“Look at that! It’s almost time for dinner!” I exclaimed, glancing at the time on my phone. My sister gave me a puzzled look.“Since when did you ever keep a time for dinner?” She asked, checking her own clock.“Holy shit! It’s already 7pm?!” She shouted.“Yeah, I think we did a little too much bonding, sis. We didn’t even keep track of time!” I said, and she laughed.“Yeah, at least I can stay for dinner instead of going home to meet a very busy boyfriend,” she said thoughtfully.“Oh no, sis, I’m not the one hosting dinner. It’s Bianca and her husband, Henry,” I said, and she rolled her eyes.“Oh my God, Jane. What have you gotten yourself into this time?” She asked, groaning as I looked down at the floor.“Well, she invited me and I thought it would be nice to say yes to the invitation, Sheba. That’s all. Nothing much,” I said, and she placed her hand on her head to rub her temples.“Are you going alone?” She asked, and I shook my head.“No, I’m going with my husband. Why?” I asked,
I rolled my eyes and said, “Oh please, Sheba. The last thing I want to do is give my husband the wrong impression.”She scoffed and said, “I’m sure your husband would want to make the right impression on Bianca.” Bianca was the definitely going to accept the impression wholeheartedly. She wouldn’t mind being the mistress of my husband. Imagine my husband had simply kept his legs to himself, I wouldn’t sue him and drag Bianca into it for adultery. Poor her anyways. She really thought I was going to strike a fair deal? One that doesn’t benefit me? Absolutely not!I smiled smugly and said, “I know you worked in a law firm and I need you to get me the best prosecutor you know. And I mean the best! I have the budget for him. My husband will definitely submit to me.” Sheba giggled lightly and said, “Whatever you say, my queen.” She bowed jokingly and I tapped her arm lightly.“Please, Sheba, you make me laugh,” I said as I rummaged through my wardrobe. I was looking for a specific dress th
“Sweetie,” I heard a knock on my door and it was my husband.“Hold on! Just a sec!” I yelled while Sheba tried to zip up my sundress. It had been a while since I wore it and I wasn’t going to settle for any other dress.“Jane. I don’t think this is working. Maybe you should just go for another dress,” Sheba said behind me as she was trying so hard to zip up my dress. It was a struggle.“Try harder Sheba. This is what I want to wear!” I said stubbornly. The dress was a light blue floral print that hugged my curves and accentuated my eyes. It was the same dress I wore on our first date, and I wanted to surprise him with a nostalgic touch.“I know but this dress has been here for ages! You’ve gained weight since you last put it on. Besides you have a whole new wardrobe of clothes! Why don’t you just pick one of your designers?” Sheba complained, panting. We had taken the third break in a space of 10 minutes trying to get the dress to fit but it still didn’t fit.“It must be the food I ha
He frowned and shook his head. “That’s not good enough, Jane,” he said, sounding hurt. His voice was low and strained, as if he was holding back tears. “You know how important this ring is to me. It’s a symbol of our love and commitment.” He held up his hand, where a gold band with a single diamond matched mine.I looked away from his pleading eyes and shrugged. “I just thought it wouldn’t mean that much anymore,” I said casually, as if I was talking about the weather. I knew it was a lie, but I didn’t care. He had no right to question me about the ring when he had been cheating on me with different women for as long as I remember!He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. “Come on, Jane,” he said, trying to sound calm. “How could you say that? I always wanted to propose to you for the longest time again and I actually did it this time and it was actually one of the best days of my life that you agreed to be my wife again.” He reached out his hand and touched my cheek gently. “Don
He scratched his head and looked at his fidgeting fingers before he looked back up at me. His eyes were full of regret and uncertainty. He had a handsome face, with sharp features and a stubble that gave him a rugged look. His hair was dark and wavy, falling over his forehead. “Honey, I told you that all things have passed away. New things have come to stay,” he said softly, grabbing my hand and squeezing it lightly while I smiled at him.I felt a pang of mixed emotions in my chest. I wanted to believe him, but I also remembered all the pain he had caused me. “So does it mean that you’ve always known about these things even while we were newly married?” I asked curiously, because I wanted to really know why he did what he did and why he was mean the way he was to me at that time.He sighed and nodded slowly. “Well, I’ve always known everything about you. You’re my wife after all,” he said and I chuckled lightly.I wondered if he was being sincere or just trying to manipulate me. “Yes,
“Of course, meet Rick. Rick, meet Bianca,” I introduced them and she blushed when my husband took her hand and kissed it gently. His lips lingered on her skin for a moment, as if he was savoring her scent. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bianca,” he said in a charming voice and she blushed again.For some reason, I felt a tinge of jealousy but I quickly brushed it off because that was our plan anyway. The plan was to make him smitten by Bianca so she could run away with him and we would get what we wanted. That was a plan that I had initiated, but I was starting to regret it a little bit.“So you finally came,” Henry said with a wide grin on his face as he opened his arms wide for a hug. I obliged him with a side hug, careful not to aggravate my husband or confirm his suspicions.We had carefully plotted this scheme. But now that I saw Rick flirting with Bianca, I felt a little guilty and alongside doubt too.“Of course I did! I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world!” I said w
