It's Your Choice

The next morning, when Camilla woke up, she noticed that Steven had a mark on his shoulder. Looking at the mark, she asked, "Steven, where does this come from?"

He looked at the arm. "Gosh darn, she wasn't supposed to leave marks on his body," he thought to himself.

Quick to respond, he said, "I bumped into the filing cabinet at work."

"Those look more like fingernail scratches," she thought.

Thinking about what Michelle had said the night before, she asked him, "Steven, you came home so drunk last night you fell asleep. What happened?"

He started thinking, then said, "after I finished in the office, I went to the bar not far from there and had a few drinks, I met up with a few guys from college as well." Steven was very swift and managed to learn to lie easily. 

"How quickly he lies," she thought and got out of bed. She didn't believe a word of what he was saying. She picked up her phone and called Michelle. They chatted for a few seconds on the phone.

As the call ended, she heard the kids in the room playing. "Marshall, Meghan, come get breakfast," she called, getting their bowls and cereals down.

They ran quickly, settling into their chairs and began eagerly to eat.  While the kids were eating, Camilla went to the living room to tidy up and do the laundry. Steven was still in bed. "Camilla," he called, "can I get something to eat, please?"

"Sure, last night's leftovers are in the oven. Feel free to help yourself," she responded.

Feeling very indifferent, Camilla knew that today she would need to make decisions. She couldn't carry on allowing this man to treat her how he wanted and get away with it. 

As the day passed, Steven decided that he was going to go out for the day and said, "If you want to go to your Aunt's, I can drop you and the kids off. I have plans of my own, but I will pick you up when I'm finished," he informed her.

"No need," she responded icily.

He had expected her to agree to his plans, but she never did. "So what are you going to do?" he asked her.

"I will sort myself out," she responded, "just let me know what time you will be home." All he did was shrug his shoulders in a gesture of I don't know.

Camilla looked at him and said, "Just keep in mind that whatever you do will either be for your own benefit or to your own detriment. It's your choice." He did not respond to her comment, just picked up the keys and left.

After Steven left the house, the first stop was the bottle store. He picked up his alcohol and drove straight to Tamara's place. But little did Camilla know that her cousin Tamara was the one who was with her husband. 

Tamara lived in the city about 20 minutes from where they stayed. She was Camilla's father's older brother's daughter. Tamara and Camilla weren't close at all. Her father had married into a more affluent family, so money wasn't an issue with them. 

Her home was a double mansion. Steven arrived at her door. Standing at the door, she held out her arms and pulled Steven into her embrace. 

Tamara was beautiful. She had a model-like body. Her hair was wavy and blonde. She spoke with an air of snobbish in her tone. Tamara's parents had no clue as to what their daughter was up to, and if they found out, she would definitely be cut off from the family. No matter what happens, the motto for the Jones family is that family does not ruin family unless there is a due cause. It would only, in this case, be due cause if they found out what Tamara was up to. 

Meanwhile, back at the house, Camilla had decided to spring clean the house and do the washing. It was a relatively warm day. The kids were playing in the living room with their books and crayons. "Mummy," Meghan said, "mummy, can we go for a walk and buy ice cream?"

"Sure, sweetheart, let mummy just put this load in the machine change, and then we can go," she responded.

"Yippee!" they both yelled in elation.

As soon as Camilla had finished what she had set out to do for the morning, she took the kids, and they took a slow walk down to the shop. It was at least a good ten-minute walk to and from the shop. They decided to go to the shop first. Camilla bought the food for dinner and an ice cream for each of the kids, then decided to sit leisurely in the park while letting the kids enjoy running and releasing some pent-up energy. 

Back at Tamara's, Steven was taking every advantage of the situation and time he was having with Tamara. Spending money on booze and fancy foods for the two of them. Tamara walked around her apartment in just her underwear. "Come here," Steven enticed in a low, husky voice.

She threw her head back, laughing and saying, "My cousin obviously doesn't satisfy you enough." She walked over to him, sat on his lap facing him. She leaned in and started kissing him. Their kisses became intense and led to further embracing. He picked her up and led her to the bedroom.

After he had been fully satiated, Steven went to the bathroom, took a shower, and went back to the living room to enjoy his drinks and snacks he had bought for them. 

Back at home, Camilla and the kids were enjoying the time in the park. "Come children," she called to them, "it's time to get back home." The kids went back to their mom, and the walk back home started. 

By the time they got back home, it had already passed 4 in the afternoon. Camilla had heard nothing the whole day from her husband. As soon as she stepped in, she arranged something for the children to eat and prepared their bathwater and clothes to get them ready for bed. She looked at her two children and laughed to herself. They had been exhausted from playing all day. As soon as the children had finished their bath, Camilla read them a story and let them go to sleep. 

Now that the children were asleep, Camilla finally had some quiet time. She looked at her phone. It was past 6 p.m. She gave Steven a call. She wasn't sure if he would answer the phone. 

On seeing her number on his screen, he grunted and answered, "Yes?"

"Steven, will you be home for dinner?"

Steven could hardly answer coherently. The alcohol had affected his inebriations. "I'll be home later," he said and put the phone down.

As the call ended, Tamara said, "I think it's time you left her."

"When the time is right," Steven said.

Camilla looked at the disengaged phone and sighed. She went to the kitchen and opened a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. Since the evening was warm, she went to sit on the veranda watching the sun setting. "

This is such a beautiful view," she thought.