Kelvin woke with a mild headache. He tried to push himself into a sitting position and someone rushed to help him. Thinking it was his wife, he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. He missed her. The events of yesterday were foggy, he could remember asking her to leave but he wasn’t sure she did because someone had come back later to kiss him.The person didn’t speak so he assumed it was his wife keeping quiet to avoid his wrath. He wouldn’t have been angry at her.To be honest, he appreciated the fact she came back. He was getting used to sleeping in the same room with his wife. And with his brain picking up slowly after he ate one of his triggers, he wanted someone he trusted around him. Someone like Leila.“You stayed,” he whispered into her chest. The drugs might have been the reason he said, “Thank you.”One of the things he hated about the drugs given to him after a relapse was how disoriented

It had been one week since Leila saw her husband. Within that week, she could count the number of times she ate on one hand. There were no flowers but breakfast and dinner always came at the appointed time.The fridge was stocked up, she had warned the delivery boy to stop sending food to their apartment. But it was of no use. He had a job and he intended to do it.Her days went by in a blur. She lived out her routine like a zombie. Waking up, going to the office. Bath and repeat. Today was the first time she was doing something outside of the routine. She hoped to get some answers. If not from Kelvin but from Amara.Leila hit the number on the elevator. It was ten minutes past close of work, and most of her colleagues had gone home. The elevator stopped on Kelvin’s floor, she held her bag tighter and made the short walk to his office. Pushing the straps of her handbag up her shoulder, she knocked.The door opened to reveal Amara, instead of letting her ins

Leila roused slowly. The first thing she noticed was that she was on something soft and firm. Her eyes flew open. She was on the bed. How did she get here? Kelvin’s side of the bed was cold. He didn’t sleep here.The second thing she noticed was her dress and it somehow saddened her. Was he so mad at her he didn’t change her out of her work clothes? If he had done that, she wouldn’t have minded. A yawn escaped her. By the time she freshened up, changed and checked the time. It was 3 am. She would have loved to return to sleep but her mind was busy.On a whim, she dialled her husband’s number. He must have come back to the house but she couldn’t say for sure if he stayed back or left. A ringtone from the house had her shooting to her feet. She pulled her robe tighter around herself.The sound was coming from the guest room.Her footsteps echoed throughout the house. In front of the guest room, she took a deep breath and pushed t

When the door closed quietly behind Kelvin, Leila dumped the punishment and crawled into the bed. Her stomach was on fire and she couldn’t hold it in any longer. It was some minutes past nine, but her plan to keep calm until Kelvin left for his meeting went up in flames the moment the second bout of pain hit her.The first day of her period was the worst. It always got better but the cramps would be completely gone by the third day. Bedrest helped. If she had to be at the office, she would have popped some pills. Pills meant irregular period so she liked to stay off them as long as she could but they greatly reduced the pain.Leila pulled the covers over her head at the sound of the door opening. The bed dipped with her husband’s weight, she tugged the cover to her chin before he could do it.“Hey,” he said. She winced when her insides twisted. If she could forfeit menstruation for her whole life, she would. She didn’t understand why wome

The cramps were almost nonexistent by the time Leila returned home from work. She picked her ringing phone from the dresser. Her best friend was calling her on a video call. Plopping into the seat with a sigh, she wiped her makeup. That was if she could count the lipstick and winged eyeliner as makeup. Today’s workload was the same but she was exhausted.Swiping up on her screen, she frowned at Freya when her face came on. “Why are you naked?”Her best friend’s boobs occupied her screen. She shook her head when Freya pulled a shirt over her head. In the future, she might grow as confident as Freya and show off her body but for now, she was content with covering up.“Was fucking,” Freya replied. “You know that thing couples do.” Leila stifled her laugh. Her best friend was so stupid. She crumpled the wipe in her hand and placed the phone on a book so she could unbutton her shirt. “When they put their dicks into thei