A Kiss And Many Lies

His masculine voice said words that I had been craving to hear. "I love you!" Although I wasn't completely conscious, my eyes fluttered in excitement.

When I opened my eyes, what I saw changed my life. It felt like a dream, I couldn't believe it. Slowly, my vision cleared. Clyde stood with his back against me, his hands around the neck of someone.

Something is wrong - he was whispering to someone I couldn't see. He'd told her he loved her, not me.

I swallowed hard and squinted in an attempt to get a closer look. The headache that followed was too much to bear, and so I shut my eyes again and listened rather, not wanting to make them realize that I was awake.

Like a nightmare, the clock ticked slowly, my heart beat rapidly, and moments passed. Whispers were exchanged. I heard all of it.

"You did promise you'd divorce her. What's the holdup?" The lady asked impatiently. Her voice sounded familiar.

"Hold on, baby," My husband, Clyde responded, sounding both tense and unhappy.

"I want everything to happen slowly, so I don't get blamed by society. She has been nothing but a liability to me, and you know it.

She contributes nothing to the household, rather than force her ugly self down my throat. What could be more irresponsible?

But I cannot just wake up and throw divorce papers at her, I'll be judged. It's a sad world we live in."

"I know right?" The woman affirmed. "I pray she never wakes up!"

Whoever she is, she seemed to be very evil. Even if she wanted my husband, wishing me death was very extreme.

I was tempted to open my eyes and look at her. To stand from where I lay, unplug the IV drip from my hand, stride to where they stood, and land a slap on her face.

Before I made up my mind on what to do next, I heard it. The soft, familiar sound of a kiss.

It was as if I had been expecting it to happen. I was glad I saw nothing. But the slurps and moans tore my already broken heart apart.

The raptures and gasps had kept me from resting and the shivers of pleasure caused a tear to drop from my eye and trickle down my left ear.

My heart sank, my eyes filled with tears. I had loved him so deeply, and he didn't even respect me enough to do this somewhere else. It was almost as if he was mocking me.

"Oh, baby, you're so sweet." I heard the lady say to him.

In response, Clyde said, "You kiss me better than Everleigh does."

"There's no doubt I do," The lady said with a chuckle. "There's nothing she can do right. Which is why she can't even keep a man."

Clyde laughed with her. My heart ripped apart. I heaved and a tear dropped down my face.

"I think we should have sex on her bed." The lady sounded excited. "You and I should have sex, right where she is!" She said again.

I heard footsteps approaching my bed and assumed they were coming towards me. Would Clyde be that unkind to me?

More droplets followed, despite my many attempts to stop the flood pouring from my eyes. I bit my trembling lips and gnashed my teeth.

"Looks like she is waking up," Clyde said, obviously unexcited and slightly nervous. He had probably noticed the pain on my face.

"I doubt it. I mean, why now? I could just shut the door and a few thrusts should do."

"If you insist," Clyde said. I felt him lean over me to make sure that I wasn't awake. I then felt his weight on the bed. "Lie on me!"

They were too busy with themselves, neither of them realized that my eyes were open. I watched my man of six years pull her to himself. She crashed on him.

He tugged on her shirt as his fingers ran through her skin. "It's been a while, my damsel."

"Indeed," she said in response. "It's been quite some time since I felt you inside of me."

Clyde gave a shy laugh. He was uncomfortable and his gestures showed it.

He tried severally to steal glances at me, but she was too busy burying her tongue in his lips and tugging at his pants, he could barely open his eyes.

I sniffled lightly and rubbed my bleary eyes with the back of my hand. I then shut my eyes and listened to the moans they made. They had become oblivious of my presence.

"Fuck, I'm hard!" Clyde exclaimed.

"And I'm wet." The woman with him affirmed. I knew what would follow and hoped that I wouldn't have to go through the torture of listening to it.

Footsteps approached the door where we were and they both scrambled for their clothes. Moments later, I guessed they were fully dressed.

They listened raptly but saw no one walk in. I listened carefully but heard no one come in, either as the door didn't creak open.

"Well, that was close!" The lady who I had suspected to be my slutty friend said.

Clyde anxiously heaved.

"Are you scared, handsome?" She said again.

Clyde gave no response for a moment. A while later, he says to her, "Dear, that was a very close call. You should get going."

"Why?" I knew what her response would be, even before I heard her. "We didn't even do the main thing!

Just because we were almost caught, we are to quit the fun game we haven't even begun playing?"

"This is no game. Look," Clyde responded calmly. It seemed his gaze was on me as he spoke, probably observing me to know if I was still unconscious.

