Eunice

Looking outside of the restaurant, I waited for my friends to arrive. The streets were crowded with people, all busy in their own worlds. Life in this city of New York was too fast for me now. Once I enjoyed this hustle and bustle, but no longer because that part of me died in the past couple of months. I didn't know how to survive in this world now.

 I had no one left to rely on besides my long-time friend Nora. She had been trying her best to get me to return to life, but it had been hard for me ever since that fateful day when I lost it all. As hard I tried, I couldn't ever forget it. Joshua's hatred would never let me forget it. I had tried to make things right with him, but my efforts only resulted in him scarring my heart even more

My world was already destroyed, but he shredded it into even smaller pieces. My breath was knocked out of me while I stood there that day two months back.

It was two months after that incident that I took the courage to clear the air between me and Joshua. I wanted to try to get us back together, back to normal. I knew it would be hard, but someone had to try. With courage, I made my way to the office building Crystal Workhouse with the aim of having lunch with him in a restaurant and talking. Joshua was the CFO of the company. He and his friend Alex had started their own advertising firm,;with time, the firm flourished, and soon they found themselves in the company of the rich Being the CFO, he had a personal floor for himself which could only be entered with a special card, his secretary, I and other top executives had.

Swiping the card, I made my way to his floor. I was early for lunch, but I couldn't wait to see him. On my way up, I felt a lot better and refreshed as if all the clouds of sadness had drifted away and new sun shone brightly in my life. I wanted to start my life once again by letting go of the sorrow my heart held. I stared at my reflection in the mirror in front of me. I had put an effort into looking good today. My brown orbs didn't look lifeless.My chestnut coloured hair and pastel white skin made my beautiful pink lips stand out. My pale features were in complete contrast to Joshua's raven black hair and olive skin. My cheeks were rouged and I was dressed in my best. I wasn't beautiful in the classical way, no flowing golden curls or ivory skin, no piercing eyes of green like Joshua's. I was shorter than average and certainly larger than a catwalk model. In one word, I was just ordinary, but Joshua at times had told me that in my ordinariness, I was stunning. As soon as the elevator opened, I made my way to his office, walking through the narrow hall. His secretary, Serena, wasn't at her desk

"She might have gone for her lunch early," I said to myself in a low voice and looked towards Joshua's office.

His office was made of glass doors and walls, giving me clear view of his desk. He was not at his desk, and I could feel my happy mood turning sad, but I consoled myself by thinking that he might be in a meeting. Not knowing what to do or how long it would take for him to come back, I decided to leave a note for him on his desk.

Taking a pen and a sticky note from Serena's table I wrote:

Please call me when you are free. We really have to talk and I need you.

Yours, Eunice

I took the note and walked towards his office door. Just about to open the door when I saw a movement through the corner of my eyes at the far side of the office. I turned completely around to see what it was while standing on the other side of the door. In that moment, my world was torn into pieces. In a mere moment, my life was once again filled with dark clouds and raging thunderstorms that created havoc inside me. There was a storm of emotions inside of me.

The feeling of betrayal hit me so hard that I couldn't remember how to even breathe. I felt like I was stuck in a depth of darkness where there were only hurt and pain. The note in my hand was crushed into a small ball, my heart constricting in pain from the very sight of my husband making love to another woman. My heart was bleeding inside, a trail of tears falling from my wide eyes. I was scarred by the very sight in front of me. This pain I felt was beyond my limits. It felt as if this burning sensation in my chest was killing me, crushing me, and stealing away the life inside of me. How? Why? What had I done to deserve this? How could he betray me like this? Why would he do something so cruel? The lump in my throat was growing. It felt like I was choking. In that moment, I prayed for my death.

I stood there watching the heart-breaking scene in front of me. I didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like I couldn't move, like I had lost myself, like my mind had gone numb. My heart constricted at the sight of the woman who laid beneath him. I gave that woman a comfortable life to live in, got her a job, and consoled her when her world fell apart. I thought she was my friend. We weren't close, but she was my godfather's daughter; I had grown up with her. I had trusted Anne. Two years younger than me, with her brown hair and slim figure, Anne had just became the medium of my destruction. I got her a job in this firm as a public relations assistant by begging Joshua for it, and this was how she had repaid me, with a bitter betrayal. I was torn, lost, and crushed under the weight of my husband's infidelity and my friend's betrayal. They both were engrossed in each other like this world didn't matter to them. I was completely broken to the depth of my roots.

