(ARIELLE’S POV)
I paused, trying to assimilate Ashley’s words. Slowly, I locked my gaze with hers. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Do I look like I am?” Ashley retorted, her voice firm and serious.
I took a breath, trying once again to make sense of her suggestion.
Divorce Jared? Somehow the very idea felt surreal, foreign. My mind raced as the thought took root-why would I ever divorce Jared? I had invested everything into this marriage, fought so hard to make it work…
I shook my head, trying to laugh it off. “I don’t think you’re serious Ash,” I said, though my voice betrayed a slight tremor.
“Well, I am. You can’t keep being the person Jared second guesses, Arielle. You’re his wife, for crying out loud. He’s a grown man and should choose who he wants. If he’s still stuck up with Sofia, then he should be with her. If he wants you, he should be decisive about it, and one of the ways to do that is to put Sofia in her rightful place. And trust me, her place is not in your lives or in your matrimonial home!”
Her words stung, but I couldn’t shake the truth in them.
“…I understand your concern, Ashley,” I said quietly, struggling to find the words. “But… I don’t know. I really don’t. Would it be right to divorce Jared while I’m still pregnant? Marriages go through rough patches, even relationships do. Wouldn’t it be better to try and fix things instead of making it worse?”
“You see, that’s the point, Arielle-“
“What point?” I interrupted, confused on where the conversation was headed.
“You’re so scared of having a broken marriage, hence your decision to endure and fix things even when you’re being disrespected. Pregnant or not, a relative or third party, not to mention someone your husband had feelings for in the past, is not meant to live with you and your husband in your matrimonial home for so long. Accept it Arielle, you’re scared of having a broken marriage like your mother, hence-“
“Enough!” I hissed, abruptly rising to my feet. “How dare you bring that up? You know how much I hate being reminded about it, and you dare bring it up?”
Ashley was startled, and I wouldn’t blame her. Losing my cool was not a sight anyone gets to see all the time, as I would rather tow the path of peace than lose my temper. But I’m not to blame, Ashley just hit a sore spot and losing my cool was inevitable.
“I’m sorry,” Ashley whispered, realizing her mistake. “I shouldn’t have said that. I just wanted to point out-“
“I should be sorry, Ash…” I cut her off, my voice came out tighter than I’d thought, “I just need to be alone.”
Ashley hesitated. “Arielle, I-“
“Please…”
“Fine,” she said and rose to her feet. “I will go run you a bath and fix us dinner.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I sank back onto the couch, the weight of everything pressing down on me. “Arielle?” Ashley called, as she halted at the doorway that connected her sitting room to the corridor.
I looked up.
“I’m sorry. I would never scorn you
with the memory of the one thing you’ve been trying so hard to avoid And if I did, I want you to know it was not intentional. It was sincerely from a place of concern,” and without waiting to hear my response, Ashley disappeared into the corridor.
After she left, I sighed and buried my face in my palms. I tried not to think about all that has happened, as that would mean another bout of tears.
***********
Hours later, I had showered and changed into one of the dresses Ashley offered me. We were now seated having dinner, even though the tension from our argument earlier still hung in the air.
Jared had called and texted
severally, and when he wouldn’t
stop, I turned my phone off. He tried
calling Ashley. She was my best friend after all, and I ordered her to pick the call to avoid raising his suspicion. I further warned her not to inform him I was at her place as I was not in the right frame of mind to face him yet.
Anytime I thought of him, I was always tortured with the image of him and Sofia kissing, their tongues latched into each other. “Are you okay, Arielle?” Ashley’s voice cut into my thoughts.
“Yeah…” I blinked. “I’m fine, why?”
“You’ve been picking on your food, and now, you just stopped eating entirely.” Ashley said, looking at me with so much concern.
It was then I looked down on my plate, and I discovered that I had unconsciously dropped my spoon. “I…um…I zoned out for a bit, I’m sorry.”
“No, no, you don’t have to be. I might not know how you feel, but I know it definitely hurts.”
I sighed. “It does. To think we were
supposed to spend the whole of today, and half of tomorrow at the hotel, but Sofia just had to ruin it with her antics. You know what hurt most? I was finally going to tell him about the pregnancy, but I never got the chance.”
“Poor girl,” Ashley cooed in pity, and reached out to hold my hands across the table. “I’m sorry about that. Maybe you should quit looking for the perfect moment and just tell him about it.”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t feel like telling him anymore.”
Ashley’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t mean that, do you? You can’t hide a pregnancy, Arielle. Not from the father, at least.”
“I will tell him, just not yet,” I responded in a firm and dismissive tone.
Ashley caught the cue, and changed the subject of discussion. “So, when do you plan on going home?”
I raised a brow. “Are you tired of me already? I have been here only for a few hours.”
“Hey, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that, I already lied to Jared that you’re not here. Don’t you think he will be worried and looking for you?”
“Well if he is, consider that his punishment for lying to me.”
Ashley burst into laughter. “You know for someone this petite, you’re quite fiesty.”
“Now, I can’t tell if that’s a compliment, but thank you regardless.”
Ashley burst into laughter again, and this time, I joined her. And soon, the tension in the air had ebbed away and I was back to eating my food.