Leila was a wreck. Kelvin didn’t send her flowers today. He left the house earlier so she ate breakfast alone. Leila didn’t realize until she sat alone at the dining table, a large breakfast in front of her, that this new lifestyle, this routine was one of the best parts of her day. She took only a bite before clearing the table.When lunch time came and Kelvin didn’t invite her to Pacific as he always did, she didn’t call him. She waited, subconsciously glancing at the window that should have been decorated with the flower for today.“Your secret admirer sent nothing today?” someone teased. Someone who sounded eerily familiar to Susie. Only Susie could make silly, audacious jokes like that.Leila didn’t look up to confirm her suspicions. If she paid more attention to her laptop and less to that troublesome woman, she would go away. Her vision blurred as she skimmed through the email Amara sent her.The sponsors of Stars

The water was not hot enough. Leila dipped her finger into the tub filled with water, it wasn’t as hot as she wanted it to be. Her skin was red from too much scrubbing but she needed to bathe again. She wanted to wash away Charles’s touch from her body; his smell, his presence, his entire existence.Leila got into the tub, and pushed her head under. Bubbles floated to the top of the water, her eyes blurred and her lungs burned from a lack of oxygen. She pinched her nose, counting the seconds. Twenty seconds was her highest under the water but she was counting thirty now. If she stayed here long enough, she might forget.A knock on the bathroom door had her head shooting out, she gasped for air, mouth wide open as she tried to suck in as much air as she could. New record. Forty seconds.“Leila?” It was Kelvin. “Are you there?”“Yeah.” She coughed out more water. “Yeah.”Leila wrapped a towel around her chest, waited for the sound of his fading footsteps before she ente

The silence from the other end of the phone annoyed Kelvin. He needed to know what happened to his wife. Sparing one last glance at his beautiful sleeping wife, he reluctantly stepped out of their bedroom.Leila had been talking in her sleep. The first time since their marriage. Whatever happened with her yesterday triggered the nightmare and he needed to know what or who triggered her. She was excited until he turned.What did she see?A cry from the room had Kelvin running back inside. He rushed to the side of his wife, she struggled in his grasp like she had done last night. Her reaction to his touch hurt him but he knew it wasn’t because of him. It had to be someone else. Someone he must find. He stroked the side of her face and she froze.His lips met her temple in a chaste kiss. “It’s me, Kev.”“Kev.” Her hand reached out for him and Kelvin drew close enough for her to caress his face. His knees hurt from kneeling on

A chill ran through Leila. The voice was like ice water poured over her. She wrenched the phone from her ear while Charles was still talking and switched it off.How did he get her number?She changed numbers twice because of him. Her palms moistened, she didn’t realise when she scrambled out of her seat. Her hip rammed into a colleague’s desk, Leila didn’t feel nor notice the pain as she came to a stop in front of the air-conditioner.What did he want from her?Sweat formed under her armpits, her eyes stung. She clenched and unclenched her fists. It wasn’t enough that he was one of the sponsors and she had to tolerate him. Leila wanted to cry.“Leila?” Someone snapped a finger in front of her face. “Are you okay?” It was Lily. Leila turned to see the whole office watching her. Some of them pretended to type something on their laptops but only a few continued staring. Leila patted her hair. She was wearing it d

They entered the eatery with Kelvin’s hand on his wife’s lower back. A smell lingered in the air and his nose scrunched when they stepped inside. This place wasn’t his usual style and it was full. Kelvin loved empty places. He had noticed Leila was freer when they were alone because she never had to worry about being seen with him.Leila looked up to him with a smile and all those thoughts fled his mind. If she was okay with this place, he would try to appreciate it. The smell of something strong whiffed past his nose, he glanced at Leila but she didn’t seem to have noticed it. Seeing how cheery she was, he allowed his wife to drag him to a spot.The ceiling of the eatery hung low, if he jumped, he might touch it. There were no seats or couches like what he was used to at the places he dined. The only decorations were the lights on top of the pillars that were on each side of the door.No security either.This place made him unsafe.I