THE RISE OF JORDAN RIVERS

BETRAYAL

“You are what?” Jordan screeched with disbelief and denial, gawking intently at his wife. 

He found her statement laughable, but something was holding him back from flaring with laughter. Something he could not decipher, but it was so unnerving

“You heard me loud and clear, Jordan, unless you have grown deaf over the years! Or what damn part of ‘I am pregnant’ don't you understand? It's just a three-word statement, for crying out loud!” Diana, his wife, retorted with fury, glaring at him with contempt.

Jordan was still battling with the contradicting sentiments of this being true. He knew from the look of his wife that she was not joking, but he was also certain of the impossibility of what Diana was ranting about. 

“But, how? No! You simply can not be pregnant, Diana, and you and I can attest to that!” He spoke softly, still trying to scan for any proof of uncertainty in Diana’s eyes, who didn't even blink.

At this point, Jordan was pulled out of his confusion by his mother-in-law’s reverberating laughter as she marched toward them. He shot his eyes in her a glance as she approached. She was even tearing up from laughing. Jordan could not understand what was funny about their argument that made Diana’s mother flare up mockingly like that. The amount of glee on her face appalled him more. She nudged him aside as she reached for Diana’s hands.

“Tell me, my dear. Is it what I am thinking? Is Edwin the father?” She asked with an irrepressible grin.

Now, who the hell was Edwin?

Jordan was about to say something, but his wife’s riposte blocked his words behind his throat.

“Yes, Mama! Edwin and I are expecting our first child. And he is as thrilled as I am with the news, Mama!” 

There was so much arrogance in her tone, as if mocking someone.

And she succeeded because Jordan’s face slammed to the floor after hearing her response. He could not believe the situation. He could not believe she was so proud of cheating on him. He could not believe that his mother-in-law knew that his wife was cheating on him, and she was over the moon about her daughter’s act of adultery. He remained awestruck as the mother congratulated her daughter for cheating and getting pregnant out of wedlock.

“Well, hurry now, you fool! Make some delicious food for my daughter. She and my grandchild need to be healthy, so double your efforts in your work from now on!” Diana’s mother said to Jordan when they broke the hug.

And again, Jordan could not gauge the audacity of the two women in front of him. After everything, they still thought he wanted to be their servant again? They expected him to cook for someone who cheated on him and was so proud of it as if it were a golden achievement? Feed a child that was his? 

He remembered how he came into their lives. He had saved an old man from some thugs. He was a wanderer back then—no home and no one in his life. As a show of gratitude, the old man brought him to his house, and on top of that, he asked him to marry his grandchild. None of these two women objected to the old man’s decision, but neither did they seem pleased either. All the same, he married Diana. And when the old man died soon after, they grabbed the opportunity to unleash all the hostility they were concealing toward him. They reduced him to a mere servant, doing all the chores in the house.

For the three years that they were married, not once did he touch his wife. But the least he expected was the insolence before him. He felt stripped of his respect, dignity, and ego as a man. 

“Cook, you said, Mother?” Diana asked softly, and that jerked Jordan. 

He locked eyes with his wife, and he could feel his mother-in-law's gaze scorching the side of his face. However, he was super curious about what other bomb Diana wanted to drop. 

“Jordan does not need to cook or do anything anymore. We are divorcing tomorrow so that I can be with the father of my baby. This is what Edwin and I have agreed upon, and I can not disappoint him. So, Jordan, you have until morning to pack up your garbage and be gone by sunrise!” 

At that moment, Jordan was seething with rage. His eyes conformed to an inferno of consuming fire. He was trembling with rage. His hands were clenched into tight fists, his claws digging through his skin, almost leaving them bleeding. Something that scared Diana to hell. He had not seen someone that enraged, and she feared what Jordan could do in that state. 

“On second thought, Jordan, it is best if you leave this minute! Get out!” Dian squealed, taking a step away from the fuming lion before her. 

“You can not...” Jordan’s anger had broken out, ready to bleed his wrath on them, but Diana’s mother stood in front of her daughter in a protective stance, pointing a finger at Jordan.

“You heard my daughter, you useless, pathetic fool! Leave right now!” She howled, grabbing Jordan’s collar and pushing him towards the door. “Don’t move an inch. Wait right there!” She said, After throwing Jordan out, and she ran back inside.

Dian had trailed behind them, and she was left to stand guard as her mother went inside.

“If you must know, I didn't want my grandpa to suffer a heart attack back then. That was the sole reason I consented to this. You stinking, filthy piece of trash!” She snorted.

Just then, her mother returned and threw Jordan’s bag at his face. “Get lost from here!” She screeched while Jordan struggled to catch the bag from falling.

“We will meet tomorrow in court to sign the divorce papers. After that, I don't want to ever see your ugly face, Jordan!” Diana added, and she and they turned around, slamming the door behind them.

Feeling humiliated and insulted, Jordan had no option but to leave. In the darkness, he started his way to nowhere. He didn't know where his rage was taking him, but he kept going, wandering in the darkness. He felt hurt and lost. He was uncertain of his fate.

“Help!” 

He halted, thinking that he heard a voice. It was so dark, and the sound echoed just once. He thought that maybe he misheard. He was about to continue his journey when the voice echoed again, much louder.

“Someone, please, help!”