Sidrian lay in his bed staring distractedly at the roof as the fan spun busily trying to cool the bedroom. His mind was racing with painful emotions and confused thoughts.

It was already past midnight, exactly 1.34am according to the clock that hung above the small closet. His attempts to fall asleep were proving futile. How could he sleep when his wife had still not come back home?

He loved and cherished Salma, so what would make her break her vows? Vows that they made before God, their family and friends. Where could she be at this godforsaken hour?

He shuddered when he remembered what his best friend John had told him earlier in the day concerning his wife. John’s words had left him shaken and shocked. He loved Salma with all his heart and trusted her unreservedly.

Tears welled in his eyes and unable to hold them in, streamed down his cheeks. They kept flowing as thoughts of the betrayal replayed in his mind. He tried wiping them away but more would flow as the pain choked him.

Outside, a storm was brewing. The heavy rain pounded the roof, while the wind violently shook the windows. The tree branches near the house scratched at the glass windows, making a screeching noise.

Sidrian was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice the storm outside. His pain was turning into violent anger as thoughts of their wedding went through his mind. The menacing thoughts that started developing in his mind were stirred up by memories of what they had been through as a couple.

He remembered their fights, which would turn to passionate kisses. He remembered the fun they would have, dancing until the early morning. Thoughts of how happy they had been made him smile but within seconds this joy turned to anger.

John’s words echoed in his mind and he couldn’t drown them out.

John had invited Sidrian for lunch at his place. He had told him there was something urgent he needed to tell him. Sidrian had assumed John wanted his opinion on his latest girlfriend. However, it had turned out he was going to deliver killer words. John even had pictures showing Salma kissing and hugging an old fat man outside a posh hotel in town.

“I saw Salma kissing and hugging him and then they both left in his Range Rover car.” John had been Sidrian’s best friend since high school and so he trusted him completely. No matter how hard he tried not to believe him, he knew that John would never lie to him.

He recalled his colleague Alima telling him a few weeks back that she had seen his wife in the arms of a pot-bellied man. Could it be the same man? He had not believed Alima but now John was confirming her story. It had been easy to doubt Alima’s claims but he couldn’t doubt John. He trusted him completely.

He tried to figure out what would make Salma cheat on him. Did he not provide enough for her? Did he not love her enough? A loud knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts. He slowly got up from the king-size bed and headed to the door with bare feet. He was too numb to feel the cold floor.

He peered through the small opening of the door to see who it was. It was still raining heavily outside and the cold wind hit his face hard. At first, it was not immediately clear who the person was, but he soon saw it was his wife.

Salma was standing outside, shivering from the cold and eager to enter the warm house. Sidrian started shaking as the built-up anger started boiling to the surface. A huge lump formed in his throat, threatening to choke him. His hands were shaking as he turned the key to open the door.

She entered without uttering a word and without even trying to look remorseful. This just angered him even further. Salma went straight to their bedroom, dropping her bag and clothes on the floor.

Sidrian was forced to pick them from the floor and put them in their correct place. This was just proof of her selfishness and how she could never think of how her actions hurt other people. He heard her turn on the shower and he would have entered the bed to try and finally get some sleep but she started singing.

That was the moment he snapped.

John’s and Alma’s words rung in his mind and the betrayal broke his heart. In a fit of mounting fury, he kicked the bathroom door open, breaking it into two. Salma let out a scream in shock and before she could say a word his hands were around her neck. His only aim was to make her feel the pain she had inflicted on him.

Several of their neighbours heard the commotion but decided to wait until morning to find out what was going on. They broke into the house after knocking on the door for almost an hour.

They found Salma lying naked on the bathroom floor, strangled, while Sidrian was lying in a pool of blood with a knife in his belly!