The next morning,
'Ugh.' Ariana groaned lightly as she woke up, shifting uncomfortably, her body felt heavy and weak at the same time.
She stretched out a hand to rub her throbbing head, feeling the tow of crying herself to sleep weighing heavily over her shoulders now.
She got up from bed and leaned against the wall to support her body weight making her way into the bathroom.
Once she got into the opulent bathroom, Ariana lazily sat at the edge of the bathtub, filling it up with cold water and throwing in a floral-scented bathbomb.
When it was full and foamy, she glided her gown off her body and placed her legs first into the bathtub. A slight shudder escaping her lips from the chill of the water against her skin.
Ariana took several gulps of air to prepare herself then submerged her body into the bathtub, resting her neck at the edge.
The cold water caused her to shiver all over and goosebumps formed all over her skin.
Feeling weak, She shut her eyes and the memories of last night washed into her mind afresh making her whimper lightly.
When she found out she was pregnant, she was excited and couldn't wait to tell Charles about it discretely anticipating his reaction.
Would he have been happy?
She had even picked out various names for her unborn fetus but eventually decided to name her 'Roseline Penelope Cole'.
'I could have saved her.' She thought as she held back tears.
Her hands subconsciously traced the Caeseran section scar left by the doctors after surgery.
'I could have gone instead just to save her.'
The emotional turmoil she felt was almost equivalent to her aching heart. Lying naked in the bathtub, she felt vulnerable, she realized she had finally lost all desire to salvage her ruined marriage.
Last night, She spent hours making arrangements for a divorce and informed the few people she could trust.
Even though she couldn't bring her daughter back, she could at least reflect on her past and work on the future, and she saw no future in her marriage with Charles.
"Ariana." A voice called out from outside the door followed by a gentle knock.
She planned to ignore at first but after some time, she could feel her head begin to spin from the increasingly cold water.
"Are you there Ari?" Dalia asked again worriedly, shifting uncomfortably from knee to knee outside the door.
After taking a deep breath, Ariana summoned all her strength stretching out her trembling hands to grip the edges of the bathtub, she relied on them to lift her upper body.
She weakly rose from the bathtub and dragged her naked form to the shower, doing a quick rinse to wash the soapy particles off her body.
She slipped on a bathrobe over her tiny frame and walked in front of the full-body mirror.
Ariana gazed at her petite form, her rosy skin radiated brightly but she now had bags under her eyes and despair shone brightly in them.
She was much more thinner than her original shape now.
While other housewives typically gained weight enjoying the comfort of their happy marriage, she was on edge at all times.
Her husband was either making headlines with his mistress or taking her on exquisite vacations while she remained home waiting for remnants of the love he had to offer.
She stretched out her delicate manicured fingers to touch her blond hair which was still dripping wet and squeezed out the water.
She always hated her hair since she was young because of how straight it was but as she grew, she learned to style it but there was still a subtle resentment in her heart after she learned Charles didn't like 'blondies'.
She chuckled bitterly thinking back at her past gullibility, it was always what Charles Cole liked.
Ariana heaved a sigh and walked out of the bathroom after hearing Dalia anxiously knock for what seemed like the 100th time.
Dalia let out a sigh of relief as soon as Ariana stepped out. "Ariana, I got your message."
Getting no response, She squinted her eyes to get a better view of her and hesitantly asked.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Ariana's lips and she nodded lightly. "What use has 5 years of marriage been anyways?"
"Surely, I do not regret getting married to Charles but I do regret being too weak to accept a one-sided love and letting myself get treated so lowly."
Dalia frowned at the woman's self-blame but pursed her lips tightly watching Ariana go into the walk-in closet.
Ariana glanced at the lush fabrics on the hangers and grimaced, For the past 5 years, she had cared more about what Charles would like and followed Sarah June's clothing style.
She couldn't remember the last time she had ever been excited about going shopping, She always felt uncomfortable and exposed in the choices she made at the end of the day.
Ariana bent and pulled out an old box from under one of the dressers.
She opened it up and revealed all sorts of dresses, blouses, and trouser pants all neatly folded into the box.
Her hands leveled the fabric recalling how she had spent their wedding night alone, folding up and tossing aside clothes she presumed Charles wouldn't prefer .
Thinking about how she had followed his every wish like a puppet for the past 5 years, Ariana's pupils contracted.
She pulled out a pair of black fitted pants and a white blouse with an overlapping v-neck, they both had no tags on them but the fabric felt silky and you could tell it was probably expensive.
She proceeded to match it with a pair of flat shoes. When she was done dressing, she gazed at herself in the mirror and smiled, this was her style, she always chose comfort over trendy but Charles preferred his ladies' dressing more 'woman-like'.No one would like a lady who dressed more like a man.
Those were the exact words he told her on their first date.
She sat at the vanity mirror and pulled out a curling iron, her hair was already dry so she gently curled the edges of her platinum blond hair.
After she was done, she added some beige lip gloss and smiled at herself in the mirror, returning to her past self gave an odd sense of peace and security.
"Do I look good?"
Dalia nodded slowly with tension evident on her face. "Of Course."
Ariana's sudden change and the resolute decision she made out of the blue struck her as odd.
Dalia eyed her suspiciously, a sense of panic brewing in her over Ariana and her new absurd behavioral pattern but before she could question her any further.
Ariana's long legs leisurely walked over to the wheelchair and she took a seat, even though she had resolved to get a divorce, she still had to keep the act up.
"Let's go get some breakfast, shall we?"