" Good morning, ma'am." Gemina said, heading to the kitchen as Tessa yawns again.

" Do you know where Ken went this early ? " Tessa said with a quizzed look.

" No, ma'am. Have got no idea but he said something about The Parker's coming over for dinner this evening." Gemina replied.

" Oh ..... That's true. I almost forgot. Thank you, Gem." Tessa said, smiling. Finally, for the first time in months, Ken was allowing his wife have contact with the outside world.

Has he changed or he's just taking a brief break to avoid suspicions from the neighbors? Well, either ways she was going to make much use of this opportunity. As they say, opportunity comes but once. Tessa said to herself before leaving for the shower.

" Am home, sweetie." That was the sound of alert - Ken had returned from wherever he had gone.

" Hey, babe. I'd come on join you soon." He said as he placed the gift bag tagged 'Trish luck' on the bed. Just before he could come in, Tessa comes out of the shower  , her body wrapped around a towel having her name on it.

Like always she was looking so beautiful. Her black jet hair, which had shrunk while getting wet, all resting on her perfectly complexioned body except parts of her back was quite darkened from the scares Ken had given her.

" Oh shit ! You are done already. I wanted to admire my wife in the shower." He said pulling off his shirt with a nasty grim creeping up his chin.

" I was done before you came in. Just had to wash my hair." Tessa said moving towards the closet. She knew Ken was always up for nasty play. He would always stroll his fingers down her neck or trolling his nose down from her thighs up to her body without her consent.She just couldn't afford that form of sexual harassment, she had to get dressed as soon as possible, she thought pushing open the closet door quickly.

Soon, Tessa emerged from the closet dressed in a Palin seamless short gown just reaching up to her knees.

She had to prepare for the dinner, as she hadn't made any plans all week.
The decorations, food, drinks .

Literally everything had to be prepared, after all this was her first chance in entertaining a neighbor. She would need all the help she could get as their first meeting wasn't such an happy occasion so at least the second deserves to be better.

**********

It was finally time ! The doorbell rang a couple of times before Ken and Tessa made their way downstairs. Tessa was wearing the dress, her husband had bought for her earlier that day. She looked pretty but quite tired.

" Welcome to our home, Mr and Mrs Parker." Ken said gesturing them to come into the house. They were not alone though, a beautiful young lady was with them as well. It was really really beautiful, the lights and decorations Tessa had put up made it seem like the whole neighborhood was invited for dinner.

"Did Tessa do this ?" Penny asked,    shaking Ken. He nodded proudly and just then, giving Tessa a kiss on the cheek. "It's beautiful, isn't it ?"

" This is Valerie, my neice from Los Angeles." Harris said introducing the lady to everyone.

"Nice to meet you." Ken said shaking hands while Tessa smiled brutely as she proceeded.

" Please, come over." Tessa said gesturing them  to a set of wooden chairs surrounding a beautifully sculpted dining table. This was the table that held most mails but today, it had been transformed quite beautifully.

" Dinner is ready!  And it's warm as well." Tessa said, as she placed a variety of dishes in the middle of the table before taking her sit. From the homemade lasagna to the pasta and bongalese sauce, a whole grilled chicken, appetizers like apple pie to drinks, it made it quite hard for anyone to choose.

" Tessa, this is wonderful. The crust is so crunchy as a butter cookie and quite brittle." Penny said silicing into another piece of apple pie, grains of cinnamon sugar bouncing off the surface as it shatters." I love it."

Everyone was getting along, even Valerie had lighten up though earlier, she seemed shy.

" So, Valerie, tell us about yourself and Los Angeles as well." Ken said, gesturing for her to start.

" Yes, Valerie. Go on while I go get  some more juice. Whose in the mood for a grilled burger ?" Tessa said as everyone chorused a ' yes'.

" I studied in Vegas but moved back to L.A after my studies. Am looking to get a job and wouldn't mind starting up little. My parents are getting a divorce so I decided to come live with aunt Penny and uncle Harris over here. Everyone has been so nice to me ever since I arrived here and am really grateful ...." She stopped Midway getting quite emotional.

" It's okay, dear. We all love you.". Penny said giving her a gentle pat on the back.

" Dear Valerie, from the very little I heard, I'd say cry a little more because this is gonna be the last time you feel sad since you have come into our lives." Tessa said, making her way to the table with a little more juice and a tray of burger.

" Whose in for more food ?" Ken said taking a piece and a glass of juice. As every other person gestured to get one.

