My Ex-Convict Wife is Coming Back

chapter 7

Ella

The headboard of the bed vibrated vigorously.

The alarm on my cell proceeded to ring unrelentingly.

I groaned, stretching my hand towards it and snoozed the alarm.

With squinting eyes I looked at the screen, 7AM .

Today was officially my first day of work as Artemis' assistant. I should have been out of bed, hurrying to get ready as work began at 9, but I wasn't going.

Rolling to the side, I patted the bed for where Lisa should have been but I felt nothing but an empty space.

The sound of water splattering on tiles reached my ears, alerting me that Lisa was in the bathroom, probably getting ready to go to her place of work. I sighed, pulling the duvet over my head while sleep slowly overtook my senses.

Few minutes later, the bathroom door flung open. The door creaked as it made contact with the bedroom floor. Lisa walked out, wrapped in a towel with droplets of water coating her body.

“Ella”

She walked over to the bed and pulled the duvet off me.

“Hm..” I replied, opening an eye.

“ Ella get up, you have work in less than two hours”

I frowned, not liking that I had been reminded.

“ I'm not going “

“What? Yesterday you were all about how Artemis would help you build your career back” she said astonished.

“ Well I've had a change of heart” I retorted.

“ I was up at night thinking and I've concluded that it's not a great idea.. Besides there are other influential employers that could help me”

“ Now can you leave me to sleep please”

Lisa dropped the duvet and walked towards her dresser.

“ I don't get it, why are you letting such a great opportunity slip away? Need I remind you, you do not have any working experience and with your prison record, it would be hard to get a better job” she said while she pulled on her panties.

I sat up on the bed.

I knew that, I knew I was wasting such a good opportunity but she did not understand. What she said yesterday got me thinking. Tom and Artemis were related one way or another and was it really the wisest choice to work under my ex husband's brother?

“ I know, but there's no harm in trying. Besides you inspired this decision with your great speech yesterday”

I stared at her as she got dressed. Lisa was a beautiful woman. Her face was well structured with heart shaped lips, lips I could die to have. The silk dark green button down shirt she had on made her emerald eyes pop and the pencil skirt hugged her curves in the right places. Lisa wasn't as rich as Artemis but she had reached a certain level in her career as a computer scientist that anyone would be proud of. She lived in a decent neighborhood known for middle class workers and owned a car.

“Okay, just know any decision you take, I've always got your back and I will do anything I can to support you” she said.

I smiled at her, grateful to the big man above that he brought a person like her into my life.

Completely dressed, Lisa watched herself through her vanity mirror, spraying the floral perfume her boyfriend had gifted her a week ago for their six month anniversary.

Satisfied with how she looked, she grabbed her black handbag and walked over to me , kissing my cheek.

“ I'll be back in a few hours, I left my laptop for you on the couch in the living room”

I thanked her and she walked out of the bedroom. With that i laid back on the bed and drifted off to a deep slumber.

It had been three hours since Lisa left home. I was now seated on the living room couch, freshly bathed and no longer in pajamas. My hair was in a high ponytail and Lisa's MacBook in my lap.

I had spent the last hour searching for jobs and had not had any luck. Most that I qualified for were housekeeping and Nanny jobs. Tom and I never had kids so taking care of a kid would be really tasking for me. It was a 12 hour job but the pay was nowhere close to what I would have received if I was Artemis' personal assistant.

Disheartened, I closed the laptop and picked up my phone, searching for anything to keep my mind occupied, preferably a series.

At the top corner of the screen, the i********: icon caught my attention. I had deliberately stayed off my account since I left the prison because I was frightened to see the memories the app held.

Taking in a shaky breath, I tapped on the icon and logged into my account.

At the very top of my posts was a picture of Tom and I, our teeth on display. Tom had surprised me with a trip to an exotic beach, a way of celebrating the huge contract he had just signed. We spent about a week there in a private beach house Tom rented. It was a fun and romantic experience, an experience that made me fall deeper in love with him. I posted the picture in May, a month before I was confined to prison. As I stared at our faces, I became overwhelmed with emotions, hatred for Tom dominating over the others, I began deleting every post of us together. He was married now, in love with another woman.

My phone began to ring, an unknown number displaying over the screen, interfering with what I was doing.

My face scrunched in annoyance, I had never seen this number before, it was definitely a scammer, I thought. Declining the call I resumed the task at hand.

Few minutes later the same number popped up again, irritatedly I picked up the phone.

“Hello” I snapped

A deep chuckle resonated through the speaker

“Is that how you speak to your boss, Princess?” Artemis said from the other line.

Startled I end the call

What the hell?

How did he get my phone number?

Hurriedly, my eyes searched the room for any sight of Artemis.

Glad that I didn't see any shadow lurking around, I walked towards the door and ensured it was locked.

Taking my position back on the couch, I grab my phone and hit resume on a movie, an attempt to calm down my paranoia.

Dressed in Lisa's gym wear, the sun had almost set and I was ready to go for a jog outside.

I stopped the movie halfway as I had felt the walls of the apartment were closing up on me the longer I laid on the couch, a result of idleness I suppose.

Unlocking the door, I stepped outside and began some stretches.

Not long later, two cars pulled up in the driveway, one, a Camry belonging to Lisa and a black Mercedes followed closely behind.

The Mercedes looked out of place, I doubted anyone in the neighborhood owned one.

The door of the vehicle opened and a man with a chiseled jawline that I could recognise anywhere stepped out.

With his eyes staring into mine he smirked, I rolled my eyes.

The day just got ten times more interesting.