"I always find beauty in things that are odd and imperfect, they are much more interesting." -Marc Jacobs.

Everything seemed blurry when May finally opened her doe eyes.

Her head felt too heavy for her neck to carry and the sharp pain throbbing from her jaw didn't help. She groaned, rubbing her eyes until she could see clearly, clumsily massaging her jaw.

She noticed her head was held up by the table. With force, she managed to stand up. Nausea rose in her throat when she found herself still in the living room where she had blacked out. She looked around and her eyes caught the ones of the one person she didn't want to see. Especially not so early in the morning.

It was bad luck. She was sure of it as she watched the mistress's lips slurping cooked noodles and
roasted fish. A bottle of Pure Heaven Wine sat near her plate to flush down the food.

May raised a brow at Bella, whose face contorted into a smug little smirk in return.

So Edric could afford to buy all this for his mistress but allow his wife and child to starve?

Wonders shall never end.

May decided to ignore Bella. She massaged her strained neck slowly, moving to the kitchen.

She splashed water on her face, hoping it would ease her pain and make her feel better, but it didn't. The grief in her heart was much worse than her throbbing muscles.

Normally, May would have gone to the backyard to brush her teeth as she watched the fowls fight over their food. She felt too weary for even that, so she resigned herself to the kitchen sink.

She wiped the particles of water surrounding her lip off with the back of her hand before turning
to look at the dirty plates left for her to wash. She was already getting used to the chores at home.

She sighed. When she opened the pot that was on top of the gas cooker, it was empty. Bella had used it to cook breakfast. She shook her head, wondering what her darling Maryam would eat when she woke up. It was Saturday and Maryam liked sleeping in when there wasn't school to
cut her slumber short.

For the next few minutes, May's hands were covered with soapy, lemon-fresh dish soap. She began to use the sponge to scrub the plates.

It took her about twelve minutes to finish washing the plates. She turned on the tap and started rinsing the plates one after the other. Then, she placed it carefully in the cupboard after drying it with a small towel. As she was wiping the second to the last plate, someone's hand-stretched
towards the sink and dropped another plate inside.

She turned to Bella, who was clad in a white chiffon shirt. A thick pink singlet still couldn't hide
her nipples and the cleavage area was too exposed, May thought.

Bella was one person that didn't fancy wearing a bra at home, unlike May who always had one on, even when she was asleep.

May wondered how many times her husband must have sucked from it over the times he had rejected hers. Even though hers were perky, they were nothing compared to Bella's large ones.

Her eyes ran down to the light blue jean shorts Bella was wearing and then back to Bella's face, who was now smirking at her.

She didn't let the smirk bother her.

"You better wash your plate 'cause I won't do it for you," she told Bella plainly.

Bella turned around. "We'll see." With that, she strutted back to the living room.

May didn't know how long she stood there, clenching her teeth for so long that her jaw began to hurt.

May entered her daughter's room and was surprised to see that Maryam was already awake. She was sitting on her bed, but the covers of her blanket were covering her small legs.

She looked up from the book and greeted with a smile. "Good morning, Mama."

May only nodded. "I didn't know you are awake. Why didn't you leave your room?"

Maryam shook her head with a frown, dropping the novel on her lap. "I don't want to see daddy."

May sat close to her on her bed and sighed. "May I ask why?"

Maryam narrowed her eyes. "He's been acting weird towards you lately. Like you are not his wife."

May smiled, her thumb brushing Maryam's cheek lightly. "Oh, you noticed. But it isn't something you should worry about, you know. Your dad just needs some time. He'll come
around."

It was something she was telling herself too. Something she wished would happen soon.

"Okay, mommy." Maryam picked up her book.

"What are you reading?" asked May, trying to start up a new conversation. She didn't see the book's title because half of the purple cover was peeled off.

"Purple Hibiscus," Maryam replied excitedly. "Written by Chimamanda Adichie, my favourite author," she added.

"Isn't that too much for you? Do you even understand a word?" May thoughtfully asked.

Maryam nodded sheepishly. "Any word I find difficult, I search my dictionary."

"Good girl." May gave her a pat on her shoulder before she stood up to leave. "I'll go prepare something for us to eat now."

Maryam gave a nod. When May got to the door, she said. "Maryam, do climb down from that bed soon, you need to brush your teeth."

"Okay Mom."

........

There was definitely nothing at home to prepare for breakfast, so May considered asking Edric for money- even if it was just yesterday they had fought, he was still her husband.

Bella was nowhere to be found around the parlor or kitchen, so May assumed that she had gone
out. That's a good thing, or so she thought.

She turned the doorknob of the room she once shared with her husband and pushed it open. Her heart sank. Right there in front of her was Bella and her husband making out. Bella's legs were wrapped around his waist, her hands were on his neck while his hands rested on her waist.

May froze, shocked. Though it wasn't new, seeing them doing it herself was heartbreaking.

Her heart bled.

"What do you want?" Bella asked when she tore her lips away from Edric's and shot May a look.

I want my husband back. May was tempted to retort but kept her mouth shut, just staring at the two.

She wondered how Edric could carry a weight like that without breaking a sweat.

"What do you want?" Bella reiterated impatiently, breaking through her thoughts.

When May couldn't find her voice, Edric gave her a look like asking: are you deaf?

She cleared her throat. "I need money to buy-"

"What about the money I gave you yesterday?" He cut her off.

"I... I," she trailed off. She was distracted by Bella, who was now teasing her husband by placing
kisses on his shoulder. May could see she was doing it on purpose to hurt her feelings, but still, she couldn't help but feel heated.

Edric trying to suppress his moan, asked, "You finished it?"

When she was too focused on what Bella was doing than to answer, he said to her. "There's no money. A good woman should be able to manage the money given to her. Back then, in the good old days, my mother would have been able to buy a lot of things with that money and even keep the change."

She gulped but remained quiet, her eyes were still glued to what Bella was doing. Her hands were now moving down to his trouser, May quickly snapped her eyes away, though it made no difference since Bella was still there.

"But-"

"No buts! You can leave now." He dismissed her.

She turned to leave then Bella yelled after her. "Close the door behind you and please, knock next time before you enter. You can't come in here anytime you like, it's no longer your room."

May closed her eyes as hot tears trickled down her face.

Rate this chapter using your battery percent.