Chapter 4

Elena waited until the house became quiet. Dinner was over. The dishes had been washed. 

The dining room was spotless again. Aaron had gone into the living room to answer a few work emails while his parents relaxed nearby, talking about how wonderful Tiffani had been during dinner.

Elena stood outside the room for several minutes.

Her hands would not stop shaking. One of her problems was that she did not know how she was going to tackle the problem, but she just had a feeling that she had to say something.

She had repeated the same words inside her head over and over again. She did not want to argue. She did not want to complain.

She only wanted her husband to understand how she felt. She just has to remind him that he is married and shouldn’t be bringing someone else to their house, especially in moments when they’re supposed to celebrate together.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked into the living room.

Aaron was sitting on the sofa with his laptop open. The light from the screen reflected on his face as he typed without looking up.

“Aaron,” she said softly.

“Hmm?”

“Can we talk for a minute?” She asked politely.

He sighed without lifting his eyes from the screen. “I’m busy.”

“It will only take a moment.” she insisted.

He finally closed the laptop and leaned back. “What is it?”

Elena clasped her hands together. “I wanted to tell you something.”

Aaron crossed his arms. “Go on.”

She lowered her eyes. “I… I feel uncomfortable whenever Tiffani comes here and I think everything should just end in the company.”

Aaron’s expression changed immediately. His face became cold. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t hate her,” Elena quickly explained. “I just think she spends a lot of time here. Sometimes I feel like…”

She struggled to finish the sentence. “…like there isn’t any space left for me.”

Aaron laughed. “So that’s what this is.”

Elena blinked. “What?”

“You’re jealous.” He laughed out again and this time it was even more annoying than the earlier time.

She quickly shook her head. “No. That’s not what I mean.”

“It is exactly what you mean.” Aaron snapped. 

“I’m only trying to tell you how I feel.” She muttered. 

Aaron stood up. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Her heart dropped. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You’ve imagined problems that does’t exist.”

“I didn’t imagine anything.” She snapped, trying to make him understand what she was saying.

“You did.” He pointed toward the front door where Tiffani had left earlier.

“Tiffani is my business partner.” He muttered “She helps this family.”

“I know.” Elena did not even think about arguing with him.

“She supports my work.” He added. “So why are you acting like a jealous child?”

Elena felt tears gathering in her eyes. “I never said you should stop working with her.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I just hoped you would understand.”

Aaron laughed again. “There is nothing to understand.”

She looked at him with pain filling her eyes. “I only wanted my husband to listen.”

Instead of softening, Aaron became even colder. “You’ve always been insecure.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“You compare yourself to Tiffani every day.”

“I don’t.”

“You hate seeing her succeed.” Aaron insisted and he was very serious about what he was saying.

Elena’s mouth opened in shock. “That’s not true.”

“It is.” Aaron did not even look like he was going to give up on the argument. He just wanted to make Elena look bad and that was his aim.

“I’ve never wished anything bad for her.”

Aaron folded his arms. “Then stop acting like this.”

“I’m not acting.” She took one careful step closer. “I only feel lonely.”

“You make yourself lonely,” Aaron yelled at her.

She stared at him in disbelief. “I spend every day trying to take care of this family.”

“No one asked you to compete with Tiffani,” he responded almost immediately.

“I’m not competing.” She could not even hold back because his words felt like a slap on her face.

“You are.”

“I just wanted to tell you my feelings.” She murmured and this time her voice was gradually fading away.

Aaron’s voice became louder. “Your feelings are becoming a problem.”

Those words hit Elena harder than she expected.

She stood frozen.

Before she could answer, footsteps echoed through the hallway.

Aaron’s parents walked into the living room. His mother looked from Aaron to Elena. “What’s going on?”

Aaron sighed dramatically. “Elena is complaining about Tiffani again.”

His mother’s face darkened immediately. “I knew it.”

His father frowned. “What happened now?”

Aaron rubbed his forehead. “She says Tiffani makes her uncomfortable.”

His mother let out an annoyed laugh. “Unbelievable.”

Elena quickly shook her head. “I wasn’t trying to start a fight and you all have to listen to me.”

His mother ignored her. “Tiffani has done nothing except help this family.”

“I know,” Elena replied. 

“And this is how you repay her?” She asked immediately.

“I never said…” Elena could not even complete the statement from her mouth. 

“You should be thanking her.” 

Aaron’s father nodded in agreement. “She brings important business to Aaron and that is something you can’t bring to us.”

His mother stepped closer to Elena. “Do you know how hard Aaron works?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know how valuable Tiffani is to his company?” she asked again and this time she was even more serious than before.

“Yes,” Elena replied quickly.

“Then stop creating unnecessary drama.” Aaron’s mother warned her.

Elena felt trapped. “I wasn’t trying to create drama.”

His mother folded her arms. “Then what were you doing?”

“I only wanted to tell Aaron how I felt.”

His father sighed impatiently. “Marriage is not only about feelings.”

His mother nodded. “You should support your husband instead of distracting him.”

“I do support him.”

“No.” She pointed toward Elena. “If you truly supported him, you wouldn’t complain every time Tiffani visits.”

“I don’t complain every time.”

His mother shook her head. “You are being selfish.”

Elena’s lips trembled. “I’m not selfish.” Those words made her chest tighten. “I appreciate everything.”

His father looked directly at her. “Aaron has a successful career.”

She nodded quietly.

“Don’t ruin it because of your emotions.” He added.

Her breathing became stable and calm. “I would never ruin his career.”

His mother scoffed. “Then stop making him choose between work and your insecurity.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks before she could stop them. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Nobody answered.

She lowered her head. “I’m sorry for causing trouble.”

Aaron simply nodded.

“Good.”

His mother smiled with satisfaction. “Remember your place from now on.”

Elena wiped her tears with trembling fingers. She turned around slowly and walked toward the hallway.

She did not notice that the front door, which had not completely closed after Tiffani left, quietly opened again.

Tiffani had returned to pick up the designer scarf she had forgotten on the sofa.

But then, she had heard enough. She stayed hidden near the entrance, unseen by everyone else.