2

Evelyn's POV

My grip on the box of cookies in front of me tightens as I stand and stare at Leonard and this blonde lady on top of his laps, legs straddling him like they belong there. Her hands are wrapped around his neck, fingers lazily playing with his tie. She leans in close, her lips near his ear, speaking in low tones that I can’t hear. Her long hair blows about her down to her waist. What she's saying is making Leonard laugh.

Leonard, my husband of four years, is laughing.

I've been married to Leonard for years now and the highest I've seen him do is smile. I've never seen him laugh this much. The annoying part is, I'm not the one making him laugh.

They are so engrossed in their intense conversation that they don't notice that I'm standing in front of them. My eyes start getting watery, tears threaten to ruin all my makeup and I stand there contemplating what to do for seconds. My instinct tells me to leave but instead of leaving, I decide to call out his name. I should just give him the cookies, then I can leave.

But first, I dab my under eyes lightly with one of my hands and take in a deep breath before calling out Leonard's name.

“Leonard” The sound of my voice pierces the air like a sharp blade.

The lady on his legs immediately rolls over and sits on the couch next to him. The bright smile on the lady's face has slowly faded away as she looks at me, her expression transforming into something cautious, almost guilty. But I doubt it.

Leonard, however, doesn’t leap to his feet immediately. He doesn’t even look startled. Instead, he lets out a low sigh, straightening up in his chair. His hands bury themselves lazily in the pockets of his tailored trousers as he stands. There’s no rush, no panic—only an infuriating air of nonchalance.

“What's going on here? Leonard, who's this woman?” I ask slowly, doing my best to make sure I don't tear up and lose my cool in front of them. I'm so angry right now.

“Eve, this is Clara, a friend of mine who has been away from New York for a while now. She just got back” he replies

“Who's she?” The lady asks Leonard, pointing towards me.

“Clara, this is the woman I married” Leonard says to the lady before starting to walk close to me. He clears his throat and loosens his tie a little.

The way he says the ‘woman I married’ instead of my wife makes my stomach knot together with anger. The words hit me harder than I expect.

“Leonard, why is this woman here?” I ask him.

Instead of answering me, Leonard tilts his head to the side, a hint of irritation crossing his face.

“Why didn't you knock before coming in?” He asks before I can say anything.

“Since when do I knock before entering my husband's office?” I reply.

“Its just so that you won't see what you saw. Now you’ve walked in and you are probably reading meaning into something innocent.”

“Innocent?” I repeat, my voice sharp. “Leonard, I just walked in to see another woman straddling you! How's that innocent?”

He shrugs, his tone indifferent. “She’s a friend, Eve. That’s all.” he says nonchalantly and goes to sit down on his desk.

“Hello, Leonard's wife,” I didn't even notice when Clara stood up and is now standing next to me. Her tall frame nearly towering over me as she steps closer to me, stretching out her hand towards me.

I glance at her but I ignore her, fixing my focus back at Leonard, I'm waiting for him to apologize at least, for the inappropriate way I saw him with a lady earlier. When she doesn't get any response from me, she retrieves her hand.

“I’m so sorry about earlier but It was nice to meet you. I'm very pleased. I hope we see some other time”she says with a smile, then she walks over to where Leonard is sitting. I can't say if she meant the apology or not. She bends over him and hugs him, then plants a kiss on his cheek leaving a smile on Leonard's face.

“See you soon, hon” she tells him before walking away.

I let out an irritating chuckle at the back of my throat. How can she call him hon in front of his wife?

“Are you not going to apologize or anything at all?” I ask him when she has gone.

“There's nothing to apologize for, Eve. I didn't do anything and I already told you what you needed to know. She just came to see me, that's it, nothing happened” Leonard replies and the funny thing is, as much as I want to cry out my eyes, punch him all over and tell him he lied, I still believe him. I believe everything he has said.

For a moment, I can’t even speak. My throat tightens, and my hands tremble as I clutch the box of cookies. But how can he be so dismissive? How can he not see how much this is hurting me?

When I don't say anything for a while he looks up at me breaking the silence. “Come on, don't look at me like that. Why did you come?”

I sniff, run a finger across the bridge of my nose. “I just came to give you this, happy anniversary, Leonard” I say and stroll closer to his desk where I dropped the box of cookies. His eyes widen slightly, and for the first time, I see a flicker of something—guilt, maybe—cross his face. It’s obvious he’s forgotten.

“Eve—”

But before he can open his mouth to say anything, I turn around and storm out of his office. I'm so upset that I don't even know when tears started rolling down my cheeks. He didn't even notice my hair, or the new dress I got. He didn't notice any of it. And he didn't remember our anniversary.

I wipe my eyes as I step out of the elevator so that nobody will see my tears.

The car ride back to the house is a blur. Mikel, the driver, glances at me in the rearview mirror, his concern evident. “Are you okay, ma’am?”

I nod stiffly, unable to trust my voice.

My phone buzzes as we pull into the driveway. I fish it out of my purse and see a message from Leonard.

“I've been so busy lately that it slipped my mind. But let me make it up to you tonight over dinner. Wear something nice. I'll pick you up from the house by seven”

For a moment, I stare at the message, my emotions warring inside me. Anger, hurt, and frustration swirl together, but so does a small glimmer of hope. Maybe I’m foolish. Maybe I’m weak. But this is the first time I’ve ever seen Leonard with another woman since we got married. I had even forgotten to tell him about the dinner reservations I made. All that will go to waste now.

Maybe this really was innocent.

I wipe my tears and take a deep breath. At least he wants to make it up to me. Maybe tonight will be different. Maybe tonight I’ll finally feel like his wife.

And just like that, I let myself forgive him. Or at least, I convince myself I have. For now.