Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

—ELEANOR

-

The lady behind the phone call just attempted to take her own life?”

I stammer to myself at Arthur’s words, my heart racing uncontrollably.

All I said was that Arthur’s in the shower, I never said anything foul to the woman during the call.

The metallic taste of adrenaline floods my mouth, leaving a bitter tang.

How could a simple phone call escalate into this?

Arthur immediately grabs his car keys, doesn’t say a word to me, and hurries out of the room, placing the phone on his ear again.

As I stand alone in the quiet room, the silence is deafening. The only sounds I can hear are the soft beats of my Jealous heart and the gentle whisper of my shallow breathing.

I feel a stinging sensation in my eyes as tears begin to prick at the corners, but I force myself to fight back the emotion.

I hate this feeling - it's new, it's disastrous, and it's suffocating me.

Well, since Arthur left to be with Brianna, the woman he loves and cares for, there's no reason for me to stay here with Cassandra, waiting for Arthur to return to a bed that's no longer mine.

The thought of waking up to find him lying beside me, knowing he spent half the night with Brianna, is a prospect too painful to bear. It would kill me completely.

I take a deep breath, trying to shake off the despair that's settling in.

I need to leave, to get out of this place before it's too late. I don't want to be a reminder of Arthur's trap or a burden on Cassandra's kindness.

Just as I get my things ready. A knock comes on the door and Cassandra walks in before I can even reply.

I immediately wipe my almost-falling tears before she can spot them at the brink of my lids.

Cassandra is way too observant.

She pauses and looks around.

“Dear, where is your husband?” She gawks at me.

Shit.

“Is something wrong grandma?” I force a smile and take a step closer to her.

“I have to tell you two something I left out, where is Arthur?” She presses.

Crap! What am I supposed to tell her? It’s already heart-wrenching enough that she’s still referring to him as my husband. She’ll land in the hospital if she finds out about our divorce or worse, Brianna.

“Arthur is.. he’s gone” The words leave my mouth without caution.

Cassandra’s jaw drops.

“Gone?”

I place my hand on my stomach.

“I was craving this really good pastry and he offered to go get it. I know it’s late but it’s a 24-hour open store and I am really craving it, that’s why Arthur’s gone” I lie with a bitter smile.

Cassandra’s eyes light up and she buys the awful lie immediately and asks the question that almost takes me off my feet.

“Are you pregnant?”

I almost choke on my own spit.

“Oh. No.” I shake my head.

“But you could never know honey, it’s been four years, it’s time a baby ends up in that belly of yours. It could be, oh Eleanor my dear, I’d be delighted. In fact, when Arthur gets back, why don’t you both talk about it and schedule a meeting with my doctor? It all starts with weird cravings…”

“Grandmother, I know my body, there is no baby” I try to help because my heart is beating so fast right now.

Yes, it’s been four years, four years of so many challenges and less intimacy. Arthur and I have never had proper sex.

“I thought I knew my body too, but I found out I was pregnant for Arthur’s mom five months later.” Cassandra beams.

“Alright,” I nod. “But don’t get sad when there’s no baby, I know my body”

“If it turns out negative, then you and my grandson need to get to work. I’m dying. I need my grandbaby.” She says it's a little too painful but it stings.

“Don’t say that grandma, you’re not dying” I sigh.

I scrunch my nose when in truth all I just want to do is bawl my eyes out and tell Cassandra about the divorce and tell her there’s never going to be a baby when her grandson will rather be with another woman.

“Well, I’ll leave you two for now. When he gets back, you can enjoy your pastry, I won’t disturb your alone time” Cassandra beams and leaves the room, humming lullabies one sings for babies.

I sigh and shut my eyes, letting the tears crawl out.

My body vibrates with intensity and pain, and I let it hurt.

Cassandra returns minutes later, her presence a gentle reminder that she's keeping a watchful eye on me. As she approaches, I can sense her determination to ensure my well-being, and I realize that I won't be able to slip away unnoticed. Her resolve is clear: I'm not going anywhere until she's satisfied that Arthur returns and we both sleep together.

With a silent resignation, I abandon my plans to leave.

Whether I like it or not, it seems I'll be staying tonight.

The night is old when Arthur finally comes home.

I can hear shuffling before I hear him announce the words.

“We’re home…”

We?—

I get on my feet and walk out of the room unwillingly.

What does he mean by we?

I get to the living room, and it’s like in slow motion when I see the lady behind Arthur, understanding what he meant by “we?”.

My body system freezes as I drink the sight of her.

It’s Brianna.

And now standing close to her, I can see all of her, and it is shocking.

Standing at exactly five to seven feet tall like me. She has sharp auburn hair that cascades to the small of her back, she is dressed in a small dress, too small for her that it’s revealing too much of her legs.

She is thin, with long fingers, she looks sick.

What is alarming, she looks too much like me.

My eyes dart to her face and she has clear grey eyes— like mine!— full lips and prominent nose.

I can swear that the only difference between us is we’re not family and she is paler. We share the same face and body features but we don’t look alike.

My mouth hangs open.

Arthur does really have a type.

This feels blasphemous.

—