Gathering up my courage, I made my way out of there. I couldn't bear the sight of them. I wanted to escape this raw pain and betrayal which had broken my world into pieces. I ran towards the elevator to get rid of this hot raging pain. I kept on pushing the elevator button as a river of tears escaped my eyes.

"Come on," I said in frustration. I wanted out of here. It felt as if the walls were closing in, threatening to crush me.

The lift opened, but it wasn't empty. Serena stood there with dry cleaning bags in her hands. Seeing me, her eyes widened, and it was evident that she knew everything. She quickly held my wrist and captured me in a comforting hug. As the doors closed, I let it all out. With great force, the tears escaped my eyes, and sobs came out. I withered from the excruciating pain inside of me.

"I am sorry Ma'am, I am sorry I didn't tell you," she whispered slowly in my ears with hesitation in her voice."Please calm down, Eunice, please," she said sorrowfully."Please, Eunice. Just wait till we are out of here," she said with desperation while giving me a tissue from her bag.

Taking the tissue, I wiped away my tears and composed myself. I didn't want the others to know about it.

"Can we walk to the park?" she asked me.

I nodded, trying to stay calm and stop the tears welled up in my eyes from flowing out. As soon as the door opened, Selena helped me out of the building while trying to act like everything was fine and we did not garner much attention. Soon we were outside and making our way to the nearby park.

Settling down on a bench,we sat in silence. The sight of my husband and Anne kept on playing through my mind again and again. Once again, I let the tears out. These tears were the proof of Joshua's betrayal of my love. I wanted to destroy the very first thing in my sight, to crush into tiny pieces like my heart had been. He had torn me apart me in the worst way possible, broken my trust in a mere moment. He had proved to me that this love of ours wasn't strong enough. He had played me, but for how long? How long had this act of infidelity and betrayal been going on? Had it been long before that momentous day or after? Was it always like this? Were my eyes fooled by the sparkle of love in his eyes? Finding my voice, I gathered the courage to ask Selena.

"How long has this been going on for?" I asked without looking at her but at the greenery of the tree above me. I stared at the leaves like they were my world, my everything. I heard her exhale a deep sigh.

"The past few months, Eunice. It has been many women, not only Anne. My eyes and mind have been scarred by these images. I have been turned into one of those secretaries who has to clean up her boss's dirty work. The clothes I bought were for him and her. He has been spending money on them. Anne has become his usual, though there are many others too. Ever since he has come back to work, he has been distant, and a month later, he started all this. I have booked him hotels in the city to take...women there. I can't tell you how ashamed I feel, Eunice. I feel guilty for doing his dirty work. I didn't know how to even tell you all this. I didn't have the heart to tell you about your unfaithful husband, Eunice."

I knew she was crying, but I couldn't comfort her because I was already broken, and a broken person is no better than a dead person. I looked at her and saw guilt on her face.

"I confronted him one day about all this. Asked him how he could do this to you when you needed him. He had clearly kept me out of what has been going on with you two. He ordered me to mind my own business or he would replace me. I...Eunice, you know I need this job; this is the only way for me and my child to survive, so I shut myself up. I am so sorry, Eunice, I am so sorry for not letting you know," she said while crying.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Selena. It wasn't like you were sleeping with him, you just hid something that you were forced to hide. There is nothing for you to be sorry about," I said while looking back up at the trees with silent tears running down my cheeks.

My life was broken and had taken an upside down turn since that one incident.

"I know, Eunice, but I should have told you; maybe you would have been able to do something rather than having your heart broken and suffering this raw pain. You know I was always in debt to you for treating me so well, for making sure that I was comfortable with this job even though I wasn't your responsibility. You did so much for me by giving me flexible hours and taking my place when I needed you, and this is how I repaid you, Eunice, by letting you see what was happening with your own eyes. I am sorry for all of it. I cannot ever think about being with him like a lover, ever, Eunice. Never ever. I try my best to keep him busy in meetings and work so he won't act like this, but one way or another, he finds a way . I can't find a way to stop him from destroying your marriage and love, Eunice. I am sorry for not letting you know," she said while a trail of tears still left her eyes.

I knew it wasn't her fault; she didn't deserve any blame. The blame was his, but why was he doing this? Turning into a man whom I never knew? We both sat there in complete silence with the city noises surrounding us.

"What do I do now, Selena?" I asked her because I couldn't find the ray of hope in the thunderstorm and dark clouds surrounding me.

