Just as Always
1616 Words
(At Evening Time)
The house was quiet when Sylvester returned. Jennifer lay half-asleep on the bed. The sound of the front door unlocking startled her awake. Moments later, the door opened and Sylvester stepped in with his phone placed on his ear.
“Yeah, I’m home now,” he said amidst laughter. “No, don’t worry. She’s probably asleep. You know how boring she is.” He smelled faintly of cologne and cigarette smoke.
“Yes, tomorrow’s fine,” he said. “I’ll see you at the usual place.”
He ended the call and turned toward her. Their eyes met. For a heartbeat, the room was filled with silence, heavy with everything that had been left unsaid for too long.
“Where are you coming from?” she asked, and Sylvester frowned as if she had said something absurd. He dropped his phone and went on to change his clothes.
“Answer me, Sylvester. Where are you coming from?” she repeated.
He turned to her in anger. “You don't have any business with where I'm coming from."
"I’m your wife, Sylvester. It's my business to..."
He cut her off with a laugh that wasn’t amused. “My wife? Don’t make me laugh, Jennifer. You think being my wife gives you a right to question my whereabouts? You really don’t know your place, do you? Just because I let you live in this house doesn’t mean you get to interrogate me.”
Jennifer felt something twist in her chest. “Let me live here?” she echoed. “Sylvester, this is our home.”
"Our home?” he repeated mockingly. “Jennifer, you’re a charity case. You were a rejected girl nobody wanted. I married you out of pity. Don’t mistake that for love or marriage.”
The words hit her like a slap. For a second, she forgot how to breathe.
“You think too highly of yourself these days,” he continued. “All this pretending to be important, acting like you matter. You don’t. You never did.”
“Anyway, I called you today to tell you something good. Good news that would’ve made you proud of having me."
He snorted. “Oh, really? What kind of nonsense good news could you possibly have? ”
"When I called, Tricia picked up the call and said you were sleeping naked on his bed and that I should stop disturbing you. What were you doing in her bed naked?"
He turned his back to her, pulling off his shirt and tossing it onto the chair. “What I'm doing with her on her bed is none of your business. Whatever I do with her doesn’t concern you. You don’t ask, and you don’t talk. You just stay quiet and stay out of my way.”
Her fingers clenched around the bedsheet. “You’re my husband. It concerns me.”
“Stop being delusional,” he snapped, turning around to face her. “Don’t pretend like this is some fairy tale marriage. I come and go as I please, and you keep your mouth shut. That’s how it works; I owned you. You are under me. You have no say.” He finished, and the silence that followed was unbearable.
Jennifer wasn't surprised. That version of him that brought her to his house had vanished long ago, buried under arrogance and infidelity.
Her lips parted, but no words came out. She had wanted to tell him everything. To tell him that she is now the CEO of Skylife. But as she looked into his cold and unbothered eyes, she saw the truth. He wouldn’t care. Not even a little. He wouldn't even believe her.
Sylvester grabbed his phone again, scrolling lazily as if she weren’t even in the room. “Keep your ‘good news’ to yourself,” he muttered. “I’m not interested in whatever nonsense you want to tell me.”
Jennifer said nothing. He walked past her and entered the bathroom to take his shower.
She sat there, still and silent, staring at the empty doorway. There was no point. She decided to keep it to herself. Maybe it's better not to let him know, because some victories are best revealed when the world least expects it.
.
.
.
Three months had passed, and the world had started to whisper the name Skylife again. The company that was once gasping for survival had exploded into a global force, valued now at 40 billion dollars and still climbing. Financial papers were calling it “the miracle rebound of the decade.” Analysts speculated about a genius strategist operating behind the scenes, a mysterious CEO whose identity is yet to be confirmed.
She has instructed all the workers to keep her identity hidden. No one outside the company should know she is the CEO.
She wanted to remain invisible as the empire she had rebuilt rose higher every week. Her name would remain silent until she chose otherwise.
For a few weeks now, Sylvester's engineering firm had been sending proposals to Skylife for a contract. Each time, he came home with a sneer, throwing files on the table and muttering, “I wonder why they keep rejecting me.”
He had no idea that the woman he was living with was the very person reading his rejected proposals.
One faithful morning, while sitting in her office, Jennifer decided to surprise Sylvester with a two billion contract on his birthday. They had been applying to get a 500 million dollar contract, but she would give him two billion instead.
She made the arrangements with the manager and board members and compiled everything. When she was done, she called the secretary and gave it to her to deliver.
An hour later, Clara arrived at Sylvester’s company. The receptionist led her upstairs, where Sylvester’s secretary, Tricia, sat behind a mahogany desk, typing briskly.
“Good afternoon,” Clara greeted politely. “I’m from Skylife Technologies. I’m here to deliver a contract to your boss.”
Tricia’s hands froze mid-keystroke. Her eyes widened. “Skylife?”
“Yes. I need to see the CEO and deliver it to him." Clara said.
"The CEO is not around. I will deliver it to him." Tricia said.
"Alright." Clara handed the envelope over to her. "Be careful with it."
Tricia took it carefully amidst shock and confusion. They had been applying for a contract, but they always get rejected. Why do they suddenly come to their office with the contract? They even sent someone to deliver it.
She opened the envelope, and her eyes widened when she saw the numbers. It wasn't five hundred million dollars. It was a freaking two billion dollar contract. For a heartbeat, it seemed like a fake contract because of the enormous and unbelievable amount. But when she saw the stamp and the Skylife golden insignia, she believed it was real.
"Please inform Mr. Sylvester that the signing will be on the 10th of next month. All details are inside. He may contact our office for any questions and clarity.”
“I’ll do that,” Tricia said quickly, trying to keep her voice steady.
Once Clara left, Tricia sat still for a moment, staring at the contract and other papers. As she was gazing at the envelope, an idea struck her mind. She can actually take advantage of the contract since it wasn't expected.
She began to think... What if she tells Sylvester that she was the one behind it? That she has been doing underground work to bag the contract?
If she succeeded in making Sylvester believe she was the one that made it possible, he would be indebted to her forever. She smiled to herself and leaned back in her chair. This was an opportunity to capture Sylvester's heart.
She would tell him she had been lobbying Skylife for days, using her connections to get through to their procurement team and convincing them to give them a chance. And Sylvester, as always, would believe her.
By the time Sylvester returned that afternoon, she had memorized the lies she would feed him.
Sylvester walked in with his usual swagger. “Yeah, tell them I’ll call back,” he said, ending the call and approaching his office.
Clara stood up, smoothed her skirt, and picked up the envelope. Just as Sylvester settled down in his chair, Tricia walked in with a smile on her face.
“Good news." She said, approaching his desk.
"What is that?" Sylvester asked.
"Skylife just approved our proposal.” She announced.
Sylvester froze and blinked in disbelief. “What? You’re joking. They declined our proposal, and it's been over a week. It can't be possible.”
Tricia shook her head while holding the envelope up. “It’s all here. I just received it from their headquarters.”
He stood up and snatched it from her, scanning the documents quickly. The Skylife seal glimmered in the corner. Everything was authentic.
He nearly fell when he saw the numbers. It was unbelievable. "Are you sure this is for us? I can see two billion dollars. We proposed 500 million dollars."
Tricia stepped closer with a smile. “I know you will be surprised. The truth is that I’ve been working on this quietly for this after the last rejection. I took it upon myself, reaching out to people I know inside Skylife, pushing them to take another look at our proposal and telling them why they needed us to do the work. I was able to convince them and also triggered them to increase the amount. It wasn’t easy.” She let her voice trail off, shyly lowering her eyes.
- Writer
