Episode one

CHAPTER ONE

"Oh no. " Elsa breathes as soon her eyes rests on the images on the screen of her phone.

Is that Ricardo, her supposed to be husband kissing the chest of a naked woman in a hotel? She knows that face of the woman, she has seen it so many times on the television. Who doesn't know that face of Lilian, the super model?

She sniffs and shuts her eyes and bites her lips. She feels a mixture of anger and pain surging all over her body.

She had a sixth sense that something of this nature, such solid evidence would be what's attached to that suspicious email.

Thank God that she had the decency to put the kids to sleep before opening the pictures. She was so scared that she had walked into the garage and locked herself in her car before opening the pictures and it has left her in shock.

Even with her eyes shut, the tears just keeps pouring out, she hopes that her sobs are not loud enough to wake the kids up.

She holds her hand over her mouth, she can't stop herself from crying, all she can do is try to stop it from being too loud.

Ricardo who she gave everything to. She loved him from the depth of her heart and gave him her innocence, her virginity and she was always there for him, but he has chosen to do her like this.

She cries for a long time. Until her eyes are puffy and red and her throat is sore, only then does she sits in her calmly, waiting.

It's mid night and he is not yet awake. He has been doing this a lot lately and she is sure that it's because he is busy sleeping with other women that he doesn't care for her kids and her.

She is going to wait for him. She is going to go back to the living room and wait for him to come back and she is going to make a demand for an explanation.

She walks back into the house and goes to the kids room. Her beautiful kids are asleep in their room and their innocent faces, heaving up and down makes her smile.

She drops kisses on their faces, gentle ones so that she doesn't end up waking up. She whispers another calm goodnight to them before going back to the living room.

She finds it hard to sit down. She paces up and down the room and finally, her husband arrives the house just a few minutes past two.

She waits for him as he noisily enters into the living room and bangs the door shut. He might be walking in steady steps, but she knows that he is drunk.

She turns around and her heart skips a beat as her eyes rests on Ricardo. He is tall and very handsome, that's the reason she fell in love with him at that beach.

His black hair is the is short and keeps falling over his face, that's one thing that makes her fall over and over for him. It's all over now, is it?

"Elsa?" Her name rolls out his mouth is little or no effort. " What are you still doing awake?"

She doesn't know if he is asking because he cares about her or because he is startled to still her awake.

She looks at him, and all the while, the image keeps coming back to her face. Images of him in bed with another woman.

"Why?" She asks in a tears ladened voice.

He looks confused. He dips his hands into his pockets and sighs.

"What are you talking about, Elsa?"

"I am talking about this. " She tosses her phone into his hand and be grabs it very quickly just before it reaches the ground.

He looks at her and sighs before going through the pictures and her heart falls further when she sees that their is no expression of remorse on his face.

He scrolls through the pictures and looks up to her and shoves the phone deep into his pocket.

"Go to sleep, Elsa. " He tells her. " You don't know what you are talking about. "

With that, he starts to walk towards the kitchen. She is mad right now that he even said something like that to her.

She just showed him images that proved that he is cheating on her and he is going to act like it it something totally normal? He is infact acting like she is overreacting to the whole thing.

She storms after him and she catches up with him when he is by the refrigerator, taking a glass of water.

" You fucked someone else. " She accuses him. " Are you going to pretend like you haven't done anything wrong even when you have just cheated on me?"

"For Christ's sake, I have spent the entire day buried in paperwork and all I am asking for is done peace and quiet. I know you don't understand what it's like to spend the whole day buried in work, but let me this once, please. " He complains and pours himself another glass of water.

He just keeps making her even more mad every time. He drops the glass and makes to walk past her, but her anger gets the better side of her.

She grabs him by his suit and hits him across the chest. She hit him the hardest that she can, but he doesn't even flinch. She wants to cause him pain, but he is not even reacting to it.

He looks at her with a tired and bored look and shakes his head.

"Go to bed. " He yells at her. " You are a nuisance right now. "

Oh, and that bursts what is left of her self control. She slaps him across the face, even though he is much taller than her, she manges to hit him just rights across his face.

