his bed.
Immediately the video call was disconnected, Heidi walked into the living room where Pierre was. 'So that's what you want to do in Kenya huh? You have lots of nerve Pierre. You refuse to visit my sick mother so you can go cheat on me with some black whore? You impotent bustard! You know what? Am done.' Pierre was still digesting the incident with Ted and he could not find words to say to his wife. With teary eyes, he mumbled, 'forgive me Heidi. Forgive me.' Heidi went into the bedroom and packed all her belongings.
That was the last time Pierre ever saw his wife.
Ted lay on his bed feeling empty inside. He remembered his father's words, 'black women are nothing but sluts' and could not help feeling the pain.' He felt like someone was piercing a dagger straight through his heart. It was too painful for him to even cry. He only had a single tear run down his left cheek.
Tina had stopped crying and was going through her photo album, remembering the good times she had shared with the love of her life. Her past had caught up with her and she regretted every single moment of her life as a prostitute. She wanted to call Ted, but was not sure how he would react. She wasn't even sure whether he would agree to talk to her in the first place. As she flipped through the album, she opened a page where she had placed her travel documents which she had been able to get in the one year that Ted was in France. She looked at the passport and visa and no longer saw their importance.
Later that night, she finally gathered the courage and picked up her cell phone to send him a message.
I am deeply sorry for having kept you in the dark about my past life. I had always wanted to tell you the truth, but didn't know how to start. I am now a changed person. You walked into my life and changed everything about me. The old Tina is dead and buried. The only thing that did not die with her is the love I feel for you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
Ted's eyes welled up with tears after reading the message. He could not hold them back anymore and he cried like a little child. He did not even notice when he fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Tina was sweeping her verandah when she heard a car park outside the gate. At the back of her mind she hoped beyond hope that it was Ted. She was hesitant to open the gate as she had no idea what she would say to him. Ted stood at the gate for a few minutes without knocking. She could see through the space between the gate and the ground that those were Ted's shoes.
He finally knocked on the gate, and she opened. It was an emotional moment for both of them. They stood staring at each other without saying anything for five straight minutes. Tina was crying and Ted's eyes were almost filled with tears. He stepped forward, opened his arms and hugged her.
Tina's siblings could not help but cry as they watched from the window. 'Am sorry Ted. I really am.' She said with her head on his shoulder. Ted paused for a moment and took a deep breath. 'I love you Tina,' he whispered in her ear.
Chapter Nine
Over the next two days, Tina took her time to reveal all the secrets of her past. She explained to her fiancée what had driven her to prostitution. She told him how hard it had been when she decided to turn over a new leaf and narrated the story of how assailants were sent to rape her by one of her former workmates. Ted also took this opportunity to tell her how his father felt towards their relationship. He however told her not to despair as the love they had was genuine.
Ted felt sorry for her. All the anger he had previously felt turned into pity. He told her that everyone deserves a second chance, no matter how bad they messed up the first time. He only had two conditions that he wanted her to agree to for the sake of their relationship. She had to promise that she would never even think of going back to that lifestyle and there would be no more secrets between them. Tina smiled and