Three years later

Giselle POV

The night was quiet and peaceful at The Pines Avenue, a place that has been my home for three years now.

Sitting on the sofa, patiently waiting for my husband at my usual spot, I looked at the wall clock.It was past midnight.

Suddenly the door clicked open, announcing his arrival. The grand door flung open, revealing a wobbly figure of Julian stuck to the side of his assistant, Lucas. The smell of alcohol quickly crept its way into the room. 

“What happened?”, I asked, rushing toward them.

“Madam, I sincerely apologize but I couldn’t stop him from drinking this much. Something happened today at work”, he replied, not bothering to explain further and this has already been the case. 

“ You know his drinking habits have increased swiftly in recent days, right?”, I voiced out my concern, wanting further explanation for his recent rise in taking alcohol.

“ That would be my fault, Madam,” he replied professionally, intentionally dulging my interrogations like always.

Taking a deep breath, I asked for his assistance,“ Please help me take him to the room”.

Together, Lucas and I assisted Julian in getting to the bedroom. His heavy body pressing down on me made me feel like my bones might break into pieces. Panting heavily, Lucas and I successfully placed Julian on the bed.

“Thank you!”, the assistant smiled blandly and moved to the door, ready to disappear. Relationship between Lucas and I has been quite formal within these three years.

With caution, I gently took off Julian’s shoes followed by his socks as I blushed in shame. I then moved to his shirt, a task I was only entitled to when he was unconscious.

For three years , I have harbored these forbidden fantasies about him, hoping one day he would see and shower me with love genuinely. Despite living in the same house, my husband and I have an unwritten agreement that prevents us from meddling with each other’s affairs.

When at last I managed to take off his shirt, his vomit caught me off guard as the foul smell permeated the room. Resisting the urge to vomit, I turned away to get cleaning items for the sickening mess he had just expelled.

Tears filled my eyes as I returned to the mess made, overcome by the pain in my chest. How much longer is this going to last? Am I going to spend the rest of my life like this?

After thoroughly scrubbing the floor and getting rid of any residual odors in the room, I moved through his wardrobe for pajamas and I chanced upon an unfamiliar blue box screaming expensive and luxury. Out of curiosity, I opened up the box unveiling a beautiful diamond necklace. 

Tomorrow marked exactly three years since we married. Could this be for me? A smile escaped my lips with the thought of Julian thinking about me. I quickly placed it back in its place when I remembered Julian hates it when I touched his stuff. We were married but lived a separate life. 

Joining him in bed, I glared at him one more time as I thought about how our lives would be so beautiful if my husband would love me a bit and drifted into slumber.

After some few hours, I woke up to the feeling of someone kissing me on the neck, sending heat rushing through my body. His shaft entered me sharply igniting all my feelings for him. I love it when Julian makes love to me but nights like this are rare. 

I enjoyed every bit of it as I would see a new and cold Julian when the sun was up.

“Giselle!”, My mother- in- law’s bark echoed as I did the dishes which had just been created, all thanks to her. Mrs. Walker’s visits to the avenue were impromptu but frequen , always ensuring I’m serving her son adequately. Plus she mostly never comes alone, she invites friends along. 

Mr. Walker, Julian’s father, is a strict figure both at work and at home. Mrs. Walker does her best to keep their relationship away from the public. Therefore, my house was her meeting spot whenever she wanted to have her friends over, disturbing the peace in my humble abode.

Around the table were five women deeply preoccupied with chatting and gossiping. Ignoring my presence, they never asked for my opinion on anything they discussed. I was just there to serve them.

“Good day, ladies!”, I greeted with a forced smile, part of me wanting to sack them as they only add more work to my plate whenever they visit. 

“Hello, Giselle!”, one of them responded while the others ignored my existence completely .

Mrs. Walker suddenly glared at me, sending shivers down my spine. “What are you waiting for standing there? Hurry! get us tea and some snacks!”, Mrs. Walker ordered.

I rushed to the kitchen to get their order as the  devoted daughter-in- law. I joined the ladies again when all the preparations were done. Placing the cups and cookies on the table, I served them their tea before attending to the remaining household chores. However, as I unpack the tea and cookies from the tray , I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation.

“ and oh before I forget! , Gwen’s back,” Mrs Grantson announced.

A wave of fear flushed over me and a delicate vase slipped from my fingers, shattering into pieces.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Giselle? Oh you want to destroy every precious belonging in my son’s house right?! Do you know where we bought it from? You can’t even afford a day's meal ,not to talk about this vase.” Mrs Walker poured her anger out.

“I — I’m sorry, I w—will clean it up quickly,” I stammered as tears welled up in my eyes.

Her rage was so evident and would have slapped me if I was near her but because of her guests she held back.

As I tidied the mess, the name “Gwen” kept on ringing in my mind. 

Just then Julian’s recent rise in his drinking habits dawned on me. “Could Gwen's sudden appearance be the reason for Julian's change in attitude?