He looks at her with anger, she can see that angry side of him rising up, but she is not scared.

" Did you just hit me?" He asks her with anger.

She doesn't replay him with words. She raises her hand and hits him across the face again and she is planning to hit him yet again if not for the fact that he catches her hand mid air and slams her against the refrigerator door.

She is still raging, she raises her left hand and hits him yet again and that's the last of it that he can take. He turns around and grabs her throat and squeezes her as he grits his teeth.

She is standing on her toes and she is finding it hard to breathe. She is trying to breathe so hard as her weak hands try to beat their way out of his grip, but it's not working.

"Ricardo. " She says with her last breath and he lets go of her.

She lays on the ground, crying and trying to breathe as quickly as possible. She feels the faint taste of blood in her mouth.

Ricardo has turned into a monster. They have been married for seven years and only once had he laid his hand on her. This is the second time.

She stands up slowly to look at him. He is just there with his hands folded in fists by his side.

" I'm going to leave you. " She says. "I am going to take my children and leave you, you are not Ricardo anymore. "

"Leave. " He tells her without any regret. " Leave and go to anywhere in the world you want to, but know that you are not taking the kids with you. "

She bites her lips as the urge to cry keeps growing on her chest. She turns around and leaves before she is going to burst into tears.

Ricardo watches her. He has a mixed feeling in his heart. He has just told his wife to leave him if she wants to, he can't believe that she would. She is just twenty five and her whole life is tied to him, there is no way that she would that.

Something is telling him that he did wrong and that he should run after her and tell her that he is sorry, but his legs won't move. He is a man with an ego as big as life.

******

Elsa watches the kids sleep in their bed. The way that Alex holds his sister protectively, even as they sleep makes her heart warm.

She is going to miss them. This is the hardest decision of her life and even though it hasn't been easy for her, she knows that there is no other way.

She has to get away from their father now so that she can find a way to come back to them. She is going to come back and take them away and they will never have to leave each other again.

She gently drops kisses on their forehead.

"I love you both. " She whispers to herself.

She stands up and leaves. The tears are blinding her eyes, she doesn't have the heart to take a second look at her kids as she leaves. She might not be strong enough to go through with it if she turns back.

*****

*** THREE YEARS LATER***

Elsa keeps her head up as she catwalks to her packed vehicle in the parking lot.

Her security personnels are working to keep the many people who wants to touch her away and it's hard work.

"Elsa! Elsa!"

Her name keeps flying around in different directions as the paparazzi keep taking photos from her.

The hungry journalists keeps begging her to answer their many ridiculous questions, but she keeps her head up and continues to ignore them.

Her chief bodyguard opens the car for her and she enters and sighs at the sign of some peace and calmness.

"The airport, Timmy. " She instructs the driver. " I have a flight to catch in ten minutes time so floor it. "

" Yes, ma'am. " Timmy replies with a bow and he drives away as quickly as he can.

The car zooms past the crowd to gossip hungry journalists and she watches through the tinted glass as she leaves them behind.

Beside her is Orlando. Her thirty six year old lawyer who seems to be older than his age. He has aged too quickly because he has been working hard to bail his clients from laws and he is incredibly good at his job.

He doesn't say anything to Elsa because she doesn't say anything to him. His legs are crossed as he looks ahead from him.

The drive has gone for sometime before she turns to him. He looks at him, as if that the first time that she is noticing him, but that's not possible because they have been in the car together from the start of the drive.

"So, Orlando. " She smiles at him. " How do you feel about this trip?"

"It's going to be a good one. " He smiles back at her. " I am very sure that we will be able to win your kids. "

Elsa laughs. Of course, she is not going to leave unless her kids are coming with her.

" Did you do as I said though?" She asks him. " I told you to keep it from him till the last minute. "

"Yes. " Orlando answers. " I just sent him the email some eight minutes ago, just before you got into the car. "

Orlando looks at his wrist watch to confirm the accuracy of his claim. He nods, it's indeed accurate.

"Good. " A sinister smile creeps the corner of her face.

She feels very happy right now. She imagines the look of confusion on the face of her ex-husband when he gets the email from her lawyer. Ricardo didn't see this one coming.