Chapter 4 Betrayal Behind the Veil

Damian remained silent for a while, trying to process the information he had been told about epilepsy. He blamed himself for marrying a woman he didn't know well. He wasn't ready to live with a woman who had epilepsy, as he didn't want to have children with epilepsy in his life. He needed to ask Diana more about this issue. It took Diana seven hours to regain consciousness. She was surprised to find herself in the hospital with Damian by her bedside.

"How are you feeling, mama?"

"I'm fine. How did I end up here?"

"It's a long story. We'll talk about it when we get home."

After they were allowed to leave the hospital, Damian took his wife in his car, and the journey home began. Diana had no clear memory of what had happened. Everything seemed to have faded from her mind.

"All I remember is that I went to the bathroom with the old man accompanying me, and I don't remember anything else after that. How did I end up in the hospital, Damian?"

"Diana, please tell me the truth. Do you have epilepsy?"

"Whattt?"

"Epilepsy!"

"When did i get that?"

"Don't be afraid, just tell me the truth. I won't leave you because I love you!"

"I have never had a seizure in my life. Who told you that I have epilepsy?"

"The reason you ended up in the hospital is that you collapsed in the bathroom and lost consciousness. The doctor says it's epilepsy!"

Diana lowered her head down and began to cry. There was no illness she feared more than epilepsy. She saw that disease as a shame. She couldn't understand how these reports about her having epilepsy had come about, as no one in her family had ever had such a condition.

Diana had no memory of the fact that the President had sprayed a drug on her to make her lose consciousness, and she didn't know that while she was unconscious, the President succeeded to physically assault her.

"Don't cry, Diana, it's just a common illness!"

Neither Diana nor Damian knew what had actually happened in the bathroom that day, and the friendship between their families, and the President's, continued to grow. Many gifts were sent to them every time the President returned from a foreign trip. Diana transformed and became a true beauty! She was more well-known than any other girl in the city of Miami! The Peugeot car that Damian had bought for her became one of the most recognized cars in the city. The short clothes she wore made many men desire her, and everyone acknowledged that Damian's wife was the most beautiful woman in the city. Every man who saw Diana's beauty wished to be with her on bed!

People advised her to stop wearing short clothes, but she didn't listen because her husband had advised her to dress like that. Diana was the talk of everyone in Miami city. She went to fancy salons, bought clothes from high-end stores like CALVINKLEIN, and purchased expensive jewelry from exclusive stores in the city of Miami. These were shops that ordinary people wouldn't even dare touch their doors. Diana flaunted her husband's money well.

Her beauty increased immensely. It was hard to believe that Diana had been in the city for only a few months; she was only noticed when she spoke English with a country accent, but if she kept quiet and didn't say anything, one would think she was a native of the city.

The intimacy he experienced with Diana, in the bathroom, left the President confused. He wanted her again and again and wanted to possess her completely. He wanted to completely take her away from Damian. That's how his heart led him, but he didn't know which way to take to get this married girl. President Daniel blamed his eyes for causing him to see Diana.

He feared what had happened to King David, who, by desiring Bathsheba, the beautiful wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah, decided to send him to the front lines of battle to die, and the King took his wife and married her. For this sin, King David received a severe punishment from God.

'The punishment King David received was big. But it was not from that act that King Solomon was born!' President Daniel thought, still unable to understand how people would perceive him if they heard he had taken his voter's wife! But he was already ready to bear the blame.

"I've found a school for your wife!" the President told Damian the day he called him to the State House.

"A school?"

"Yes!"

"Where?"

"England!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"I'm so happy, Dad, and my wife will be happy too!"

"That's good, make sure she's ready so that next month she can travel to England!"

"There's no problem, Father. I love progress, but I don't know how much the tuition will be per year?"

"Don't worry, she will be studying on a government scholarship!"

"How many years will she study?"

"Only three years; she'll be studying French and Leadership!"

"Will she manage?, Coz Diana is only a Standard Seven graduate!"

"That's not a big issue, she'll manage. The important thing is to try and convince her to accept. What will you do with a woman who's uneducated, son? The world has changed, today you're here, tomorrow you're not!" The President advised, and his words seemed very wise to Damian.