My blood boiled at the sight of her. She was the last person I wanted to see in this world. There was something about her that was just so annoying, and I wasn’t even surprised that I bullied her back then in my previous city. She was a terrible person. What was she trying to do, trying to breach our contract? Oh, not on my watch.“So, Henry, you told us that you wanted to make a toast, right?” I immediately shifted my gaze from Bianca to Henry, with a very wide grin on my face. To be honest, I could use a change of voices and a change of perspective in that dinner. Henry was handsome and charming, and I knew he had a crush on me.“Oh, yes, of course. I do want to say a toast, but only if you ladies are cool with it.” He said, glancing at Bianca and me. I smiled flirtatiously at him.“Of course, I’m fine with it.” I said, lowering my eyes with a sly smirk on my face. “And how about you, Bianca?” He asked, turning to Bianca who was shocked for some reason. She opened her mouth to say s
We finally arrived at our home after a long and silent drive. I could feel the tension in the air as we parked the car and got out. He carried the cookies that we had bought from the bakery, but he didn’t say a word to me. I followed him into the house, wondering what he was thinking.He set the car keys on the table where he always did, then sniffled and rubbed his nose. I stood behind him and put my hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him somehow. He looked at me over his shoulder, his eyes full of questions and doubts. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then closed it again. He shook his head slightly, then walked upstairs without another glance at me. I watched him go, feeling a surge of panic in my chest. He shut the door behind him with a soft click.I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm myself down. I had to be ready for whatever he was going to ask me. I had to lie convincingly and stick to my plan. I couldn’t let him find out the
“Well! Now, we’re going to have to make a new round of chicken,” I said, groaning angrily while he chuckled and pointed toward the store room.“At least we have a whole island of them,” he joked and I nodded, slightly feeling guilty about wasting food.I had grown up to know that wasting food was not an option and here I was, abusing the gift of abundance. I needed to retrace my steps.“Why don’t we just order takeout?” I suggested and he pondered a while over it before he shrugged and looked me in the eyes.“What?” I asked and he shrugged. “Well, why do you want takeout?” He asked and I rolled my eyes. He was literally impossible.“Don’t give me that look! I just want to know why. I can cook the food if that is what it’s about,” he pressured but I was already having a headache as he kept going on and on.“I didn't know men talk a lot,” I spat and he looked at me with a surprised expression.“Okay, I’m only talking this much because I want you to be comfortable with me. I don’t want
“Oh, I see. Well, it is hard for a guy to pass by you and not stare at you with his eyes or even make a passing comment. But that’s not what we’re trying to talk about here,” he said, noticing my uncomfortable look. “I’m sorry, okay? I just want to keep letting you know how beautiful you are and how lucky I feel to have you over. How lucky I feel that both of us are sharing the same house at the moment. How lucky I feel that I’m helping you with whatever it is that you need, okay? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable near me. I want you to feel very comfortable because it’s going to be a long ride in the long run. But I need to remind you once in a while how crazy you drive me,” he said and I blushed again.“Okay, I’ve heard you. I’ve heard everything you said. Now, I guess it’s time to go and have dinner. Maybe. I’m starving,” I said to him as he nodded in agreement. “Of course, yeah, dinner. I didn’t even realize how much time had passed since I stayed with you. You make time go
“Alright then, we can drive there right now,” David said with a mischievous grin. I looked outside and saw that it was already getting dark. I just wanted to smile and relax and wait, because obviously he couldn’t penetrate that safe. And I made sure that it was a high-quality safe that I laid my hands on while I was at UNI. You know, that woman who first gave me those original documents? She also gave me that safe. Nobody could crack it open, not even the best programmer in the world. It couldn’t even be blown up by a bomb. It was just a safe, just the way it was. So I was less bothered about that, but what I was a little bit bothered about was the fact that he would go in there and probably start taking all the furniture and all his clothes and all that.“Don’t worry, there’s no rush. Revenge, especially the sweet ones, take time. We’re going to go tomorrow. It’s already getting late. We should make something to eat and go to bed,” I said to him with a smile. He smiled back
