Black Roses

The pouring rain represented fertility and new beginnings according to Tlaloc, the Aztec rain god. Jade has heard somewhere. But that was based on Mesoamerican culture. Jade dreamt of herself in the pouring rain in a field of black roses. Black roses are associated with mortality. So, it was uncertain what the dream of dancing in a field of black roses while it rained meant last night.

She couldn’t believe what she had heard as she sat before the gynaecologist. She wasn’t prepared for the news. She was speechless and did not know how to react but her heart was filled with endless joy. This made her feel more alive.

“Congratulation Mrs Black. You are two weeks along.”

She glanced at the time on her phone. There were still a few hours before Axel got home. So, she decided to go for a walk.

Smiling to herself, Jade slowly closed her eyes wiping a warm tear that had managed to slip at the thought of a new addition to her perfect family.

A few hours passed by, Jade could not wait to rush home and share the feeling of having another soul inside her with Axel.

During the ride back home, she recalled how she and Axel met initially. They hated each other’s guts when Jade first joined Axel’s corporation, Black Enterprises. But afterwards one thing led to another. A destined encounter near the lake and getting to know each other leading to a passionate kiss. The negative feelings were soon dissolved and they got married. Their relationship was so perfect that they never had any major arguments. Only a few minor ones but that too very seldomly. Many people who came to know about them would feel jealous of how perfect their relationship is.

She thought of herself to be blessed to have her happily ever after given to her with such ease.

Axel’s car was parked in the driveway as usual. Her shoulder-length wavy hair bounced as she rushed to look for Axel. Her grip around the pregnancy reports tightened as she paused slightly, taking a deep breath before turning the cold door knob. Not able to contain her excitement Jade sprinted up the staircase. With her heart beating rapidly, she opened the squeaky bedroom door without hesitation and walked in briskly.

There he stood. Axel’s towering frame facing the work table. His back towards her. Both his arms straightened with his hands placed on the table. His body slightly bent forward. The atmosphere in the room was suffocating despite having the window left ajar for fresh air.

Jade moved closer noticing his tensed muscles. His arms were rigid.

“Axel!” Kate beamed with a smile stretched across her face and excitement in her voice.

Axel turned around abruptly with a hardened glare and a clenched jaw. He glared at her with fury as his fists clenched to his sides.

Something was wrong, extremely wrong.

However, Jade decided to disregard all that because she believed the good news would overpower all the wrongs.

She anxiously walked towards him.

“Axel, I have wonderful news to tell you. I’m…” She began to disclose anyway.

Before she could finish. “Why?” She was harshly interrupted. “How could you do this to me, Jade? Was I not good enough for you?”

Taken aback. She furrowed her eyebrows.

“I don’t understand? What is going on?” She asked baffled..

“This”. He threw a bunch of photos at her.

Startled by Axel’s aggressive manner Jade stared at the photos that hit her across the face. The photos slowly drifted to her feet. Jade suddenly felt uneasy. She had a feeling that a tsunami has taken over her life to destroy the relationship, the feelings she and Axel shared.

Crouching down, she extended her trembling hands and lifted one of the pictures from the cold wooden floor. She stopped dead in her tracks. In the picture, she and her best friend, Lucas, were making out. All these photos were either skilfully morphed or photographed from a wrong angle. The photographs were created with such quality and perfection that Jade found it comical. The fact they looked so realistic led her to believe it was done by a professional.

Glancing up at Axel, she saw his eyes filled with disgust and hatred. The eyes that were filled with adoration and affection were long gone. This was the moment when she realized the damage was done and it was irreversible. She was always aware that their love was bound to face a hurdle. A hurdle they were meant to fail in that instant.

“Trust me, Axel.” Jade uttered terrified. She scanned Axel’s eyes for a trace of trust for her but she was met with hollowness.

“Are you serious” Axel spoke with hostility dripping from his voice. He pointed towards the photographs lying on the floor. The photographs that poisoned his heart, effortlessly wiping out the love he had for her and all the promises he made.

Jade couldn’t believe that he would accuse her of infidelity. She couldn’t believe that he

would question her loyalty towards him. Her eyes were filled to the brim with glistening

tears. Tears of grief and incredulity streamed down her face.

She had to somehow get him to see the truth because she truly loved him. It was someone’s plan to ruin their relationship and marriage. “Axel,…” she tried but the bitterness and the suppressed pain in his hazel eyes, the eyes she fell in love with, had her inhale sharply.

“So, these are fake pictures, right?” he asked sarcastically.

“ Yes, they are fake pictures! Someone is trying to ruin our marriage.”

There was more to this evil plan than just the pictures. Axel took out another picture but this time from his cell phone.

“ What about this? Tell me you didn’t meet him either.” Axel challenged.

Jade goggled dumbfoundedly. That person went a step further sending photos of Jade meeting Andrew Smith. Axel’s biggest business rival. He tried to persuade Jade into helping him tear down Axel’s reputation and career.

“Did you?” He raised his voice.

Jade rubbed her brows and pressed her lips together in frustration. She refused to help Andrew in anyway so she didn’t feel the need to lie and so she responded, “He met me…”

“To have you sneak out the company’s confidential documents, right?” he interjected. Seeing her astonishment. He hissed resentfully.

“I never betrayed you.” She said loudly this time with firmness in her voice.

But to no avail.

“I thought you were different. Being betrayed and seeing betrayal every day in the company. I though you were not like the others..” His voice broke as he looked away. “I was wrong.” He whispered but loud enough for her to hear.

Her lips trembled.

There wasn’t anything she could do to prove her innocence. It is not possible to convince anyone of anything when they have already made up their mind.

He was blinded by his anger and couldn’t see the truth in her eyes. Jade could tell he was being controlled by the blinding hatred and mistrust. Her desperate pleas were in vain.

Feeling powerless Jade Looked down at the pregnancy reports in her hand. Axel’s heated glare followed and he noticed the reports in her hand. He grabbed the documents from her giving her no time to react.

Jade watched intently with a spark of hope as he went through the documents. His eyebrows scrunched together and his jaw tensed. Axel’s face contorted in an unthinkable fury and he slammed the documents on the desk.

“So, who’s the father? Lucas or Andrew?” he remarked bitterly.

On instinct, her hand came in contact with his cheek and the sound of the slap echoed throughout emptiness of the room.

Before she could react, he held her arms in a painful grasp. “ I want to have nothing to do with you or this scoundrel.” He scoffed at her and stomped out of the room.

Jade had no energy left as she sat on the bed. She protectively placed both her hands around her stomach. Warm tears endlessly rolled down her cheek. Her head throbbing. Wiping her tears strenuously, she decided she could not stay in this house anymore. “ How dare he call his child a scoundrel?”

Without another thought or hesitation, Jade gathered her belongings. Swollen eyes glanced at their photo frame on the wall one last time. Her heart desired to stay, to help him see the truth but he humiliated her child.

As Jade stepped out of the house with her suitcase the sky began to darken. It started to rain heavily as if the sky could feel her pain and was shedding tears along with her. Her tears were hidden thanks to the rain but her bloodshot eyes still glimmered with pain.

She slipped into the backseat of the taxi clasping her hand tight around the pictures that crumbled her world.