Taking a deep breath, Alexandre ran a hand through his hair. He was sitting in his office, going through some documents. He was tired and he had a pounding headache. Leaning back on his chair, he closed his eyes and began to rub his temples. There was a knock on the door. Exasperated, he frowned at the door. "Come in" he said, tiredness lacing his voice.
The door opened and Vivienne, his secretary walked in. "Sir, there's a lady at the reception desk. She's starting to cause a nuisance. She said she wants to see you" She said.
Dre sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Bring her here" he said.
She gave him a sharp nod and left his office. Frustrated, he ran his palms down his face.
The door opened few minutes later and the first thing he heard was the sharp clicks made as a result of Nadine's high heeled boots hitting the floor.
"Did I interrupt something?" She asked, her tone cocky.
"What do you want this time?" He sighed, meeting her sharp gaze.
"Well, I'm hungry. I want pizza" she said.
He stared at her, throwing her an incredulous look.
What the hell?
Pizza?
'She came here to cause a nuisance because she wanted pizza?' He thought, infuriated.
"Get out of my office. Go and order pizza by yourself if you're hungry" he spat.
She smirked.
"Are you defying me?"
He stared at her, anger boiling in his veins.
"What sort of sick game is this?!"
"Oh, darling. It's just the beginning. Now, go ahead and order my pizza" she said, sitting down on the chair in front of him
He stared at her, his jaw clenched. He wanted to smack her until she fell unconcious. It took every piece of self control in him to restrain himself from hitting her. Inhaling slowly, he picked up the phone.
.....
Alexandre returned home with a sour expression. He looked tensed and he wouldn't even look at his wife. Ellise wondered if she'd done something wrong.
"Dre-"
He quietly walked past her and headed upstairs to their bedroom. He was busy struggling to take off his tie when she got to him.
"Dre, stop!" She said, holding his hand.
"Why are you so mad?" She asked after taking off his tie.
He remained silent, his jaw still clenched. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt buttons. "Why won't you even talk to me?Did I do something wrong?" She asked.
He sighed, his shoulders slumped. He dropped his head, his hair falling over his face. "No, you didn't do anything wrong" he mumbled.
"Then, talk to me. Please" she said softly, taking off his shirt. "I just had a bad day at the office" he sighed.
"Will you tell me about it?" She asked. "No, I don't want to talk about it" he mumbled.
"Okay, please stop being mad. I really don't like seeing you get so worked up" she said, pushing his hair away from his face. His gaze softened and he leaned down to kiss her.
"I'm sorry for acting like a jerk" he said.
She beamed.
"Apology accepted"
He grinned and sat down on his bed to remove his socks while she went to the kitchen to get dinner ready.
At the dinning table, Nadine joined them with her usual creepy smirk on her face. Ellise was certain that she despised her.
"Alex, I'm too tired. Please feed me" Nadine whined.
Dre froze, his fork close to his mouth. Ellise's grip on the fork tightened.
"You have hands, Nadine. Feed yourself" she replied, her voice laced with venom. "Alex, can't you hear me?! Feed me!" Nadine said, ignoring Ellise's statement.
Alex hesitated, his eyes flickering from his wife to Nadine.
"It's fine, Ellie" he said and began to feed her.
Ellise's jaw dropped and she stormed off, unable to bear it any longer.
'Why do I feel like I'm being left out? Why do I feel like there's something I don't know? Why did Alex agree to feed her in my presence?
Doesn't he know that it hurts? Maybe he has a reason for it, maybe....
Oh God, what do I do now?' Ellise thought.
....
THREE WEEKS LATER,
Alexandre felt so guilty. He wanted to let Ellise know that he wasn't hurting her because he wanted to. But, it would mean endangering her and everyone she loved. It had been three weeks since Nadine showed up. Three agonizing weeks of staying away from Ellise. Three bizarre weeks of heartbreaks. Ellise was so close, yet she was far away.
Dre watched Ellise from his position by the door of his bedroom. She laid down on the bed, covering herself with the duvets. He swallowed hard when he heard her whimper almost quietly. She began to sob quietly and he could feel his heart shattering. He couldn't bear the pain he was feeling.
He squeezed his eyes shut, his fists clenched.
"Why, Dre? Why are you hurting me so much? Why does it hurt so much?" She cried, clutching his pillow to herself as she sobbed.
Unable to watch her cry any longer, he turned away from the wall.
'I'm sorry, Ellie'
Without making a sound, he went into his dark study. He was miserable. He just wanted to be in bed, holding Ellise in his arms. It was so hard on him, but he wanted to endure; knowing that it was the only option for now.
He switched on the light and strode towards his desk. Letting out a sigh, he plopped down on the chair. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and placed his feet atop his desk.
Switching off the light, he tried to get some sleep.
...
Unfortunately for Dre, he ended up with no sleep. He felt tired, his eyes were sore and the constant headaches that had plagued him for the past few weeks had returned. His back was killing him and his neck felt stiff. He groaned, running a hand down his face. There was a knock on the door.
"Come in" he said, grimacing at how rough and patched his voice sounded.
