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One Week Later

Jenna sat with her long and slightly thick legs crossed on one of the leather couches in the dim living room, with a glass of whiskey in her manicured grip. Her dark gaze was fixed on the tall bottle of alcohol sitting on the coffee table in front of her, before she shifted her brown eyes to her wrist watch.

"Late again," she muttered.

Much to Jenna's disappointment, over the past one week, Jonathan had been keeping late nights, and had barely communicated with her. She had also been receiving more pictures of her husband and Vera in more than a few compromising positions. And every night he came back late, she knew he was coming from Vera's place or wherever they hung out. It pinched her mind each time she thought of everything.

"It's late and he isn't still back, huh?" She asked while staring at her wrist watch, which read 1:10am. She dropped her hand and took a long swig of her drink. The sting from the drink made her hiss after taking a shot, before she blinked when her eyes brimmed with tears. "Calm down, Jenna. You've gotten used to this already. No need for tears."

The silent woman uncrossed her legs and stood up, but staggered in the process. She paused midway and stood properly on her feet then strolled in an irregular pattern towards the kitchen, all the while clutching the front of her night gown, and nibbling on her bottom lip.

Jenna began to place an empty pot on the stove, poured in some water and began to put in random ingredients in her drunken state. She paused after a moment and began to cry hard then resumed her work on the pot, a few seconds after getting herself. She turned on the stove, and took another swig from her glass cup that was still resting in her grip.

"Maybe if I be the loving wife he married, he'll come home early," she croaked. "But, why has he been coming late from work these days? What did I do to deserve this? Is he cheating on me?"

Jenna whimpered and slid to the floor with her empty glass. She hugged her knees and cried harder, muttering incoherent words under her breath, trying to hold herself against falling deeper into her paranoid state.

Jenna stopped short when she heard the sound of a car pulling into their driveway, then the sound of a door closing shut. She quickly rose up, rushed to the sink and washed her face with water.

As soon as the door opened, she rushed to it with a plastic smile on her face. Her brown eyes clashed with Jonathan's tired ones but her smile dropped when she got a whiff of alcohol, and something that did not smell like his perfume.

"Jonathan?" She called in a cautious tone, her eyes already narrowing in suspicion.

Jonathan stared at her sideways, dropped his work bag and brushed past her but before he could walk further, she grabbed his arm and stood in front of him. While she stared through hooded eyes, Jonathan's eyes lingered on her wet face. Taking in the wet curls that were stuck to her face, the pout of her lips. As he admired her face, he felt the stirring of his pants, and a sense of heat overtook his being as he stared more at his wife, his eyes moving from her worried eyes to her parted lips.

Suddenly driven by a wave of lust that heated his body, he wrapped his arms around her waist and captured her lips with his in a passionate kiss, which had him moaning when he felt his wife return the kiss. He pulled her closer, feeling the curve of her body and her soft flesh through his clothes. His hand moved into her hair and tilted her head to kiss her better. Their tongues battled inside of their mouths while their heart beats increased rapidly at the pleasure that went through their body.

"J-Jon," Jenna struggled between his feverish kisses, immediately after getting a stronger scent of the feminine perfume on his shirt when she had pushed her body into his. "Let me go!"

Jenna pushed him away and slapped him across his face, causing the man to freeze in shock with his hand on his stinging cheek.

"What was that for?" He asked in a low and deep voice.

Jenna swallowed. "You shouldn't kiss me when you know you've had another woman all over your body."

Jonathan blinked. "What?! What are you saying? Wait, are you trying to call me a cheater? How many times have I told you that I am not cheating on you! Do you even have any evidence of me doing so?"

Jenna huffed. "Yes, I have evidence that you are one. Last week, you came home with a lipstick stain on your shirt and apparently, you were with that so-called bestie on that day! And today you-"

"Shut the hell up! Just keep your mouth shut, Jenna!" Jonathan barked, marched up to her, and gripped her upper arms angrily. His face was contorted into a snarl, as well as his angrily beating heart.

"The truth hurts, right? I can't believe this. We've been married for three years and all these while you've been going to that woman's bed to satisfy yourself and-" Jenna hissed when she fell to the floor after Jonathan pushed her away from his fuming being.

"I am sick and tired of you spewing rubbish. Good night," Jonathan retorted with a grimace before walking out of the house.

Jenna heard him drive out of their driveway and stood up. She stood at a spot as her heart began to beat frantically by the second. She raised her hands to her hair and gripped it hard before throwing the closest object she held, to the ground then grabbed her car key.

