CHAPTER 8

She opened their bedroom slowly trying not to wake him but on checking the bed, the covers were pulled back and the bed was empty. Then she heard his deep baritone coming from the balcony. He was on his phone. It was pretty late, who could he be talking to? But an answer came to her mind as soon as she'd asked the question. Who else if not Elleana Thompson. She knew that it was a bad idea, but she just couldn't help herself. She tiptoed toward the balcony trying not to make a sound, thankful for the fluffy carpets that muffled her footsteps. The sliding doors were slightly ajar, and she could hear some of what was being said, at least on his part. She was intelligent enough to fill up Elleana's parts.

"I miss you too...Of course, once these three years are up, I will divorce her...She can never take your place..." He was consoling her. The more she listened the more her heart broke, and she had no idea that there was more to come. "I am finding a way for you to get back to the country soon. I will marry you after the divorce...No, she won't get pregnant, at least not for me. You're the only one allowed to bear my children. Divorcing her will be the greatest joy of my life... Grandmother said hello to you too..." Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't spend so much effort consoling a woman, but she'd been waiting for him for so long. He couldn't let her down.

At this point, standing behind the curtains, her mind drifted, and she'd stopped listening. He must really love her huh?! She couldn't help thinking to herself. And she suddenly had the perfect gift for their second-year anniversary in mind. She was certain that he would love it. She was brought back to the present by the sound of his goodbye to his love. Then she heard the sound of the doors sliding open and she scrambled to get away from the doors. Unfortunately, today wasn't her luckiest day as she accidentally knocked the lampshade off the bedside table and sent it careening to the carpet. She figured she could pick it up later, the most important thing was to get away from the doors. And she did try but as if it wasn't bad enough, she tripped on the freaking lampshade and fell, sprawling on the floor in a rather ungraceful manner. Then if it wasn't bad enough, she heard a tear and she couldn't help but curse. This dress was pretty expensive, wasn't it because it was supposedly of good quality? And this was precisely when Alexander walked in.

Alexander wasn't expecting to find the ever-organized Scarlett sprawled on the floor and it was quite a sight to behold. Even more interesting was the look from behind when she got on all fours in her bid to get up, her delectable plump ass pointing up and towards him, whilst simultaneously trying to pull down her apparently torn slit which simply rendered her efforts useless. Despite the fact that she was a woman he didn't want, he had to admit to himself that she made for quite a view. He cleared his throat to alert her of his presence.

Hearing him clear his throat, she wanted to crawl under the bed and never come out again however, this was impossible. Hence, trying to retain as much of her dignity as possible in such a humiliating situation, she got up while trying to pull down her torn slit some more. She then cleared her throat,

"I'm off to take a shower. If you'll excuse me." And she hurried off to the bathroom, thankful that her embarrassing situation had prevented him from asking any questions. For instance, why she was behind the curtains.

She took her time in the shower, hopeful that by the time she was done he'd be asleep. While the warm water ran down the length of her body, she kept replaying the conversation she'd overheard over and over in her head. She had to contact a good divorce lawyer and fast else her plan wouldn't work. Was she in some sort of denial phase or had she already proceeded to acceptance? Because she knew that she should be crying but she simply couldn't find the tears. It felt as though in the course of their marriage she'd cried herself dry.

Wrapped in her towel, she went to her suitcase and took her underwear and pajamas. True to her bet, his eyes were closed, and he appeared to be asleep. Feeling too lazy and tired to go dress in the bathroom, she moved to her side of the bed and certain that he was asleep, dried her body before dropping the towel and slipping into her underwear. She then put on her polka-dotted pajamas and slipped under the covers on her side of the bed, ensuring there was some distance between them. They were married and it was simply absurd, but there they were, like two strangers sharing a bed.

Alexander woke up to the feel of a warm and soft body against his, and the scent of a woman. Her head was tucked under his arm, and she looked different from the awful and calculating woman he thought her to be. She smelt like milk and roses. On inhaling the scent of her hair, it smelt like a combination of vanilla and lemons. He couldn't resist taking in another deep breath. She moved, rubbing her head against his chest and throwing her right leg over his.

Scarlett woke up to the feel of a warm chest against her cheek. In a daze, she snuggled even deeper into that warmth, trying to get closer, rubbing her head against it like a cat would to its owner. Ahh..., it'd been so long since she'd just cuddled like this with a man. A teddy bear, large as it was didn't quite cut it.

On realizing where she was and with whom, Scarlett rolled off the bed like she'd been stung.

"I'm so sorry about that Alexander." She jumped in before he could say a word. The last thing she wanted was an argument this early in the morning. "I wasn't trying to seduce you or anything and I can assure you that it won't happen again."

Alexander was speechless. He wasn't that unreasonable or narcissistic. He'd been awake for a while now and he knew that she'd been asleep. If anything, he was at fault because he didn't wake her or push her off him, instead he'd spent some time inhaling her scent. How mortifying!

"Do I look like such an unreasonable person? Besides we are married. This shouldn't be a such a big deal." he said then got out of bed only in boxer shorts. Her eyes widened and she was rendered speechless.

"What?" Was he okay? Because he was acting very strange.

"We should get ready and go say goodbye. I have a flight today in the afternoon," and he left, leaving her looking after him, confused.