The ladies had massaged Mary so well that when she wanted to stand up, her legs buckled from under her. Her bones were feeble, and she was as light as a feather—a feeling she hasn't felt for a while.The sheets were changed, and Becca took her spot as they began to work on her while Mary wore her robe and was led to another room.In the room, she was made to sit down, and a woman immediately came to her, her thick Spanish accent coming through as she spoke, "This is the bride, right? So beautiful, so beautiful. Your skin is flawless." The woman whose name Mary didn't know praised her, and Mary blushed at the praise."Thank you, ma'am." Mary replied, and the woman's eyes turned starry."And also well-mannered, a very rare trait in Americans," she spit out distastefully. "Come sit, child, so we can further make you beautiful." The woman gestured to the chair, and Mary complied, moving to sit there. "You are in safe hands, dear; just relax and everything will be okay."Mary closed her ey
The band was playing the popular wedding hymn, and the choirs were singing sweetly. Everyone seems to be happy. Well, it was a good day, so it was something to be happy about.But as Mary walked down the aisle, clutching the bouquet tight as if it were her lifeline, she didn't feel the excitement that others seemed to feel. Instead, she was numb.She walked down the red carpet as she and Becca had both practiced, her eyes fixated on the floor, careful not to fall. It was her first time wearing heels, and she didn't want to embarrass herself by falling.Nicholas stood at the altar with his best friend and best man, Cameron, beside him. Finally, the day had come, and in a few hours, he was going to be a married man. Despite how he had tried to put it off, his father's plan had worked.Nicholas stood in his well-tailored tuxedo, looking every bit like Prince Charming. His hair had been slick back with a few strands falling to his face, and his beard had been trimmed short. He was looking
The guests were scattered in different places as soft music played in the background. Nicholas was sitting in front with Cameron, and they were chatting quietly while waiting for the arrival of his bride. Cameron had snagged a bottle of wine immediately when they came, and he had poured himself a glass and was currently nursing it. Cocktails were passed around while people broke into small groups to discuss. No doubt business was the topic since I was mostly with the dad friends that were around. Looking around, Nicholas could only spot a few people that he knew, and he waved to a co-worker as he saw her. She was looking beautiful in her cream dress. Nicholas got tired of waiting, and she brought his phone out and started scrolling through it. No news platform had carried his wedding because it was a private one, but he was sure that come tomorrow, that would be all the news would carry. A hush fell through the crowd, and Cameron tapped Nicholas. "Holy shit, Nik." Nicholas looked
"Helena." Mary mouthed as she turned around and saw her friend turned sister holding the bouquet of flowers. She didn't know when tears began to brim from her eyes as she moved closer to her.The audience was clapping and cheering for Helena as she caught the bouquet, but Mary could not hear any of it. Her fixation was on the brunette in front of her.At that moment, the once-dark hole in her heart lightened, and her whole face lit up in a smile. "Mary.""You came?" Mary asked, but it was more of a statement."Of course I had to come. I could never miss your wedding for anything in this world." Helena declared, her lips parting to reveal her pearly whites.Mary overcame my emotions and enveloped her brunette friend in a bone-crushing kiss. Her nose was close to her neck, and she leaned in, closing her eyes as she inhaled her scent.Helena smelled of home, of warmth, and of comfort. The brunette parted her friend's back gently as she tried to comfort her. This may be the last time she
Nicholas had been looking at his new wife as she talked to her friend; her face seemed to light up in a way he had never seen before, and he was content with watching."Who is that lady dancing with your wife?" Cameron asked him, looking at the newcomer with interest. Nicholas knew his friend was already plotting how he was going to get the new girl under him.Nicholas looked at the lady in question, trying to rack his brain, but he couldn't place where he may have known her from. "I have no idea, but from the way they are talking, I believe they are friends and come from the same convent.""Hmm, she is beautiful." Cameron looked at the brunette longingly. The wine dress she was putting on wasn't exactly attractive, but it complimented her skin tone well and brought out her features."I know what you are thinking, but don't go there." Nicholas warned that he didn't know who was worse between him and Cameron."What?" Cameron teased, amused, as his tongue darted out to lick his lips jus
Mary's smile refused to leave her lips as Nicholas held her, and they started walking outside of the hall. The people that still remained around her were hailing the couple, but she couldn't hear it; all she could think of was Nicholas.She heard his friend, Cameron, say something as they passed him. "Be gentle, Nik; don't show your animalistic side." And the two friends smiled.Nicholas held her waist as he led her outside the hall, and true to his father's words, there was Frank waiting for them. He helped his wife up into the black G-Wagon, and he entered the car. And the car started its journey to the airstrip, which was on the outskirts of New York."Congratulations sir." Frank, the driver, said, looking at his boss in the mirror."Thank you, Frank." Nicholas said, and they continued their journey in silence. The alcohol was slowly getting into Mary; today was the first time she was drinking any alcohol, and she had chosen one of the strongest, so she was bound to feel the effect
