And there he was, looking dashing and proud. And that person beside him… the same young girl Anita saw him with, in the elevator.
She stood by his side, looking fearful of the swarm of reporters shoving their mics in their faces.
"Mr. Dave, you didn't manage to get the Mother necklace – the highlight of this evening's auction. What then did you get for Mrs. Blackwood?"
"CEO David, where is Mrs. David? It's been weeks since the public last saw you two together."
"Mr. David, won't Mrs. Wales be mad that you didn't get the Mother necklace?"
David turned his body, slightly shading Linda from the enthusiastic reporters, but he, himself, didn't flinch, carefully answering the question with so much charisma and dashing smiles.
He looked carefree and approachable, almost like someone with no boundaries, and worries of life. And that was why he had the people in his pocket.
In the people's eyes: David could never do wrong – He was an easygoing, kind, and humble gentleman. He was the submissive, or rather, the tolerant one in their marriage, while Anita was bossy, proud, and unreasonable... A typical spoilt billionaire heiress. But despite his wife's attitude, their marriage worked, and that could only be true love, coupled with David's selfless sacrifices.
Thought, the public.
Unbeknownst to them, it was the other way round. Whenever they had a quarrel, it was mostly David's fault, and Anita always had to forgive him, just so her marriage wouldn't crumble. Just so her family wouldn't throw a victory punch into the air.
Anita loved, respected, and honored her husband. She devoted herself to serving him, exhausting her skills and influence in paving the way for him and his family.
The public might be right that Anita was proud and bossy, but that was a facade to protect herself from the public and enemies, but within the walls of her matrimonial home, she was just like every other traditional housewife.
She was the type of woman who did the must work but push her husband forward to take the credit.
"This was meant to be a surprise for my Lady, so I cannot divulge anything just yet," David flashed the reporters that disarming smile again. "My Queen won't be pleased if our online in-laws get the gist before her." He chuckled, and so did the reporters, and perhaps, the viewers, but certainly not Anita.
He continued, "Now, if you'll pull back a little, it'd be appreciated. You grown ups are frightening my little kitten," he joked, looking down at Linda, who clung to him like a life saver.
"She is...?" one of the reporters asked, clearly stunned, as if he didn't notice she was there.
"Ah, our media friends, meet one of our company's new muses. She's not used to this lifestyle. I brought her out to have a feel of what being in the public's eyes mean. Always afraid of everything," he laughed, and everyone laughed with him.
As a CEO of a thriving cosmetic, fashion, art, and entertainment company, he didn't fall short of women hanging loosely around him like a tie on his neck – this wasn't his first time doing this either. He was known to be more than an employer to his employees.
The public had unwavering trust and support for him. His image was perfect and he was dearly loved by everyone– no matter the age and gender– that if you bring them an evidence of a crime he comitted, they would have ninety-nine excuses for why he did it.
To the public, David was an embodiment of hope –David rose from nothing to something in less than eight years. His company employeed more poor and hopeless people than any company in the country...
His mother fought for human rights – she has an NGO that supported women, girls, widows, orphans, and the oppressed, so why won't the people love him?
Plus, the public saw how much he showered his wife with love, how he fought her family to be with Anita... only a real man with a good heart could do that.
And that was why, even with a woman literally hugging him in front of millions of people, no one raised an eyebrow.
Anita too, didn't mind such things before. In a society where men and women freemixed, especially in the workforce, she couldn't become a bitter wife who would pick offense at every body contact her husband made with other women.
She wasn't insecure and her husband didn't give her reasons to. She trusted him, believing she knew him enough.
Moreover, there was this pride she felt when other women vied for her husband's attention, while he only had eyes for her. It made her feel like a winner.... Like, she had something most women didn't.
But not anymore. That feeling had been replaced by loathing, seeing the two being so brazenly intimate in front of the cameras, Anita's heart grew colder.
"Nita, my love, our anniversary—"
Anita turned off the TV and spun on her heels, heading up the stairs, fingers trailing slowly along the rails... Like she was memorizing the cold rails.
Memories of their laughter, of their good times invaded her mind like a vortex.
She and David painted this house with pleasure and memories - They had sex everywhere and anytime. And that was why she had no maids living in the house with them.
The last thing Anita wanted was for their sextape to be the face of social media - people were that wicked.
Their bedroom was a cozy, happy abode. Even though their sex life plummeted last year, due to Dave's 'unbreathable schedule,' it didn't change the love and spark in their relationship.
Who would have thought that he was shoving his penis in a contaminated twat?
Was it Linda's or other women's?
Anita wouldn't know. She chuckled as excruciating pain tore through her soul.
'How could Dave do this to me?'
That was a question she wasn't going to ask herself.
Anita knew she wasn't wrong in this relationship. She knew she didn't push him away. David was a grown ass man. He knew the repercussion of cheating. He broke her trust, and their matrimonial vows, and that was a choice he chose to make.
When he knew he was tired of her, he should have politely handed her divorce papers and she would have let him be, but no, he didn't. And decided to infect her with STDs, killing their child in the crossfire.
Even though her STDs could be treated, as it was in its early stage, Anita didn't appreciate that she was infected and lost her child due to her husband's infidelity.
Anita could spend the whole day counting her losses and mulling over how unfair she'd been treated, but no, she didn't.
A week at the hospital was enough for her to accept her fate and now, she hoped Dave and his family were ready for the consequences of what they'd dished out.