apologized again and we began the preparation.
We finished preparing the custard and I took it to the dinning hall. I was adding milk and sugar to it when I saw my wife climbing down the stairs. She was dressed up casually. She’d put on a jean trouser and a round neck top. Her hair was packed into a bun. And she had no makeup on. Her lips were still dry. Yet, she looked gorgeous. Was my befuddled mind making things up now?
“Hi hubby! I’m going out.” She announced with a small smile and cut my train of thought. I knew the smile was a small smile but it looked so bright. I realized I hadn’t said anything to her as my brain was busy thinking so I shook my head to bring back my mind.
“What did you just say? You’re going out? In that condition? Didn’t you know you’re sick?” I questioned her, with a slightly raised voice. She furrowed her brows.
“I’m not on the sick bed so I’m okay to go out.” She replied me reluctantly.
“Really? Have you forgotten how you were breathing raggedly and sweating profusely earlier? Don’t you think you need to get properly examined by a professional and be well treated? My doctor is on the way to come treat you. How could you even think of going out now? Just few minutes ago, you were…” She butt in before I could land.
“I was! Now, I’m okay to walk around. You can’t cage me in.” She replied me flatly. I was in fumes. How could she be that ungrateful to me? Didn’t she know I tended to her when she was out of it.
“You’re really something, you know. I can’t cage you in? So, I want to cage you in by telling you to wait for the doctor who’d examine and treat you? Are you even being reasonable here? What’s your problem?” She was making me lose my mind so I snapped at her. She rolled her eyes.
“I didn’t ask you to call your doctor for me, you know? When did you start caring about my wellbeing? You, that even tried to po.i.s.on me? We both know you actually want to get rid of me, so cut the pretense. I don’t care whether or not the doctor is coming, What I know is that, you can’t cage me in. I’m going out, and that’s on a period.” She insisted stubbornly. I seethed in anger but when I remembered how vulnerable and fragile she’d looked earlier, I comported myself and tried hard not to show my anger. She was sick after all. And it was true that I’d been planning to get rid of her. I also couldn’t believe I’d be concerned about her wellbeing like that, I just found myself doing it. I didn’t know what was wrong with my mind. I bit down on my lower lip to stop myself from snapping at her and calmly approached her.
“The doctor will soon be here. Just stay and get treated before you’d go to wherever you are going to. I’m not caging you in.” I gritted out frustratedly. She hissed in annoyance.
“I don’t trust you or your doctor. I know where to get myself treated so excuse me.” She announced firmly and walked out of the living room.
I looked at her walking out of the living room and didn’t even know what to say to stop her from going. I glanced at the bowl of custard and milk on the dinning table and I seethed. I’d even burnt my hand during the preparation of that custard. I went through a lot just to get it done and I felt sorry for myself, yet my heart still ached to see her walked out of the living room without drinking the custard.
“It’s the fault of my blank mind. I did what I wasn’t supposed to do because of my blank mind.” I gritted out angrily. Just then, the doctor walked in.
“Hello, Mr Darlington! Where is the patient.” He asked me immediately. I sighed heavily.
“It’s me. I’m definitely the patient.” I replied him solemnly. He looked confused.
“You? You called me and told me someone was feverish. You can’t be in that condition you described to me and still called by yourself…” I cut him off with a wave of my hand.
“I need you to examine my heart, or my mind…or both. I’m losing my mind and my heart won’t stop aching.” I informed him and he looked utterly surprised.
TO BE CONTINUED
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