All I saw was pain, suffering, and sorrow in this future of mine.

"I don't know, Eunice. He has changed; I don't think confronting him would affect him. He has this cold and distant look in his eyes like he is lost, Eunice. Maybe you should try to bring the warmth in his eyes through your love or wait for him to find his way back to you. If you want, you can confront him, shout at him, throw things, but I don't know whether that would help or not because that man you have loved so long is lost somewhere. What you both went through was traumatic. Something I wouldn't wish for anyone. You both had lost something and he is taking the hardest of it all. He didn't took your not willing to go to the funeral  in the wrong way maybe. He didn't saw you hurting because his vision is clouded by hos own pain. I don't know what to say. It is all up to you, Eunice. You can leave him if you want or wait for him" she said with sorrow in her voice.

She was right; he was gone and lost. I had seen the coldness in his eyes telling me he was lost, but I ignored it, thinking it was normal. I wanted to try to talk to him, but every time he would look at me, there were fury and coldness in his eyes. I knew there was only one option left for me: to wait. To wait for him to find his way back to me, to our love and clear out the darkness in our life. It felt like he couldn't even bore my presence.

(end)

That was two months ago, but still he hadn't returned to me; his burning hatred had only grown. The flames of hope within me were now being extinguished.The fire that had provided me the strength I needed to keep going was now dying.

I was drawn out of my thoughts when I heard someone calling my name. Looking up, I saw my friends waving at me. I hid my worries and pain behind a masquerade because reliving that memory of hatred, and love had only amplified my pain. Three of my friends came in and hugged me.

"How have you been, Eunice?" Shelly asked with sympathetic eyes.

It was evident she knew about everything though there was no way it could have been hidden from her. She was Alex's wife, Joshua's best friend and I knew that he would have told her. Alex had called me many times to check on me. There were times when he couldn't keep an eye on me, or I would not answer him. Maybe that was why he told Shelly about the misery in my life.. It was reasonable; they loved each other and shared their problems. Alex was scared that I might do something suicidal, but I had always told him I wouldn't. I hadn't grown that weak yet; a little flame of hope was left in me.

"I have been good. How have you all been?" I answered, plastering a smile on my face.

It was better to keep my worries and pain to myself rather than make others worry for me. I didn't want to be a hindrance to anyone's happiness.

"It has been awesome!" Clarisse yelled with enthusiasm.

She had always been the most energetic member of our little group of friends. She was a paid model for a fashion agency.

"Yeah, only for you. Nothing like that for me at all," said Nora with an exhausted look.

I raised an eyebrow at her, asking her to explain. She was my best friend, the one who had been there for me since way too long, even back before Joshua came into my life. She had been trying her best to bring me back, but it had not worked and it saddened her at times. So I decided to wear a mask of happiness in front of her and others but on the inside I was dying and numb.

"I have been dead tired with so much work piling up. Means I have too many meetings in a week and then too many outside the country. I am unable to get my beauty sleep." Saying that, she rested her head on my shoulder.

I patted her shoulder."My poor baby," I crooned while chuckling only to have her lean into me more.

I saw Shelly smiling at me with happiness.

"Oh, shut up. It was your decision to be a lawyer. It comes with too many files and problems. You should have decided to be a model like me with luxurious pay and amenities." Clarisse told proudly.

Nora rolled her eyes at this statement."I am content with what I do and I love helping out others rather than dolling myself all up." Nora retorted back while batting her lashes.

They always found a way to quarrel.

"Stop it, both of you," Shelly chided, narrowing her eyes at both of them and making them quiet and slouch back in their seats.

At this, I chuckled and let out a burst of laughter. Soon the others at the table joined me. It felt good to be laughing not because I was forced too but because I felt like it.

"You need to laugh more, Eunice. It looks good on you." Nora said smiling at me.

I smiled back at her and my other friends.However, good things in my life didn't stay too long. Good things were too good to be true to stay with me. As expected, the smile was wiped away from my face as I saw the love of my life enter restaurant with Anne. My face turned to an expression of pain at seeing them. All of my friends turned to see where I was focusing and saw him. As if he could feel our stares, he turned to look in our direction only to have his eyes connect with mine.

All I could see was the burning fire of hatred towards me as well as a hint of iciness, as if he were taunting me for losing him.

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Hello, lovely readers so here is the first chapter.

Let me know your views on how you really felt so I could continue this story.

What do you think about Eunice?

What had passed for Joshua to turn like this?

Is there still a hope left or not?

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