chapter two

~ELENA'S POV~

"Mrs Fox, you have an emergency here at home,” Nora announced over the phone. “Please, ma'am, you need to get here as fast as you can”.

My heart skipped a bit, then I asked, “What is the emergency, Nora?” There was silence over the phone. “Nora! Nora! Can you hear me? What is going on?”.

After a few seconds, she finally broke the silence. “Mrs Fox, I'm sorry but this is not something to discuss over a phone call,” she said, “it is something urgent that needs your urgent attention immediately ”.

I was beginning to feel tense, so I grabbed my bag and car keys from the office desk. I dashed out of the office and almost bashed Mia, my office assistant. She was approaching my office with some documents I had asked for earlier.

“I'm sorry, Mrs Fox, I didn't see you coming,” Mia said as she quickly moved aside. “Are you heading out, ma'am? What about the documents you asked me to bring to your office?”

“Put it on my desk, I will attend to it when I get back,” I instructed Mia while walking away from her. “I have an emergency to attend to at home”.

***

I parked the car and grabbed my bag, my heartbeat thumped fast as I approached my house entrance. I noticed everywhere was quiet, and I looked around to see if I could spot anything out of the ordinary.

This was unlike Nora to have called me in such a manner. I became terrified, ‘What kind of emergency could make Nora call me out from work this afternoon?’ I muttered silently to myself.

Just yesterday, I found out my husband was cheating on me, and I'm yet to set my eyes on him since yesterday. And now this.

I grabbed the door by the handle, and it was slightly open, so I walked into the living room in anticipation of encountering the unknown. Everywhere was dark and silent, and I was confused at the same time because I didn't understand what was going on.

“Surprise!” I heard the voice of many yells at the same time as the lights came on. I felt a cold sensation through my body as I flinched in retaliation. Nora and a few of my friends stood in front of me. There were balloons and red petals all over the floor with a nicely decorated cake and champagne all around it, on the center table of my living room.

I widened my brows with my lips slightly parted. I was speechless and at the same time trying to recover from the shock. Then I asked them, “Did you guys do this?”.

“Yes, my love, we did it for you,” Olivia answered with a bright smile on her face, showing how excited she was to see me surprised. “I'm so sorry I missed your anniversary yesterday. So I, Debbie, and Natasha, with the help of Nora, planned this surprise package for you”.

I turned to face Nora, standing in the corner. “Was this the ‘urgent something that needed urgent attention’?” I asked with a pleasant smile on my face, “You got me scared. I won't lie, you got me there”.

“Yes, ma'am, it's something urgent that needs your urgent attention,” Nora responded. “I'm sorry, but I had to make it look real so we could get your attention”.

I felt heartwarmed and said, “This is great, and I'm so happy to see you all here today.” I held both hands to my chest.

“Happy fifth anniversary,” Debbie chorused.

“Thank you all, I appreciate this.” I stretched out both hands wide to receive a huge hug from them.

“This calls for celebration,” Natasha announced as she popped the bottle of champagne and poured it into various glass cups. She handed everyone a glass each and said, “Cheers, everyone”.

I can't believe they went this far just for me. My friends have always been supportive in every way, but I least expected this. It was as if they knew I needed a distraction from yesterday night's discovery. I went to work looking unhappy, thinking of how to handle what I saw last night.

“Mrs Fox, lunch is ready and served,” Nora divulged

“Okay, thank you, Nora.” My friends departed for lunch.

After having lunch with my companions at the dining table, Natasha received a call and had to leave. While I sat to watch a movie with Olivia and Debbie.

“Where is Alex? I have not seen him around,” Olivia announced

“Yes, Lena, where is your husband? You both are supposed to take the week off from work to celebrate your anniversary,” Debbie commented.

I didn't know what to say at this point, I didn't know how to explain to them that Alex has not come home since yesterday, and he has been emotionally distant lately, so I stared at them as tears rolled down my cheeks. It was obvious I was going through hell with Alex.

“I don't know where Alex is,” I divulged, “he has not been home since yesterday”.

“What do you mean he's not been home since yesterday?” Olivia queried, “I hope he is not seeing another woman?”

“No, Alex loves me so much and can not cheat on me,” I responded. I knew if I disclosed all that I saw on my phone last night, they'd go crazy. “Please let's change the topic and talk about something else”.

So we discussed other things.

*** A few hours later***

Alex walked in a few minutes after I showered and was ready to retire for the night. He had a briefcase in his hands, looking so exhausted.

“Alex, where have you been, and why did you come home this late?” I questioned him, not minding that he looked like someone who needed to rest. “Didn't you get any of my calls or text messages?”.

“What makes you think I need to answer that question?” He dropped his briefcase and sat on the bedroom sofa to pull off his shoes. “Elena, as you can see, I'm exhausted and I need to rest”.

“We need to talk, Alex,” I demanded

“Talk about what exactly?” He asked, “I'm not in the mood to talk now.” He pulled off his wristwatch.

“Who is the lady you were with last night?” I queried as I flashed my phone screen to his face, revealing the pictures of him and a younger woman checking into a hotel.

“What is the meaning of this, Elena?” he stared at the phone screen with narrowed brows, then shifted his gaze towards “Are you stalking me?”.

“That is not the answer to my question, Alex,” I declared. “I can't believe you stooped so low, cheating with a cheap slut”.

“Enough, Elena!” He declared, “How dare you call her a cheap slut? At least that cheap slut is more fertile than you are”.

I gulped hard on hearing those words from Alex. I tried to digest them as they echoed in my mind. Did he just use those hurtful words on me? And he still has the guts to defend her right in front of me. That's uncalled for.

“Just so you know, her name is Riley, and she is carrying my baby. So I'm going to be a father soon,” he divulged, “she has given me what you could not. A baby.”

My heart skipped on hearing his revelation ‘Did he say she's pregnant for him’ I mused and was dumbfounded, staring at him, uttering those words to me. Tears flowed down my face, and I was deeply hurt.

“You know what? I have been seeking a better time to give you this, and I think now is the time. There is no point delaying the inevitable,” he said, as he opened his briefcase and handed me a document, “sign it”.

I looked at the documents with widened brows and rounded lips. I couldn't believe my eyes, ‘Am I dreaming? Is this not a divorce agreement?’ I muttered silently.