The jet landed smoothly at the airstrip in Florida, and the air hostess quickly came around to open the door. Nicholas held his wife's hand firmly, and together they left the jet."Welcome to Florida, sir, ma'am." A new face, which Nicholas had never seen before, greeted him, and he responded to them curtly. Mary was beside him, getting a little overwhelmed by everything that was going on.Mary was thankful that everywhere was dark, save for the headlight, and she clutched at Nicholas like her only life support. "This way, please." A lady with a straight red skirt and a beret came to Nicholas, ushering them to the car that had been hired to take them to their destination.Mary was amazed by the reception, especially the woman in front of them. She was still putting on high heels, even at night, and she couldn't help but look at her in admiration.Nicholas tightened his hold on Mary, and together they followed after the woman while the others dragged their boxes behind them. It was a s
Mary had wrapped the towel around her body and fastened her robe to her lean frame before she came out. "I'll go take my bath now," Nicholas had said to her as he brushed past her to the bathroom.The blonde padded to the bedroom, her wet feet leaving a trail of water in her wake. She stood in the middle of the room, confused for a moment. She hadn't packed anything for the trip, and she wondered what she was going to wear.That was settled when her eyes landed on her plaid bag that was beside the bed. A wave of relief washed down her body, thankful that she was not going to be moving about naked. Although she doubted Nicholas would have any problem with that. He had literally asked her to strip the first time they met, so he would love this.Mary brought out her lotion from her bag, rubbing it on her skin, and that was when her eyes caught the package that her sister Martha had given her. She picked it up, curiosity getting the better of her. She remembered that the sister had said s
Mary didn’t end up getting a divorce.No matter how she tried, Nicholas refused to sign the papers. But they got separated.She had moved out of the mansion to get her own accommodations in a bid to find herself. She had gotten a new apartment away from the hustle and bustle of New York City.She was willing to start afresh, and she hoped that the new environment would help.His friends have been against it, especially Helena, seeing she had moved there in search of her and was given a job by Nicholas.But Mary had reassured her that there was no need for all that. Helena had no issue with Nicholas, so there was no need to try to quit her job.But Mary had refused Nicholas help; I mean, there was no need to when she had his credit card and did whatever she wanted with it.But she had chosen to spend it wisely.She had gotten a job as a model for a small clothing line that deals with curvy ladies, and Mary liked every bit of it. She got free clothes every now and then, so it was an adde
The next day, Mary was no better; no matter how much Nicholas had tried to seek an audience with her, she always found a way to escape. Gone are the days when she was the one begging for his attention.She didn’t have such time; instead, she had taken to exploring—a harmless one, though.It began when Nicholas had come back from work rather early, unlike his usual self, and he found a strange lady sitting in his living room and his son playing around the house.Nicholas was alarmed, and he entered quietly in order not to startle the lady while his hands reached for his phone to call 911."Oh, you are back. Good evening, Mr. Harrington. I will be taking my leave now." The lady stood up to go, but Nicholas prevented her."Who are you, and why are you in my house?" Nicholas asked; he still had the police on speed dial and was ready to call them if necessary."I am the babysitter your wife hired. Here." She stood up and handed him something that seemed to be a card. Nicholas eyed the card
"Oh fuck." Mary cursed as she saw the doctor approaching her. The only time she decided to unwind and let loose was when he decided to be here.She sighed, lifting her eyes to the sky; only there was a ceiling preventing her. Why was the universe out to get her?"Well hello? Mary, is it?""Oh hi. Lewis." Mary greeted him cheerfully, still slightly tipsy from all the drinks. "Fancy seeing you here?"Lewis chuckled, finding her assuming. "I should be asking you that. I live here, and I am familiar with some people here. You are the one that is sort of a stranger here.""Yea. I live.." She gestured outside the door and frowned. Where exactly did she live again?"Let me pour you a drink." The bartender said to Lewis, already reaching for a bottle of wine on the shelf."There is no need for that. I am not staying long." He refused the drink."Oh, that is alright. You can pour me his share; I would take it." Mary offered and swerved to grab the glass. But a firm hand stopped her."I don’t t
