The Painful Forever (Unhappy Wives Series #1)

Chapter 4: Now

I looked at Ice who’s fixing his tie in front of the mirror. It’s eight in the morning and he’s about to go to the hospital for work while I face a long day in the café.

I sighed and walked towards his direction, hugging him from behind. “Let’s grab dinner tonight, okay?” I whispered as I buried my face on his back.

He chuckled as he removed my hands wrapped around him so he could face me. “Of course, we will,” he said as he dipped down to kiss my lips. “I’ll pick you up from the café,” he mumbled against my lips.

I beamed at him and nodded. He brushed his thumb against my cheek as he leaned in to kiss my forehead. He was about to say something when his phone rang. He sighed loudly. It must be the hospital because he sounds like that when the nurses call him.

“Hello,” he answered the call. I am still wrapped around his arms. “Okay, if that’s the case then make sure that the patient fasted before the operation.”

He looked at me and smiled while listening to what the nurse is saying on the other line. He leaned his chin on top of my head and pulled me towards him.

“Okay, I’m leaving the house now. I’ll be there in an hour if the traffic isn’t that congested. I’ll have to drop my wife on her work,” he said. “Please call me when something urgent comes up…” he trailed. “Okay.”

I smiled at him. “You can go. I’ll just take a cab,” I told him. I don’t want him to drop me off when I know that a patient needs him there. It’s not as if I cannot go to the café on my own. I have a car but since he wanted to fetch me later, I can take the cab.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “No,” he said. “That is not an urgent case so no worries.”

I raised my brow at him and smirked. “Really?” I asked before letting go of him. He nodded but I shook my head. “You really have to go. It’s okay. I have to stop by the flower shop before going to the café because we need to change the flowers in the café today.”

“But—”

I placed my index finger on his lips and grinned. “No worries, Dr. Gonzalez. I’ll wait for in the café later, okay?” I told him as I fixed his tie before pushing him out the door because he looks like he really wouldn’t leave without me.

His brows are furrowed while looking at me as I handed him his bag and his car keys. I waved my hands and cheerfully bade goodbye. I motioned him to go and even went out to open the gate for him. He stared at me for a few seconds before sighing hard and got inside the car.

He stopped and opened his window when he was in front of me. He looked at me. “I’ll text you when I get to the hospital,” he told me. “And please tell me when you’ve arrived safely at the café.”

I chuckled and nodded. “I will, Dr. Gonzalez. Don’t worry too much about me, okay?” I told him as I leaned in to kiss him. “Drive safely,” I whispered before stepping back.

He smiled at me and nodded before driving out of the gate. I smiled as I watched his car go out of the subdivision. When his car was out of sight, I went inside the house to get my bag and book a cab.

***

Seraphim stopped by my café with a huge frown on her face. I narrowed my eyes at her as I asked Niana, my employee, to continue what I am doing because I have to attend to my friend.

Seraphim is sitting on the table near the glass wall with her legs crossed. She’s looking out like with brows furrowed. She looked so pissed off and I kind of have an idea.

I sighed and made her favorite drink and a slice of a Tiramisu cake before walking to her. I placed her Frappuccino and the cake on the table before sitting across her.

“What’s with the long face?” I asked her as I fixed the cake in front of her. “Trouble at work?”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She let out one long frustrated sigh before drinking on her Frappuccino.

I leaned back and watched her, not wanting to pry anymore because she really looks like she’s about to kill someone who will disturb her.

She ate three slices of the tiramisu cake before finally sighing. “It’s Jude,” she said before sighing once again. She looked at me. “How do you know if your husband is cheating on you?” she asked me.

I narrowed my eyes as I shifted on my seat. “What do you mean? Is he cheating on you?” I asked.

She pursed her lips before shrugging. “I don’t know. I mean, he’s always on his phone,” she complained. “Whenever we’re eating, he’s always checking his phone. And oh, he even has a password now.”

I stared at her. “What happened before that? Maybe he’s only busy with work. You know how his work could be very demanding,” I told her, trying to make excuses for Judeas. He’s a pilot so he’s out of the country most of the time. And he’s always being called to work.

She let out a deep breath, calming herself. “Why would he suddenly have a password, then?” she asked me like I am the reason why she’s problematic right now.

I gave her a look. “Why are you getting pissed at me now?” I asked her back. “I even gave you a free drink and a slice of cake.”

She pressed her lips together and leaned back before looking away. I somehow understand that she’s jealous. Hell, I also get extremely jealous when some girls try to get Isaiah’s attention. But I never had a moment in my life where I doubted his loyalty and faithfulness in me.

And I don’t ever wish to experience that moment in my life. I know how suffocating it feels to be jealous. Some people become really toxic because of envy and I don’t want to reach that point. I love Isaiah but I don’t think I would be able to be with him when he does something worth getting extremely jealous of.

“Where is he now?” I asked Seraphim, pertaining to Judeas.

“He’s probably in Bali now. He went to work last night because he has a flight at three in the morning,” she replied.

“How did he leave? Did he leave without telling you?” I asked her. I wanted to know the root of her suspicion because I know her and I know Judeas.

Seraphim has the tendency to get really panicky especially when she overthinks things. And Judeas isn’t really the type of person who gets tempted by other girls. So, I’m really wondering what happened.

She sighed and grabbed her drink again. “Well, we had s*x last night before he left,” she started. “But there’s something wrong with it you know?” She looked at me. “It’s different.”

I pursed my lips. I’m not really interested in knowing something about her s*x life. And how could she connect it to Judeas having someone else?

She gave me a smug look. “You don’t believe me,” she said in a disappointed tone and I could only raise my hands in surrender. She leaned her elbows on the table and looked deep in my eyes. “It is what it is,” she told me. “It started when he came home from his trip to Paris.”

I looked at her, listening attentively, waiting for more details.

“He came home that night and he smelled like a woman’s perfume,” she started. “At first, I didn’t care about it but then he kept looking at his phone and even when we’re together—watching a movie or eating—he would occasionally look at his phone like he’s waiting for someone to text him.”

I bit the insides of my cheeks. “Did you ask him about that yet?”

She sighed. “I tried but he always has a way to go around it,” she replied. “He always has an excuse so we wouldn’t talk about it. It’s getting so frustrating actually.”

“Well, it is,” I said, agreeing with her. “You need to talk to him about it, you know.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to end up like Tammy,” she said before exhaling deeply. “I don’t want to end up…” she trailed, couldn’t continue.

I sighed and looked out, too. The two of us haven’t talked about Tamara in a long time because we’d only end up crying. For us, Tamara is a taboo topic because it stirs a lot of emotions inside.

“I’m sure you’ll be okay,” I told her. “You just need to talk to him and straighten everything.” I smiled at her. “And if you need someone to talk to, talk to me, okay? I will go to you whenever you need me.”

She smiled and held my hand. “I know. And know that I am there for you just the same,” she uttered before inhaling a deep breath. “Can we have our wine night?” she asked me.

“Tonight?” I asked her hesitantly because I have to eat dinner with Isaiah later.

“Do you have plans with Ice?” she asked me when she noticed that I am a little reluctant. “It’s okay. We can just schedule it—”

“No,” I interjected. “We can have a wine night.” I’ll just text Isaiah later on. I’m sure he’s going to understand because it’s my best friend. I seldom go out with Seraphim because of her busy schedule.

Seraphim smiled and nodded. “Thank you,” she told me.

I rolled my eyes because she’s getting too emotional again. I brought my phone out and looked for a good hotel. “Come on. Let’s choose a hotel where we can have a great wine night,” I told her and left a mental note to text Isaiah later on.