Damian bent down and held the President's feet as a sign of gratitude for the kindness he had shown. Never did he understand what the real purpose of the help was! What the President wanted was to get Diana out of the country so he could meet her often in England and persuade her to do what he wanted!

Diana received the news with both hands, though she was a bit worried when her husband told her that the opportunity had been arranged by the President. She felt it was a trick, but because she herself longed to go to England, a country she never thought she would visit, she agreed, with the promise that she wouldn't agree with the President if he followed her there and asked for her affection!

Only six months after leaving her village, Diana boarded a plane for the first time to England, accompanied by Damian, who was also traveling to Milan, Italy. Damian stayed in England for two weeks before leaving for Italy, where he stayed for three days, then returned to his home country Bentaz for his business.

For Diana, everything happening in her life still felt like a dream. She couldn't believe she was already in England. Her parents were very grateful and praised Damian when they heard that their daughter was in England for studies.

Diana's family was very poor. Damian decided to build two modern houses for them. He didn't want to tell his wife and asked her relatives and her parents not to tell Diana. He wanted it to be a surprise for her when she returned.

'This will be the Gift I'll give my wife!' Damian thought.

*****

Three months later, while Diana was studying in the UK, she wrote a letter to her husband informing him about everything that was happening there and how she had amazed her teachers with her great ability to understand her studies, so much so that she was promoted to a higher class! Instead of taking three years, she was expected to complete her studies in two years.

There was only one thing that Diana didn't tell her husband, and that was about President Daniel, who had already managed to persuade Diana and make her his lover. Every time the President traveled abroad, it was a must for him to pass through the UK for various excuses, including having his health checked.

What had brought him to the UK was staying and expanding his relationship with Diana. There was no other reason, and already Diana was six months pregnant. Three months later, she was expected to give birth!

Diana was very worried about the pregnancy. She couldn't find the right words to tell her husband if he discovered the situation. The President promised to use his influence to make sure Damian wouldn't find out.

The first thing he did was to ensure that Damian's passport was held. He ordered the Director of Immigration to take charge of it. Damian's house was raided by soldiers and searched, and his passport was taken! Damian couldn't understand why this was happening, and he had to call Diana to inform her.

"I don't understand what is going on here at home right now!"

"What's wrong?" Diana asked.

"Just some days back, soldiers raided my house, searched me, and took my travel documents. I wanted to go there, but now I can't!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Do you think you know why?"

"I don't know, darling, but I miss you so much!"

"Don't worry, I'll be back in just nine months!"

Damian cried as he spoke to his wife on the phone! He had missed her so much. He had money to travel to the UK to see her, but his travel documents had been taken. Sometimes, he blamed himself for letting Diana go to the UK to study, and every time he tried to get another passport, the immigration officers denied him, despite him having all the necessary qualifications!

******

Nine months after Damian had expected Diana to finish her studies, he received a letter from there informing him that Diana had decided to add another year to fully complete her diploma in administration! Damian cried once again, he was very surprised by his wife's decision. He couldn't understand how Diana had forgotten him to that extent. He longed to go to the United Kingdom, but there was no way for him to leave Bentaz because he didn't have a passport!

The President's trips to the United Kingdom increased so much that even his ministers were shocked. Every month, the President went to the UK on trips that were unclear. He didn't go for official work, but to visit Diana and their young daughter, Regina, who was six months old! She was a beautiful child who resembled President Daniel in every way, even though she was a girl. He didn't want Damian to know that she was his daughter!

Whenever Damian heard the news that the President was traveling to the UK, he would follow him, asking for help, at least to get permission to travel, but the President never helped him! Damian was puzzled as to why the President never wanted him to go to the UK. Damian didn't realize that taking away his passport was part of the President's plot.

"Well, Your Excellency, if you manage to pass by their university, please greet Diana for me, tell her I still love her, remember her very much, and I am here waiting for her!"

"If I manage to pass by, I'll deliver your greetings!"

Damian couldn't understand why the President couldn't help him travel. If he could get Diana into school abroad, how was it that, as a President, he couldn't ensure Damian was given another passport?

Damian began to connect the dots and started to feel uneasy, having doubts about something for which he had no evidence.