Clara…….
I couldn’t understand why he kept on insisting on marrying me. I had initially told him I was not
interested in marrying him but he insisted.
Benjamin was just a man I agreed to date because I was hurting, I just had a big fight with the man
I loved months before we met.
We met at his friend’s come together party were l follwed Mercy my friend who was invited and he
approached me.
” Hey I like you can I have your numher please” he had asked.
” Am sorry but am in no mood to exchange numbers” I told him sincerely.
” Well, it’s not like am asking you out or anything I just want us to be friends” he insisted
I liked his looks, I actually thought he was handsome. Giving him my number, I didn’t even expect
him to call me. But to my surprise he called me that evening. He sounded calm and composed I
liked his maturity.
Days later, he kept in touch and I didn’t pay attention to him. ” Do you know who that guy is?” My
friend Mercy asked me one day when I told him about Ben. ” Okey I really don’t care who the guy
is. Am not intrested in him. Am still in love with my Henry” I answered her.
We were talking from the salon shop where we both worked as hair dressers. Getting the hair
dryer and blowing the customers hair. I shrugged unconcerned.” Who is He?”
” He’s the son to the owner of BK motor and equipment suppliers! Dummy” she shouted on top of
the noise from the dryer.
” Don’t tell he is….” I turned off the dryer now paying attention.
” Yes silly!” She shouted laughing.
” he’s so heir of the famous BK companies, those people are loaded dear and if you ask me that’s
your ticket to a good life” she added.
” I could use some cash!” I shouted going back to blowing my customer.
From that day, I decided to cut some cash by accepting Ben’s proposal. Definitely for his money
and fame and not anything else.
I was still waiting on my Henry who had started dating another girl, but I still had hope he would
come for me one day and realise how much I loved him.
I was surprised when Ben proposed to Marry me at his birthday party.
He stood in front of everyone that was present then and asked for the music to be turned down.
” I have a special announcement” he started as everyone looked at him some people holding
glasses of wine, others chewing on some snacks that were served.
” I want to take this opportunity and ask the woman that my heart has chosen, she’s the reason for
my smiles the past 3 months and I think I have found what I have been looking for. ” he paused
and everyone shouted for him to continue with excitement. I on the other hand didn’t like where it
was going. I had never even for a moment dreamed of marrying Ben. Of course I couldn’t tell him I
wanted him for his money. I played a nice and sweet girlfriend he wanted me to be.
Trying to find faults in him so that I could have the reason to damp him failed. As he was always
faithful and a gentle man, too gentle for my liking though.
” Clara Mwanza! Will you marry me?” He asked and I looked up realising I had wild off and didn’t
hear the rest of what he said.
” What?” I popped my eyes open, not that I was surprised, but somehow like saying “are you
Mad!”
” Make me a happy man by accepting to be my wife” he knelt before me and people shouted
” Say yes! Say yes!” I was caught in the web of indecision, I honestly wanted to say no but with the
cheering and the look of happiness on Ben’s face I couldn’t get the courage to.
” yes I will marry you” I responded as everyone cheered.
Ben pushed a beautiful gold engagement ring on my fingers and kissed me passionately.
” I love you” he whispered holding me closer.
If it were my Henry I would have been crying with tears of joy. But no, what I felt made me mad at
myself for accepting a man I didn’t have passion for to Marry me.
” I love you too” I faked a smile and l saw him beam with excitement.
Everyone was happy with me accepting to Marry Ben, especially my family who said I had made a
right choice and that Ben was a good man. ” maybe he will help you continue with your CIMA
courses as well since I have no money to see your through” my father had encouraged me.
I had done two levels of CIMA and I couldn’t get a job, I needed money to go further in my studies
but my father’s illness which led to him losing his job made it impossible, causing me to find a
stupid job at a salon getting K800 salary per month.
My wedding day was the worst, I kept on thinking about Henry and what he would do if he found
out I married someone else.
” Ate you crying honey?” Ben asked at the night of the wedding.
I had stood in front of the mirrow looking at myself. I felt I was in a wrong place. ” No Honey, they
are tears of joy, I can’t believe am married to you, you are such a good and generous man” I
smiled at him.
” You my love, is going to have a happy life with me cause am gonna make it my mission to make
you happy” he kissed my lips.
Making love to him that night was like sleeping with an enemy. He was so excited about
everything and I was beginning to get irritated he couldn’t notice how miserable I had become.
Given his kind of man, he payed for my courses and in 3 years I was done. The unfortunate
happened when I got pregnant. It was a total accident. I had forgotten to take my family planning
pill that night.
Well, to cut the long story short. Ben with the joy of me giving him a child. Made me the
accountant of his father’s company in Lusaka after his father died.
I was not to let the opportunity to make myself some money and get liberty from the prison of
marriage l was in. So I took lots of money and started building some estates for myself.
