Trouble in paradise

(ARIELLE’S POV)

While Sofia clamped her mouth shut, startled by Jared’s sudden appearance, I slowly rose from the chair, still reeling from the shock of all I had heard.

I was heartbroken that I had to hear all of that from Sofia, who also doubles as my husband's high school crush. I couldn't believe it. Jared's crush was in our home.

I got to Jared and ignored him completely as I walked past, but he tried to talk to me.

“Arielle, please listen–” he said, trying to reach for me.

I shrugged his hand off and walked upstairs, my eyes welled up with tears. I got to the room and collapsed on the bed, numb, exhausted and disappointed.

Just then, a text arrived on my phone. It was from Jared. “I'm sorry,” it read.

I sighed and put the phone off, before falling into a turbulent sleep.

I prepared for work the next morning, my mind still straying off to the events of the previous day. I woke up to an empty bed, with Jared nowhere in sight.

It meant one thing; he didn't sleep in our room last night. He probably slept in the visitor's room adjacent to our room. He always does, whenever we had a fight.

“Or, did he sleep in the same room as Sofia?” A voice whispered in my head.

I stopped for a moment to think about the possibility of that, but quickly thought against it. I might be having doubts about Jared because of recent occurrences, but I still am aware of what he was capable of.

I soon finished preparing and walked downstairs only to find Jared waiting for me at the foyer.

“Hey, good morning,” he said, planting a kiss on my cheek.

“Yeah, good morning,” I responded, trying to act cool too.

“Look, Arielle, about yesterday. Sofia's just struggling with the pregnancy because it's her first. It's making her become needy and overly pampered. Please don't take it too personally. Kindly forgive her,” Jared pleaded.

Instead of softening my heart like the words were intended to, they only made me bitter at the fact that my husband was in defense of another woman.

Speaking of pregnancy, was he aware that I too was pregnant? Of course not, he had prioritized his ex over me on the day I was supposed to break the news to him.

“I'm going to work now, Jared. And when I get back, I would rather not see that woman here again.”

My day at work was uneventful, and it went by in a blur, and soon, it was closing time. I was in my office preparing to leave when a knock sounded on the door.

“Who is it?” I called out.

“Rebecca, Ma,” the voice of my junior chef responded. “A handsome man is waiting outside for you with a massive bouquet, " she announced, and I didn't miss the giggle in her voice.

I stopped short, trying to recall if I had an appointment with any man, but there was none I could recall. I quickly grabbed my bag and called out to Rebecca, “I'm coming out now.”

I walked out of the office with Rebecca trailing behind as I made my way outside the restaurant. Just beside the transparent door, stood Jared, a bouquet indeed in his hand.

I was momentarily taken back, but regained myself and swirled around to face Rebecca. “That's my husband,” I announced, before walking off to meet Jared.

I wouldn't blame her, Jared had only visited my new place of work the day of Sofia's saga, so unlike my former place of work, the staff here are not acquainted with him.

“Hey, what are you doing here, Mr Smith?” I asked, stopping right in front of Jared.

“Apologising to Mrs Smith for being a jerk. Arielle, I am so sorry I didn't tell you about Sofia earlier. I have no excuse, kindly forgive me. To make it up to you, how about a compensatory date at our first house for two days?” Jared said, all smiles.

At that moment, my heart softened and every fiber of anger I harbored within me ebbed away. Our first house was a penthouse located at the heart of the city. We had both chosen and decorated the house together after marriage but seldom visited due to its distance from my current workplace.

To say I was pleased was an understatement, I was beyond the moon with excitement. Finally, a gateway that will help me forget all the dramas of the past days and who knows, it could be the perfect place to break the news of my pregnancy to Jared.

“So, what do you say, Mrs Smith?” Jared inquired, looking at me expectantly.

“Mr Smith does know how to please a woman,” I blinked.

“Thank you for forgiving me and accepting the offer,” Jared said, a smile spreading across his face. “Here is your flower,” he added and handed me the bouquet.

I accepted it and sniffed in the fragrance. It was a lavender flower, my all-time favorite.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to Jared.

He nodded and led me towards the parking lot where his car was parked. He opened the door for me, and helped me get in, before going over to the other side to get in. He turned on the car's ignition, and we were soon on our way to our penthouse.

An hour later, we pulled up at the parking lot of the house. It was located inside a reputable estate. But as we alighted, something didn't seem right.

I tried to place what it is and a few seconds of racking my brain brought it to my cognizance. There was a light on, in one of the rooms which was strange.

“Jared, I think someone is in the house,” I informed Jared as we approached the front door.

Jared halted to give me a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“Look,” I said, pointing up to the room that had its light on.

“Come on, Arielle. You are being paranoid. You probably forgot to turn off the lights the last time we were here,” Jared said, waving off my observation.

I was just about to protest when the front door swung open, and there stood Sofia, a bright smile on her face.

Jared and I halted in our tracks as we exchanged surprised looks.

“What the hell? What are you doing here?” I snarled at Sofia, unable to control my rage.

“Take a chill pill, Arielle. I got the address of the place from Jared's mum. She asked me to live here pending when I get a place of my own, and she also said it would be beneficial for my pregnancy because the environment is cozy.” Sofia explained.

“You have no right to be here, regardless. This place is sacrosanct and made for only Jared and me. I can't believe she gave you the keys,” I spat.

The hell, why do I keep seeing this lady at every turn I take?

“Oh, my bad, I didn't know you two would visit here anytime soon. . I'm so sorry, I'll leave right away,” Sofia said, feigning a sorry look that I could see right through and tell it was fake.

“Umm…, Arielle, let's go inside first,” Jared suggested.

I glared at Sofia before storming inside, storming past her at the door.

“Sofia, this place is like a safe haven for me and Arielle, and we cherish it so dearly, especially Arielle, that seeing another face in it seems a bit improper,” Jared began in a calm tone, the moment we were all inside the house. It was almost like he was being cautious with his words and didn't want to hurt her.

“It's fine, I completely understand. I will take my leave now,” Sofia said, while pretending to be weak and on the verge of fainting.

“That will be gladly appreciated,” I said, feeling no atom of pity for her because I could see through her emotional game.

But that wasn't the case for Jared, he doesn't want a pregnant woman to suffer so much, so he intervened.

“Arielle, that won't be nice. It's late, and she's pregnant,” he said in a placating tone. And then he turned to Sofia, “You can spend the night here, and we will discuss the issue of your housing in the morning.”

Sofia shook her head, putting up a pathetic expression. “No, I don't think I can. Arielle is obviously against me being here. I would rather not cause a rift between you two.”

“No, she's fine with it,” Jared said and turned to give me a pleading look. “Right, Arielle?”

I simply ignored them both and walked away. Afterward, I decided to take a tour of the house to calm my nerves when I noticed the changes in it.

Jared and I’s decorations have all been discarded and replaced by different designs. Anger rose from the deepest part of me as I knew no one else would be responsible for the act, except Sofia.

Ready to confront her, I marched back to the sitting room, my vision blinded by raw fury. I had just gotten to the sitting room, when Sofia suddenly squealed and rushed up to Jared, snatching the bouquet in his hand.

I must have left it in the car during the drive here, and Jared had been thoughtful to bring it inside for me.

Just when I was about to yell at Sofia to hand me my flowers, she exclaimed, “Oh, Jared, you are so sweet. I can't believe you still remember my favorite flower…”