CHAPTER ONE.
SOLELI VS. THE WORLD
OR
COURTESY OF SOLELI

The birds have never been louder than before.

They eagerly chirped their songs while they build their nests with sticks they've collected from the ground and they happily chirped against their beaks. Soleli mourned for something like that where everything was calm and quiet. No doors slamming so early in the morning, no overlapping arguments on whose right or whose wrong, nothing. Just utter silence. The brunette woke up around 11 in the morning, her eyes fluttering open in a peacefulness that had been accustomed to her since. . .around 5 months ago? Soleli didn't know since it felt like an eternity since she peacefully woke up and started her mornings so early. The brunette slowly rose to her feet, feeling groggier than normal and she rubbed at her eyes as she began her normal routine. Was it really normal though if her husband wasn't by her side? That question almost always came back to her whenever she had tried to talk to herself that the separation was necessary.

   Like, yeah, Soleli loved Marc more than words could even describe, yet the admission of guilt had bugged her ever since she snapped at him five months ago.

   She stepped out of the shower, seeing the steam rise and cling onto the glass of the mirror as she whirled her head around at hearing her phone ring. "Fuck, fuck." cursed Soleli, rushing to close the glass door of the shower and she grabbed one of the hanging grey towels, hanging it around her lanky body as a puddle of shower water pooled at her feet. She dried off her hands and she pressed the green button that splayed on her phone, ignoring the fact that she hadn't changed her wallpaper from her wedding day. "Hey, Ladybird." greeted Soleli as she slipped her wedding ring onto her bare, ring finger. "Shit, hold on. Give me a few minutes."

   "You doing okay, Eli?"

   "Yeah, I just got out of the shower. I'm, uh, trying to get to my room."

The world didn't care if Marc and Soleli Spector (neé Bodhi) had separated nor divorced. The world didn't stop because two people split up and decided to go do their own thing. No. Instead, the world kept spinning and spinning and spinning in an infinite loop of the pitch black hole that's called the universe and it didn't stop for any major event unless the Earth randomly blew up. The grass kept growing, the birds still flew, the sun still shone, people kept breathing. That was a thought that often comforted Soleli whenever she began to think about if she had made the right choice. She really, really loved Marc too, but maybe she would've loved him more if he didn't hide so much shit from her. Whatever, this was her life now whether she liked it or not. Soleli easily slipped onto her undergarments before she dried off her body to wear a casual, sleeveless white dress and she tied up her sopping wet hair.

   Although Soleli was sorta. . .unfaded by the separation, she knew that Layla El-Faouly had thought she was an emotional wreck because of it and she sorta was. I mean, was she a wreck if she cried over him not being there besides her suggesting that they should separate? Or was she just pretending to miss him? She didn't know.

"Did you cry in the shower again?"

"Nah." answered Soleli, an undertone of lying had laced within her voice and she reached up to tie her hair up. There was an awkward silence that had fallen over the pair, causing Soleli to furrow her eyebrows in confusion and Layla quickly spoke,"Sure. I'm coming over there right now." The brunette watched in confusion as the familiar beeping of her phone filled her ears which indicated that Layla had hung up and she huffed quietly, mindlessly placing her phone in its charging port. Soleli felt her damp skin transform into goosebumps as she shivered from the still coolness in the air, her feet slowly padding until she reached the window in her apartment. The brunette looked down and saw a few people walking along the sidewalks.

   Her lips were gently pressed against each other, feeling the sunlight warm her face as she watched the people below and she slumped against her window, feeling herself reminiscing to a time when everything wasn't as complicated as it was before. She remembered when she first met Marc in the military and she remembered him going AWOL before she got dismissed from the military as well...okay, well, maybe everything wasn't so simple, but whatever. All of these memories were rushing to the front of her head as she leaned against the windowsill, her eyes were squeezed shut and she had felt like she was in some sort of commercial promoting baby wipes or something like that.

   Soleli sharply turned her head at hearing her apartment door buzz, signaling someone was specifically asking for her and she let out a soft groan, feeling her stiff limbs pop as she padded over to the door. The locks clicked loudly as she unlocked them and the brunette smiled at hearing the familiar British accent.

   "You do know that your mailbox is flowing with letters?"

   "No way, really?"

   Layla snorted softly, entering the rather small apartment and she handed Soleli the stack of letters that were tucked safely in her forearms. "You're strangely positive today. I'm surprised you haven't stayed in bed all day." said Layla, looking around the simplistic apartment and she shivered softly, rubbing at her arms despite the woolly cardigan she wore, her comment earning a snort from Soleli. "I, uh. . .I was wondering if you had any contact from Marc? Since it's been five months since you guys separated, I just thought you both would be in contact with each other."

