“A tiger doesn't change its stripes but it will hide
in tall grass so you don't notice them.”
Jae Henderson
Eva lay in the bed alone, missing Harper again. Tonight, he was at the television studio filming segments for his television show. She didn’t know when he would make it home and when he did she already knew what he would do. He would maybe get a light bite to eat, take his shower, and then go to one of the rooms in the house where he would sleep.
If he didn’t truly want her then why did he even ask her to come back home? Eva was fed up. But she had to stay in this marriage until she was able to make things happen on her own for her and her family. She couldn’t ever go back to living the way she lived in Bolivia, and she couldn’t subject her family to that kind of lifestyle again either.
School would be starting in a few days and she couldn’t wait. She was going to pour herself into it totally and completely with a goal to finish school and open her own restaurant. Not only that, she would open several restaurants, maybe even one in Bolivia. She lay on the bed, closed her eyes, and dreamed of being happy once again like she was when she and Harper first met.
He had been the perfect man in her eyes, sweeping her off her feet and treating her like she was pure gold. How could she have fallen for Seth that night? Yes, she was lonely and she was desperate. A young woman like her had needs. Didn’t Harper realize that? Surely, he had to know that she wanted children. They had talked about it, and he never once told her that he had a vasectomy. He only said he didn’t want to have kids right away. He said he wanted them to enjoy being together, just the two of them, without kids being in the way. Eva was all for that. She understood that he wanted them to be free of kids in the beginning of their marriage so they could travel, enjoy getting to know one another, and having fun. After they had been married almost two years, she started talking to him about them having a child. Harper began to clam up. He spent more time at the hospital and less time at home. Their love life suffered tremendously and Harper became aloof. The only thing that hadn’t changed was his desire to go to church whenever he could, and he expected her to attend with him.
Eva thought things would change when she took Avery’s advice and stopped taking her birth control pills without telling Harper. She was ecstatic about not being on the pill, knowing that things would be perfect when they had a child running through the house…until she did the unthinkable and got pregnant.
The night she slept with Seth she was so lonely, felt so vulnerable, and Seth undoubtedly knew it. After all, he knew his father was never at home, never around. He’d said it to Eva more than once that his father had his sight on other things and not on her. She didn’t want to believe him, but the night he grabbed her and kissed her she couldn’t resist him. She wanted Harper to be the one kissing her so she closed her eyes and fantasized that it was Harper making love to her, holding her, caressing her over and over again, but it wasn’t Harper. It was Seth, and she would regret what she did for the rest of her life.
She closed her eyes to sleep but was jarred awake with heaviness over her body. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Harper.
“Who was it?”
“Huh?” she said, confused.
“Tell me who it was,” Harper insisted again, this time his voice sounded abrasive and raised.
As soon as she opened her eyes, he began kissing her. She felt his manhood against her. He began pounding her vigorously. She missed him, and she needed this so much—until each stroke became harder and harder to the point it began to hurt her. She couldn’t fully enjoy the moment because of what he had said. Had he somehow found out about her and Seth? God, no. Please don’t let him know.
“You were with my son! God hates adulterers and harlots!” His voice became more elevated and his thrusts harder.
“Wait, Harper, please. Let me explain,” she said, trying to push him back but to no avail. “You’re hurting me. Por favor, stop, hold up,” she pleaded.
“Tell me! Tell me if you slept with my son, you harlot,” he demanded.
She wanted him to stop. She was petrified. This wasn’t the Harper she knew. She smelled the stink of alcohol on his breath. He was drunk, but Harper didn’t drink, unless it was a cocktail or a glass of wine from time to time if he was in a social setting. This was different. She smelled hard liquor on his breath. It frightened her even more. She begged and pleaded.
“Tell me the truth!” he demanded, hurting her even more. “Tell me now!”
“Yes, yes it was Seth. It was Seth,” she sobbed loudly. “Now, please…stop, Harper. Please.”
Harper didn’t seem to hear her. He continued with a harshness she’d never known or experienced before. Each of his thrusts felt like her body was being ripped apart. She tried to talk but he smothered her with hard, angry kisses. When she tried to push him away, he penned her arms down to her sides and continued pounding her with each of his loud grunts. It hurt so badly and tears rushed from Eva’s eyes.
“This is what you want? This is how you want to be treated? You want to mess around on me?” he said angrily. “I’ll teach you not to cheat on me,” he said as his strokes caused her to scream but not in pleasure. He flipped her over and had his way with her in other ways she’d never before experienced. She couldn’t move and he took her and used her for his own sick pleasure. When he was finally done, he laid spent beside her. She still couldn’t escape his grip as he held her in his arms.
“Don’t even think about leaving me. If you do, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life,” he said before he drifted off to sleep.”
Eva’s tears continued to trail heavily down her face, onto her neck, and onto the sweaty and soaked sheets. She didn’t know when she fell asleep or even how she was able to fall asleep. Every part of her body ached. Was this what it had come to? She had a lot of growing up to do and whether he realized it or not, Harper had just taught her a crucial life lesson of survival.