The Brilliant Wife 19 and 20
© Ndukwe Ularinma
He had been the one who chased Judy out of his life. If he hadn’t he might be enjoying her wealth alongside her but greed didn’t let him. He remembered when she do tell him, “I will make you a big man one day. Bigger than your brother.” But he always took it as bluffing and as dreams she had that will never be fulfilled. Tell him, what does a girl who lost her parents and business have to be a big woman someday? If only he knew she was testing him.
He cursed the day he met Juanita. He also wanted to have fun with her but ended up falling for her. A girl who had nothing. At least, if that plan had worked, by now he would have been rich and had many stores around the country. He sighed and stepped down from the car after parking it well. Juanita opened the door for him and he entered. He looked at her. She was no longer very beautiful. Judy was more beautiful than her. Judy didn’t develop baby fat over the years but Juanita was getting fatter. “What’s wrong?” She asked him as she observed he looked at her with disgust. “Do I now disgust you?” She asked in a crying tone.
That tone melted Jerry’s heart as he came back to his senses. “No, you don’t. I am just angry,” he replied and sat down on the chair, Juanita followed suit.
“Did it go well?” She asked
him. On remembering the incident, he frowned more.
“Guess who bought the store?” He told her and Juanita smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders indicating she couldn’t guess, “it’s Judy.”
Juanita eyeball grew wider with surprise. “Judy? The poor girl, your ex?”
“Yes she,” he told her, “she bought the shop we stock with more than 10 million at 1 million.”
“What?” Juanita stood up, “a million dollar? We haven’t even decorated our baby’s room. The money will probably finish in a month,” she nagged.
Jerry looked at her, “decorate? You didn’t even talk about food, clothing and you are talking about decoration?” He screamed loudly at her. Juanita shook with fear and began crying, “stop faking those tears,” he barked at her and left to the bedroom.
He was tired of everything. Tired of Juanita the most. Why didn’t he settle down with Judy then? Why did he insist on Judy aborting his babies? He thought about life and thought about what greed and revenge has cost him, his grandma, his father, his mother, his monthly dividends and pay and his elder brother who had saved him from death. “What a life!” He murmured and went to the bathroom standing up from the bed in the lavishly decorated bedroom.
Episode 20
It was a good deal. The boutique was sold. Judy was glad and proud of herself. She saw the regrets in Jerry’s eyes. What Jenny had told her came back to her, “the best revenge is to show them you have nothing and watch them fall, then show them they have nothing.” She laughed at her reflection in the mirror. She was satisfied. She stared at the clock, 6pm. It was time to post another one.
…………
6:30pm, a CCTV recording of a man poisoning and pushingdown an old man from the stairs arouse. Many people recognized the old man as the late Chairman of Just Brand who was found dead in a pool of blood below the stairs. Autopsy then had revealed that it was heart attack but now the emphasis was not on the late Chairman it was on the young man who pushed the chairman. That face had been on news recently.
…………….
Juanita was playing music on her phone when it rang. It was a friend of hers, “hello baby girl,” she said.
“This is not the time for hello, baby girl,” her friend said, “do you know your husband killed his own father and staged it as an accident?”
“Will you shut up?” Juanita barked but in reality she was scared and nervous about the probability.
“Check the news,” her friend said and hung up.
Juanita stared blankly at her phone screen before she remembered, “the news, the news,” she muttered and opened a popular news website. She watched the clip and couldn’t deny it. She swallowed hard before standing up to go to the bathroom downstairs.
……..….
It was Patty who showed Henry, the clip. Henry held the phone with his hands afraid the phone will fly. “Je-Jerry,” he muttered trembling, “he killed dad.”
…..
Jerry was arrested again. He was caught trying to run away. Juanita was scared of him and left to visit her best friend. Henry had pressed charges against him and he had insisted Jerry paid for his crimes. An old record of his crime, Linna’s death was presented and brought to the public’s knowledge. The internet was in an uproar. Everybody was bashing him.
In the interrogation room….
“Why did you murder your father?” An inspector asked seated on a chair and a table in front of them. “He didn’t love me, so why should I spare him and show him love?” Was his reply. They all looked at him, Henry was outside listening to the conversation. He held his tears, “my dad didn’t leave any property for me. He gave it all to Henry and left me his son also with nothing,” he said, “when I found out. I was filled with anger and killed him.”
“So what did you gain from killing him?” He was asked and he kept quiet, “did you gain the company?”
“No, I gained nothing,” he replied and reflected on himself. He really gained nothing.
“You know, you are going to jail right? Your wife left and she is chilling in a bar with her best friend,” the officer lied on purpose.
“It’s her life,” that was all Jerry could say, “I am ready to bear the consequences.”