"She seems to be moving, we need to get out of here. The last thing I want is to get any blame. So I think you should hold on. I'll be with you tomorrow, at the club. I promise."

"Yeah, I should go! I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning to check on her. If she asks, tell her I called. Bye!"

I quickly shut my eyes open and stole a glance to confirm my suspicion.

I recognized that voice, that shamelessness, that attitude, even though it was too painful to believe, my eyes confirmed that it was Laura.

I hoped that my ears had deceived me. That the first glance lied to me. But as it seemed, this Is my reality. My best friend had made out on my sick bed with my husband.

"Is that a camera?" Clyde said before she left. I felt the anxiety in his voice when he realized that the whole scenario was caught on camera.

"Fuck, the whole thing was recorded!" He said with a louder voice.

Laura was silent for a while. She was probably thinking of a way out. Laura was smart but not in a productive way.

She was street smart. Moments later, she said, "We'll think of a way out of this."

I heard her walk out of the room, before I opened my eyes slowly, and locked my eyes in Clyde's. My eyes were unreadable but I could see fear in him.

"Was that a nurse? I thought I heard someone's voice." My voice didn't sound weak, it was rather stern, as I asked him, thinking of how best to handle the situation. I tried not to show any emotions. Sniffling slightly.

"Nah! No one was here," Clyde replied, and walked briskly to my bedside. He then lowered his butt on the bed and held my arms.

"I was really worried about you, I'm so relieved to have you back." He bent down and kissed my forehead.

With a gentle touch, he brushed a few strands of hair from my face, tucking them behind my ear.

"You passed out while making lunch for me, so I heard. We have chefs around the house, why bother? It's so sweet that you wanted to do something kind, but I'm sad and feel guilty to know that I was the cause of this."

I could feel bitterness well up inside of me, but I knew I had to act wisely. So I started by asking, "Where is Laura?" I kept my eyes on his and waited for a response.

As the moment lingered, his face turned pale. "I..." He said with a stutter. "Laura, she... well, she called earlier to know how you're faring."

Before I could respond, the door creaked open. A shadow loomed in the doorway and a familiar voice said, "Well, aren't you going to tell her?"

The figure stepped into the light and my heart stopped. It wasn't Laura, it was someone whom I hadn't seen in ten years.

Someone who had threatened to kill me the next time she saw me. It was my half-sister, Madison.

"Hello Diana," she said with a grin. "Surprised to see me?"

"Do you plan on marrying me?" The guy who was with me in the room asked, wearing a mischievous grin.

"Lol, no. But I called you over because I wanted you to..."

Before I could complete my statement, I heard footsteps approaching. We both looked at the door, in anticipation for who it was coming to my hospital room.

I knew it was Clyde, which left me both excited and angry. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he walked in and saw who I was with, by this time of the night.

I was yet to get over what I witnessed earlier between him and Laura. To make things worse was the sudden appearance of Madison.

Regardless, my mind was made up. I was done with the marriage and I wasn't going to leave quietly.

It was a Saturday evening, and the moonlight streamed through the window, casting shadows across the bedroom floor.

When Clyde shuttled into the room, I watched his face turn pale as he saw me sitting up on the hospital bed, next to my ex boyfriend.

He shone a piercing glare at me with his sea blue eyes, in an attempt to get me intimidated.

He then turned and faced the guy next to me. "Felix?" Clyde was practically fuming. He clenched his fists, exhaled, swallowed the rest of what he wanted to say, and looked at me for an explanation.

"Yes. I asked Felix to come keep me company, because you haven't been doing so."

Felix was oblivious of my plan at the moment, and surprised that after so many years, I sent for him to come see me in the hospital.

"Are you okay, Ever? I was so scared when you sent for me. I honestly thought something bad was happening."

"Actually not. But there was nothing wrong with asking a good, old friend to come over, am I right?"

"Of course not!" He shifted closer to me, and placed my head on his chest, planting a kiss on my forehead.

I was surprised by the gesture, but very pleased by the look on Clyde's face. It was exactly the look I wanted to see.

Felix was always sweet around me, and so he was the perfect person for the moment.

Clyde's face was red at that moment, and he was close to losing his mind by just watching Felix and I.

"Uhm, Ever?" Clyde started, too dumbfounded to move at first. "You're ill, hospitalized and sitting next to your ex on the hospital bed?"

"Yeah..." I gave the most casual response and a bright smile. I was tempted to add that it was better than having sex with my best friend on the same bed, but I decided to save that part for later.