They discussed a little more about the food, their jobs and the neighborhood before finally decided to take their leave. " Thanks so much, Ken and Tessa for your kind hospitality." Harris said.

" It's nothing but a pleasure." Ken replied shaking him while Tessa hugged Valerie and Penny good bye.

" As for your job, Valerie. We have quite a few vacancies in my company. First thing, Monday morning, you can come over and have a talk with the manager in the IT area." Ken said, smiling.

" Oh...thank you, very much sir. I'm really very grateful." She replies before hugging Tessa.

" Have a nice day! And thanks for coming over." Tessa said gesturing them a good bye.

Tessa was quite puzzled, Ken had been behaving strangely for the past few days. First, he hadn't hit her or anything. He was letting her socialize and now, he was helping others out. This must be a miracle or a plan, he has been cooking up. She thought before heading back to the table in a bid to clear up.

While cleaning up the dishes, Tessa felt someone was staring at her or maybe someone was watching her every move. Just to see Ken with his all bushy and quite an adorable smile on his face.

" Why you staring at me that way ?" Tessa asked raising a brow.

" You have really out done yourself. The food. You made the dress look even more beautiful than it was when I bought it." He complimented.

" Well, thank you. I'm glad you think so." Tessa replied with a brief blush.

" No seriously. Tessa. You make my life more beautiful than it was before." Ken mumbled, looking down.

It was quite romantic but let's be real, he has been up to something and I know all this is just a part of his cocky plans. Am not falling for it. Tessa thought to herself. " That's okay, kind of." She muffled to herself again hoping he didn't hear the last part.

" Well, do round up and go to bed early. I'd not be going to bed now cos' have got alot of presentations to prepare." Ken said with a goofy smile on.

Ok, this was getting awkward. She thought.

He never thought to give her any explanations, even though she deserved one, has is wife at least but today was different. He was complimenting her, buying her gifts and checking on her as well.

" This can't be true." She whispered softly, pinching herself, hoping to wake up to the reality that she was lonely and her husband was probably gonna come home drunk, and give her a really good bashing.

Well, none of that was happening. Then it dawned on her that the coming week was Valentine's. The entire city, the internet and neighbors always went wild on that day. It was Tessa's worst holiday ever.

The main theme was love. Something she had not managed to acquire all her life. Maybe that was it, Ken was putting on this whole drama because he knew getting her to the hospital will be bad timing if ever parents or their relatives ever planned on visiting.

It didn't matter ! This coming week, Valentine's day and every other one wasn't gonna be different. She concludes has she filled the glass jar up to the top.

As far as she was concerned, it wasn't late yet and she couldn't fall asleep so instead she headed up to the building's study room, which had a mini library. She was slowly drifting away from the outside world but she had to do something about it.

Maybe reading a book or starting a blog will do but first, she had to  figure things out - her schedule, timeline and so on. She didn't want to risk getting caught by her husband. That wouldn't turn out well or maybe it could.

"Certainly unreal." She said in  disgust.

What was going to happen was certainly going to. No one could change that, she needed to acknowledge it.

Or maybe she just hadn't given it much thought. At least not tonight, it had to wait.

Maybe after this whole charade was over, or just when her world had gone bleak again. She could deal with it but right now, the winds were cool, the stars were out and shining and she was going to enjoy this one. You never know what a new day brings, enjoy the moments while you can.

She pulled a book off the shelf, stuffed the pillows till they were soft enough to rest her aching skull.

It was a European book, legends full of stories about kings, Queens, a prince, princesses and a castle. Within seconds, she had left her couch to a fairytale land, astride beautiful trees, horses, where she could bring anything to live limitless, of her imagination.

In all the stories, the princesses we're very happy, cared for and all lived happily ever after, once a prince came into their lives to rescue them.

She got to the end, closed it, clasped it against her chest. " Wow," she sighed gently, " fairy tales don't ever come true, do they ? That's certainly why they are called tales and legends. Certainly !" She reassured herself once again.

              ~~~~*****~~~~

' If wishes were horses,
Beggars will ride........'
                             - Joanne Harris

'All our dream can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.'
                                 - Walt Disney

What do you think happens next ?

Is Ken up to something ? Or has he really changed ?

We all have our own paths to pursue, we just have to find the right ones.

P. S- Thanks to everyone who helped get this story to 90 views.

Please keep commenting, vote and keep reading.😍💖💖