After Five Years Of Marriage

5: Avoiding to eat

Dylan walked towards their bed and saw the divorce papers on the headboard. He hadn't read them yet as there were two copies, which he had received when he was leaving Rosie's house.

He took one of the divorce papers and glanced through it before putting it into his black briefcase and closing it. He decided to prepare for work, thinking he would read the divorce papers in his office.

Meanwhile, Jessica rushed downstairs into the living room and saw her two kids sitting on the couch, eating the popcorn from the previous night that she had used to keep herself awake while waiting for Dylan to return home.

She noticed the living room clock was already 8:35 AM, and she realized that her two kids were very late for school.

"Mummy! Mummy!" Caleb and Nina both rushed to hug her legs as soon as she stepped into the living room.

Caleb asked, "Mummy, aren't we going to school today?"

Jessica knew that her kids were already late for school. If their former maid had been around, she would have helped Jessica prepare the kids for school, bathe them before she woke up, and make their breakfast. The maid would even have assisted Caleb and Nina at the dining table, but now Jessica had to do it all alone, as Dylan was firmly against having any maid.

Jessica had suspected that the young maid tried to seduce her husband in her absence, but after the maid left, Jessica didn't receive any complaints from the maid's parents. The housemaid had even cried when she was sent away, insisting she hadn't done anything wrong to offend Jessica.

Jessica had given the young maid extra money, telling her that she would continue paying for her school fees even though the maid was no longer under her care.

Florence Gregson, a 15-year-old maid, had been very smart and nice, handling all her chores before Jessica even woke up or sent her on errands. Jessica had seen how Florence cared for Caleb and Nina, helping them with their homework as if she were their real older sister, even though she was just a maid.

"Time has gotten away from us today, Caleb. Don't worry; I'll try to wake up very early tomorrow morning to take you and Nina to school on time. Wait here; let me prepare something for you both to eat first, and then I will get your baths ready," Jessica told her son, smiling at him as she squatted down to meet the height of both her children.

She stood up and went into the kitchen to prepare their breakfast.

Jessica wondered if Dylan was still serious about divorcing her. As she walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboards to see what she could prepare, she resumed mopping the kitchen floor since she no longer had a maid.

After cleaning the kitchen floor and countertops, she proceeded to make her kids' breakfast, preparing noodles and fried eggs. She then stepped out to the dining table to serve their meals.

The aroma of the fried eggs and delicious noodles attracted her two kids, who rushed to meet her at the dining table and took their respective seats.

Nina, being too small, struggled to climb onto the dining chair by herself. She cried out and reached for Jessica to carry her up. After failing for the third time and crashing her bottom to the tiled floor, she exclaimed, "Mummy!"

"Wait, Nina, I'm coming!" Jessica quickly rushed to pick Nina up in her arms. She dusted off her little daughter's bottom, and sat her on her lap. She then proceeded to feed Nina's small mouth.

Nina continued to stretch her small hand to grab the spoon away from Jessica's hold, wanting to feed herself, but Jessica refused, continuing to feed her daughter.

Jessica knew her kids were happy children, and she didn't want them to grow up sad, especially seeing their parents quarreling and no longer in love.

"Mummy, why are you crying?" Caleb asked, noticing that Jessica was silently shedding tears.

Nina tried to look up at her mother's face while seated on Jessica's lap, eating her noodles. She looked back at Jessica to see if her mother was truly crying. Just then, Jessica heard footsteps behind her and quickly sniffed, plastering a fake smile on her face as she replied to Caleb, "I'm not crying; I'm just overwhelmed."

"Over what?" Caleb asked, confused by his mother's choice of words. But before Jessica could respond, Dylan cut in with his sharp voice, saying, "That's enough, Caleb. Now eat your food. You should know that talking isn't allowed while eating."

"Okay, Dad," Caleb replied with a smile, and Dylan stood with a stern expression, dressed in a black suit, adjusting his necktie over a white dress shirt.

Jessica glanced back at Dylan and saw the hardened expression on his face. She wanted to put Nina down on the next chair to let her eat on her own while she stood up to prepare Dylan's breakfast, but Dylan coldly told her, "There’s no need for that; I can't wait to eat again."

Jessica had already stood up from the dining table when she saw that Dylan was in a hurry to leave for work. He finished adjusting his suit, placed some money on the center table for them, and left the house.

"Mummy..." Nina cried out, unable to reach the dining table by herself. Her little hands couldn't grasp her spoon to feed herself.

Nina's crying snapped Jessica out of her trance, and she rushed back to her daughter, who was struggling to feed herself.

Jessica lifted Nina back onto her lap and resumed feeding her at the dining table.

Jessica knew that Dylan was serious about divorcing her, and she silently pondered what she could do to appease him while continuing to feed her daughter.

After Jessica finished feeding Nina and noticed that Caleb was also done with his meal, she realized that Dylan had only left the security guard at the gate to lock and unlock it whenever he left for the office in the morning and returned home in the evening. Dylan had fired all the maids and domestic staff.

She heard the sound of his car starting in the garage, and she knew he was leaving for the office.

Jessica went to her kids' room downstairs to prepare their baths. After bathing them, she dressed them in new clothes and finally brought them back to the living room with their toys to play. She switched on the television and tuned it to a cartoon channel for her kids to watch before she went back upstairs to her bedroom to prepare herself.