Love Behind The Mask

Chapter 002

~ Cracks in the Glass ~

Now, as she stood in the kitchen, her reflection in the darkened window looked back at her with tired eyes.

It took her a few minutes to clean up the dishes and clear out the kitchen after their anniversary dinner. The house was silent. Jake had gone to bed a while ago. Sarah sat alone in the living room, her journal open on her lap, with her thoughts tumbling out faster than she could organize them.

She wrote about how much she loved Jake and how hard it was to watch him drift further away. She wrote about how she was treated by her family. Ryan’s little insults and her parents’ indifference towards her.

She glanced at the anniversary card sitting on the coffee table. She had spent an embarrassing amount of time picking it out, but she couldn’t bring herself to give it to Jake anymore.

After all, he was just going to mutter a distracted “thanks” before shoving it under a stack of magazines.

Lost in her thoughts, she imagined how they would have probably been making love right now if everything had gone as planned. It would have been the first time in almost ten months. But Jake, he was so uninterested.

She was still lost in her thoughts when a faint sound broke the silence. It was laughter, and it was coming from their bedroom, muffled but unmistakable.

Sarah froze, her pen stilling mid-sentence. Jake was laughing—a sound she hadn’t heard from him in weeks, maybe months. It made her smile to know that he was smiling, but at the same time, it hurt to know that that laugh was not a laugh that he was sharing with her.

She stood slowly, her heartbeat quickening as she approached the closed door of their bedroom. Her hand rested lightly on the doorknob.

“Jake?” she called softly, and the laughter stopped abruptly.

For a moment, there was only silence. Then, faintly, she heard him murmur something too quiet for her to make out.

Her hand trembled on the knob, but she didn’t turn it. Instead, she backed away, the weight of doubt settling heavily in her chest. She returned to the couch and stared at the blank page of her journal.

“I hope I haven’t lost you Jake,” she muttered a prayer and closed the journal, preparing to go to bed.

After a long night, the sun's rays filtered through the kitchen window, casting golden streaks across the counter where Sarah stood slicing fruits. Last night might not have gone as planned, but it was not going to stop her from trying to reach her husband. And what better way to start the weekend than an early morning massage and a delicious breakfast in bed?

Sarah couldn’t help but smile at the thought of massaging her husband, already relishing those moans of relief that would escape his lips occasionally. Even though she knew that Jake was trying to be intentionally difficult to access, the thought of breaking his walls gave her a feeling of peace that she couldn’t really explain, but it was there.

She suddenly stopped slicing her fruits as she heard sounds upstairs. She glanced over her shoulder toward the stairs, only to hear Jake’s hurried footsteps.

‘Huh? What’s going on? 'He is never this rushed on weekends,’ she muttered to herself, wondering why he was moving about hurriedly.

“Hmm… maybe he forgot it was the weekend already. "It wouldn’t be the first time,” she muttered under her breath, and chuckled softly as she remembered the early years of their marriage when Jake was so business-focused that he would forget it was the weekend.

She couldn’t wait to see the reaction on his face, that look of relief, when she told him it was a weekend. It was always a thing of joy to watch him crash onto the couch in relief after realizing he was hurrying for nothing.

“Where are you off to?” she called out in a soft voice as he came down the flight of stairs, adjusting the cuffs of his white shirt.

Sarah was taken aback when she saw how dressed up Jake was. He rarely dresses up for work these days. He usually just wore casual button-downs and slacks, but today, he wore his best suit, paired with the navy tie she’d bought him last Christmas, although she was sure he couldn’t remember that she was the one that had gotten it for him.

“Oh… you are up already,” he said, not looking at her as he grabbed his coffee mug from the counter.

“I have got a meeting downtown.”

“On a Saturday?” Sarah asked, obviously surprised, but she tried her best to keep her tone light.

Jake shrugged, his fingers moving to his neck to knot his tie.

“Yeah. The client insisted. Last-minute thing.”

Sarah frowned, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Yet again, her plans to get closer to him had been thrown in the gutter.

She sighed and took two steps towards him, “I could make you breakfast before you go. It won’t take long.”

Jake glanced at her briefly, his mouth tightening into a polite but dismissive smile. “Thanks, but I’ll grab something on the way. I’m in a rush.”

Sarah’s eyes followed him as he moved to the hall closet, reaching for his coat. She noticed the faint sheen of cologne lingering in the air—a scent she hadn’t smelled on him in months. He never really used that cologne unless he was going to social gatherings. Her heart clenched as she realized the difference, and a flicker of unease began creeping in.

