Cheaper to Keep Her (part 1) (15 page)

With that being done, I set out to do more damage to Duke’s life. My next deed was to fuck up his bank accounts, investments and really destroy him financially.

If I couldn’t have the fucking money as his wife, nobody would.

Cheaper to Keep Her Unique

Chapter 19—The Break-Up

Three days had passed and I still hadn’t heard anything from Duke.

He hadn’t been back to the condo and at this point I didn’t want to see him. The streets were buzzing about his impending marriage. Then I received a call from him.

“
Hello,” I answered.

“
Bitch! You better be gone when I get back to town. I want you the fuck out of my condo and out of my fucking life,” Duke barked into the phone. A cold sweat broke out all over my body.

“
What are you talking about Duke?” I screamed, acting like I didn’t know what was going on.

“
You a lying ass bitch! You ain’t pregnant bitch! I know you had a fucking abortion. I also know you been fucking with my money and my business! That shit ain’t gon’ be tolerated . . . now, if you wanna live, I suggest you be the fuck out of my place when I get there!”

I couldn’t get a word in edge wise. I was on my feet pacing now. I was nervous as hell, but I knew this day was coming. That’s why I had changed the fucking locks on the condo and put Plan B into action. I told Diamond I was leaving town. I didn’t think it would be this soon. It was time for me to get my shit together and break out. Duke had threatened to come put me out before but he had never shown up, so I wasn’t even scared.

I took my time walking through the condo putting shit together that I wanted to take with me. I had called around to a few apartment spots in Newport News and other parts of Virginia. I was leaving the Virginia Beach area for good. There was no way I could stick around after the humiliation Duke had put me through.

I had put the last of my things in my Louis Vuitton luggage that Duke had bought me when he sent me on an all-expense paid trip to the Caribbean when I was startled by a loud bang at the front door. I jumped. I crinkled my eyebrows and listened intently. That’s when I heard the bang again. I put my hand over my mouth. I had been completely wrong. It was Duke! And he was trying to take the fucking door off the hinges to get to me.

“
Bitch! You better open this fucking door!”

When I heard his voice, the banging and then the kicking on the door, my heart sank into the pit of my stomach. A hot flash came over my body at the sound of his deep, baritone voice. I could tell he was more than livid. I immediately started rushing through the luxury high-rise condominium where I had been living for the past six months. It was indeed his fucking condo and he was making sure I knew that. It was time to put my Plan B into motion. Quick, fast and in a hurry.

“
Damn, damn, shit!” I cursed as I gathered shit up. I didn’t know how I had let myself get caught slipping. I planned to be the fuck out of dodge before Duke could get wind of my deeds. I had definitely not planned my escape correctly.

“
Lynise!” Duke’s voice boomed again with additional angry urgency. He started banging even harder and jiggling the doorknob. I was scared as shit, but I wasn’t shocked. I knew sooner or later he would come. After all the shit I had done to him, I would’ve come after my ass too.

“
Lynise! Open this fucking door now!” Duke continued to bark from the other side of the door. He didn’t sound like the man I had met and fell in love with. He damn sure didn’t sound like he was about to shower me with cash and gifts like he used to. Not after all the shit I had done . . . or undone I should say.

“
Open the fucking door!” he screamed again.

I was shaking all over now. From the sound of Duke’s voice I could tell he wasn’t fucking around. The last time he yanked my ass out of the club by my hair and he wasn’t even half this mad. I could only imagine what he wanted to do to me now.

“
Shit!” I whispered as I slung my bag of money over my shoulder and thought about my escape. I whirled around aimlessly but soon realized that my Plan B didn’t include Duke being at the front door of his fifth floor condo. There was nowhere for me to go. It was only one way in and one way out and I damn sure wasn’t jumping off the balcony. If it was the second floor, maybe I would’ve taken a chance but I wasn’t trying to die.

“
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I cursed as I saw my time running out. Duke was a six foot tall hunk of solid muscle. I knew I had no wins.

“
Bitch! I’m about to take this fucking door down!” Duke screamed. This time I could hear him hitting the door hard. I couldn’t tell if he was kicking the door or putting his shoulder into it. Although it was his condo, I had changed the locks to keep his ass out.

I spun around repeatedly, trying to get my thoughts together before the hinges gave in to his brute power. Hiding the money I had stolen was paramount. My mind kept beating that thought in my head. I raced into the master bedroom and rushed into the walk-in closet. I began frantically snatching clothes off the hangers. I needed to use them to hide my bag of cash.

Wham!

“
Oh my God!” I blurted out when I heard the front door slam open with a clang. I threw the bag onto the floor and covered it with piles of designer clothes. Things Duke and I had shopped for together when shit was good between us.

“
Bitch, you thought I was playing with you?” Duke’s powerful voice roared. “Didn’t I tell you, you had to get the fuck out of my crib?”

He was up on me within seconds. I stood defenseless as he advanced on me so fast I didn’t even have time to react. I threw my hands up, trying to shield myself from what I expected to come when he reached out for me. But I was too late. He grabbed me around my neck so hard and tight I could swear little pieces of my esophagus had crumbled.

“
Duke, wait!” I said in a raspy voice as he squeezed my neck harder. I started scratching at his big hands trying to free myself so I could breathe.

“
What bitch! I told you if you ever fucked with me you wouldn’t like it!” he snarled. “You had all my shit cancelled! You fucked with my money! You had my house burglarized because you cancelled by fucking alarm system! Huh, bitch? You tried to destroy me!” Tears immediately rushed down my face as I fought for air. “Ain’t no use in crying now. You should’ve thought about that shit.”

