Cassie's POV
I was running errands for my boss at the TV station when I got a text from Andrew saying he wanted me at home in 20 minutes.
I glanced at the watch on my wrist; it was only 8:48am. I had only been at work for barely an hour, and he wants me home already.
I knew how dangerous it was disobeying Andrew. He would beat me up and sometimes lock me up as he constantly reminded me of my barrenness.
However, it was too early to take an excuse from the office that morning, and even though I knew what the consequence of disagreeing with Andrew could be, I still could not report home.
I turned off my cell phone, slipped it into the cupboard on my desk, and continued working. In my mind, I was already imagining the fate that awaits me when I get home to him at the close of work.
The thought of everything he would do to me left me sober for about an hour until Kate, a colleague who was desperatelytrying to be close to me, came into my office with her broad smile on her face.
Her ginger-colored hair always gave her the unique look that was almost unexplainable but in a pleasant way.
She was married too, and we both seemed to be the only married female staff at the company; hence, her constant visits to talk about how happy and great her marriage was.
I had said it to her before, but I certainly could not relate, and manytimes while she talks, all I do is nod my head slowly in agreement and shake it whenever I don't agree.
Just like every other day, she walked in, looking all excited and ready to gist, but if only she knew that I was not ready for that at all. My heart was beating fast, every part of me thinking about what I would face when I got home to Andrew.
Would he hit me like every other time? Will he punish me or lock me up for hours?
"Hey Cassie," she said, grabbing the seat in front of my desk and pulling it close to the desk to clearly indicate that whatever she wanted to talk about was informal, and she might even need to whisper, perhaps about the gorgeousness of her husband.
"Kate, you look amazing," I complimented immediately, knowing almost what her response was going to be.
"Oh yeah, I know, girl. I even got a flower from my husband 30 minutes after I arrived at the office to appreciate my beautiful look." She made all the feminine excitement moves as she spoke.
"Lucky you, he really does value you very much," I replied, trying my best to not look displeased or unhappy.
Sometimes I wish she was not going to tell me about how perfect her marriage was and just let me live with the pain and sufferings I was experiencing in mine.
"I promise you he does. It was until this morning that I realized he had already reserved a location in Paris for our next trip. I'm really sorry, darling, but this might be my last day at work for the next three months. I'm travelling to Paris with my baby...!" She said, sounding so excited that I had to casually give her a wink to remind her that we were in an office.
"Enjoy your trip, Kate. You deserve it," I said as she walked out of my office.
The rest of the day rolled out unbelievably quickly, and in the next moment, I was already at the bus station waiting for the next bus to take me home.
The ride home was quick, and just as I stepped into the living room, I saw an uncovered bottle of alcohol lying on the center table with its contents almost finished. A wine glass lay beside it, and I instantly began to dart around, looking in every corner to know where Andrew was.
I was about to take a step when his deep, scary voice spoke from behind me.
"I sent you a text since morning; it's evening now. Why didn't you respond to it?" He thundered at me.
"I'm sorry, Andrew; I only saw it after work closed. I was so busy I didn't get the time to check my phone," I said as I turned around slowly. I was trying to be as calm as I could be in order not to spark a reaction from him that I was not going to like.
I was finally facing him. He held his Jean with one hand; his white armless shirt hung over his body as I could clearly smell alcohol exuding from his breath.
"You are not going to work tomorrow. The doctor called; there's something important she'll want us to know by tomorrow," he said to me.
It was strange how he responded to me in such a calm tone. If it were other days, he would not listen to my excuse and would pounce on me, saying that I wasn't being obedient.
"She—she didn't mention what it is?" I asked in a shaky voice.
"Cassandra!" He yelled, "You will cancel your work attendance tomorrow, and we'll go to the hospital. I'm already fed up with your lousiness." His voice echoed in the room as he took some steps towards me.
I instantly went paces, trying to avoid any violent act that might come along.
Surprisingly, he didn't move further; he just turned around and walked back into the bedroom. He had been staying there for months while I stayed in the guest room. He didn't care; it was almost as if he was a bother to me the whole time.
The next day, I prepared early to join him in the car as he drove down to the hospital where we were both registered as a couple.
Every step towards Doctor Emily's office felt heavy as I kept pondering what could be the important information she had for us.back some
