From Different Worlds: Chapter 2: Broken Teapot.
The fiance
The jarring sound of metal hitting glass jolted Shaiyan awake. She had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for Adrian to come home. She looked at her phone. It was 2:30 in the morning. Her movements were sluggish when she turned onto her back and looked up.
Adrian finally returned. She quickly stifled a yawn but took her time to sit up. She steadied herself among the soft cushions. She rubbed her eyes and tried to focus her gaze on him.
"Where were--"
Slap!
The slap echoed through the apartment. Shaiyan fell back holding her left cheek. She carefully flexed her jaw "What? Why did you hit me?!" Her voice was hollow--subdued.
Adrian bent forward, flattening the palm of his hands on the glass coffee table. His car keys were between his thumbs. "You disrespected my brother and his fiance?"
'Fiance?' Shaiyan's brows lifted. "What are you talking about?" her voice shook with indignation.
Adrian's eyes darkened. His impressive, angular jaw was set like granite. "My brother came over to spend some time with us. I told him that I would be back late, but he said he would stay over until this morning. You disrespected his fiance and accused her of being a prostitute!" He shot his hand out, but seeing her cringe, he stopped his movement abruptly.
He lifted his hand instead to pat her head. He straightened up and looked down at her. "They'll be spending the weekend with us. We have a guest room here. They can sleep in it. I expect you to make them feel welcome. Prepare the room for them and anything they may need."
He was walking away when Shaiyan found her voice. "Wait! What are you talking about?" she asked, standing to her feet. He turned his upper body towards her and doubled his fists. Shaiyan saw the position of his hands and moved back.
"Adrian ... What is this?! Why are you behaving like this?" She gently rubbed her cheek. "Your brother is lying! You didn't even ask me what happened. You just come in and slap mi suh!" Her voice shook with pain.
He turned fully towards her. "Okay, what happened? Tell me," he said. His face was a mask of cold indifference.
Shaiyan held her face. "I came home to hear a woman screaming 'Kevin' at the top of her lungs. When I walked to the bedroom I saw your brother having sex with a young woman on our bed. Our bed, Adrian!"
Adrian's left eye brow drifted upwards. "And you expect me to believe my brother would do that?" he asked.
"Okay, flip it around then. Say I did call her a prostitute. Say I did. Why would I call her that? If she's not doing anything prostitute worthy, why would I call her that? And I did not call her a prostitute. The young woman herself said that he needed to pay up within an hour. Your brother didn't object to what she said. And as I said, I found them in our bedroom having sex!"
Something flickered in his gaze. She wondered if he was beginning to believe her. Adrian relaxed his shoulders. "He told me she was his fiance," he muttered softly.
Shaiyan stared at him. "Adrian, how can he have a fiance and he's still married to Jen?" she asked incredulously.
Adrian put his right hand on his jaw and rubbed his beard. "He's getting divorced," he said flatly.
"He told you that?" Shaiyan asked, her voice elevated. "Just two days ago I was talking to Jenny. She wasn't sad or anything like that. She was talking about planning a birthday party for their oldest son. Adrian, she never mentioned the word divorce."
"They've been having problems for awhile now?" he said through gritted teeth.
Shaiyan laughed, shaking her head. "You mean he's been the problem," she quipped. "I know he's your big brother, but you can't allow him to turn you into a fool."
"Watch it," Adrian said gruffly.
"Or what? You'll hit me again?" She took three steps back. "Your brother told me you call me the Ice Queen."
His left hand made a tighter fist. Shaiyan also noticed that his shoulders were rigid--his back straighter. He said nothing, but she knew him. She could see the guilt present in his eyes.
"So, he was telling the truth then." The back of her eyes stung. She wasn't going to cry in front of him. She blinked and turned away from him. She walked quietly to the hallway bathroom and closed the door.
After five minutes, Shaiyan heard his footsteps coming towards the door. They stopped. Silence. The sound of them grew softer as he walked down the hall to their bedroom. A single tear rolled down her cheeks. Then another. And another. She bent her head and slid down the door. Her sobs were quiet. She wrapped her arms around her knees and cried. Twenty minutes later, she exited the room, picked up her phone from the living room couch, and headed to the guest room. She opened the door and locked it behind her.
Broken teacup
She slept in the guest room. When she woke, she gingerly pressed the tip of her fingers to her bruised cheek. The skin felt warmer than usual, and tender. She sat up on the bed and looked around her. There was a heavy knot of emotions pressing on her chest.
Adrian had never hit her. Not in the three years she knew him or in the year they had dated. She didn't understand why Adrian would take Kevin's side over hers. He knew how his brother was when it came to lying. Adrian had lost thousands of dollars to Kevin's weird business schemes. He would say Kevin's crazy and tell her to ignore him. What was different now? She sucked her teeth and grimaced as she slid off the bed. Her shoulders hurt. This bed wasn't as comfortable as the one she picked out for the master bedroom, but it will have to do.
She stood up and stretched. She was grateful that the guest bedroom had its own walk-in bathroom. She didn't want to talk to him.
He usually left for work by 7:30. Her vehicle was at the mechanics right now, so she was hitching a ride with him for the past week. She needed to check on her vehicle this evening. She would call an Uber.
Her work day started at 9 o'clock. She didn't need to go with him. She did a few stretches to get rid of the stiffness in her back, then headed for the bathroom.