Duke finally released me with a shove. I went stumbling back and fell on my ass so hard it started throbbing. I tried to scramble up off the floor, but before I could get my bearings I felt his hands on me again. His strong hand was winding into my long hair.

“
Ouch!” I wailed, bending my head to try to relieve some of the pressure he was putting on my head.

Duke yanked me up by my hair. Sharp, stabbing pains shot through my scalp.

“
Owww!” I cried out as he wrung me around by my hair. I tried to put my small hands on top of his huge, animal hands, but it was no use. Hands I had once loved, I now despised and wished would just fall off.

“
You thought it was all good right! You a fucking trifling ass bitch and I want you the fuck out of here before I kill you with my bare hands!” Duke gritted. Then he lifted his free hand and slapped me across my face with all his might.

“
Pl-pl-pl-please!” I begged him for mercy. But Duke hit me again.

I was crying hysterically. Partly from the pain of his abuse, but more so from our past. I would have never thought our relationship would come to this. It had been a long road and all I wanted to do was teach him a lesson when I did the shit I did. I never thought I would have been facing this type of torment.

“
I want all your shit out of here, you scandalous bitch! And don’t take nothing that I fucking bought!” Duke roared, then he hit me again. This time I felt blood trickle from my nose. My ears were still ringing from the previous blow to my head. He hit me again. I was sure he had knocked one of my teeth loose.

“
Yo Ak, get this bitch shit and throw it the fuck out,” Duke called out to one of his boys. He never traveled anywhere alone, except when he used to spend the night. Other nights when he treated me as if I was a booty call, I was sure his boys were outside waiting for him. The one I knew as Chris rushed into the closet and started scooping up my clothes and shoes.

“
Wait!” I screamed, but it was for nothing.

“
Shut the fuck up!” Duke screamed in response, slapping me again.

I could actually feel my eyes starting to swell. I finally gave up. My spirit was broken, my body was sore. I watched as Chris and another one of Duke’s boys slid back the glass balcony doors and started tossing all my shit over. I doubled over crying. More and more shit went over and I was sure it was raining down on the beautifully manicured law below.

“
Yeah . . . that’s enough. Don’t throw none of that jewelry or those furs over. I got bitches I could give that shit to,” Duke said maliciously. His words hurt. “A’ight bitch . . . your time is up.”

I shrunk back thinking he was going to hit me again. But he didn’t. He grabbed me by the arm roughly. “Oww!” I cried out. Duke was squeezing my arm so hard the pain was crazy.

“
Let’s go,” he said, pulling me towards the door.

“
Nooooo!” I screamed and then I dropped my body weight down towards the floor so he couldn’t pull me.

“
Oh bitch, you getting the fuck outta here,” Duke roared. He bent down, hoisted me over his shoulder and started carrying me kicking and screaming towards the door.

“
You can’t do this to me! You will regret this Duke Carrington!” I hollered.

“
Fuck you!” he spat in return, opening the condo door and tossing me out into the hallway like a piece of discarded trash. I can’t even describe the feeling that came over me. It was a mixture of hurt, shame, and embarrassment all rolled into one.

Duke slammed the door in my face and I yelled for him to listen to me. My cries fell on deaf ears. My shoulders slumped down in defeat. Duke had left me in the hallway with no shoes, a short nightgown and nothing but my belongings on the lawn outside. I didn’t even have the key to my BMW X6.

“
Aggghhh!” I grunted in anger and frustration as raked my hands through my tangled hair.

It was by far not over yet.

I had more revenge left for his ass.

Cheaper to Keep Her Unique

Chapter 20—Naked

The Here and Now

My mind was flooded with thoughts of how I had gotten to this point.

My body was sore. My head hurt. My mind was fucked up. But somehow I had pulled it together to get out of there. I limped out of the Cosmopolitan condominium building half-dressed, with my face swollen and my hair a tangled mess.

I started gathering my things off the lawn. The first thing I tried to locate was my purse and my bag of money I had stolen. My purse was there, but that fucking money was history. My Plan B, my stash and all my hopes and dreams of becoming Mrs. Duke Carrington were gone. All I had left was a few designer dresses, handbags and shoes that were lying on the lawn.

As I picked up my things I could not stop sobbing. I picked up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and slid them on. Of course I had attracted a crowd by now. Then as if he hadn’t dissed me enough, one of Duke’s little cronies came outside, got into my BMW and drove away. I felt like somebody had taken my heart out of my chest and stomped on it.

“
Duke Carrington ain’t heard the last from me,” I mumbled to myself just as I looked down and noticed that the pictures and paperwork regarding the adoption ring was still in my purse, where I had put them earlier.

After I had all of my stuff together in one pile, I dug in my purse and got my cell phone. I called a cab and headed to the only place I could rightfully call home . . . or so I hoped. I prayed the entire cab ride that Diamond hadn’t gotten one of the strippers from the club to be her roommate in my place. I felt so stupid running back to my old apartment with my tail between my legs . . . especially since I left there like I was on my high horse.

I dialed Diamond’s number and prayed Brian wasn’t at the apartment with her. She was a totally different person around him. My heart was racing as I waited for her to pick up. She finally did and I just lost it. I cried and cried and cried. It was so bad Diamond couldn’t understand a word I was saying. She finally made out that I was on my way back to the apartment. She was out but told me she would meet me there. I didn’t have my keys anymore, so I hoped Diamond would beat me there. I really didn’t want to be ass out, especially in my condition.

The cab finally pulled into the apartment complex and I dug deep in my purse. I didn’t even have enough fucking money to pay for the cab.

“
Mister, I only have twenty dollars but if you give me your card I swear I will call you and pay you later or tomorrow,” I cried, sounding as pitiful as I felt.