Ex-Wife Ecstacy

CHAPTER 2

Sheila’s heart skipped a beat at the knock that echoed from the hallway. It was distant, and for a moment, she wondered if she had imagined it. But no, it was real. The soft tap-tap-tap lingered, vibrating through the walls like an unwanted warning.

Patricia, however, seemed unfazed. She straightened up, smoothing down the folds of her brightly coloured robe, her attention shifting back to Sheila like a hawk eyeing its prey.

"You okay, darling?” she asked, her tone syrupy sweet. “You look like you’re about to faint."

Sheila shot her a look, her mind still reeling from the vague memories of the previous night. Her body screamed exhaustion, but there was a cold knot in her stomach that wasn’t just from the hangover. It was something else, something unsettling about Patricia’s knowing glances and the way she seemed to take pleasure in Sheila’s discomfort.

Another knock, louder this time. The sound came again, closer, as if someone were standing right outside her door.

Patricia frowned, an eyebrow arched.

“That’s strange…” she muttered, but her eyes flickered to the door for a split second before she turned back to Sheila. “I guess it’s just someone coming to check on you after last night. You did cause quite a stir, you know."

Sheila’s pulse quickened.

“Patricia, who was it last night? Who did I—”

She didn’t know how to ask it without sounding desperate, but her mind couldn’t stop replaying the images of a nameless man, the hand on her shoulder, the whispered words, the desire. Everything was foggy, but her body was a living memory of something too real to ignore.

Patricia chuckled, a low sound that seemed to echo with something dark beneath the surface.

“Oh, sweetie, do you really think I would tell you everything? You might not remember it all, but I sure do."

Her voice dropped a notch, a teasing edge creeping into her words.

“But maybe it’s for the best you don’t know. You know what they say…What happens in the dark stays in the dark.”

Her smile was tight, almost knowing, as if she were enjoying watching Sheila flounder.

The knock came again, this time a little more insistent. Sheila stiffened, her instincts kicking in. Who the hell was outside?

Patricia, however, was already moving toward the door, her smile never faltering. “I’ll just check, darling. Maybe it’s just a little mischief brewing outside.” She winked at Sheila as she opened the door with exaggerated grace.

Outside the door stood a man Sheila didn’t recognize. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with a chiseled jawline that seemed almost too perfect. He wore a crisp white shirt with sleeves rolled up just enough to show the tattoos etched into his forearms. His eyes flickered from Patricia to Sheila, and Sheila’s heart skipped again. Something about him felt too familiar, but she couldn’t place him.

“Morning,” he greeted, his voice smooth, like honey, but there was an edge to it. “I heard a bit of a ruckus earlier. Is everything alright in here?"

Patricia stepped aside, her gaze flickering with amusement as she turned to Sheila. “See? I told you. Someone else is always watching."

Sheila swallowed hard, her confusion growing. Who was this man? She didn’t recognize him at all. But there was something about his presence that made her skin prickle. Something unsettling, and she didn’t like it.

“Everything’s fine,” Patricia answered for Sheila, her smile flashing with a touch of sweetness that made Sheila’s stomach turn. “Just a little too much fun last night, right, Sheila? Nothing to worry about.”

The man nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing just a fraction. “Well, if you’re sure…”

Patricia laughed lightly. “Oh, don’t worry, darling. Just making sure our friend is taken care of.” She turned to Sheila, her eyes glinting with something far too calculating. “I’ll leave you two to it then, shall I? I’m sure you have… things to discuss.”

With that, Patricia slipped past the man, giving him a playful pat on the shoulder before disappearing down the hallway, her brightly colored robe fluttering behind her like a flag in the wind.

Sheila watched her go, her pulse racing. What was Patricia playing at? And why had she just left her alone with this stranger?

The man stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. “We should talk,” he said, his voice still smooth, but now there was an intensity in his eyes that made Sheila take a step back. “There’s a lot you don’t remember from last night.”

Sheila’s stomach flipped. This was it, yes…

The moment when everything she couldn’t remember would start to piece itself together. She had to know. But was she ready for whatever the truth was, that’s what she didn’t know yet, of course …

As the man shut the door behind him, he took a few steps toward Sheila, his eyes never leaving hers. “We need to get something straight before you start asking too many questions.” He said

Sheila stood frozen, especially because there was something about the way he moved, his confidence that made her hesitate.

She really wanted to demand answers without much ado, wanted to scream at him for daring to invade her space like this, but the truth was, she didn’t know if she was ready for what he was going to say.

And then, just as she opened her mouth to speak, the faint sound of Patricia’s voice echoed down the hallway, carrying on the wind.

“By the way, Sheila,” she called, her voice sweet but cutting, “I hope you don’t mind me telling you... But that man? He’s the same one I warned you about. He’s not the type to just let you walk away, sweetie. He’s trouble. And he always gets what he wants.”

Her words hung in the air, like an omen, as Sheila’s heart dropped into her stomach.

She wasn’t sure who to trust anymore. Patricia, with her incessant gossip and twisted games, or the stranger standing just a few feet away, who seemed far too calm and calculated for her to feel safe.Sheila had no choice now. Face to face with the demon in a broad day light? The pieces were falling into place, and she needed to know what had really happened. She finally made up her mind to face whatever truth was lurking beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, Patricia? She was always in the middle of it, always pushing, always watching. Sheila had no idea why, but Patricia’s devotion to stirring trouble seemed endless. There was a darkness in her that Sheila had always sensed, but had never fully seen until now.

She has never been a type of person to judge immediately, and that’s what held her marriage a little longer, before the split.

Patricia’s own life has always been so full of contradictions. At fifty, she was still single, a woman who’d walked out on a groom the day before their wedding, just because she discovered he had been fired from his job. Patricia had never been the type to settle, always flitting from one younger man to the next, stirring up rumors, fueling fires, and weaving a web of intrigue around her. Maybe her groom has cursed her, the women around the block would always say.

Sheila had always thought Patricia was just a bored woman with too much time on her hands. But now, as the weight of the situation pressed down on her, Sheila couldn’t shake the feeling that Patricia was a puppet master, and she had been playing with her all along.

Sheila was no longer sure who was in control of her own life once again, then why did she leave her husband’s home?