No Pain, No Gain?

Light seeped through the little spaces between the blackout curtains in the room. The room was super spacious with a king-size bed pushed against the wall on one side. There was a study table and lamp at the far right of the room, and a vanity table with a mirror on the far left. The floor-to-ceiling window was overlooking the city and it was such a beautiful sight to behold both during the day and the night.

There was a lump laying in bed that moved just a little every once in a while.

Shine moved again. This time she was awake. She cracked her eyes open with a smile on her face. It looked like she always wore a smile even when she slept because for her, life was amazing. She had everything she could think of. She was not lacking anything. She had a husband that loved her to the very ends of the earth and that would do anything and everything to make her happy. To her, that was everything she wanted and needed. That was all she could ever ask for. She was living her best life.

Shine stretched her body and blushed a little at the pleasurable pain she felt. The evidence of the activities of the night before. She stretched her hand to the left where her husband should be sleeping but didn't feel him there. His side of the bed was cold. It was not strange at all. Sometimes her husband woke up before her to prepare breakfast for her and bring it to her in bed or to go for a run.

She pulled the blanket up to her chin and just laid in bed for a little more time as she was not exactly a morning person. When she felt that she was good enough, she stood up and let the blanket fall off her body and just stood naked at the foot of the bed. She made the bed properly and smoothened the sheets. Her husband already changed the sheets the night before after their activities so there was no need to change it again.

She walked into the bathroom and admired her body in the mirror. She had dark thick locs with a olive skin tone. She stood at 5 foot 6 inches which her husband described as the perfect height. She had a diamond face shape and a cute button nose. Shine was not an overly beautiful girl. She does not exactly turn heads. Her presence could go unnoticed in a room with even few people. She was quiet and always melted into the background. But she was overly pleasant. Shine would go out of her way to make sure everyone was comfortable. Her husband always told her that that was what got him attracted to her in the first place.

She looked at the words of affirmations that was stuck to one corner of the mirror by her husband and she said it to herself.

"I am beautiful"

"I am awesome"

"I am amazing"

"I can do anything I put my mind to"

"The sky is not my limit, it is just my starting point."

At first, she did not believe the things she said and it was just word of mouth for her. But as time went on, she started to believe everything she said. She even believed it more when her husband said it to her. She smiled and picked up her toothbrush to start her morning routine while humming "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

She prepared her bath and decided to make the water a little bit hotter than usual so she can soak properly in it and reminisce about the night before with a smile on her face. Her husband had gone above and beyond.

She had just gotten back from her mother's place and there were rose petals scattered around the house and scented candles everywhere. It was not their anniversary or anything special. She was trying to think about what the event was but she could not come up with anything. It was not his birthday neither was it hers. It was not the anniversary of the day they met neither was it of the day they got married.

She saw her husband at the foot of the stairs, shirtless, only clad in a pair of black pants, hair wet like he just had a bath, muscles rippling and honey coloured skin glistening in the candlelight waiting for her with his arms wide open.

She almost started drooling before she caught herself. Sometimes, she could not believe how the man became hers.

"What is going on?" She asked with a confused smile on her face while walking towards his open arms.

"Can I not treat my wife to a good night?" He answered embracing her in a warm hug.

"Isn't this a bit too much? You don't have to do so much. I'm happy with you already."

"Shhhhhhhh." He shushed her and placed a kiss on her forehead before lifting her chin with his finger and placing one on her mouth.

"I will do what I want. I'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated. You deserve the best and nothing less"

She smiled and hid her face in his chest.

"Our bed awaits us." He said as he carried her princess style and walked up the stairs like she weighed nothing.

When they got to the room, he set her down on the bed in a sitting position and got on one knee as he started to remove her shoes. She sat and watched in awe and absolute admiration of the man that knelt in front of her.

He finished removing her shoes, took them to the closet and came back.

She made a move to start removing her jewelleries but he caught her hand and whispered into her ears with a husky voice,

"Let me."

She then caught a whiff of that cologne she loved so much. He did not wear that cologne often but tonight he was. She just knew the night was going to be a very long one.