A JOURNEY BACK TO LOVE

It's just a few minutes past noon and Leslie has not moved an inch from where she sat on the bed. She has been in this position for over 2 hours pondering if marriage was worth it. She wondered if this was the love life she craved for all her youth. Leslie was a brilliant endocrinologist. She had always been brilliant from time, finishing medical school with multiple distinctions, passing all her professional exams as a doctor in first sitting and having a good work life balance. Unfortunately, her terrible marriage made everything soar. Things moved from bad to worse a few weeks back when Trevor forgot their anniversary date. Not even as if it was their 10th or 25th anniversary, just the 2nd and he couldn't recall. Now it's her birthday and it's almost as if he had forgotten too. She continued staring at the bathroom toilet where Trevor was taking a loud bath. Suddenly his phone vibrated from the bedside table. She ignored It the first and second time. By the time it rang again she stretched out her hand to switch the phone off as the sound became irritating. Just when she reached out a message notification that read “I'm already there darling, see you soon” showed on Trevor's phone. For a minute she paused because Trevor mentioned that he was going to play lawn tennis with his friends. She didn't want to believe the thoughts that crossed her mind. Even though what started as a beautiful love story between her and Trevor seemed to be collapsing day by day, she never expected cheating or extra marital affairs to be on Trevor's mind. Trevor was a steel industry mogul and he always had respect for Leslie's Dad, Douglas, and the reason was clear, he controls up to 75% of the steel activities that went on in the state. For Trevor, getting married to Leslie was his secret strategy to get close to Douglas and other influential steel industry mogul's Douglas had as friend's and his plan so far worked well. What pained Leslie a lot about her relationship with Trevor wasn't about what he was doing, it was more about what he wasn't doing. He struggled to show affection towards her and wasn't ever available physically or emotionally towards things that concerned her. For these reasons she resorted to seeing a therapist without her husband's knowledge. On this day, her appointment was to be at 4pm but to avoid overthinking, she decided to leave the house earlier and just hang around her therapist's office. Leslie's height was her main point of attraction. 6ft tall with pretty spotless legs. She put on a red gown and walked to the garage majestically. Just when she was about opening her car door she saw a bouquet of rose flowers on the floor of the passenger's seat in Trevor's car. These flowers were not the normal plain red ones. They were sophisticated with so many designs and flowers of different colors and not just red. At this point, It dawned on her that there was a possibility that Trevor had something planned. She drove off and went to the park instead to plan the year ahead and wait for her therapy session. Few minutes to 4pm she drove off to her therapist's office. Her face had a smile of relief as she couldn't hold back her excitement knowing that whatever plans Trevor had for her was going to be the pathway to the turnaround they both needed in their marriage. She walked into her therapist's, Dr Catilin, office and sat on the seat opposite her. “Hello Leslie, how are you today?” Caitilin asked her with a warm smile. “I'm very good, in fact, I am–” Leslie paused as she sighted the exact flower she saw earlier placed on Caitilin's shelf. Her smile faded immediately– “Are those yours?”. She asked Caitilin with her gaze still fixed on the flowers. Caitilin nodded yes slowly because she wasn't certain what made her ask. “Is there a problem with it?” Caitilyn asked. “Uhhhhm, no not– not at all” Leslie stammered. “It's just that they were not there the last time”. Leslie added– “Oh, it was a gift from my partner earlier in the day, should have sent it home i guess, but let's not get distracted, it's you we should focus on” Leslie became blank instantly, she didn't utter a word. She just stared eyeball to eyeball at Caitilin. The dots quickly connected,the flowers, the silent treatments, the lack of communications. Of course she knew Caitilyn had no idea what was happening because she had kept Trevor's name and identity anonymous all these while. After a while, Caitilyn became uncomfortable with the gaze. “Are you sure you are okay?” She asked Leslie out of concern. Leslie nodded yes then quickly stood then left the office. Leslie's eyes were swollen from hours of unending tears, she layed on her bed with her legs crossed as she waited for Trevor. Trevor walked in – “How are you, sweetheart?” He asked casually as he placed his suitcase on the table. She didn't respond, then he looked closely and noticed her eyes. He sat on the bed and leaned towards her– “Is there a problem?” He asked her. She cleared her throat and looked him straight in the eyes— “I know we have been on a rough patch for months, but one thing I am sure of is you don't lie, Trevor. First off all I forgive you for not remembering that today is my birthday—” “s**t” Trevor muttered under his breath as he realized he totally forgot Leslie's birthday. “—How long has your relationship with Dr Caitilin been on?” Leslie asked. Trevor’s eyes widened instantly as if he had just seen a 12 ft long cobra. The only thing on his mind was “how did she find out” . He knew he had to tell the truth, this was the worst time to tell a lie. He let it all out about Caitilin, explained that he met her a few months into their marriage at a bar and what started as a one night stand turned into an extramarital affair. He also explained that she had no idea he was living with his wife because he lied to her that he was divorced. After hearing this, Leslie stormed out of the room angrily. Trevor had to come clean to Caitiin and Caitilin ended their relationship instantly and warned him to stay away from her. Weeks went by without Leslie in the house, she moved out. She declined every call from Trevor. After staying away for a little over a month she came back and dropped divorce papers in the sitting room and told Trevor to sign it. Trevor fell on his knees and started begging her. Tears rushed down his eyes. Leslie wasn't having any of it– “You have 48 hours to sign this”. She shouted as she walked out. Trevor was confused, he knew losing Leslie meant that all the benefits of being Douglas’ son-in-law was about to be flushed down the drain. Trevor opened up to Douglas about cheating on Leslie and pleaded with him that he was sorry. Douglas spoke to Leslie and pleaded with her to forgive Trevor and let it all get behind them. She wasn't going to say no to her Dad, so she agreed to it on the terms that Trevor had 3 months to prove himself afresh. They all agreed to it. Leslie and Trevor took a trip to Maldives to cool off. It was the best part of their marriage up till this point. Everything changed and became more peaceful even when they returned. Leslie leaned on Trevor's shoulders as they saw a movie in their sitting room. They heard a knock on the door. “Who's there?” Trevor asked as he motioned to the door. As he opened it, he froze like someone that was electrocuted. It was Caitilin. They both stared at each other. Leslie went over to the door out of curiosity. “What are you doing here??” Leslie asked in a mean tone. Caitlin didn't say a word. Trevor kept looking at both of them in confusion. Leslie added this time with more fury– “What the hell are you doing here you home wreck—” “I'm pregnant!!” Caitilin screamed as tears rolled down her eyes.