chapter one

~ELENA'S POV~

“I mean, we were together in bed last night, so where has Alex gone this morning, without telling me?” I muttered as I walked into the living room. I noticed Nora was trying to put the flower vase back in its position after cleaning it.

“Nora, have you seen my husband this morning?” I inquired immediately as I walked into the living room.

“Yes, ma, I saw him leave with John, his assistant,” she replied as she turned to my direction, with her gaze towards the floor.

“And where did he say he was going to?” I asked, as I raised my eyebrows with curiosity written all over my face. Then I realized I was talking to Nora.

Nora is just a maid hired to keep the house clean. So, how was she to know Alex's whereabouts? She was in no place to provide me with such information’ I silently said to myself.

“I don't know, he didn't say ma'am” I turned and left the living room.

I got into my bedroom and reached out for my phone in the drawer beside the bed. ‘I need to call and know where he is,’ I thought to myself.

After so many trials of reaching out to him through calls and text messages. He seems to have ignored everything without a single response to any of my text messages.

So I reached out to John, Alex's assistant, the line rang, and he picked up.

“Good morning, Mrs Fox, how was your night, ma'am?” He asked.

I ignored his question and went straight to the reason why I called him, “Where is my husband? I have been trying to reach him all morning, but he is not picking up his phone or responding to my text message”.

“Mr Fox is in a business meeting right now, that's why he has not been able to answer your calls or respond to your text messages,” I mused.

“Okay, John, thank you and have a nice day,” I went off the phone immediately. I was lost in deep thought as to why he went to work today, on all days. Yes, today is our 5th anniversary, and we were supposed to spend the whole day together.

“Mrs Fox, breakfast is ready. Do I serve it here in your room or at the dining table, ma'am?” I shuddered and suddenly noticed Nora, the housekeeper, standing in the corner. I was too deep in thought that I didn't notice when Nora walked in.

“I think the dining would be okay,” I said, “go on, I'll be downstairs shortly”.

Shortly after, I walked down the stairs to the living room with so many thoughts running through my head. Did he forget today was our wedding anniversary?. What has come over Alex? He's been acting distant these past months, I wondered.

I had lost my appetite the minute I sat down to eat at the dining table; food was the least of my problems at the moment. So I took a bottle of wine instead. I didn't know what to do. My husband's stoic demeanor was getting to me, and it made me wonder, Why has life chosen to be unfair with me in such a manner?. Is there something I'm not getting right in this marriage? I needed an answer to these questions as I continuously sipped from the glass of wine in front of me.

I subconsciously stopped myself as I raised my hands, almost sipping on the wine. Then I remembered I was not pregnant. Alex and I have been married for five years with no kids of our own, and it's quite depressing. So I brought the glass to my mouth and sipped it on the bottom.

“Ah,” I let out a satisfactory sound as I raised one hand to my chest. I stood up and looked down through the window. I hoped to see my husband. It was mid-afternoon, and it would be a miracle to see him come home this time of the day, but it was our anniversary today, and I hope he comes home early to spend this day with me, like we used to, in the past four years.

I worked for Alex at Ellex Brewery and Apparel Co. He is the CEO, and I am the managing director. So, I understand how busy it can get. I took leave from work yesterday so we could spend quality time together on a day like this.

I have always dreamt of being a jewelry designer, thanks to Alex, that dream has come to reality. Today, we work as Co-partners in our jewelry business.

“Mrs Fox, do you need anything else?” Nora walked towards me to clear the glass and bottle of wine. “I see you didn't touch the food I served you for breakfast”.

“I lost my appetite, but it is fine anyway. I'll let you know as soon as I'm hungry,” Nora turned to leave, then I asked, “What about the flowers, has it been delivered?”.

“Yes, ma, the flowers arrived earlier,” Nora divulged, “what do I do with them, ma'am?”.

“Okay, take it upstairs,” I declared before asking her, “Has my husband called?”.

She shook her head and replied, “No ma”.

I became so anxious about making tonight a perfect one, then I remembered he loves Champagne, so I ordered Nora to take care of it. “Yes, before I forget, make sure you take a bottle of champagne and two glasses upstairs along with the flowers”.

If a baby was going to change his mind and attitude towards me, then there was no time to waste, as I was eager to make him happy. I would do anything to make sure I fall pregnant. It's a good thing today, being our anniversary would be a better opportunity for me to redeem our relationship.

My eyes wandered to the clock; two hours left before he came back from work. I needed to look perfect for him tonight; anything to turn him on, ‘my sweet Alex’. So, I quickly ran upstairs and got into the shower.

I started by shaving my legs, although he never cared much about that, but I needed to look irresistible. I curled my hair down; he loved to see my hair curly. I wore lingerie and a sexy nightgown.

“Okay, everything is perfect,” I assured myself. Then, I reached out to my phone on the table beside my bed and checked the time. It was ten minutes left for him to come home.

I sighed in relief, then I rushed to fix the bottle of champagne and glasses on the table. I turned to the bed and sat down. “Elena, you got this,” I took a deep breath.

I tried my angles on bed, I needed to pose in an angle where he would see me sexy. So, I spent the last ten minutes figuring out the right angles on the bed when my alarm rang, and I knew it was time for my sweet Alex to come home.

*** A few hours later***

It's been hours, and Alex is not yet back from work. I sat in the dining room, wondering to myself, Where has he gone? It's past eight o'clock; I'm sick and worried about him. I tried calling his phone and even sent him text messages but he wouldn't respond, so I resolved to call John, his assistant, to find out his whereabouts.

“Mrs Fox,” he picked up the first ring.

“Sorry for bothering you this late, is my husband still at the office?” I asked

“No, Mrs Fox, Mr Fox left the office immediately after his meeting earlier today. He said he had an urgent matter to attend to at home,” he explained.

I regret bothering him, so I thanked him and ended the call. ‘If he left the office earlier today, then where has he gone? because, obviously, he didn't come home.’ I muttered to myself while pacing around in short spans, then a beep from my phone got my attention. It was a message from an unknown email address.

I wondered why such an email address would send a message to me. I got intrigued and eager to know the content of the mail, so I opened it.

“What!” I exclaimed. My heart skipped a beat as I widened my brows at what I saw in the mail.

I saw pictures and videos of my husband with an unknown lady checking into a hotel. His hands were wrapped around her waist. I paused the video and zoomed in to see if I could identify the unknown lady. Unfortunately, I couldn't identify who she was from the angle of vision in the videos and pictures.

“Has Alex been cheating on me?” I asked myself.