THE VENGEFUL EX-WIFE

chapter 3

Rebecca Durant sat in the grand living room, her posture rigid, her face a mask of controlled wrathfulness. Dressed in her dress of sky blue with her hair tied in a tight bun.

Across from her, perched on the edge of a velvet and comfy sofa sat Lisa. Lisa, a woman who always seemed constantly on the verge of a meltdown, was draped in a silk dress that clung to her angles like an alternate skin. Her golden hair, packed in loose swells, cascaded down her shoulders, framing a face that was constantly painted with a mask of annoyance.“She’s just so irritating,” Lisa murmured, her voice pigmented with disdain.Rebecca, despite her placid surface, let out a sharp shriek. “Irrigating” wasn’t the word that sprang to mind, but she understood her daughter. “That woman,” she began, her voice low and poisonous, “thinks she can just waltz in then and take over our lives.” She said.Lisa strangled. “Take over? She’s slightly a flea in this house, let alone a presence! She’s just there. A constant memorial that Michael is infatuated with that...that thing!”Rebecca still had a plan. And it didn’t involve sympathy. For all Jenny’s supposed defects, she was, after all, Michael’s wife.Leaning in, Rebecca lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Lisa.” she said, “the time has come. We need to make her understand that she’s not welcome here. That this is our home, not hers.” She said.Lisa’s eyes lit up. “How?” she asked, her voice a breathless whisper.Rebecca’s lips twisted into a cruel smile. “There are ways to make her understand. Ways to persuade her to leave.” She said.A mischievous glint entered Lisa’s eyes. “Oh, I like the sound of that.”“Just wait,” Rebecca said, her voice a chillingly calm pledge. “She won’t know what hit her. ”The front door opened, its heavy sound echoing through the house like a blast, shattering the stillness of the room. Jenny, Michael’s wife entered, her arms laden with grocery bags. Her face, generally bright and cheerful, was slightly flushed from the heat outdoors, and her hair, a shade of auburn, was tangled around her shoulders.“Oh, you’re both here! ” she said, her voice full of forced cheer. “I thought you’d both be out of the house." She said.Rebecca and Lisa, catching each other’s eye, shared a knowing smile. This was the moment they'd been waiting for.“We decided to take a day off from stress..” Rebecca said, her voice easily affable. “It’s been so long since we’ve had a chance to catch up.”Lisa echoed the sentiment, her voice trickling with forced glee. “Yes, we were just talking about how nice it's to have you back.” She said.Jenny, unconscious to the swings of hostility, smiled brightly. “Well, I'm glad you’re both here.” She placed the bags on the kitchen counter, her smile faltering slightly as she noticed the unsettling intensity of their looks.The rest of the day passed in a haze of forced grins and precisely chosen words. Rebecca and Lisa, with an uncanny spirit, were suddenly attentive, engaging Jenny in polite discussion, asking her about her day, her pursuits, and her favorite authors, all the while keeping a vigilant eye on her every move.Jenny, originally cautious, gradationally relaxed her guard, tranquilized by their apparent warmth. She began laughing at their jokes, participating in their stories, and indeed offering to help Rebecca. The day, for all its strange atmosphere, was now surprisingly cheerful.As evening settled, the setting sun casting long shadows across the living room, the front door creaked open once more. Michael, tall and handsome in his suit, entered the house, his face sick from a long day at work.Jenny, her face lighting over, bounced to her feet. “Michael, you’re home!” she said, her voice warm with affection. “How was your day?”Michael still didn’t seem to notice his wife’s enthusiasm. He simply nodded compactly, his eyes surveying the room with a sharp, nearly raptorial gaze.“Michael, honey, food ready.” Jenny offered her voice a little doubtful.“ Not hungry,” he murmured, his voice cropped and cold. He walked into his study, leaving Jenny standing alone in the hallway, her smile fading into an upset expression.Moments later, Michael surfaced from his study, his face contorted in rage. His voice, when he spoke, was a low scowl. “Someone has meddled with my documents,” he said, his eyes blazing with fury. “Someone has deleted my entire work from the system. Someone is in big trouble." He said angrily.The air in the room thickened, the pressure getting nearly palpable. Rebecca and Lisa, with a quick speed, shifted their positions with their eyes zipping to Jenny, a glint of vicious expectation in their eyes.“Oh, Michael, I’m so sorry,” Jenny said, her voice shaking with fear. “I wouldn’t... I couldn’t have done any....”“Don’t lie.” Michael snarled his face inches from hers. “You’ve been sneaking around, haven’t you? Trying to sabotage my career, just like you’ve been sabotaging our marriage.” He said.Jenny’s eyes widened, her heart pounding against her ribs like a trapped raspberry. “No, ” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “I swear, I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t indeed know how to do that.”“You’re lying,” Michael argued, his voice trickling with venom.His rage was intimidating, and Jenny felt a surge of despair wash over her. Her words, choked with heartbreaks, were slightly audible. “It’s not true,” she whispered, her voice choked with tears. “I swear, I swear....”But Michael was beyond reason. His hand shot out, catching Jenny across the face with a resounding smack. The sound of the blow echoed through the house, and for a moment, the entire room seemed to freeze.Rebecca and Lisa, their eyes flashing with triumphant delight, watched the scene with an agitating quietness. They had waited for this moment, nurtured this moment, and now it was eventually here.Jenny, stunned, stumbled back, clinging to her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with the sting of the blow. Her entire body quivered with a mixture of shock and despair.Michael, still seething, turned away, his shoulders shaking with suppressed rage. He stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him, the sound echoing through the silence like a final judgment.Rebecca and Lisa exchanged a satisfied smile, their eyes meeting compactly in a silent festivity of triumph.Their plan had worked. Jenny was broken. And she had no one but herself to blame…