Chapter 3

Holly was already whipping up something in the kitchen when I got home.

John had given her our home's secret code. She had made herself quite at home since then, popping over whenever she felt like it.

That was why I had gotten into the habit of changing the code daily.

However, I just did not bother today. What was the point? John would just tell Holly the new code anyway. It was pointless to put in this Sisyphean effort.

"Yasmin, you're back! Dinner's almost ready!" Holly called out with her cutesy, doll-like smile, acting like she owned the place.

She and John had hit it off at some party two years back. Rumor had it that John was plastered, and she played the good Samaritan with a juice box.

He was so moved that he started calling her his 'god-sister'—a title he had dropped on me without asking.

Just like that, she was part of the family.

"Uh-huh," I muttered, snapping out of my thoughts and acknowledging Holly.

I headed to my room to change, with John hot on my heels.

"Why are you giving Holly the cold shoulder? She came all this way to cook for us," he chided.

"Should I throw myself at her feet in gratitude?" I shot back, my voice dripping with ice as I faced him.

He looked like a deer in the headlights, too scared to meet my eyes. He just wrapped his arms around me, trying to smooth things over with a hug.

"Okay, it’s my bad. I know you're not a fan of Holly. I won't let her come around anymore."

He promised. "How about I make it up to you tonight? Let's sleep together."

John and I had been married for six years, but the last year had been spent in separate beds.

It was his idea, claiming he did not want to kick the covers off and give me a cold.

However, I knew the real reason—he did not want me interrupting his nightly video chats with Holly.

I never called him out on it and just went along with the separate beds. Because of this, it had been a year since we had been intimate.

Today marked the first time he had ever hinted at wanting to share a bed with me.

"I'm just not up to it today," I said, hoping he would catch my drift—I was not in the mood to share anything with him.

He looked a bit sour, but what could he really say?

I nudged him out the door without another word.

Holly had laid out a feast at the dinner table, the dishes steaming invitingly.

Her makeup was on point, and she was wearing that stunning, chic necklace.

Her outfit looked like it was Chanel, and it was a perfect fit on her.

Word on the street was that she was a big-shot fashion designer with a dazzling career and a bank account to match.

As for me, I was an everyday housewife with no parents and no job to my name.

That was probably why John was all too willing to ditch his ego and practically worship the ground she walked on.

"Yasmin, you know how it is. I'm swamped with work, so I usually leave the cooking to the nanny. Believe it or not, this is my first time in the kitchen in years. Cut me some slack if it's not up to par, won’t you?" Holly teased, sticking her tongue out at me in a playful taunt.

She was rubbing it in that I did not have a job.

I kept my mouth shut and just settled into a seat off to the side.

John tried to cozy up next to me, but I was not having it.

"Holly's not here often. You should sit with her and make sure she's well taken care of."

They both stared at me like I had grown a second head.

I grabbed a shrimp and popped it into my mouth.

"What's with the looks? Is there something on my face?

"Let's just eat, okay?"

To me, the food was way more important than John.

Why would I not dig in with all this good stuff on the table?

I remembered the days when I scrimped and saved, never allowing myself the luxury of seafood.

John was not a fan of splurging either.

One time, I bought some seafood for him. When he saw it, he thought I was going to eat it all by myself and laid into me. "We're already tight on money at the company, yet here you are, splashing out on fancy seafood!"

Seems like he forgot the promise he made when we got hitched. "I'll take care of you for life. You can spend whatever you want!"

Back in the day, that promise had touched my heart. Now, it just made my skin crawl.

Nobody could take care of someone else forever, not even one’s parents. In the end, I could only count on myself.

Besides, it's not like John was ever my sugar daddy or anything.

While he was out working, I kept the house in order.

He always came home to a hot meal and crisp, clean shirts.

People thought being a housewife was a walk in the park, but it was a full-time job.