   Soleli raised her eyebrows in surprise at Layla's question, causing her to grab her phone from the charging port and she quickly scrolled through her contacts after unlocking her phone. "Uhm, not recently. You know, he writes to me, but, uh, that's whenever he's available and yeah. . .not like I write him back which I do. It's just that he's been so busy, even when we were together." Soleli paused as she checked her phone before she turned it off and the brunette shrugged a little bit. "Why? What's going on?"

   Layla shrugged. "I was just asking. You seem quite positive than ever and you look like you sleep six hours a day too. You still wake up at 12?"

   Soleli cleared her throat, rolling her eyes at Layla's playful yet somewhat serious question and the brunette answered,"Sometimes. It's not my fault that I get, like, actual sleep." The brunette paused, walking over to her kitchenette and she pulled out a bag of preplanned snacks. Soleli watched as Layla took off her coat then hang it up before she turned on the television to a random program that was playing. "What about you? You still stealing Egyptian artifacts and selling them on the black market?" asked the brunette, sitting down on the worn out couch and she passed the bag to Layla.

   "But is it really stealing if it's already stolen?" When Soleli was silent, Layla quickly added on,"Ah, see? What'd I tell you? It's not considered stealing if it's already stolen. . .plus I only kept a few to pay the bills."

She didn't sleep much yesterday nor did she sleep this morning either.

   Instead, Soleli had stared up at her apartment ceiling and she sighed softly, her hair was damp due to the shower she had taken a few hours ago. She rubbed at her eyes, feeling the tiredness form around her under eyes and even though she was supposed to be asleep, her conversation with Layla earlier had bothered her a little bit than usual. The brunette felt like she wanted to scream or jump out of the window on the highest floor or anything so her guilty conscious would shut up. Dressed in her flannel (which Marc had bought but she stole from him) and sleeping shorts, Soleli sat up in her bed before she grabbed her phone, unplugging her charger.

Her eyes squeezed shut at her lockscreen had basically blinded her, but she rubbed at her eyes before she looked down at the lockscreen and a familiar warmth spread across her cheeks while she stared down at the screen. Her wedding day. Soleil swore that she looked so gorgeous that day and so did Marc, but as Soleli unlocked her phone, she opened up her messages and searched Marc's name. They didn't text much since he was. . .busy as always, but it didn't hurt to call, right?

   "Fuck are you thinking?" angrily murmured Soleli, brushing back her loose strands of raven-black hair and she cleared her throat before she pressed the green button next to his contact name. "So fucking stupid." whispered the brunette, her hands were slightly shaking out of nervousness than anything. Who would be nervous enough to call their own husband? Knowing Marc, he would probably not answer her calls or he would either dodge her until she would have to track him down with Layla in the city he resided in. Whatever, as long as he talked to her like a normal human being instead of acting as if she was a stranger. Then again, they did separate and yeah. . .yeah, no, never mind. Soleli did understand if he didn't want to talk to her.

"Yeah?"

"Marc!" exclaimed Soleli, sharply sitting up properly and her heart hammered in her chest, feeling like she had whiplash from sitting up too fast. "Oh, my God. You dick! I know we're separated and all, but that doesn't mean we can't call each other or-or talk! I mean, we've been married since 20━━"

   "Sorry, I just found this phone in my flat, and I'm just trying to figure out whose it is."

   Something was definitely wrong. Marc didn't seem like himself at all since his voice sounded like an airhead and his voice was. . .definitely weird. It sounded as if he tried to do a Harry Potter impression and he was committing to the bit. Soleli immediately stood up on her feet and a flush of anger ran through her slim face. "Marc, I do not have the energy to deal with this. I know you're probably mad at me for separating us, but you're acting so. . .so fucking weird! This is like when you randomly came home in the middle of the night." She paused, feeling a pain in her chest. "What is wrong with you? Are you on drugs or something? Are you..bipolar like me? Talk to me, Marc."

   Soleli felt desperate as she listened to his stammering on the other end of the line, causing her eyebrows to furrow in confusion and she sighed wearily, running her fingers through her hair. "Listen, I'm going to talk to Layla tomorrow and we'll talk to each other, face to face like adults. Okay? I'll try to call you tomorrow or something and when I do. . .please answer. I. . .I love you. Alright? I love you. Talk to you tomorrow." said Soleli, her fingertip mashed against the red button and she tossed her phone onto her disheveled bed. Her hands slightly shook due to how nervous she was and she looked back at her phone.

   Five months.

   They haven't been together in five months despite them being married for around. . .well, it feels like a century since they last celebrated their anniversary. Either way, she didn't understand why he acted so different, especially with the faux accent he put on. Soleli made a mental note to call Layla in the morning and track Marc's phone down so she could see him again. She definitely wasn't planning on giving up her marriage now.