"When did you become so disrespectful?" He was still trying to understand what was going on and why I was being rude to him, which was unlike me.

"Glad you noticed that I wasn't always like this. Well maybe now, you have a reason to divorce me. So you won't be the bad guy..."

"I like where this is going!" Felix announced, picking the remote control up and changing the TV channel.

"Huh?" Clyde's countenance changed.

He immediately withdrew eye contact with me, and strode to the door, wondering what the possibilities were that I had witnessed his make out scene with my best friend earlier today.

He turned to look at me, before heading to the exit.

"Hold on!" I said to him as he got close to the door.

"What now?" Clyde swallowed, his facial expression completely unreadable.

"You still haven't answered my question. An hour ago, I asked you where Laura was. She is my bestie and you say she hasn't come to check on me since I passed out?

That's unlike her. I have a feeling that something bad may have happened to her and you're keeping it from me."

"Laura is fine!" He snapped. "Like I said the last time you asked, she called!" There was impatience in his voice and burning rage in his eyes.

"How do you know that she is fine?" I raised a brow, wearing a smirk.

"I will be outside." Clyde walked on, trembling with the effort of keeping himself under control.

"What's up girl? Did you catch him in bed with your bestie..." Felix rose from the bed and shut the door.

He was probably having naughty thoughts. Usually, I'd scold him. But right now, I didn't mind what happened.

I sighed, wondering if I wanted to tell him what was going on. "Felix, please contact my lawyer. I'm filing for a divorce."

For a moment, I didn't recall that he might not even have my lawyer's contact.

But I knew he would do as I asked, the moment I provided him with all the necessary details, so I picked my phone up and began to search for my lawyer's contact.

He gasped and raised a brow, drawing closer to me on the bed. "Divorce? Any specific reasons?"

"None of your business, don't jinx your luck. Just tell my lawyer to prepare the divorce documents. I'll be discharged soon and I wish to get the documents ready by then."

"Seems like Clyde has really upset you. Do you need a man to make him jealous?" He casually asked the question, the same way he had made many efforts to get back into my life in the past few years.

I glanced up at him, giving his suggestion a second thought. It was a brilliant idea.

An iconic divorce was good, but what could be better than holding hands with your husband's arch nemesis out of the hospital, after throwing divorce papers at him?

Clyde didn't have to be the bad guy, I was going to save him the stress and do the needful by myself.

I am done with trying to earn his love. I am a beautiful woman from a background that is both prestigious and influential.

But I had thrown all of that to the mud to be with Clyde. In a little while, people forgot who I truly am. And I began to live the normal life Clyde wanted for me.

The life of a random housewife. That didn't bother me in any way. But the fact that he cheated on me with my best friend, while I was hospitalized was too much to handle.

"I didn't think of going that far. But now that I think of it, I'll need you to park your car outside by 4 pm tomorrow. I'll be leaving the hospital in your car, and with your entourage."

"Amazing!" Felix smiled in response.

Just as we finalized our plans, the door to the hospital room burst open. Clyde stood tall and lean, his eyes on mine.

I saw panic and fear in his trembling lips, I looked over his shoulder at the men with him. They were policemen.

Did he report Felix and I to the police? I was unable to fathom what the scene before me was about.

"Everleigh, we need to speak with you," one of the officers said, his voice grave. "It's about Laura.

There's been an incident." What now? I let a sigh out. My heart raced as the officer's words sank in.

I glanced at Felix, whose smile had vanished. It was replaced by a look of concern. Clyde looked like he was about to crumble.

"What happened to Laura?" I said almost immediately, my voice trembling slightly. Regardless of what I had witnessed, I didn't wish for her death. Nor did I want to hear that she got hurt.

The officer exchanged a glance with his partner before responding. "She's been reported missing, and we have reason to believe foul play might be involved."

Felix's hand tightened around mine. I could feel the blood drain from my face as the man continued speaking.

"Clyde," I said, turning to face him. "Did you both plan on eloping? Where is she?" That was the only valid explanation.

"Actually, Mrs Everleigh, we have a report here that you were the one responsible."

I picked up my phone to call Felix, when I heard a knock on the door. I looked at the door that bulged open, and my gaze caught the handsome, tall blonde doctor. He smiled at me, with a report in his hand.

The doctor strode towards my bed, his white coat billowing behind him like a cape. He had a bounce in his step as he approached me.

Whatever he had to tell me seemed positive, I was relieved. I had waited the whole morning for the medical report, I couldn't wait for the news for another second.

