As if he hadn't had anything good to eat for years, I watched as Tyler grabbed the table knife in his right hand and a fork in his left. He quickly began cutting the piece of meat into tiny pieces, loading them onto his fork before hurriedly swallowing them.Seeing him eat like that, resembling a dirty pig in a refuse area, I couldn't help but express my irritation with a scrunched-up face. Then I asked him, 'Are you so starved that you have to behave like a pig in front of me?'Hearing how I sounded, I noticed how quickly he composed himself. It was as if a student had been reprimanded by a teacher, and he became conscious of his behavior from that moment on.From then on, he started loading his meat onto his fork slowly and mindfully, chewing it slowly and carefully enough that I couldn't hear the sound of his mouth. Even when he was about to drink from the glass of juice on the table, I observed how he calculated the speed at which he lifted the glass to his mouth, drinking without
Without further ado, Tyler rose from his seat. He had already finished his food, and from what I could tell, he was well satisfied; he wouldn't go hungry again for another three or four days.Again, he bowed, not indicating his departure as I had hoped. He bowed and said, “If I may, Matriarch Alessandra, can I change these clothes for fresh ones? As you know, we donated the house to charity, and everything inside it also went to them.”*Scoff*If only he knew what he was up against. Did he dare to ask for a new pair of clothes? A new pair of clothes, my ass. I looked at him as if he weren't human. Then I said, “No new clothes for you, Tyler. Wear those to the eatery. Wear them back here to rest for the night, and you'll be fine. Maybe, just maybe, if you do that to my satisfaction, you can have that new pair of clothes by nightfall.”“Yes, Matriarch Alessandra!” Tyler bowed once more, then walked out of the dining room and left the mansion.As he were driven to the mansion, he thought
Well, maybe not everyone could drive by a person who needed help in the middle of nowhere. This old man with shaky hands, like autumn leaves in a gentle breeze, drove an old truck that groaned with each turn of the wheel, finally decided to give Tyler a lift to the eatery.It could be that the old man had decided that he had lived enough and had seen everything life has to offer him that even if anything were to happen to him, he did not mind, or that he saw the kind of car he was driving, saw his own pocket, and thought no one would have wanted to kidnap or hurt an old man like him.In his truck, as he drove slowly, in the space of one minute, he had already asked Tyler more than fifty questions. From what his name was, to how old he was, to if he had a wife or children, and many others, Tyler kept answering.I knew how much Tyler hated too many questions flying at him in the space of seconds. If he had the choice, he would have nagged at the old man to keep his mouth shut. But then,
“With regard to your employment status, I want you to listen attentively. I've called this meeting because I need to be honest with all of you. Recently, there have been some changes in the financial state of our eatery. And since I already mentioned earlier that we are going bankrupt and that this eatery will be placed for sale, I have to do this even though it’s hard.”“I understand if you will get upset or angry with me. I take full responsibility for my actions. But I have to let everyone go. Today marks the last day you all worked at this eatery. Please go to your respective offices, pack your bags, and leave the eatery. This eatery is closing down today.”“What?” one employee exclaimed.“But what about our jobs?” another employee asked.“I’ll do everything in my power to help you find new employment. I’ll provide references, assist with job searches, and offer any other support you may need during this transition.”“But this isn’t fair, especially when we are still profitable.”
It was our wedding night, the weather was cold and crisp. He wrapped his hands around my body and whispered words that kept me warm: ”Every day for the rest of our lives, I only want to look at your face and admire how beautiful you are.”Little did I know that those tender vows spoken in the chill of that night would soon be drowned in the icy silence of betrayal, and I’d be ready to serve karma on the silver plate.It all started one late night. The weather was the same as it was on our wedding night only that this time, he was not there to keep me warm. I covered myself with a blanket to shield myself from the cold, imagining him to be by my side as I never suspected that he might be somewhere else keeping another woman warm. I kept myself entertained with a popular TV show while scrolling through my WhatsApp chats simultaneously. Suddenly, I got a text from Jasmine, my younger sister, who was the happy bridesmaid on my wedding day. “Hey, Alda, where is Tyler? Is everything okay
The next morning came like an unwanted visitor, as I heard a persistent knock on the door, its loudness echoing through the quiet house like a drumbeat of unwelcome news. It was terrible enough that I hardly got any sleep throughout the night. Now, incessant loud knocking on the door again, even at 6 A.M.?As I walked to the door with my defeated feet and sad face, like a wilted flower bending under the weight of an unexpected storm, “Hey!” said Diana the moment I opened the door. “Move out of the way, you donkey honk,” she added, almost crushing me to the floor with her weight and size, like a bulldozer clearing a path through fragile emotions.Diana was Tyler’s mother, who never liked me even before Tyler and I got married. She was that wicked witch who decided to haunt me even in my own house just a few weeks after our wedding.I understood the fact that Tyler’s family was going through a period of bankruptcy, and they needed every help they could get. And as his fiancée, I worked
It was funny how Diana claimed I was as useless as a flashlight with dead batteries. If I were to be useless, as she claimed, would she see a house to move into when they faced bankruptcy? Would her son even have a job? But, of course, anything she said did not matter to me, and I only waved it aside.“The rice is ready, and I will be serving now, Diana,” I said suddenly from the kitchen, like a conductor announcing the grand finale of a culinary symphony.“Great! At least I won’t die of hunger, as you made it seem. And I hope it is not poison you prepared again." Diana said.“Well, Emily and Olivia will definitely make sure of that,” Diana blurted.As if they waited for Diana to complete her statement, I saw Emily and Olivia making their way down the stairs like monsters descending from the darkness and exploding in their wicked laughter. Emily and Olivia were Tyler’s younger sisters. Even at sixteen years, their mouths were sharper than blades and their behavior was as rude as thei
Stepping out of the bath, Tyler entered the bedroom, finding me sitting on the bed with a smile on my face.It was unusual for Tyler to see me smile and not reciprocate with a wink or a passionate kiss on my lips, as he would remind me how tender my lips were. However, this morning was different.The moment he noticed my smile, his eyes darted towards his phone, perfectly resting in the same position he left it in. Immediately realizing I hadn't taken his phone, he approached me to carry out our usual routine.“I am so glad I married you, babe. Aside from the fact that you are a hardworking woman, you are so sexy, and your lips are always tender like the soft touch of a breeze on a warm summer evening," he said, kissing my forehead in the same manner.As he unwrapped the towel from his body, standing there naked, it reminded me of our wedding night—the way he was soft and intimate with me on the bed, making me long for him more and more each night after that.“Is this the same way he