CHAPTER TWO
1078 Words
Andrea walked through the revolving doors trying to maintain the smile she had rehearsed. The workers greeted her at every turn such that she felt so embarrassed. She even heard some compliment her hair, shoes and dress. She couldn't stop smiling when a young lady walked up to her.
“I really like your hair and skin, Mrs Strafford. What's your routine?"
Andrea laughed it off. She really didn't have a routine that she did consciously to groom her hair or pamper her skin but they didn't come effortlessly either.
“Oh, why? Thank you very much. It's rather sad that I don't have one." She remarked with a light laugh.
Andrea began to feel anxious as the people around her at the moment seemed to worship the very air she breathed. Another employee called out.
“Mrs Strafford, what brings you here? You rarely come by."
“Oh…I just have a little surprise for my husband. It's nothing much really."
They all laughed. Andrea got into the lift and imputed the number of the floor she was stopping at. She used the time alone in the lift to cool off and prepare to see David. What a pleasant surprise!
“Honey, surprise!" She barged into the room without thinking or opening her eyes. Even if he was in the middle of a meeting, he'd have to stop now to attend to her. The pressure of the people would make him do so without thinking twice. He wouldn't want to look like the unromantic guy before his workers.
The sound of a woman clearing her throat drew Andrea out of her reverie.
“Excuse me? Are you in the right office?"
That's when it dawned on Andrea that in her anxiety, she might have entered the wrong office. So much embarrassment for love.
“I'm sorry…”, she let the apology linger as her eyes roamed the whole office for any markers to show that it belonged to her husband. Then her eyes finally fell on the small portrait she had given him for his birthday the previous year. "But this is David's office.”
The blonde lady maintained her cold front.
"Even if. Aren't you cultured enough to knock before walking in? What if you saw something you weren't supposed to see?” She asked with a sly curve on her lips.
Maybe that's the key mistake she just made. But this woman had to introduce herself before telling her what's right and what's wrong.
"Well…I'm sorry about that, but I'm his wife. I didn't expect to find you in his office. Who are you by the way?"
The lady rolled her eyes and adjusted herself in the seat.
“I can see you're the skinny girl in most of his photos. Perhaps that's why he needs a proper woman, one who is nature enough.”
Andrea was taken aback.
"What do you mean by that?”
Just then, the door opened and David walked in with a tall glass of smoothie on a tray, all smiles. He walked over to the table and dropped it. Andrea followed him instinctively.
"Thank God you're finally here! This woman accosted me for walking into my husband's office with the surprise package I had for him. She called me skinny girl!”
David just straightened up and tucked his hands into his pockets, looking her straight and hard in the eyes.
“Why aren't you saying anything, David? You know her?"
He took his hands out of his pockets and walked over to the other side of the desk. He grasped the blonde lady's shoulders tenderly and gazed into her eyes.
“Of course, I know her, Andrea. Otherwise, she wouldn't be in my office."
Andrea couldn't believe that he was pouring out the very affection that she had been longing for on this strange woman. As he gazed into her eyes, the twinkle he had in them when he had come for her reappeared. Then it hit home.
“Okay…I think I understand now. Is this why you've been cold to me? How long have you been together?”
David rolled his tongue against his left cheek.
"Six months.”
"Six months?!” Andrea wasn't having any of it. "We haven't slept together in six months, David! We haven't made love in six months! And you have the boldness to stand here, and tell me that you've been with another woman six months outside our home?!”
David was indifferent.
"Listen, Andrea. I've got everything figured out, okay? Maybe I was stupid all the way back then and couldn't make the right choices - that's how we came to be. But now, I'm sure that what I need is a woman with maturity in all respects. You're just an orphan who has seen the harder side of life. There's nothing you're doing now that's helping me apart from living out your dream life and enjoying the proceeds of my investment.”
"How dare you, David? How dare you say that to me in front of her?”
David scoffed.
"She is the one I have found a wife in, and she suits my taste.”
Andrea's head was spinning and she began to lose air. What was wrong in her world?
"Okay, David, let's talk this out. Where did I go wrong? What did I do that makes you hate me so much? What are my excesses? You could just let me know. You know, we could talk about this and every other thing you want. I just want to be part of your life.”
David shook his head.
"If we had talked about this and every other thing, perhaps I wouldn't have understood your true nature. The problem is not what you've done, Andrea - it's what you are!”
Andrea's senses stopped. For a brief moment, she could hear the sound of her heart in her head. Her vision began to blur, making her rub her eyes frantically. She suddenly found it difficult to breathe and swallow.
"Go on: throw a tantrum. That's what you do after all.”
Andrea couldn't let the tears betray her. She turned to look at the strange blonde lady, and then returned her gaze to David.
"You aren't even ashamed to speak so highly of your ugly affair?”
David chuckled derisively.
"Affair? This isn't an affair, Andrea. I'm about to make things official with her. Right, Simona?”
- Writer
