FORBIDDEN FRUIT

• nine •

Adaline

Cassandra Creed is a cùnt.

She's a massive cùnt who hates me. And I hate her more.

No wonder she's called Cass. She's a literal curse. She's a curse in my life. She's a curse in my marriage.

I've been stuck in her kitchen, making meals for five hours straight. She woke me up at 5am. I was at her house by 5.30am. The cooking started at 6am. It's almost 11am.

We're almost done making the meals. And by we, I mean I. Cassandra is just sitting in the kitchen, sipping coffee as she stares at her polished nails and gives out instructions. When I'm finally done with the meals, my body almost breaks down when she blurts out.

“Dessert time!” She shrieks. “Time to make dessert!”

I hate Cassandra. And I hate the fact that she didn't hire a fùcking chef to do this. She has all the money in the world. She can afford a fùcking chef. But most of all, I hate Atticus. I hate him for coming back from whatever hole he's been hiding in all these years. I hate that he gets to enjoy the sweet fruits of my labour. I hate that the reason I'm here is because of him and his stupid homecoming party.

One hour later, I'm done making the dessert.

Cassandra finally lets me rest. I fall on the kitchen island. She pours me a glass of the mango juice that I just made.

“Sometimes.” She smiles. “I think that Ace made the right choice when he married you. Such instances are rare but when they happen, it makes me like you a little bit more.”

I take a sip of the juice, smiling the fakest smile at the backhanded compliment.

That's why I hate this woman so much. She's fake. She's plastic. Everything about her is plastic. From her face to her lips to her hair to the smile on her face. She's spent millions of dollars on plastic surgery, probably why the company is sinking, when the only thing she needed to fix was her soul. She has the ugliest soul and the ugliest heart.

I can't believe that there was a time I ever liked her.

I met Cassandra five years ago. Ace and I were in college. He was studying business. I was studying English Lit.

The first time I met her, she gave me the biggest and warmest hug. I never got that from my parents, so it felt new and nice. Ace introduced me as his best friend. But it felt like she was my best friend. We instantly clicked. She made us coffee and cookies. We talked and talked and talked. The coffee and cookies were finished but our conversation was far from over.

I told her I was living in a car before meeting Ace. Then I met with Ace and we became roommates. She felt sorry for me. She felt proud of her son. She had raised him right. She was a good mother. She was everyone's dream mother.

Until she turned into a nightmare…

“I don't hate you.” She says to my surprise. “I know you think I hate you but I don't.”

Silence follows.

I take a huge sip of my mango juice, not knowing how to respond to this.

Lately, there's been a tank of surprises. The man I met at the club turning out to be my husband's brother. My husband having a brother that he never mentioned for the five years I've known him. My husband's company going bankrupt. My husband bringing up the topic about kids. My husband fùcking me for the first time in five years. The sèx was awkward. And confusing. And bad. And sad. And I wish it never happened.

And now, my mother-in-law is looking me in the eye and telling me she doesn't hate me. A woman who's spent every second showing me how much she hates me.

This woman has done nothing but shower me with back-handed compliments. She does everything in her power to demean me and make me feel like shìt. She'll jump at any opportunity to remind me how lucky I am to stumble on a jackpot like Ace. She blames me for not providing her with an heir when it's entirely her son's fault. She makes me cook and clean and make desserts when she has any event. She says it's a way for me to sharpen my cooking skills since they are a bit ‘blunt’. The worst part is that when the guests arrive, she'll jump at any opportunity to talk shìt about the food and drinks I made. This woman hates me.

“I really don't hate you, Adaline.” She repeats. “I just hate that my son married you. You are not good for him. And he's not good for you. I wish the two of you could see it sooner and just divorce. You're better off as friends.”

I take a sip of the juice, trying to swallow down the lump in my throat. Trying to wash away the bitter feeling with something sweeter.

It's not easy to hear everyone in your husband's family asking you to divorce him.

“I'll be the happiest person when you divorce Ace.”

Ofcourse, she will be the happiest person when I divorce Ace. Atticus will also be over the moon when I divorce Ace. God, I wish they were not Ace's family. Sometimes I wish he was familyless like me. It would save our marriage a lot of unnecessary drama.

I gulp down the juice to the last drop. I stand to leave, tired of her throwing knives at my heart with her words. She's quick to make me stop.

“Honey.” She says in that sickening fake-sweet voice. “Where are you going? We haven't set the table yet.”

Kill me now!

One hour later, I'm done setting the table. She looks up at me, smile on her face and says the most surprising thing.

“Thank you.”

And then she hugs me. Even more surprising.

I'm tired of the endless surprises. I wish they could stop coming. But I know they won't.

I have a feeling there will be more surprises in store at the homecoming party.

Especially because Atticus will be there.

That man is full of surprises.

And not the good kind of surprises.

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