ALESSIA
He uncovered the dishes on the table. After eating, we watched TV in the living room. Claude sat while I lay my head on his lap. I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep until Claude shook my shoulder. He woke me up because my assistant at the bookshop called to ask what time we would close, as there were still many customers.
I glanced at the wall clock. It was already six-thirty in the evening, close to our usual closing time of seven. I instructed my assistant to extend it until seven-thirty.
“That’s quite late, Sweetpea. Where do your employees live?”
“Both of them stay in a boarding house not far from the Grand Artisan.”
“If you have them work overtime, you should give them extra pay.”
“Yeah, sure. I give them overtime pay.”
Claude kissed me on the forehead. “That’s very good, Sweetpea. You stay here. I’ll order dinner for us tonight.”
I suddenly stood up. “Wait, can’t we just cook our own dinner?”
It was too expensive to always order food, no matter how much money we had.
Claude scratched his head. “I don’t know how to cook, Sweetpea.”
“No problem. I’ll cook. I know how. What’s in the fridge?”
Claude joined me in the kitchen. I opened the fridge and looked out for ingredients. I took out a whole chicken. After cleaning it, I stuffed it’s cavity with various vegetables available. I made sure to put a lot of celery and onions, I also inserted some small blocks of butter through it’s skin, and sprinkled generous amount of rosemary and rhyme all over it. I seared all sides of it before I put it inside the oven. I found some asparagus too, so I just stir-fried it with a lot of garlic and butter. I also found a pouch of ready-to-use cheese sauce, so I thought of making mac & cheese.
“This is delicious! You’re a great cook, Sweetpea. Whenever you have time, you should cook our meals,” Claude said happily as we ate.
“Sure, but you have to do the dishes.”
“No problem. I know how to wash dishes. And when we move to the house at Lamar Homes, I’ll install a dishwasher if necessary, so it won’t be hard for me when you ask me to wash.”
I laughed. I knew Claude was making excuses to avoid chores.
When we went back to the bedroom, we immediately lay down after changing into our pajamas. I thought something might happen again, but Claude didn’t touch me, and we both fell asleep.
But I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling a tickling sensation between my thighs. When I opened my eyes, I saw Claude with his face buried in my private area.
“Claude, what time is it? Why are you there?”
“I’m hungry, Sweetpea, so I’m eating,” Claude replied with a grin.
I could only moan. My husband had an insatiable appetite for me, teasing me even while I slept. Claude didn’t stop at just oral sex. The scenario quickly escalated into passionate lovemaking. The next morning, we managed three more rounds before Adrian arrived.
The following week, we settled into a routine. Every morning, Claude would make love to me when he woke up. At night, we would have two or three rounds. On weekends, we had marathon sessions since Adrian stayed with Claude’s parents.
We left the house together every morning, dropping off Adrian and his nanny at school before heading to our respective jobs. Life seemed perfect and orderly for me and my family.
However, no matter how good or organized things are, some events are unavoidable.
A month into our routine, an unexpected problem arose.
“Ma’am, there’s a customer looking for you,” Dorothy, my assistant, said.
“Who? Why?”
“She said her name is Haven. She’s at table six.”
I felt a jolt of alarm at the mention of the name. Heading to the table Dorothy indicated, I frowned when I reached it. A woman was reading a book and didn’t notice me approaching.
“Excuse me, Miss,” I called.
The woman looked up. I took a step back upon recognizing her. It was the same woman I had seen at Claude’s condo once.
“Hi! Are you the owner of this bookshop?”
Swallowing, I looked her straight in the eye. “Yes, do you need something?”
Since she was a customer, I had to treat her politely despite my annoyance.
“I’m Haven Lee. You are…?” Haven extended her hand.
“Sia. Alessia Harris-Robinson,” I responded quickly. “But I don’t do handshakes, Miss Lee.”
Haven’s eyes narrowed. She stood up to face me. “You’re arrogant, aren’t you? How dare you come back after Claude left you? Where did you get the nerve to do that? You and Claude don’t belong together!”
I raised an eyebrow. Haven is petite, even in high heels, she only reached my ear, and I am wearing flats.
If it came to a physical confrontation, I knew I could easily take her down. I was not afraid of women like Haven; I used to be a bully myself.
“Really? And who does Claude belong with? You? Excuse me! My husband doesn’t want you. If he did, he would have replaced me with you when I was gone. But that didn’t happen because Claude loves no one but me. I have to go. I have a lot to do,” I said in the calmest voice possible.
I turned my back on her. I didn’t want the conversation to go on any longer. It is pointless to talk to someone looking for a fight.
“How rude! Why are you turning your back on me? We’re not done talking!” she snapped, pulling on my hand.
Annoyed, I swiftly turned back. I raised my hand and slapped Haven across the face. She let go of my hand, eyes blazing as she clutched her stinging cheek.
“Get out of this shop, now. I don’t need customers like you,” I said firmly. I wanted to shout but knew other customers were watching. I didn’t want them to leave.
“I’ll leave! But I’ll be back! Get ready! I’ll take Claude from you! I’ll make sure he leaves you!” Haven threatened before storming out.
I remained unfazed. I am used to being threatened back in school. If this woman was a bully, so am I. Let’s see who would win. I wouldn’t back down. If I didn’t back down from Nienna, who was smarter and prettier, I certainly wouldn’t back down from Haven. I am more beautiful and Claude loved me. I wouldn’t give up my husband to anyone.