Chapter 1: Our Second Anniversary
9.17 pm.
He was now more than 2 hours late.
I was still seated in the same chair by the dining table, my eyes occasionally flickering to look at the time, watching the seconds ticking by slowly. I tapped my fingers against the wooden table; it was filled with all of his favourite food that I have spent the entire day, hours, preparing them in the tiny kitchen.
The soft jingle of the keys and twisting of the doorknob reached my ears, and instantly, my eyes snapped to look at the door. Recognition flashed past my eyes as I watched as my husband walked through that very door with another woman, a woman who wasn't a stranger by any means.
I knew her.
He had his arm slung around her shoulders, his fingers lightly caressing her arm and a huge grin plastered across his face. Almost immediately, their laughter and her giggles filled the house but they were like shards piercing my eardrums.
"You are two hours late," I muttered under my breath with a straight face, as I clenched my fists tightly under the table.
The room fell silent for a moment, as though it was the first time they had noticed me sitting right in front of them. With that stupid smile still etched onto his face, a low chuckle escaped from his parted lips, not a hint of seriousness detected on his features.
"Oh is that so? You made dinner?" He asked casually in between laughs, glancing down at the table and barely sparing me another glance. He turned back to face Stella, laughing at something like I wasn't even important, like I was invisible. "I didn't notice the time," he made an excuse, dismissing me entirely with just a few words.