The Cost of Playing Favorites

She drives hurriedly away from the hotel and makes her way to the highway. The car stops abruptly and her head bangs ate steel wheel slightly. She gasps and a tear roll down her eyes, she looks around her and sees that she is on the road. A second later and she hears car horns right behind her car. She tries to switch it back to life but it doesn’t pay heed to her, she sniffs and tries again and again.

The other cars passed her by and she heard them curse at her but that wasn’t her worry, she has to get the car out of the way. When she tried to get it working again, it doesn’t and she starts hitting the wheel with all her frustration. The car jumps to life and she hurriedly parks it by the roadside, and she gets out and rushes to the walkway. She leans on the rails and looks down to see the rocks a long way underneath the bridge.

Her long hair flows in the air and tears creep down her beautiful porcelain white face, she gasps and starts hitting her chest as she cries out. A few moments later, she allows her body to bend and she sits down dejectedly, her long thick dark hair cascades on her back and sweeps the floor. She watches the cars pass by, and she feels she is in her world with no one around. Since she seems invincible to the people passing by and those driving by.

Her name is Alexia Rivas, a twenty-four-year-old lady, she got married when she turned twenty to the love of her life. When she had just completed the university, she wanted to be a model but she meets Edward Jones a millionaire.  When he proposed to her, she was so overwhelmed with joy that she didn't think at all about why a billionaire would marry her, another Cinderella.

She was an orphan without notable family background, but Edward was so charming that she even lost the ability to think, and she naively thought the marriage with Edward was a gift from God who had finally seen her suffering.

So, she said yes to his proposal. However, she had no idea that her marriage would never be the start of happiness, but hellish days...

Flashback

She wakes up excited as a wide smile is sown on her face, she laughs out and shouts,

“Four years today was the best day of my life, as I got married to you.”

But then, her face changes and she sighs and says,

“But, every day has become hell. Now, I believe he will change for the best, he even bought me flowers yesterday. The first I have received from him after all these years but I see hope for the future. I should get ready.”

A few hours into the day after cleaning what needs to be cleaned, she hurries to her room and dresses up and she calls a restaurant and books a seat. She looks herself in the mirror and sees that the red colored sleeveless dress looked amazing as it complimented her white skin. She smiles at herself and nods her head, and she whispers,

“Everything will be alright, he will be satisfied with my appearance.”

It clocks nine in the evening and she takes her phone and sends a text reading,

“Honey, I know you might be busy at work so I booked a restaurant for us to celebrate. The location is the Downton restaurant in town, I hope to see you there.”

She looks at the phone excitedly waiting for a reply but thirty minutes later, she sees no reply and so, she dials the number but it goes straight to voicemail. She sighs and thinks,

‘He might have gone there to wait for me but his battery run down so he couldn’t reply or call. I should go there.’

She gets up and picks up her purse, and she thinks, that,

‘If he sees this purse, he will remember what day it is without her saying anything. Since I used it on my wedding day.”

A few minutes later, she is walking out of the mansion when she meets her sister-in-law, Jane. She is coming into the house, and when she sees her, she stops and looks in her way. Her eyes flicker with wickedness and a trace of jealousy as she makes out the finely statured beautiful lady in front of her. Alexia tries to pass by her but she holds her hand and inquires,

“Alexia, where do you think you are going dressed in such a seductive dress? Have you forgotten that you are a married woman or because my brother has denied you for so long you have decided to look elsewhere?”

Alexia shakes her head slowly and removes her hand from her grabs and responds lazily,

“I have a date with Edward, please make way. I don’t have time to deal with your mischievous behavior.”

Jane squints her eyes and looks at her and then she asks,

“Are you talking about my brother Edward?”

She nods her head and Jane starts laughing, she holds her stomach and laughs out. When she looks at Alexia, she sees that she is becoming a nuisance with her laughter and so, she stops laughing and says to her,

“I see…, my brother might not have told you but allow me to have a pity on you and inform you. My brother traveled yesterday with Cecelia, they went to pay respect to her dead brother. Today, they are at a party held on his behalf and they are the hosts and so sister, forget about him for today.”

The purse in her hand falls and Jane picks it up, she analysis the purse and realizes that it is one of a kind. A creepy smile appears on her face and she says to Alexia without taking into consideration how she was feeling,

“Lexie, you see I just saved you from embarrassing yourself in that restaurant. So, how about I take this for helping you out?”

“"You can't have this." Alexia fights back her broken heart and snatches her purse from Jane. She turns and wants to go back to her bedroom. She foolishly thinks that yesterday's bouquet was a turning point of their relationship, but she hadn't realized that she was making a fool of herself again. How could this man suddenly change when he had been indifferent to her for four years?

“How can you let such a small matter affect you this much? You are just too weak, my brother shouldn’t have married such a weak person…”

Behind her, Jane's sarcastic voice rings out again.

She knows that everyone in the mansion doesn't like her, because they all think she is a gold digger and that everything she does is to seek profits.

However, she always cannot figure out the reason why her husband had married her and suddenly turned cold feet on her.

Maybe it's time to find out the truth.