3 SCARS
Anna tapped on the blank screen of her phone twice and it lit up, Illuminating her languid face. She squinted her eyes as they adjusted to the light.
8:47 pm.
“Why’s he so late today?” She mumbled, dropping her phone on her lap and wrapping her arms around her body as the cold wind bit at her exposed limbs.
“I should get a jacket,” she vocalized, rubbing her shoulders but didn’t move an inch from where she was seated on the bench outside the house, on the balcony.
She had tried calling him but when he didn’t take her call the first time, she knew calling him again wouldn’t make a difference just like her marriage with Daniel.
Did something happen to him? He’s usually back by this time. Her mouth became dry at the thought that something had happened to him. “I hope he’s just being his usual self and he’s not hurt,” she muttered as she held her fingers that were trembling from the cold.
“Finally,” she stood from the bench when his car pulled up in front of the house. Wait a minute… She squinted her eyes at the car and the figure descending from the car and scowled when she saw it was Daniel.
She sat back on the bench with a defeated sigh, making a mental note to get the streetlights fixed.
“Why are you out in the cold without a jacket?” Daniel asked as he climbed the front porch. “Your dear husband can’t be bothered to ensure your welfare?” he taunted.
She ignored him and leaned her head against the wall. I wonder if he’s coming home tonight. Her mind hadn’t been at peace since Giovanni made it known he knew about her fake marriage to Davis.
She wanted to know if it was just him or if several others knew. Or did he deduct it. from the way we act? Did my actions or words give off the truth?
Shuddering at the thought, she wrapped her arms tighter around her body, hoping she was wrong. She had done everything necessary and unnecessary just to keep the image of Mrs. Solorante. “This is driving me crazy,” she breathed, shutting her tired eyes,
Warmth suddenly enveloped her and she looked up to see Daniel staring down at her as he placed a fur coat on her shoulders, and dropped a fur blanket on her lap.. “You should stop waiting for him and go inside,” he said with concern, taking a
seat next to her.
“Thanks for the coat, but I didn’t invite you,” she mentioned, wrapping the blanket around her legs, an unintentional moan escaping her lips.
“Even wrapped up like a Christmas present, you look as ravishing as ever. he commented, unashamedly ogling her. When she didn’t reply, he added, “Wast that mean your way of telling me-
“I wasn’t telling you anything,” she hissed, “and do I need to return the coat and blanket to make you leave? Because I’d rather die of cold than spend another minute with you.”
He raised his hand in surrender. “Fine, fine,” He didn’t attempt to leave. “I’m just saying it’s you and I alone, we could always…” he trailed off suggestively making her let out a frustrated groan.
“We were married for two years, Daniel,” she reminded him, her tone low and angry. “You couldn’t care less about me and my needs then, but now that I’ve moved on with a man who adores me, you’re hell–bent on destroying my marriage. There’s something wrong with you if you haven’t realized it
yet.”
He went silent and looked away from her. She snickered. That shut him up.
“You know, you say all this-” Just great, he’s still talking.“–but you’re the one who purchased this house just so you can be close to me. Makes me wonder if you’ve truly moved on, and I see the way you long for me, Anna-”
“For fuck’s sake, just get lost, Daniel!” she bellowed, glaring at him. “And I didn’t move into this house for you, okay? Davis gave it to me as a gift because I lived here all my life so don’t go getting ahead of yourself. Perhaps if you weren’t so focused on ruining other people’s lives and marriages, you’d notice your wife was lying about her pregnancy.”
She felt him stiffen next to her. She had succeeded in driving him up the wall. A sigh of contentment left her lips when he stood up and left. “I thought he’d never leave.”
She shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
^^^
Davis pulled up in front of Anna’s his mansion. He has gotten accustomed to calling it hers because he had gotten it for her, but as they were married, it belonged to them both although he couldn’t consider it his home when the Monroes were living in it.
He sauntered to the front porch, halting in his tracks when he spotted a figure on the bench from the corner of his eyes. On closer inspection, he realized it was
Anna.
She was waiting for me. It dawned on him as he watched her sleep, wondering why she’d wait out for him in the cold.
With an exasperated sigh, he trailed to her side and held the blanket, about to tank it off her body when he recalled he was supposed to be a doting husband. Did she have to wait for me?
A frown settled on his face as he carried her off the bench, plastering a doting smile on his face in case he ran into any of the Monroes when he got inside.
“You’re back,” she croaked, not opening her eyes. “Why didn’t you take my call? I thought something happened to you.”
His eyes softened. “You were worried about me,” he said, his words coming out as more of a statement than a question.
She nodded against his chest. “Yeah. What wife wouldn’t be worried about her husband?” she muttered as he carried her up the stairs.
His lips pressed tight. Of course, she was His lips pressed tight. Of course, she was playing her part as his partner. “I saw the call late and didn’t feel the need to call back,” he stated, closing the door of their room behind him. “You don’t have to wait for me when I’m running late.”
“But I-”
“It’s not a request,” he told her, his tone firm as he carefully dropped her on the bed.
“Thank you,” she sat up in the bed, taking off the fur coat and throwing it to the floor, along with the blanket she wrapped around her lower body. She turned to face Davis who was unbuttoning his shirt.
She got out of bed and began undressing. After undressing in front of him multiple times mainly because she mostly had a singlet and tight underneath her clothes, it was now something that came to her naturally.
Plus, he always acted as though she was invisible and never glanced at her, not like she minded.
“Your day must have been stressful seeing as you’re undressing,” she
commented, an undertone of concern in her voice.
When sleeping, she kept to her side of the bed but whenever she woke up, his side
of the bed was always smooth and neat, showing he hadn’t slept in it.
She had even woken up one midnight to find him awake, working.
As expected, he didn’t respond to her.
“By the way…” She trailed off, her eyes widening when he took off his shirt and she saw numerous scars on his back.
What in the world….
As though in a trance, she walked over to him and traced her fingers down one of the scars. He stiffened, turning on his heels as he grabbed her by the wrist. “What do you think you’re doing?” he snarled, his grip on her wrist tight.
“How did you get these scars?” She uttered.
