Chapter 1

~Not All That Glitters is Gold~

"Damn it, Andrès!" Emilia yelled at her husband in a fury.

"What is this, Emilia? What are you getting so worked up about?" Andrès inquired, his voice tinged with confusion.

"Are you actually slow? Or are you just pretending to be slow? She spat, with no remorse.

"I am neither, but I need you to explain what this is about." Andrès requested.

"Oh, Sweet Lord..." Emilia became frustrated and rubbed her tempo.

"My friends always go shopping for nice things and take vacations with their husbands." Here I am, being mocked at every chance they get for being so broke and sticking to your sorry ass." She nagged.

Andrès understood why she was fighting after hearing what she said, but he still did not get her point. She seemed to be trying to insinuate something, but she had not quite nailed it.

Her nagging eventually became an echo in the room, but he still needed her to relax and understand him.

He needed her to understand that not everything that glitters is gold, but how could he possibly explain this to someone who is obsessed with new bags and shoes?

He tried his best in making sure she didn't lack, but it felt like no matter what he does, it was never enough for her. Her eyes would always be fixed on big things.

He took a deep breath in and gently pulled her closer to himself, "I am sorry baby, but everything will be fine soon." He tried to reassure her, but his words went unheard.

"The boss adores you; in fact, you are the employee he values the most. Use this to your advantage and become wealthy. Dummy!" Andrès was perplexed by what she spat out this time.

"Please, my love, stop fighting me." Andrès urged, clutching her tender hands into his.

She snatched her hands away from him and gave him a death stare: "If you truly value this marriage and want it to last, the best advice I can give you is to stay the hell away from me." She warned him and dashed out of the house, picking up her phone.

Andrès remained in the same position, allowing the silence to envelop him.

The slam of the door echoed in his ear, leaving him with the hope that she would be calm when she returned.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours, and she was yet to return home, which became cause for concern.

The ticking of the clock on the wall filled the air, making his wait increasingly uncomfortable.

He kept pacing back and forth in the living room, checking his phone for messages from her. He buried his face in his hands, overcome with fear of losing her.

In the stillness of the night and the quiet solitude of the house, Andrès was startled by a sudden sound at the door.

"I apologize; the door was open and I let myself in." His best friend, Gael, said to him.

"It is absolutely fine, man. I assumed it was Emilia." Andrès responded coldly.

"What is wrong with you?" "You look like shit!"

"I would be surprised if I don't." Andrès responded, his mood remaining sullen.

Geal took a seat beside Andrès and placed his left hand on his shoulder, "Tell me what is going on." He persuaded him.

Andrès explained everything to Gael, and until he finished, Gael did not interrupt him. "She is simply being a woman. I believe she is acting out because she wants to have flashy things like her friends do. There is nothing wrong with wanting those nice things. Gael encouraged Andrès, who was wearing a blank expression.

"Do not look at me that way; you know I am correct. I will speak with her, okay? She will eventually come around."

"Please do; I do not want to lose her. Please..." Andrès pleaded with Gael.

"You will not, okay. I need to get home now; I just stopped by because I was in the neighborhood. Gael said to him.

"Thank you," Andrès said, as he watched Gael exit the door and his footsteps fade away.

He quickly fell asleep on the couch while waiting for Emilia's return.

Andrès is awakened by raindrops on the window after only a few hours of sleep.

He rubbed his eyes to remove any remnants of sleep, and then recalled sleeping on the couch while waiting for his wife to return home.

He got up from the couch and walked to the bedroom, hoping to see her there, but was disappointed to find the bed exactly as he left it and the room empty too.

He rubbed his forehead in frustration before returning to the living room to retrieve his phone and call her.

He was concerned about her whereabouts and safety.

She did not respond to any of the calls he had placed for her after several rings.

He decided to call Gael because he had promised to help him talk to Emilia about returning home, and there had been no word from him either.

He tried calling Geal's phone several times but received no response. He kept on trying to reach the both of them for a few minutes, but he received no response.

He gave up and went into the bedroom to sleep, hoping that they were safe and that he would wake up to find his wife in the morning.

As he lay on the bed, he could not help but have negative thoughts about the worst-case scenario.

He ignored them because he could not imagine his life without her in it.

He laid still on the bed, his back against the surface of the bed and his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He kept looking at it as he tried to imagine Emilia laying right next to him with her usual happy smiling face.

But his face was instantly etched in a frown when he realized she wasn't there. She was somewhere else and he had no idea if she was safe. He feared that something bad might have happened to her.