9.17 pm.
He was now more than 2 hours late.
I was still seated in the same chair by the dining table, my eyes occasionally flickering to look at the time, watching the seconds ticking by slowly. I tapped my fingers against the wooden table; it was filled with all of his favourite food that I have spent the entire day, hours, preparing them in the tiny kitchen.
The soft jingle of the keys and twisting of the doorknob reached my ears, and instantly, my eyes snapped to look at the door. Recognition flashed past my eyes as I watched as my husband walked through that very door with another woman, a woman who wasn't a stranger by any means.
I knew her.
He had his arm slung around her shoulders, his fingers lightly caressing her arm and a huge grin plastered across his face. Almost immediately, their laughter and her giggles filled the house but they were like shards piercing my eardrums.
"You are two hours late," I muttered under my breath with a straight face, as I clenched my fists tightly under the table.
The room fell silent for a moment, as though it was the first time they had noticed me sitting right in front of them. With that stupid smile still etched onto his face, a low chuckle escaped from his parted lips, not a hint of seriousness detected on his features.
"Oh is that so? You made dinner?" He asked casually in between laughs, glancing down at the table and barely sparing me another glance. He turned back to face Stella, laughing at something like I wasn't even important, like I was invisible. "I didn't notice the time," he made an excuse, dismissing me entirely with just a few words.
"We are starving," he remarked and pulled a chair from underneath the table to sit, doing the same for Stella. "Thanks for making dinner," he muttered nonchalantly as he barely paid me any attention.
The sound of the chair screeching against the wooden floors pierced through the air as I rose from the seat, my palms pressing against the table.
"You didn't notice the time?" I repeated with an incredulous look on my face, tossing his words back at him and I let out a loud scoff in response. "Do you know what day it is today?" I questioned, despite knowing that he probably didn't know or cared enough to know.
I answered before he could utter another word.
"It's our second anniversary," I said, the words leaving a bitter taste in my mouth and tears started to glisten in the brim of my eyes as I felt a sour feeling shot right up my nose without a single warning. I was supposed to be numb, I wasn't supposed to feel anything. It wasn't the first time something like this happened after all but why do I still hurt?
I sucked in a deep breath, trying to hold my tears back. "I spent hours preparing this meal for us and you promised you would be back by 7pm, Blake Carson! Do you even care about this relationship?" I asked bluntly as my voice shook with a mixture of sadness and anger, a single tear rolling down my cheek.
He slammed his fist against the table in a fit of anger.
"Look, Aurelia," he began, my name left his lips in frustration, his voice laced with a hint of disdain as his eyes were now fixated on me.
I watched as he stood up from his chair and marched towards me, closing the distance between us and his face was now dangerously close to mine.
"I didn't ask you to spend hours making dinner. I didn't ask you to cook for me. In fact, I didn't ask you to do anything for me. So why the fuck are you yelling at me and questioning me? I just want to come home one day without being nagged at and berated for no goddamn reason!" He snapped.
Tension continued to brew in the air as he glared at me with those cold blue eyes, a look of anger masked his features as he drew in deep breaths to calm his racing heart.
"Why the fuck are you bringing another woman home on our second anniversary?!" I retorted, yelling right into his face as my gaze glanced over to glare at her with clear disdain and contempt swimming in my dark brown eyes.
He straightened his posture as his face darkened visibly. "Don't bring Stella into this," he demanded through gritted teeth as she stood behind him quietly, averting eye contact at all costs as she had her arms crossed over her chest.
A cold chuckle emerged from my lips.
"Oh, so I can't bring Stella into this but you can bring her home on our anniversary?!"
"She is already upset, you don't have to make her feel worse. I only brought her home because her date ditched her and she felt bad. All I wanted was to console her and comfort her. Is it wrong to show care and concern for my friend?" He argued as he clenched his jaws and kept his gaze steady on my face.
"Stop fucking lying to my face, Blake," I cussed out loud, my voice came out louder than I have expected. "She isn't just your friend, she was your ex, your first love. And isn't it so convenient that everytime she needs you or something happens whenever I just want to spend some time with you?" I asked, my voice carrying a sharp edge to it.
"All you ever care about is Stella!" I continued to yell so loudly that I could practically hear my voice ringing in my ears. "You always do this! You always choose her over me, you always put her feelings above mine. I'm not blind, Blake."
I watched as a smirk tugged at Stella's lips as she watched me argue with my husband over her, like it was giving her a great sense of satisfaction for ruining my relationship with my husband.
Blake walked to Stella's side, wrapping his arm around her as she curled her fingers around his arm. She looked up at him with those big brown eyes of hers with a pitiful look that was now stretched across her face as she feigned innocence.
"Stop yelling, you are scaring Stella. Why can't you be more understanding and stop being so self-centered? Not everything is about you!"
"Scaring her? Is she a child? Why the fuck do I care if I'm scaring her?" I blurted out in a fit of rage.
As soon as the words left my lips, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and my hands instinctively flew to hold it as a soft yelp left my lips. My face was contorted into a pained expression as I felt myself stumbled a little and I almost fell over but I quickly steadied myself by grabbing onto the chair next to me.
For a fleeting moment, I saw Blake's eyes flashed with a hint of concern and worry as he looked over at me, about to take a step towards me. Stella must have noticed it too, because within the next second, she pressed onto her temple, and fell into Blake's arms as her legs wobbled dramatically.
"Blake… my head hurts…" Stella muttered softly in her sickening gentle voice as a frown formed between her brows.
I watched as he turned immediately to look at her and his hand reached up to gently hold her head and press onto her temple. "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice laced with concern and worry as he looked at her.
It made me feel sick to my stomach. Then, he whipped his head around to glare at me with an intense look in his eyes, a cold expression that masked his features, without a single care for me.
"Look at what you have done, Aurelia! Are you happy now?"