The door opened and Ellise walked in. She had bags under her eyes. She looked just as miserable as he felt and it added to his pain. She was wearing a black dress that stopped just above her knees. Her strawberry blonde hair was braided nicely. She still looked as beautiful as ever. He was stunned when he realized that she was carrying a tray containing his breakfast. Considering how much he had hurt her, he was stunned.
"Morning" she said, giving him a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Morning" he replied, lowering his gaze.
"You aren't going to work today?" He asked.
She shook her head
"Night shift" she replied dryly.
"You brought me breakfast" he rasped.
"Yeah.... I figured you would be hungry" she replied.
"I-"
Sighing, he stood up and walked towards the window.
"Have you been taking your meds?" She asked.
"No.
But, I can't tell her that.
The truth is that I'm too miserable to remember them.
We're both hurting and I can't seem to get it out of my head" he thought.
"Dre, you're spacing out" she said. "I-I've been taking them" he lied.
She narrowed her eyes and unzipped her purse. His eyes widened when he saw that she'd actually brought his meds with her.
"Here" she said, placing it on his desk.
"I'll be seeing Jade.... I'll be back before noon" she said.
He stared at her, fighting the urge to hold her in his arms and never let go.
Her eyes met his and he could feel his resolve weakening.
Just as she started to leave, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to himself. She closed her eyes, her lips trembling as she rested her head against his chest.
He missed this so much.
It hurt.
He pressed a kiss to her head and she let out a sigh.
"You can't keep doing this, Dre....We can fix this but, you're pushing me away. We can talk about this..."
"I don't want to talk about this, El. It's for our own good" he mumbled against her head. She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes.
"I'm trying, but are you? I don't want this to tear us apart. If you're ready to talk... You know where to find me" she said and moved away from him.
"I'm sorry" he rapsed.
She halted, her fingers freezing around the door knob. "I'm so sorry.... for everything. I just want you to know one thing. I love you so much. I will never stop loving you even when things gets ugly between us. If I ever hurt you, you should know that I'm not doing it because I want to. Just don't let go" he said. Ellise sniffed weakly without turning to look at him. Before she left his study, she said four words that gave him strength.
"I love you too"
Really, their love for each other was stronger than their conflict.
.....
Ellise quickly wiped away her tears as she got to the car. She got in, slipped on her seatbelt and drove off. Dre had been treating her badly for weeks now. As weird as it sounded, the sight of him looking so miserable made her feel better. It made her feel better, knowing that he was suffering just as much as she was. She'd seen the pain and the longing in his eyes, all because of Nadine. His words echoed in her mind even as she drove into Dominic's driveway.
'Can things worsen more than it has, already?
Something just isn't right about all of this' Ellise thought. She was dying to know what was really going on between her husband and Nadine. Being clueless was driving her crazy.
Ellise got out of the car and walked towards the entrance. Just as she was about to press the door bell, the door opened.
"Morning, El" Dominic said, giving her a warm smile. He was dressed in a white shirt and black dress pants.
"Morning, Dom" she replied
"Jade is expecting you. But, I must warn you. She's in a bad mood. You know, hormones and mood swings and all" he said, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.
"What did you do this time?"
She scolded him playfully.
"She wants me to go shopping with her today, but I can't. I have to go to the office. She was throwing tantrums" he said.
She chuckled.
"That's normal for a pregnant woman" she said and he laughed.
"I don't know if I'll ever get used to that. She's barely five months pregnant, but her mood swings are terrible. What will happen as she progresses? Knowing Jade as an unrelenting woman, she's going to turn me into a punching bag" he said. "Dominic! Don't forget to get me chocolate flavoured ice cream!" Jade yelled from the sitting room.
"Mangoes and waffles too!" She yelled.
Dominic chuckled .
"Alright, sweetheart! I love you!" He replied, chuckling.
"Cravings, huhn?" Ellise said as she walked in.
"I'm leaving now. You guys should enjoy yourselves" Dom said and left, closing the door behind him.
"Ellise? Is that you, honey?" Jade said as she strode into the hallway. She embraced her, kissing her cheek.
"How are you? Look at you, you're glowing" Ellise said and she laughed.
"Oh, my goodness! Being pregnant sucks some times though. I'm dreading the next few months" she sighed as they settled down on a sofa.
"It's not that bad, is it?"
She laughed.
"Wait until Alex knocks you up. By the way, how are things going between the both of you?" She asked.
Ellise sighed.
"Nadine is putting so much strain on our marriage. I'm beginning to feel scared" Ellise admitted.
"That bitch! She needs some ass whooping, doesn't she? Why won't she just leave you two alone?!"
Jade was furious now, Ellise could tell.
"You shouldn't be silent about it. Who knows? She might seduce your husband behind your back! She might even convince him to divorce you"
Ellise narrowed her eyes.
"She can't do that. Dre wouldn't do that to me" she said. "He wouldn't. But, don't you think he would, if it was the only way to protect you?" Jade said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Ellise blinked in realization. She was right.
Dre could be doing all he'd been doing in order to protect her. Why wouldn't he tell her? Why hide it from her?