Chapter 18

Fred quickly scanned the area looking for any other sign of surveillance but the street seemed empty. 

His mind began racing as he tried to process what was happening. 

Who could be this person and for what reason could they be spying on him? 

He was almost certain they were his creditors. He made a mental note to look into it later but as far as this night was concerned, he couldn't let these beautiful ladies with him go just like that; he needed to satisfy them. 

Karen sat in her dimly lit room. She stared blankly at her phone. It's silence, a stark reminder of her isolation. 

As she gazed around the room, her eyes fell upon the remnants of the life she had been living before; the expensive jewelry, the designer clothes ...; all of it seemed hollow and meaningless. 

Her thoughts turned to all the people that ever played a major role in her life and how she manipulated or controlled them. They all abandoned her one by one eventually; Fred, Avery, Samson, her parents, her siblings and Ken. 

If only she could turn back the hands of time, she would have gladly remained with Samson. He was never cruel to her. He did all he could to show her love but she heartlessly betrayed him and for what? 

She stood up from her chair, her movements slow and labored and shuffled over to her mirror. The reflection starring back at her was a shadow of herself. 

Her once sharp features were now dulled, her eyes sunken and her skin, pale and clammy. 

Karen's face lingered on her reflection and for a moment, she saw herself as others did: a wicked, manipulative and toxic individual. 

The realization was a crushing blow and she felt her composure begin to crumble. 

Her face began to contort in a mixture of anger, sadness and desperation as the weight of her isolation and rejection bore down on her again and she let out a frustrated scream. 

It was in this miserable state that Fred met Karen when he came back home. He seldom came back home now and since she wasn't expecting him, she didn't hear him when he came into the house. 

When he opened his bedroom door and saw Karen, his face scrunched up at the sight of her. As he looked at her, he felt a growing sense of disgust. It wasn't just her behavior that repelled him but the person she had become. 

The woman he had married had been kind, loving, caring and thoughtful but for some time now, she had changed, becoming increasingly selfish and inconsiderate. 

He had invested so much in this relationship; time, money, true feelings, blood, sweat and all for what? For someone who pretended to care for him? 

He felt like he was living with a total stranger, someone who didn't care about his feelings. 

Karen finally realized she was not alone in the room as she turned to face Fred with a fake smile plastered on her face. "Hey honey, you're back" She said, her voice dripping with insincerity. 

"What are you doing, Karen?" Fred asked. 

Confusion etched on her face "Nothing honey" She replied. 

"Why is the house so filthy and where is Avery?" 

"Avery?" She repeated. 

"Have you become stupid?" 

"I'm sorry about the house. I'll take care of that right now" 

She stood up to head to the kitchen but he stopped her. 

"You haven't answered me. I asked where is Avery?" 

"Avery is at Mrs Emma's for her home lessons" She quietly replied. 

"What are you useful for, Karen? You can't run a company, you can't manage our home and you can't even home school your own child! You had to entrust a total stranger for that! You're totally unbelievable!" He fumed at her. 

Karen could only stare downwards as Fred berated her. She dared not retort back. 

"Better get cleaned up and go prepare food for me. You should be grateful I still feel like eating your food" 

"Yes, I will get cleaned up and whip up something nice for you" She quickly said and ran to the bathroom. 

Karen's phone on the bed suddenly emitted a sudden crisp sound indicating a text just came through. 

Fred picked up the phone. He saw that the text was from her service provider. Out of curiosity, he decided to go through her call log. 

It seemed Karen and Kennedy Chapman were always in correspondence with one another. 

Whatever could those two be discussing about? So Karen was now hiding things from him, right? What else could she be hiding from him? 

All thoughts of eating cleared from his mind as he waited for her to finish bathing. 

Karen came out of the bathroom feeling a bit better. As she stepped into the bedroom, she felt a sudden searing pain on one side of her face . 

She screamed while holding her face that had just been slapped by Fred. 

"Fred, you slapped me?" Hot tears spilled down her face. 

"So after all I have done for you, you plan to backstab me?" Fred asked in a calm tone. 

"Whatever are you talking about?" She was panicking. 

Fred held up the phone for her to see. "Karen, tell me the truth. Have you and Kennedy Chapman been talking?" 

Karen froze on hearing the question. 

"Don't let me repeat myself" Fred said still in that calm tone. 

Karen knew what it meant for Fred to sound calm in dicey situations. It was the calm before an actual storm. 

If she didn't say something, anything; Fred would surely murder her! 

"It was Ken who called me, honey" She hurriedly blurted out. 

"Really?" Fred's face was filled with disbelief "Why would Kennedy call you?" 

"He kept asking to see Avery. He says he misses her and would like for me to bring her to visit him" 

"And what was your reply, Karen?" 

"I told him it wasn't yet time for both of them to meet and when it's time, I will surely bring her over to visit but he keeps insisting I bring her" 

"And why didn't you tell me about this?" 

"You don't always come home and I was scared you'll misunderstand" 

Fred kept looking into her eyes as if to determine if she was saying the truth. 

"Are you telling me the whole truth Karen? If I discover you've been lying to me, so help me God; I'll kill both you and Avery" He swore. 

"I promise you honey;, that's the whole truth" replied a frightened Karen. 

Fortunately, she had deleted the texts in her phone. If she knew Fred would go through her phone, she would have also deleted the call log. 

What if Fred had seen the messages? The outcome would have been disastrous.