Bound by Betrayal

By Mylene Mordan Hollant

Bound by Betrayal is a story about two women whose lives are derailed by the lies and deceit of the man who claimed to love them. Flore, a reserved school teacher, lives in Haiti with her adopted daughter. They move to the United States when health concerns make Haiti too risky for her to stay. In New York, Flore encounters Maude, who is mourning her children who were murdered at the hands of her fianc. Maude is crippled with grief over the loss of a daughter she does not believe is dead. She has pushed everyone essential out of her life, and has little desire to get to know her only surviving child. As Maude begins to pick up the pieces of her life, it intersects with Flores, and the women find they have much in common.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462019809

Mylene Mordan Hollant

Mylene Mordan Hollant was born in New York City. Bound by Betrayal is her first novel. She was an Associate Producer at CBS News before embarking on a writing career. She lives in Queens with her husband and three children, and is currently at work on her second novel.

Book preview

Chapter One

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I’m pregnant. Florence Joseph practiced the words as she rode the tap-tap taxi to her classes earlier that day and again on her way home. Her lips formed the words with the care of a new mother whispering love into the hair of her sweet baby. Sometimes she smiled as she spoke the words, other times she laughed out loud causing the other student-teachers in her class to wonder when the breaking down of mathematical concepts and re-assembling them into a language that eight-year-olds would understand, became amusing.

Flore’s thoughts as the tap-tap bounced its way down the road were of her growing baby. No more than a mass of cells, Flore hoped that if she had a girl, her daughter would be spared Rudy’s coarse hair, and instead inherit her own soft caramel-colored locks that became shiny, bouncy curls after being washed. How stunning a daughter of theirs would be with Rudy’s beautiful smile. His teeth so perfect Rudy was often mistaken for a rich man. Only the rich in Haiti could afford a set of dentures as perfect as Rudy’s. How they marveled at his revelation that they were not dentures at all but his naturally straight, sunlight-bright teeth. His grandmother used to say, ‘We don’t have much, but we Désirs have good teeth.’ If the baby were a boy, then Flore would be most content with a carbon copy of Rudy. Chestnut-brown skin. Eminent, onyx brows set just above eyes dark as tar. Not at all telling of his status as an apprentice handyman. In truth none of it mattered to Flore. She was growing a life inside her body. A miracle. A vote of confidence from God.

It would make Flore’s mother happy to have a man around the house again. The two of them fended for themselves well enough since Flore’s father died. They never slept hungry. A man’s presence would secure their place in society and make them invulnerable to any predators wanting to take advantage of two women living alone. Soon she would be Madame Florence Joseph. No. Madame Florence Désir. Rudy would want to get married before the baby was born. Flore would tell him this night after dinner.

Rudy stood in the doorway watching Flore glide back and forth from the hot plate to the table. She always set a nice table. Flore’s mother, Manman Jo, never sat with them. She took her meal to her room and let the young lovers coo over boiled, ground cornmeal and codfish in sauce. When she was done eating, Manman Jo set her plate aside and prepared for bed. Once Rudy was gone, Flore would settle herself down gently next to her mother in the bed they shared since her father died almost ten years ago. Manman Jo knew she would have to give up this comfortable spot for a cot in the kitchen once Rudy and Flore got married. It was a small sacrifice for the security of having a man around the house again. And better still, a new baby to keep her old lady’s heart beating a while longer.

Manman Jo prepared herself for bed. No need to eavesdrop on the young lovers tonight. Tonight she would dream of her first grandchild. She chuckled at the sight the two of them would be when people came to visit—grandmother and grandchild flashing identical toothless smiles.

I’m pregnant.

What?

Flore was still practicing her announcement and did not know Rudy was in the doorway. She pulled her shirt tight around her belly revealing the slight mound growing beneath her naval. Rudy placed his hands on Flore’s belly. Flore threw her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, We’re having a baby.

Rudy snatched his hands from Flore’s belly as if her skin had turned to hot coals. He pried Flore’s fingers loose and held her before him. Flore saw the tenderness leave his eyes. She stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. Rudy released Flore’s left hand and cracked her across the face with his right palm.

How could you be so stupid? Rudy slapped her across the face again. Flore fell into the chair. Rudy raised his hand to deliver another blow, but Flore blocked his effort.

Why are you doing this?

Me! How could you let yourself get pregnant? Rudy lifted Flore out of the seat and squeezed her shoulders. He put her face right up against his and through gritted, perfectly white teeth said, You can’t have this baby.

Rudy, I know you’re scared—

Scared? You think I’m scared? I’m not scared. Flore was backing away from him towards the door to the outside, but Rudy matched her pace for pace. I’m married.