Her showers typically lasted five minutes. She spent ten in the shower and set the water to medium heat. When she came out her skin was flushed red under her vibrant, brown complexion. She needed the blood flow to help her skin heal. She stood before the mirror of her vanity furniture set and sighed.
'He calls you the Ice Queen.
With this sexy little body: tight curves, round ass and firm, high breasts. I couldn't believe it when Adri told me he hasn't once gotten to sample the goods. Said he's tried many times to get you to give him just a little taste, but you always refused.'
Shaiyan shook her head. Kevin's words resurfaced in her thoughts. She dropped the plain white towel she wrapped around her on the floor and looked at herself. Her hips flared out quite nicely in contrast to her small waist. Her breasts weren't large, but she had enough to be called perky. She closed her eyes and cursed softly.
'Why am I even entertaining this?' she asked herself. She pursed her lips, picked up her towel and brought it back to the bathroom. She dropped it in the laundry basket and returned to the bedroom to get dressed.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
She looked up after pulling on a pair of black tights that covered her mid-thigh. She sat in front of the mirror, staring at her face. She was calculating how to combine the two concealers she had to ensure the bruise wasn't obvious. The knock on the door came again.
"Shai, baby, you awake?"
"Yes," she answered, lifting her voice a little.
A pause. "Babe, I made breakfast." Another pause. "Hunny, I'm really sorry for hitting you. Kev, the things he said... I-I wasn't thinking. I know you can be a bit haughty, but you're not that way for no reason."
'Haughty?' She scoffed. 'I'm haughty for having standards and principles?' she mused.
She squeezed a little of the dark shade liquid concealer onto the cover of an old hair pomade bottle, then took the lighter shade concealer and squeezed some on top. She used her index finger to gently blend them.
"Shai?"
"I'm good. The office cafeteria usually serves breakfast. I can grab something there," she answered.
"Why would you need to grab something at work when I'm telling you I already made breakfast?" he asked, a hint of irritation in his tone. He tried the door handle. The door was locked. He knocked harder on the door.
"Shai, open the door," he said.
She did not answer him.
"Oh, so it's like that," he said, his voice going soft.
Shaiyan looked at the door. There were levels to Adrian's anger. When something was more of an annoyance, he would scoff and become argumentative. When he was upset or offended by something or someone, he would speak less but his insults would be devastating. However, when he wasn't getting something he wanted, he would go very quiet and spiteful.
She heard his footsteps retreat from the door. She stood up and went to the door. She heard the clanking of plate dropping on the floor. Then, the crashing of more expensive china. Her heart jumped to her throat. Shaiyan opened the door and rushed out to see him holding a classic teapot her grandmother gifted her when she told her she was getting married.
Adrian heard her hurried footsteps and looked up.. His fingers curled around the handle. Shaiyan fingers trembled. The concealer was already drying on her finger. She ignored it.
Her grandmother had worked as a primary school teacher for many years. She wasn't receiving much for her pension, but she managed to get by. Her buying the expensive tea set was her way of showing her love. Shaiyan took a step closer.
"Baby, what are you doing?" she asked, her hands clasped together. "Please don't."
"Oh? So I'm your baby now?" he asked.
His eyes glinted with spiteful mischief she had seen before. It was never directed at her, until now. Once, she asked him if he would ever treat her the way he treated his cousins and relatives who pissed him off. He shook his head and kissed her forehead and told her she was his special baby.
Adrian bent his head. Panic coiled her chest tight. She took shallow breaths.
"Baby, look at me." she pleaded.
His words came back to her: 'You're my girl, my special baby. I would never do anything to hurt you.' He was now failing to keep that promise. She stared at the teapot in his hand. She swallowed, her throat feeling dry "Hun, grandma Milicent gave it to us as a pre-wedding gift. Please be careful with that," she said her voice shaky.
"Be careful, eh?" He didn't look at her. His eyes focused on the teapot in his hand. He nodded and placed it on the edge of the kitchen counter. His shoulders dipped. In a flash of movement, he grabbed the teapot and threw it in the air.
Shaiyan dove to catch it--body fully stretched out. She only managed to brush her fingers on the side of its belly before it smashed on the floor. She curled up on her side as air was knocked out her lungs and pain shot threw her ribs. She stared at the broken pieces of her grandmother's gift and something shifted inside her. She closed her eyes for a few seconds then opened them. The broken teapot still lay just a few inches away from her head.
Adrian looked down at her. "Please clean up before you leave," he said, his face filled with disdain. "As I said last night, my brother and his fiance will be spending the weekend here. Clean up the room a little for them."
He stepped over her and stopped. "By the way, empty the trash can before you head to work. I threw away your share of breakfast. You said you didn't want it, so I had to get rid of it." He went to the master bedroom and reappeared with his mini brief case.
"I'll call you lunch time. See if you feel better then." he said. Shaiyan still lay on her side, her arms wrapped around her ribs. He walked towards the door then stopped. "And make our bed. I don't know why you took off the sheets, but it was very uncomfortable sleeping on the mattress like that." He opened the door and closed it behind him.
Gritting her teeth against the pain she was anticipating, she pushed herself up on her feet.
"Ahh!" She staggered to the guest room and crashed on the bed. She reached under the covers for her phone, and called the only person who could help her now.
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