My Heartless Husband (Book 1 Heartless series)

Waiting for the surprise..

Wondering what surprise Anthony would give her, Sarah blushed and started to clean the house. Anthony was a complete cleanliness freak and even a speck of dirt was enough to trigger his irritation.

 They lived in a small but beautiful estate of Rockwood Street, a relatively calm and serene part of Boston. Anthony purchased the estate 2 years back from one of his Architecture professor, who had moved to Rhode Islands to be with his son. 

Anthony always loved this property right from his b.arch days when he used to work as an intern for the professor and often got  opportunities to visit it. Since then he secretly dreamed about owing it one day, as it gave him a sense of peace from the maddening city hustle. So 2 years back when he signed the deal with a Dutch company, he invested the money in the estate without thinking it twice. He always succeeded in getting what he wanted through sheer hard work and strong determination.

 Everyday after conducting meetings, site visits, negotiating with clients, he looked forward to come back to his home. Though he never acknowledged that it was actually Sarah who always maintained  this tranquil environment by keeping his house clean and welcoming.

Sarah on the other hand loved crowds. She liked the fast life of the city.But after she decided to marry Anthony , she happily accepted a not so happening life in the estate. She was a free spirited independent woman but happily took the responsibilities of a home maker. Her love for Anthony was such that she had never allowed her ego to win over her love. She sometimes would wonder " All it takes is one arrogant man to tame a lioness"

Anthony had reconstructed the old house which was designed by his professor and added a new wing. He preferred modern architectural elements, so now their house looks nothing like the original one. Without demolishing the old foundation Anthony reconstructed the superstructure with glass, reinforced cement and steel. While Sarah being a landscape architect designed the garden with Zen landscaping elements. The house along with the garden gave onlookers a breathtaking view.

It was already 3 p.m by the time Sarah finished cleaning , as the house was quite big. Sarah knew how much Anthony preferred privacy so she never demanded any extra help. In fact, since she had to manage the home alone , Sarah never felt bored of having to stay back at home. 

By the time she was done cleaning she realized that apart from morning coffee she didn't had anything. So she took a quick shower and dressed herself in a comfortable baby pink sweat t-shirt and cream jeggings. She left her waist long hair open to let it dry naturally and descended downstairs to the kitchen to make a lettuce, avocado and mango salad and strawberry limeade. 

Sarah never cared dressing up to look gorgeous. Nor she liked applying any make up. She was neither too tall nor too short , just the perfect height and with a slender figure and big bright eyes she was a classic example of natural beauty, which of course she was unaware of as she hardly received any compliments from Anthony. Her only make up was an eye liner and her only accessory was her bright and cheerful smile that could turn anyone's bad mood to a happy one. 

Taking her bowl of salad and glass of strawberry limeade, she went out to the deck and made herself comfortable in an old recliner, which Anthony had bought from the estate owner as well.

 After finishing her lunch, she curled up her legs and closed her eyes to relax for some time . As a mild breeze blew ,  she soon dozed off to her dreamland. Her dreams more or less were the same kind. It would always involve Anthony.

In her dream she saw herself in a tropical landscaped garden filled with colorful flowers and lush greenery. The birds and butterflies chirping happily, completed the picturesque scenery. As she stood  mesmerized by the beauty of the nature , suddenly someone grabbed her wrist from behind and turned her , which made her bump to a muscular chest.Without having to look at the face she knew it belonged to none other than her husband, Anthony. He hugged her and made her listen  his heartbeat. " Sarah. Sarah" she heard him take her name. But then suddenly she heard a loud voice calling for her " Saraahhh" followed by a long ring of their doorbell. She got startled and woke up, trying to understand what was happening. Then she realized it was actually Anthony who had arrived home and was ringing the door bell.

She jumped off the recliner and ran to open the door to an angry Anthony. "What the hell were you upto? Oh I guess you were busy day dreaming as always. That's what you are good at" Anthony yelled at her as he barged into the living room throwing his briefcase on the sofa.

Sarah was still in a trance as a part of her mind was still in her dreamland. 

"Sarah" Anthony snapped his finger to get her attention. "Wasn't the whole day  enough for you to complete your dream? Could you please come out of it and serve  dinner?"  he asked irritably.

"Oh yes , sure"Sarah replied coming out of her trance. "But you were supposed to have dinner with your clients? What happened? How was the deal?" Sarah asked him curiously as she remembered their morning conversation. 

Anthony huffed loosening his tie  " Ya they had to wrap up early as they had to go back. Now stop irritating me with your stupid questions.  I already  had a tiresome day"  he answered as he ascended towards their room.

Watching his back Sarah felt her  heart sink as she could see that Anthony had come empty handed. She realized that like all the years this time too he had forgotten her birthday.

The cuckoo clock in the dining room rang and she looked up to see that it was already 7 p.m. Without wasting much time on cursing herself for expecting a birthday surprise, she went to the kitchen to make a quick dinner.

Normally Sarah wouldn't cry, but Anthony's increasing indifference towards her made her eyes teary. Disappointed with herself for waiting for a surprise and hurt by Anthony's attitude , she tied her hair into a messy bun and started to prepare spaghetti with white Clam sauce served with fried meatballs and potato wedges. With tears dropping from her eyes, she grabbed the knife tightly  and started chopping the vegetables.

Whenever she would get upset she would uplift her mood by having something sweet. So to calm herself down  she started mixing caramel custard powder with skimmed milk to make a caramel pudding. "Wow this birthday i am going to cut a pudding. Happy birthday to me " she bitterly wished herself. 

Needless to say, she was expecting Anthony to at least surprise her with a birthday cake.  Putting  her thoughts aside ,she poured herself a glass of red wine and gulped it at one go as if she was scolding her heart to stop being a fool. 

It always wrenches your heart, each time you realize that you are not as important to someone as you thought you were.