Mary stormed to her room, bolting the door as she got in and headed straight for the sofa. She dumped herself on it and continued eating from her bowl of fruit, but she was seething inside.The audacity he had. How dare he come back home after so long? The only thing he could say was, "Hey, I got your message."Mary was seething in her seat. Has he always been this nonchalant and uncaring, or has she just been ignoring it all this time? She couldn’t help but wonder.Well, it didn’t matter what the answer was because it ends today. She was done being the doormat he could just toss aside. Starting today, it was a new Mary.She stilled as she heard footsteps coming close to her door, and her ears perked as they listened for movements. But the footsteps stopped just in front of her door, and there was silence.The footsteps resumed, but this time away from her, and Mary sighed in frustration.He was such a coward.If she could have her way, she would have spent the rest of her day in her
The surgery was successful, and they removed her appendix, but Mary was required to stay in the hospital for monitoring for another day. It was to be for two days, but she had refused, threatening to leave on the same day, so they came to a compromise, and it was for an extra day.She had been away from her son for so long—the first of a kind—and she was starting to get worried. She could imagine he would be crying his tiny lungs out, and she couldn't bear to think of that.She had woken up from the surgery with a foggy head and tenderness in her abdomen, and as usual, she was alone. She didn’t bother checking up on her phone for any messages from Nicholas because it was already obvious he didn’t care.He had yet to reply to her message from two days ago, so there was no way he would be here.With nothing to do, her mind began to wander to different places, but most especially to Nicholas, or rather, her unfortunate relationship with Nicholas.After minutes of deliberating about the a
The kind doctor, whose name Mary hadn’t bothered to learn, had taken an interest in her, and he had been helping her run the hospital stuff.He was lucky enough to be able to fix an operation for her with the surgeon the next day, so she had to be hospitalized.Mary spent most of the day sleeping in; the drug they had given her was making her feel drowsy, so she didn’t know when time passed by.But the young doctor had taken it upon himself to look into her case, especially when he found out she had no one with her.He had taken it upon himself to always check in on her when he wasn’t so busy, making sure she was well covered and the pillow was comfortable for her, and Mary appreciated the gestures.Her head had been fuzzy from all the drugs they had been pumping into her, and she was slippy in and out of consciousness.She had woken up later in the evening to see her phone swimming in a sea of messages and calls. All from Amy. Mary didn’t hesitate to call her, and she waited as the c
The mini-get-together ended on a high note, and it was safe to say that the three had become best friends, and Mary couldn’t be happier.It was easy since Helena and Amy had similar characteristics and were able to get along easily. She was happy that she had two females she could rely on, and Cole had two aunties who loved him dearly and would spoil him rotten.Everything was slowly looking up for her; even her academics have been going well. It wasn't as easy as it felt, but with time it had gotten easier for her, and she dare say she was enjoying the classes.But one thing was still stagnant. She and Nicholas were yet to make any headway.In fact, it had become so bad that she couldn’t remember the last time she and her husband saw eye-to-eye. It was Cole who had been keeping her company; otherwise, the house would become too suffocating for her.At least she had Netflix, and there was always food around, so she used that to comfort herself.Mary has been feeling some pain in her s
While Helena may not be living with them, the girls were still communicating as Helena was able to get a new phone and they had gotten really close.Mary had been the happiest since Amy came back, and she was happy to have her friend close by. Everything seems to be looking up for her.It was just to introduce her friends to each other that was left. Amy had no idea how Helena looked, and neither did Helena. Although Mary has mentioned them to each other, she has been planning how to bring them closer so it would be a sisterhood.It was the weekend, and that means Nicholas was out of town for a meeting. I mean, when is he never out? Mary barely sees him nowadays, so she arranged the meeting at her house.She was preparing the meal that they were going to have, all while praying that they liked each other. It would make her life easier if it were so. At least Cole would have two aunts, and he could be taking turns passing the night at their house.She had put the last batch of muffins
Helena is here.The words were something Mary thought she would never hear, and it was as if they weren’t true, but her childhood friend turned sister was in the living room, sitting and waiting for her, and Mary didn’t know how to act."Get your act together, Mary; it is just Helena." She said to herself as she stood in front of the mirror.It had all begun when Cameron called her that one Helena was in his home and wanted to see her. She hadn’t believed it at first and thought he was playing a fast one on her, so she had asked him to bring her over.And it turned out he wasn’t lying. Helena was actually heard.But she saw them as they were getting out of the car, and she panicked and ran to her bedroom."It will be fine. It is just Helena." She said to the reflection of the mirror, and she heard Cole huff as if in agreement with her.She went towards her son, who was attempting to stand on his own, and she picked him up. He let out a cry, angry that he was disturbed. But Mary ruffl