"Am I going to die?" I asked him, sitting up on the bed.

"Far from it," He replied. Standing next to my bed and looking down at me. "Mrs Ever, dear, I have good news." He was grinning from ear to ear. I guessed correctly, it was good news.

"Well, spill it and let me get out of here. I was to be discharged this morning, but you kept me here till now."

I looked up at the clock above my head, then continued, "It's almost noon Dr Robin. I'm sorry if I sound uneasy but I indeed am. I need to be away from here.

I need to be home!" When I said home, there was nowhere on my mind. Probably a hotel would do for the moment.

"I am sorry, dear. I'm done with the tests and you can leave now. Have this!" He handed me a piece of folded paper.

I stretched my hands out and took the report from him. I found my heart racing. With trembling hands, I opened the sealed envelope.

I had been feeling so hopeful and optimistic, after seeing the look on doctor Robin's face, when he had entered the room.

But as I unfolded the paper, my heart sank. The words I looked at were a direct contrast of what his words and facial expression had hinted.

I felt conflicting emotions, as I sat there, staring at the words before me. Like a teenager discovering she was pregnant after a one night stand.

It was as though my entire world had crumbled in an instant. "How is this even possible?" I managed to blurt, letting the tears drop down my cheeks.

I had planned to travel, tour, have fun, and live loose if I wanted. But how am I going to do any of that when I am now a month pregnant with twins?

"Everything okay, miss Ever?"

"Get out!" I thundered, throwing the paper on the bed and my hands into the air. "Fuck!" I said aloud.

"Well, you're not usually like this. Why are you so cranky? It's a little early for the hormones to act."

He gave a light, nervous giggle, but shut his mouth when he saw that I wasn't looking any better.

The door creaked slightly and bulged. A tall man who was undeniably handsome stood, gazing at Dr Robin and I.

As I saw Clyde's deceitful frame approach me, I made up my mind to keep the pregnancy a secret.

I wasn't sure I wanted to keep children who were conceived by lies and whose father was a lying cheat.

But even if I decide to keep the babies, Clyde would never know about them.

"Why is she crying?" Clyde said, hastening his steps.

"I told her what I assumed would make her happy. But instead, she burst out crying."

"Well, what's the good news?"

"I gave her a report, showing that she is going to..."

"It's none of your business, Clyde!" I said in response.

He was taken aback and so was the doctor with us in the room. "Maybe I should excuse you both," He said, turning to face the door.

"No, Clyde should!" Letting a sigh out, I reduced my voice and said with a fake smile, "Can you excuse us, honey? I wish to speak to him in private."

"Why would you want to be excused by your husband? If something is the matter, I should know!"

"And you will." I said, dismissing him. I watched Clyde leave, turning to glance at the doctor and I before shutting the door behind him.

"Please sit down, doctor."

"Why did you yell at your husband and why are you sobbing?"

"Just sit and listen!"

He sat next to me, and locked his emerald blue eyes in mine.

"I want this child to be a secret."

"Children!" He corrected, still trying to understand why I was sounding so awkward. "Mrs Ever, are you sure you are okay?

You and Clyde have always wanted a baby. And now you'll have two. What's going on with you?"

"None of your business, doctor Robin. I want my children to be a secret. Clyde must not know about them."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. He is your husband and I can't lie to him or keep him in the dark. Besides, you'll need him to sign some papers when you start coming for the prenatals."

"I can worry about my documents and who'll sign them. Listen, Robin. If you tell Clyde about these children, you are going to hate me."

"What are you gonna do?" He didn't mean to sound like he was asking me to do my worst, but I interpreted it as that Everleigh who was a dark girl in college came back, and gave him a fitting response.

"Are you daring me to do my worst, doctor Robin? Because if you are, then I'll make you wish you never met me."

"Are you threatening me?"

"If that's how you choose to look at it, then yes."

"I guess the rumors are true. You were the one who abducted your best friend!"

My jaw dropped. I blinked multiple times. "You think I'd do something like that?"

I was accused of abduction and although I tried not to think about it, Dr Robin's words were proof that the news was out there.

He heaved, and stood from where he was sitting. "When did you become like this? You used to be humble and respectful."

"You wouldn't get it. And you know what, doctor robin? I don't care about what you believe! I'll give you three hundred thousand dollars to keep my pregnancy a secret."

"It's a crime, Ever." He was almost pleading. "I can't do it."

"What is a crime?" Someone else had overhead us. He stood at the door with fisted hands in his pockets, casting a glance down at me.