21

Bruce continuously paced around the bedroom as his eyes kept darting over to the clock on the wall.

Why was she taking so long?

He walked over to the bathroom door and knocked loudly on it.

The door swung open and a girl with short black hair stepped out, she looked like a college student.

She walked over to the bed and sat on it with a thud, she crossed her arms around her chest and squeezed her face in a frown.

"Why can't I stay over for the night?"

"Now is not the right time."

His eyes kept on gazing at the clock and the bedroom door.

"Baby, please let me stay for the night." She pouted her mouth and blinked repeatedly at him.

He sighed.

"When everything is settled, I will take you on a trip."

"Mmm, one month."

"Two weeks."

"Miami?"

"Las Vegas."

"Deal!"

She picked up her handbag and skipped over to him. She wrapped her hands around his neck and leaned in for a kiss when the bedroom door suddenly swung open.

Bruce broke the kiss immediately and pushed the girl aside. How was he supposed to explain this situation now?

Sandra walked into the room calmly like she did not just witness her husband cheating on her.

Gabriel who stood still at the door, mouthed the words 'I tried to stop her.' to Bruce before he turned and quickly escaped. He definitely did not want to be involved in this messy situation.

"How old are you?" Sandra asked the now terrified girl.

The girl felt a chill running through her whole body, she felt like fear had taken over her system and her body no longer belonged to her. She threw a quick glance at Bruce who in return avoided making eye contact with her. She swallowed hard and opened her mouth to speak.

"I..i..am ni..neteen." Her voice shook and her knees went weak.

"Ohh.. already a golddigger at nineteen, great choice. It is way better to be the golddigger than the wife of a cheating husband."

The girl didn't know what to feel at this moment because Sandra's face was unreadable. Was she being sarcastic? Did she really mean what she said? Her face was just too clear.

"I am sorry." She murmured since that was the right and only thing to say in this kind of situation.

"It is fine, do not mind me and come see him anytime you feel like, he is your lover after all."

Shock and surprise shook the girl's body, somehow she wished Sandra would shout and lash out at her instead of being understanding and maintaining a clear face. It scared the hell out of her, this calmness was nerve wrecking.

The girl gave a small bow and walked out of the room, almost running and stumbling on her own two feet.

Silence reigned heavily between them as they both stared at the door the girl had shut quietly behind behind her.

"I'm hungry."

Sandra finally broke the silence with a whisper. She lay with her back gently on the bed and let out a small moan of satisfaction as the soft bed welcomed her, she stretched out her hand and grabbed a fluffy pillow and used the pillow to support her head.

"I'm really hungry." She mumbled again as she closed her eyes.

"Sandra I can explain."

Bruce said as he hovered above her with guilt on his face. He had not meant to cheat but he needed someone to hold in this hard time of his life and Sandra was not that person. Not because he did not want her, infact he craved for her day in, day out, just that she was pregnant and too busy both as the vice president who was trying desperately to hold the company together and also as his wife who was doing everything in her power to get him out of this mess.

Her eyes remained closed but her lips parted slightly to let out a sigh.

"You can explain later baby, I'm really hungry, you know that I eat for two now."

Just like the girl, this calm and collected side of Sandra was scaring him the more. He wanted her to cry and lash out her frustration on him but she just remained on the bed, unmoving and just inhaling and exhaling quietly. What was going through the mind of his wife?

"Okay, I will go ask Gabriel to get you something from a restaurant."

Her eyes snapped open.

"No, I want homemade food."

His mouth formed an 'O' and he nodded as he got the message.

"Then I will ask him to make something for you to eat, I must confess, Gabriel is a really good cook."

"Really?"

"Indeed he is! What would you like for him to cook for you?"

"I want you to cook for me."

"What would you like?"

"Hmm..."

She thought about it for a while before she decided.

"Something simple, but nutritious."

Bruce smiled at her before he kissed her lightly on the forehead and left the room.

When he entered the room a few minutes later there were two things in front of him; two bowls of rice and some beef in each dish.

"Where's Gabriel?"

"Out grocery shopping."

Bruce set the tray on the bed and took a bowl before he sat down next to her. After finishing his meal he put down the empty bowl on the coffee table.

She turned her head to look at the ceiling and yawned.

"Are you tired honey?"

"No, it's just really late." She replied with another yawn.

"Well if you need anything let me know, okay? I love you, sweetheart."

He moved closer to her and pulled her onto his lap and laid his head on hers.

"Hm, goodnight Bruce." She yawned again and snuggled up against his embrace.

As soon as he felt her fall asleep he stood up and laid her comfortably on bed. When he placed of the covers over her, he brushed away a stray piece of hair from her face. She looked so beautiful laying under the sheets with her hair loose and spread across the pillow, and her breathing steady and even.

This was the first time since their wedding that Bruce saw her completely relaxed, her body weight was distributed evenly on top of the bed while her legs hung off the edge.

He kissed her temple and then softly caressed her cheek, the skin under his fingertips tingling pleasantly.

With one last look at his sleeping wife, he left to go shower and change clothes. Before he left, he placed another kiss on her forehead and closed the door behind himself.

***

The next morning, Bruce woke up to an empty bed.

He quickly checked the alarm clock next to his bed and saw it read 10:20 AM.

He got out of bed and headed towards the kitchen. Just as he entered the kitchen he stopped dead on his tracks as soon as he heard familiar voices coming from outside of their apartment.

"I don't think so." He could hear Gabriel saying, was he talking to Sandra? she hadn't left yet?

He rushed towards the doorway, just as soon as he turned the corner, he found Sandra standing in front of Gabriel, clearly furious, she was pointing her finger accusingly at him and Gabriel looked equally as shocked.

"Stop!"

"That's what you should have done when you had the chance! Instead, you made a big mistake by getting married!"

The sound of their voices seemed to echo through the empty apartment. The two stopped mid speech and quickly turned to look at him.