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Jenna drove cautiously behind her husband who was a bit further into a serene neighborhood that she awfully remembered and recognized to be the area where Vera lived. With her speed limit low, she watched as he packed his car in an apartment's driveway before she packed her car away from where his car was.

The tear-stricken woman, with bloodshot eyes, stared at her husband as he got out of his car, jogged to the front door of the duplex and knocked. After a while, the door was opened by none other than Vera who gazed up at him in worry. Jenna felt her heart constrict harder in pain, when they hugged each other before walking inside.

"No!" Jenna yelled while banging the steering wheel with her fist. "This cannot be happening to me! Not me, God. Please, not me. It can't be me again."

Jenna began to cry softly and rested her head on the steering wheel, her shoulders jerking as she cried harder. After a few seconds, she sniffed and slowly raised her head then kept her irritated eyes on the front door. She looked away, took her phone and dialed Gloria's number.

After the second ring, she picked up.

"Gloria?" She called in a wounded tone.

"Jenna? Are you feeling okay?"

Jenna sniffed. "Can we meet up, please? I just need someone to talk to right now."

"Uh, okay. It's kinda late but meet me at the park. My parents are at home and you know how they don't like visitors. Even though this is my house."

Jenna ended the phone call and gazed one last time at the house adjacent from where she had parked her car. She fired the engine of her car and drove away.

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"I thought that falling in love with the right person and spending the rest of your life with them would bring you joy and that strong bond but, it isn't true," Jenna stated in a dry tone. "Did they lie to us? Are other marriages like this?"

Gloria furrowed her eyebrows in sadness as her friend spoke in a broken voice. Her shaking fingers were laced on her lap and her head casted down. Gloria sighed and looked around the park.

They were the only ones sitting in the brightened park. The light poles illuminated the whole place, giving them a sense of security, including the crickets in the bushes and grasses.

"I really don't know how to console you at this moment. With what you've said, I can't tell who to believe or what to believe. And are you sure Jonathan is actually cheating on you? Is there proof?"

Jenna nodded, pulled out a picture of Jonathan and Vera from her pocket then handed it to Gloria who inspected it and shook her head in disbelief.

"The situation in this picture is just normal, Jenna. They were obviously just hanging out together and why would a man, a businessman, one of the business tycoons be seen in public with another woman that isn't his wife in an inappropriate way?" Gloria asked, her voice held annoyance and tiredness.

"Pfft, that isn't an excuse for cheating, Gloria. Even popular people cheat on their partners everyday, so what makes him different and so special?"

"The fact that you trust him and that he loves you, is the difference," Gloria reasoned which made Jenna fall silent with a thoughtful look on her face.

Jenna looked down at her pale hands, her lips began to quiver then she blinked her eyes rapidly to drive away the hot tears about to spill.

"I am scared, Gloria. I am really scared of losing my husband and I don't know what I'll do if I lost him. I wish I was just a perfect wife. Maybe all of these won't be a problem for me. I want what he has with Vera, but we can't have it."

Gloria​ sighed and tapped her friend's back in comfort then wrapped her arms around her in a warm hug, which Jenna returned.

"Trust me when I say that what you and Jonathan have is magical. You both love each other despite what happens. Jonathan would've easily given up on you after the abortion and infertility case, but he didn't," the short haired woman said and pulled away. "Why don't you put all of these aside and show Jonathan that you are still that woman he married. Stop looking into things that aren't obviously there and focus on making your family happy."

Jenna wiped her wet cheeks and smiled at her friend. She nodded her head then pulled out her phone from her pocket then dialed Jonathan's number.

"Since Valentine's day is in the corner, why don't I ask him if we can go on a trip?" Jenna suggested but Gloria shook her head.

"No, don't let him know about that. Why don't you surprise him on Valentine's day? Surely, he'll love it," she said and the other woman beamed in happiness.

"Aw, thank you so much for that idea. I really appreciate it," Jenna said with a huge smile on her face.

"Anything for a pal," Gloria giggled.

"But what can I surprise him with?" Jenna thought out while rubbing her bottom lip absentmindedly.

"Something beautiful, something sexy, something irresistible and finally, something you two haven't done before. How's that?" Gloria asked and Jenna chuckled with a wave of her hand.

"It's confusing, Gloria. How'd you expect me to think of something with all of those qualities you mentioned?" Jenna asked back and nudged Gloria in the ribs with her elbow.

"Huh, really? Okay, I'll give you an idea," she whispered.

"Promise me that that idea of yours will actually get us back to normal?" Hope lingered in her widened eyes as she scooted closer to Gloria.

"I can't really guarantee anything but it's worth the try." Gloria shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay. Let's hear it."

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