Sarina
“My wife,” Maximus said as soon as he saw me walking up the porch. He looked in a hurry, probably about to leave, so I just gave him a nod. I kept walking into the house, with him following closely behind.
“Mommy!!!” Chastity screamed the moment she saw me. The other children turned around and rushed toward me while I noticed my husband watching quietly.
“Did you behave while I was gone?” I asked them with a smile.
“Yes!!!” they all replied in unison, and I couldn’t help but shower them with kisses in delight.
“Why did Daddy come home first? Nanny said you went to his office.”
“Well, Mommy had somewhere else to go, so Daddy came home first. I needed to make sure you weren’t getting into any trouble.”
“Behave, babies,” chimed in my seventh child, Chanton. His words were still slightly slurred, but it was understandable. I picked him up and walked toward the living room, holding Chastity’s hand, with the others trailing behind, except for the youngest, who was in Rowena’s arms, smiling at me.
“M-mom,” Chandler called, reaching out for me while struggling to escape the nanny’s grip. Of course, I took him in my arms once I had put Chanton down and removed my shoes to join them.
I played with the children for a few minutes because the little ones would surely start crying if I didn’t. “Rowena, you take care of the kids for now. I’m going to change clothes.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” the nanny replied. With that, I stood up and headed for the stairs to our bedroom. I noticed Maximus standing up from the couch, still holding Chastity, and he followed me up.
I quickly entered the walk-in closet and grabbed a towel. The bedroom door opened as I was about to enter the bathroom, but I ignored it and continued. I locked the door behind me in case my husband tried to follow. Not that he’d bothered to earlier.
I soaked in the bathtub for a long time. “My wife,” I heard Maximus call from outside. I didn’t answer and kept my eyes shut. I was still thinking about what had happened earlier, feeling hurtful. I knew that if I faced him now, we would just fight.
Suddenly, the door opened, startling me. He must have come in because I’d been there too long, but I didn’t like it. “Can’t I have some quiet time, even just in the bathroom?” I said seriously.
Maximus took a deep breath before responding. “I’m sorry. I was just worried because you didn’t answer when I called.”
“And what exactly were you thinking? That I would hurt myself? Why would I do that?”
“No, I just thought… maybe you got dizzy-”
“There’s no reason for me to feel dizzy, Maximus.”
“You went to your OB, and I thought-”
“You think I’m pregnant?” He didn’t reply, but his silence told me that’s what he was thinking. “I’m not. So get out.”
“My wife-”
“Get out, or I’ll get out. Your choice.” I didn’t move from being submerged in the bathtub; I just stared at him. He stared back, and I could see the pain in his eyes, but I didn’t care.
“I’ll wait for you outside,” he said softly before finally stepping out. I noticed the door was left slightly open, but I let it be, not wanting to talk to him or call him back to close it properly.
I stayed in the bath for a few more minutes before rinsing off. I dried myself, wrapped a towel around me, and exited the bathroom, heading straight for the walk-in closet. Just like in the bathroom, I locked the door behind me quickly.
I grabbed some house clothes, and unlike usual, I didn’t bother drying my hair. I walked straight to the bedroom door to get back to my kids, but Maximus stopped me as soon as I turned the doorknob.
“My wife, let’s talk.”
“I don’t want to talk right now.”
“Please, let me explain.”
“Not now, Maximus,” I replied.
“My wife, let’s not drag out this misunderstanding between us.”
“Misunderstanding? That’s what you call this?” I asked angrily, raising my voice as I let go of the doorknob and faced him.
“We’re standing face to face. Can’t you lower your voice?”
“So now I don’t even have the right to raise my voice?”
“That’s not what I meant, I just-”
“I already told you I don’t want to talk, but you keep pushing. What do you want to discuss? I should leave this house just like you kicked me out of your office?”
“Of course not! What are you saying? Yes, I know I was wrong,” he admitted. “It’s just that you slapped Lavinia, and she didn’t even do anything wrong.”
“So now I’m the villain for hurting your secretary? Is that why you kicked me out of your office?”
“You didn’t even let me speak or explain. You just attacked her. What did you want me to do? I was shocked and embarrassed for Lavinia.”
“So now, you want me to be calm when I walk in on that scene? To be calm while your secretary leaned in so close to you that it looked like you were about to kiss?”
“If you would just listen to me, you’d understand that Lavinia is Aries’s girlfriend, and they’re planning to get married!” he shouted.
“And because she’s Aries’s girlfriend, that’s enough reason for you to kick me out of your office?” I yelled back. Yes, I was wrong to slap his secretary, but that wasn’t enough reason for him to throw me out.
“No,” he said softly, looking guilty. “I’m sorry. I know I was wrong. I didn’t mean to; like I said, I was just shocked and didn’t know how to react. I didn’t expect you to do that,” he added.
“I was hurt, Maximus. I don’t even know how I ended up at the hospital. You don’t know how I’ve felt these past few months. I’ve been feeling so insecure, constantly worrying that you might have someone else, especially after I saw the lipstick on your shirt.” My voice cracked, and I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore. My chest felt tight with all the pain.
He looked at me, confused. “Lipstick? When?” he asked, clearly having no idea what I was talking about, but I didn’t want to keep talking anymore.
“We’ll talk another day, Maximus. Right now, I can’t face you. I’m too angry, and we won’t get anywhere like this.”
“My wife…” That was all he could say as I turned away and left the room. He didn’t stop me, and I felt he finally understood.