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Till Death Do Us Part
She’s been awake for half an hour now. Kind of afraid to turn around, but she decides it’s time to do it. Perhaps today is the day. She turns around and sees the empty king-sized bed. She breathes out a sigh of disappointment.
It’s been 3 days since they last talked. She tries to remember what was the last thing they said to each other. She can’t, but she imagines that it was probably something stupid like: “can I have the salt?” or “I’m going to be home late”.
When did this started? Was this all doomed from the start? She can still remember the first couple years of marriage: everything was having fun, laughing, fancy dinners and sex. Their love story started on Meredith’s wedding: she was a bridesmaid and he was there as a plus-one. She would never admit this to anyone but since the moment she laid eyes on him she knew she wanted him for herself. It was easy to have his attention, and even when he was there with his girlfriend, he made a move pretty quickly. Months later, neither of them would remember who kissed the other one first or who had the idea of ditching the party and going straight to a hotel.
It wasn’t her finest moment, but she doesn’t have any regrets. Anyway… Rebecca was a boring-middle class girl with nothing exciting to offer.
You all know what they say: all is fair in love and war, and she took what she could.
Was this some sort of karma? Did she bring this up to herself?
She leaves the bed and goes straight to the bathroom.
She stands in front of the mirror and looks at herself. Let’s be real: even she was almost 35, she looked great. Fine features, amazing body… how did she got into this? She has done everything to reconnect with him: she works out every day, always said yes even to the most ridiculous request, accept to have his drunk wife-beating friends in when they were kicked out of their homes for the millionth time, and even stopped talking to her annoying parents to avoid any type of visit from them because she knows he loathes them.
She knows that anyone who hears this would say: “Leave him, honey. He doesn’t deserve you.”, but his indifference has come with many perks: she can spend his apparently never-ending money on whatever she wants to, she has the chance to invite her friends on extraordinary trips and, of course, because she is an A+ kind of person, donate an astonishing amount of money to charity.
Can she really complain? A lot of people would kill for this type of life, right? Then why was she so unhappy?
She knows what romance novels would say: she needs love. Something money and luxuries can’t provide. And she tried to be loved. God knows how many times she tried to get pregnant. It was a win-win. She would have received the so-called “best gift a woman can get” and she would have regained his attention. Who doesn’t love babies?
Apparently, her body.
She exits the bathroom with a little tear on her cheek. Goes straight to her dresser and watch all her clothes. She just made up her mind: she was going to prepare an excellent meal that night and that would be the Step One to repair her marriage. They say that the best way to get a man is through the stomach, and she was going to prove it.
Wait. What was that sound? She could hear a little vibration somewhere. After a quick look, she located it coming from one of his drawers. She opened it, slowly. A cellphone was there… why did he had a burner phone? And why he hid it?
After a little hesitation, she answers.
“Hey. We need to talk.” A woman said.
She froze. “Who is this?”
The call ended. Who was that girl? Was he cheating on her? Was she really surprised?
She smiled.
Everything was perfect. She sorted it out amazingly.
Seven p.m. sharp and his car was parking outside the house. She smiled, expectantly. Delicious dinner, amazing dress, top-notch wine and a bunch of low-lighted candles… it was the recipe for success.
“It’s true what they say” she thought, “The best way to get a man is through the stomach” Before he opened the door, she hid the little jar of arsenic on a drawer.
“Hey, honey” she said smiling.