This time it was Flore who raised her hand and struck Rudy across the cheek. A mosquito would have had better results in an assault against an elephant. Rudy pushed his hand against Flore’s belly and sent her reeling into the nearby wall.

No!

He pulled her up and slammed Flore harder into the same wall. Rudy slapped her once and then again and then again.

I already have a wife!

Flore, breathless and her face throbbing, fell on all fours.

I’m leaving for Miami. Rudy spat out the words between blows. My visa just came.

Flore cradled her belly and begged him to stop. Rudy kicked her squarely in her stomach. He was still wearing the heavy boots his uncle let him use for the construction job they were working on.

Leave us then. I’ll take care of my baby. Flore stayed low and tried to protect herself from his fury. The blood in her mouth mingled with the bile creeping up from her stomach. Flore crawled towards the table looking for refuge from Rudy’s fury beneath the timber. It was not to be. Rudy lifted his foot high above Flore.

Please, Rudy. I love you.

Rudy struck the final blow. The blood was so warm Flore did not feel the rush between her legs.

Six Years Later…

Chapter Two

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Marie-Maude Théodore felt beautiful. She waited twenty-one years to believe this about herself. She stood in the center of her bedroom, mulling over the reflected angles of her body. Maude’s beauty was not made for the cover of fashion magazines. Her beauty radiated from the absolute euphoria she felt when her thoughts drifted to Rudy Désir and the fact that he loved her. Waiting for the doorbell to ring and for her mother to announce that Rudy had arrived to pick her up for their date, Maude was finally convinced.

Last night Rudy let the words escape him. I love you. He whispered it between her breasts, right next to her heart. She dared not expect it, though Maude prayed it was true. It was their six-month anniversary.

Maude confessed her love much earlier on than Rudy. It was two months into their courtship when she told him. Rudy and Maude had just made love for the first time — Maude’s first time. It was clumsy. She was clumsy. Not sure whether she should lie still and let Rudy do all the work, or help him gain access to her in some way. All the love scenes Maude had ever watched in movies or on television raced through her mind. She imagined she was imitating the actors’ gestures and moans. In reality she was stiff and tentative. Rudy took charge. He lowered her onto her back and unbuttoned her blouse. His lips never left hers. Maude could feel her skin turn to gooseflesh with the change in temperature. She lay still, grateful that Rudy knew what to do yet; Maude could not stop herself from wondering how many women before her Rudy had seduced. So many thoughts raced through her mind. Maude tried to relax and turn off her brain. She wanted to feel every moment, to remember it for the rest of her life. Rudy worked quickly, stripping her with care and with much skill. Soon, only Maude’s panties were left. Rudy stood above her and removed his clothes. Maude averted her eyes. Part of her wanted to run from the room and back to the safety of her bedroom in her parents’ home. The other part of her was tired of being a child. Maude ached to be a woman.

Her friends bragged about the liberation they felt once their virginity was no longer a commodity. Maude was taught to value her purity. When the time came for Mrs. Théodore to have that talk with her daughter, Maude’s mother said giving her virginity to her husband in marriage is the greatest gift a woman can bestow. That was not what Maude wanted to hear. She hoped that for once, her mother would forget herself and just be Maude’s friend. She knew that Mrs. Théodore would have to tell her a cautionary tale about disease and abortion, but when that was over, Maude wanted her mother to tell her that sex was hot, and that she would love it. Instead, Maude got a stiffer lecture than even the nuns at school gave. At least Sister Carmela spoke of love. Mrs. Théodore’s version could have passed for a contract negotiation.

No matter what the marriage evolves into, your husband will never be able to disrespect you. He will know that he took an innocent girl from her parents’ home. He may curse at you, but he can never dishonor you.

Honor. Her husband’s honor, her family’s honor, and her future children’s honor all depended on a young woman’s ability to keep her knees pressed together until her wedding night. If she should fail, deep shame replaces that honor. There is no middle ground. You either walked with honor or you scurried about in shame.

On this night, Maude did not care for the shame her mother spoke of. She loved Rudy. Though he did not say the words to her their first night together, Maude could feel Rudy’s love. Maude felt no dishonor in the way Rudy held her or looked at her before he turned out the light and reached down to remove the soft, pink fabric that was the final guardian of Marie-Maude Théodore’s honor.

Chapter Three

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Maude spent the morning with her head over the toilet. The nausea would not subside and she was late for school. Half of the students in Maude’s nursing class were absent with the flu. Exhaustion left them vulnerable to the wave of flu that was gripping New York City. It was the third morning in a