Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Start of Everything

***Back to the Present***

“Listen, I’m tired. Can we discuss this again tomorrow or another day?” I whined.

“Sure...” my mother replied.

“Everything should turn out just as we expected anyways so there’s not much to discuss...” father said with confidence.

“I’m going to my room...” I said softly as I slowly got up from my seat.

My bedroom was on the second floor. It was the same room that I had since the first day that I moved into the house all those years ago. I used that room up until the day that I married George and moved out of the house. Of course, during university I moved out for a bit to live closer to the university but that was about it.

“Sleep well daughter dear! When you wake up, you’ll be a billionaire!” my mother called cheerfully after me.

.....

I rolled my eyes, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to see my reaction with my back turned towards them. Without bothering to turn around, I continued on my way to my bedroom. Their sounds of joyous laughter haunted me all the way until I reached the base of the stairs and ascended up to the second floor.

Those two are going to experience the shock of their lives tomorrow when they find out the truth. Let’s see who’s going to be faster. Me waking up and telling them or the news report in the morning.

Finally, I arrived at my bedroom. Quickly, I opened the door and marched in before closing and locking the door firmly behind. This room just feels like a tiny world on its own where I could hide away from the chaos and everything else that was going on in the world outside. Reality was harsh for me and for a while, I just wanted to hide away in this room just like I did when I was a kid.

A few steps on my shaky legs took me to my bed where I lay down on my stomach, burying my face into the pillow. I closed my eyes and willed for all of this to be just a bad dream. Everything since the moment that I was adopted by them until the moment that I discovered that George had taken his own life. Please just let everything be just a nightmare. Please...just let me wake up...

It wasn’t long before the tears that I had been desperately holding it came bursting forth. I wailed and cried into the pillow to silence myself. Why is this happening to my life? I tried my best to do what my parents wanted and look where I ended up because of it. At only 25, I was on the verge of getting a divorced and then suddenly, I am not a widow.

I think I’ve never cried this hard in my life. I cried with a mix of anger and frustration at the cruel hand that fate had dealt me in this life. I cried for all the times I had to follow my parent’s whims just so that they would accept me as their daughter. I cried for my failure of a marriage with George and the fact that he had completely abandoned me to move on to the land of the dead and his next life. I cried for myself and my failure to know any better.

It was true that I didn’t want to spend my life with George anymore. I wanted to get a divorce so that our charade of a happy marriage could finally come to an end. I didn’t want him to be a part of my life anymore and neither did I want to be a part of his. However, throughout it all, I never wished for George to pass away and definitely not like this. Even if he used me and sold me, I wished that he was still alive so that I could punish him and make him owe up to what he’s done. It saddened and angered me at the same time that he used death to unfairly escape like this.

Soon after our marriage, when I discovered George’s gambling habits, I saw the start of the end of our happy marriage life. It all came too soon, and I didn’t want to believe it so much so that I started fooling myself that everything was fine. I ignored all the little signs. At first his losses weren’t all too bad and it didn’t impact our financial status at all or so I had thought. I never dreamt that his gambling addiction would lead him to betraying me in the worst possible way.

...

**Yesterday Evening**

Spending the day at home relaxing after a spa treatment in the morning was not a bad idea. My skin feels fresh and smooth, thanks to the treatment and the scrub. My nails were done in a sparkling shade of red that I liked. The imported tea in my teacup smelled and tasted perfect. I sighed as I relaxed into the leather sofa before closing my eyes, feeling the bliss of a perfect life.

Tomorrow, I would get my hair done in the early afternoon before heading to my favorite brand boutique to pick up a few handbags that I had ordered and a few pairs of shoes that I got tailored. Although I enjoyed these luxurious items and staying ahead of the fashion trend, it was admittingly part of my job as George’s wife to play the perfect socialite. The more connections I made with other wives and woman in the high circle of society, the better George does at his business. It was not a bad life.

My phone vibrated signaling that a text message had arrived. Peering at my phone screen, I saw a text from George. It was rare for my husband to text me and come to think of it, I wasn’t sure where he was right now or where he went for the day. That wasn’t unusual and it no longer bothered me anymore. Neither did the fact that he didn’t come home on some nights or the fact that he spent the night in another women’s bed. Nothing mattered anymore.

–To be continued...