My dream came true when Henry and I made up. We started making plans together and he
advised me to get more money so that we could build ourselves our own business. He promised
when we had established something worth while we would start our lives together.
Things were easy especially that Ben moved to work at the Kabwe company making it easier for
me.
Him discovering I was stealing and later of my relationship with Henry, made things unpleasant for
me.
” We are not yet where we want to be babe” Henry told me the same night Ben caught us
together. He had insisted we finished our business before I could get back home.
” But babe, now that he knows with the rumours around, I know he would want to divorce me. Not
that I don’t want that but we still need his money” I told him as I lay on his broad chest.
” What do we do? We can’t afford having me thrown out at this point” I asked Henry..
He sighed and sat up smiling. “I think I know what we will do. Kill him!” He said without hesitation.
” What, oh no Henry we are not killers and..oh no please something else but murder. I don’t want
any blood on my hands babe” I shook my head standing from the bed.
He came and hugged me from behind rubbing his nude body on mine. ” We have no choice, at
least we know whatever he has will be yours and that your b****** son when he’s no more. Saving
us all the trouble ” he whispered close to my ears.
“I said no” I shouted walking away from him.
” Okey! Fine. Tell me what we are going to do then?” He shrugged angrily.
We were both quiet for some time and then I tuned towards him.” Yes that’s it!” I shouted smiling
and going to sit on him.
” What?” Henry asked looking unpleased.
” We should make him go mad” I suggested my face beaming at the idea.
” Mad?” He chuckled looking at me as his hand went round holding my back.
” Yes babe, think of it, he’s going to be all crazy taking away all his sense of reason and anything
else sensible. But still alive, saving us the stains of blood on our hands” I told him cheerfully
” You are a genius babe” Henry kissed me passionately.
Well, our plan worked, after a fight with Ben, who stormed out mad at me for telling the truth to his
face.
Early the following morning Henry and I went to see a man we preferred to call as herbalist, he
gave me some charm and I chanted some words cursing Ben to his madness.
It was wonderful how fast it worked.
As we left the man’s place I received a call from some manager at the company in Kabwe that Ben
was acting weired.
” He’s probably tired don’t worry he will be fine soon” I responded smiling as I looked at Henry
besides me in the car.
” No don’t” I quickly responded when he asked if they could bring him back home. 2 weeks later
his mother came with some drama of how I had caused her son to go mad.
” Well, rumor had it that your son was apparently doing some rituals for his business, so we both
know that mostly doesn’t end well” I shrugged taking a bite at the Apple I was eating before she
bugged into my living room.
” Am sure one day the tables will turn and just then we will see who the devil really is” she
shouted.
” Leave my house and carry your grandson with you, who knows maybe that your son has already
initiated him too” I responded pointing at Junior.
She looked at me from head to toe and cursed me quoting some scriptures which I didn’t even pay
attention to.
My life was okey with me taking full control of the companies. I was legally the owner of the
business given Benjamin’s condition.
unfortunately Henry crossed me again by cheating on me with another woman months later, which
I didn’t take lightly.
I hired some gang to kill him. Even though it left me lonely I felt better about the betrayal, after
everything I had done for him, he deserved it.
I was free taking on whichever man interested me, what with the money I had to myself, there was
no having a dull moment to even think of either the mad Ben or the dead Henry.
I was caught by surprise seeing him walk back to the house with a flashy looking woman. I
couldn’t act happy cause I wasn’t feeling it. In fact I thought for a moment Ben came to fish me out
and I hated the fact that his madness was gone.
I realised he had somehow forgotten what happened and tried to fake a good wife the day he
arrived. I couldn’t take it any more especially when he told me the story of how that crazy woman
picked him up from some funeral and took him for some prayers.
” Well now that he recalled what happened a day after, I just had to stand my ground and let him
know who was in charge.
The days with him around were so frustrating I felt like pouring a pot of hot water on him.
I threw insults at him and even came with one of my lovers home but the idiot was too broke to
leave. He had no idea were his mother and son were and I couldn’t give him the pleasure of what l
did to make them loose the famous family mansion. It was all in my name now and I put someone
to rent it.
” Oh here we go again” I sighed seeing the so-called saviour coming home again. I almost burst
out laughing at her. I mean, who picks mad men anyway, she was surely nuts I pitted her.
She looked young and so full of life, she was beautiful too I thought she could have done better. ”
as long as you don’t cross me lady, then we are good. You can have that mad man for all I care” I
spoke to myself as I watched them get in the car.
” Good lucky crazies! ” I spat and walked back to the dressing mirrow loving the way the black
silky dress was perfectly fitting my body.
I had a meeting with some share holders that afternoon and it just excited me to learn that loaded
drug dealers were willing to use my company trucks to smuggle drugs and cash across borders at
good cash payments.
” lt’s a good day…!!!!” I screamed on top of my voice as I walked down the stairs. Feeling like a
queen I was.
To be continued…