“Jane, Jane, relax.” David said, as he rushed towards me. He tried to hold my shoulders, because I looked like I was going crazy. Like I was going mad. And he was probably very afraid at that point, because I was acting batshit crazy. That I was going to injure myself or him. So he held me firmly in his arms and made me look at his eyes. His caring eyes.I said to him, with tears in my eyes, “All the assets, everything I worked my ass off for, everything is gone. I have searched everywhere. I have checked everything. Maybe I misplaced it. But no. Henry has betrayed me.” I said in the most heartbreaking voice you could ever imagine.I was so heartbroken, because I never would have done the same to Henry. But why did he do this to me? He had stolen from me. And I would not stop until I had stolen back from him.“I always knew Henry was shady for that thing he did. Of course, it had nothing to do with getting married to you or you being a terrible person to get married to. There were alw
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said, with a very nervous chuckle, as I tucked my hair behind my ears and faced forward, avoiding his gaze. But deep down, I knew he was right about what he was saying. I was just very afraid to admit the truth. He asked again, “Jane, look at me. We need all the information we can get if we’re going to get to the bottom of this. You don’t have to be afraid to release any information. You don’t have to be reluctant to do that, OK? I’m here, standing by your side. I’m always by your side and I will forever be by your side. Right now, we need all the information we can get. You’re the only one who can give us that information. Do you understand, Jane?” He asked, looking at me intently. I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed by emotions. I didn’t know how to feel at that point, because he was right. I knew so many things that could have made Henry make this decision of his. Or whatever it was. I knew quite a few things about why he may have lef
“OK, so I have some detective friends who could also help out in your case, but I need your consent with everything. I promise you it’s not an affiliation with anybody, not your ex-husband, not your fiancé. You know I just really want to help, just in case you need backup. Is that OK with you?” He asked, his voice gentle and reassuring.I looked at him, feeling a surge of gratitude and affection.His eyes met mine, and I saw a flicker of something else in them. Something warm and tender, something that made my heart skip a beat.I almost wanted to jump up and hug him, but I had to comport myself because I was a lady. Oh, fuck it, I thought, and jumped up and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.“What was that for?” He asked, sounding surprised but pleased.I smiled shyly and pulled away slightly. “Well, you care about me more than anyone else cared about me ever since I lost my child. So I think you deserve more than that.” I said softly.He took my ja
“Why don’t you call them to know what’s up?” He asked, looking at me with concern. I shook my head.“No, no, no, no. We already spoke about this. We discussed it. It’s OK. They will have to be the one to call me after the mission is complete. I can’t call them now. It would be destroying something in the mission.” I said, biting my lip nervously. I was already tapping my feet fast on the ground and grinding my teeth anxiously. Just remembering everything already brought a knot to my stomach and a lump to my throat. And I guess he noticed, because he reached out to my hands and took them in his. He rubbed them gently and gave me a reassuring smile.“It’s OK. I’m sure you’re going to get the text soon. But I need to ask you some questions. I don’t know if it will be OK for you to answer them for me.” He said and I looked at him. I hesitated a little bit, because I didn’t say I was going to trust anyone with the information that I had. But I was willing to give him a small chance. May
“Oh, not so fast, David,” I said, holding up my hand. “Not so fast. You have to take it easy with all this flattery. I’m very quick to fall in love, haven’t you noticed that?” I teased him and he looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. His smile matched his eyes, bright and warm. It was one of the most brilliant features about him. Was I falling in love again? I had just promised myself that I wouldn’t fall in love so quickly, but I couldn’t help it. This man was amazing. So good looking… Even more good looking than Henry and Rick combined. And I had a very high affinity for very good looking men. And to be honest, at that point, I didn’t really care. I just felt that I should live life and just be who I wanted to be, when I wanted to be, and how I wanted to be.“Oh, I have noticed,” he said, leaning closer to me. “We did have quite the chemistry there when I first walked into the room. When I got coffee with you, you know… I felt it. It was kind of obvious. But I didn’t think anyth
I felt dizzy for a while because I was so confused. I was usually the one who said I love you first in all my relationships. I was usually the one who made the first move, probably because of my desperation. I hoped so much that this man wouldn’t see through my desperation, that he wouldn’t see how desperate I was to find somebody to love. But obviously, I was wrong because he saw it. Why would a man be telling me that he loved me on the very first day we met? And given the circumstances surrounding it, it was a big lie, at least in my ears. What did he mean by love at first sight?“Jane, Jane, did you hear what I said?” David’s voice woke me up from my little mini trance right there. I didn’t even realize that I had drifted off from the normal conversation that we were having. But in truth, I didn’t know what to reply to that because obviously, I didn’t love him. But I did have a little bit of liking for him. And if there’s anything I’ve learned over the past few months, it’