“Jake,” she said hesitantly, “You’re all dressed up." Is this meeting really that important?”

His movements paused for half a second, just long enough for her to notice, before he turned back to her with a practiced nonchalance. “Sarah, it’s work. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Her mouth opened to reply to him, but no words came out. She wasn’t even sure what she wanted to say. Jake brushed past her, pecking her on the cheek. He rarely did that of late, but even when he did, it was so quick it felt mechanical. He grabbed his car keys and was out the door before she could muster a response or even a goodbye.

The sound of his car's engine faded into the distance after a while.

Sarah just stood there for a moment, staring at the closed door, the lingering scent of his cologne making her stomach churn. But she quickly shook her head, pulling herself together and silencing her thoughts.

‘You’re overthinking this,’ she told herself, pressing a hand to her forehead. ‘It’s just a meeting. Stop looking for problems where there aren’t any, okay?’

As she cleared up the kitchen and put away the breakfast dishes, her eyes kept drifting toward the clock. It was just a few minutes past eight in the morning. Since he left that early, she still had a chance to make up for breakfast with lunch.

“Oh God damn it,” she cussed and placed her hand on her waist with a sigh. “This week is just fighting against my plans for Jake,” she shook her head.

Sarah picked out a simple dress and left for her parent’s house.

She parked her car along the curb, staring at the neatly trimmed hedges and white facade. Everything was beautiful and spoke volumes of wealth. The house had always felt more like a museum than a home, with its perfectly arranged furniture and spotless floors.

She rang the doorbell and her mother greeted her at the door, her smile warm but brief.

“You came to get the door? "What happened to the maids?” Sarah was curious.

“Aw come on, my daughter is coming to have lunch with me, why would I let a maid be the first face she sees?” her mother, Linda, chuckled as they hugged.

“Are you sure you came to welcome me, or you came to the door because you thought it was your all-time favorite, Ryan?” Sarah joked, but behind her joke, she knew she was probably right. It wouldn’t be the first time that her mother had come to the door expecting Ryan, only to end up seeing Sarah.

“What are you saying?” her mother laughed. “Of course, I came to welcome you." Besides, Ryan’s already here.”

“Of course he is,” Sarah muttered under breath and walked into the house.

She stepped inside, her heels clicking against the hardwood. The scent of roast chicken and fresh bread wafted from the dining room, but it wasn’t comforting.

She soon got to the dining room, behind her mother. Ryan was seated at the head of the table, his suit jacket draped over the back of his chair. He looked every bit the picture of success, leaning back with the ease of someone who knew he owned the room. His posture and that smirk on his face only served to worsen the unease she was feeling.

“Sarah,” he said, his tone dancing on the edge of patronizing, “You finally decided to grace us with your presence, huh?”

She forced a tight smile. “Hi, Ryan.”

She had barely just sat down, and the conversation quickly shifted away from her and turned to him, as it always did.

Ryan launched into a monologue about his latest project—something involving high-profile clients and foreign investors. Sarah watched as their parents hung on his every word, their faces lighting up with pride.

“That’s incredible, Ryan,” their father said, tapping him on the shoulder. “You’re really making waves.”

Sarah waited for a lull in the conversation before speaking. “I’ve been working on something, too.”

Her mother turned to her, eyebrows raised in mild surprise. “Oh, really?”

“At the shelter,” Sarah began, her voice tentative. We’ve been running this mentorship program for teenagers. I’ve been organizing workshops to help them with college applications and—”

“That’s… nice,” her mother interrupted, her tone dismissive. “It’s good to keep busy.”

The words stung, but Sarah pressed on. “It’s actually been really rewarding. One of the girls just got into—”

Ryan cut her off with a laugh. “Busy? Mom, Sarah, is practically the poster child for keeping busy. Between the shelter and all that domestic bliss, it must be exhausting.”

The jab landed with precision, but it was his next comment that made her stomach drop. “Must be nice, though. Having a husband who’s always working… or is he?”

The table fell silent. Sarah stared at him, her heart pounding. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ryan smirked, leaning back in his chair. “Nothing. Just saying," Jake seems pretty… focused these days.”

Ryan's words caused Sarah to dive into deep thoughts. He was indeed focused, way too focused that it began to seem suspicious.

What was Jake up to?