Chapter 3

Jeanette’s Pov

“People say marriage is the union of two souls but for my family it was nothing more than a business deal. For years our family hadn’t seen a love marriage. My grandparent's wedding was a business deal so were my parents and they didn’t see any reason why my marriage should be any different. I remember sitting in my room all dressed up as a bride hoping for love in a loveless union I was naïve enough to think that a person who was marrying me as part of a deal would actually fall in love with me I don’t know why I thought he would be different than my abusive father”

I paused for a moment to control my tears.

“What followed after the wedding was years upon years of abuse he assaulted me physically mentally sexually and for a better part of that relationship I didn't say a word in objection how could I he was my husband after all”

_Flashback_

I held onto the table nearby and pulled up my aching body, taking baby steps I walked into the bathroom I was petrified seeing myself in the mirror my body was covered with scars my eyes were puffy and red due to all the crying my red hair was all grown out and turned to its natural black color it was all disheveled and broken and at that moment I decided it’s time to get back to my old self.

After he went to his office that day I sneaked out of the house went to the nearby drugstore got a box of red hair dye and a bunch of sleeping pills after coming back home I dyed my hair cleaned myself up thoroughly prepared his favorite food dressed up in the most beautiful outfit covered my scars with makeup and waited for him to come back home.

“Did you dye your hair?” He asked as he walked in through the door and saw me.

“Just wanted to look nice for you” I said, kissing him.

“What has gotten into you today?”

“Nothing just wanted to have a romantic evening……….have a delicious dinner, open up a bottle of red wine, watch one of your favorite movies and then………..”

“And then what?”

“It’s a surprise” I said with a smile.

_Flashback ends_

“To this day nothing has given me more satisfaction than that night when I mixed those sleeping pills in his drink and watching him fall asleep losing the chance to abuse me again and just like that the days of my torture ended”

“So was this loveless marriage the reason behind you having an affair?” Emily asked.

I laughed.

“I don’t know if you could call what Ryan and I had as an affair in the beginning. He was just trying to help me but perhaps on an emotional level maybe……….”

“Was it like you finally found the love you were longing for?”

“Honesty even after all this I had never longed for love I was always more than enough for myself I was emotionally independent and all the love that I would ever need was always within me, it was the idea of having someone take care of me and having a shoulder to cry on that attracted me the most”

“If you don’t mind me asking, out of all the people why Ryan……I mean why would someone like you or anyone for that matter choose someone who was making people fall out of love?”

“Ryan wasn’t making them he was helping them and from where I see it………it was a noble thing to do”

“How did you guys meet?”

“Well it’s like people say some things are just inevitable”

_Flashback_

I waited for my husband to leave the house as usual. He locked me in and as soon as he left I took off my nightgown, got into my work clothes, took my heels and jumped out the window. I quickly grabbed a cold coffee from the nearby Starbucks and rushed towards my office. As I was walking down the lane wondering how badass it was of me to get to this job every single day without letting my husband know a thing about it I crashed into someone and spilled coffee all over myself.

_Flashback ends_

“And that’s how we met” I said.