Days kept passing by.Swara could do nothing but cry.She had never felt so helpless.Her only solace was during the night when she dreamt she was in Don’s arms.There was the only place shefelt safe.she woke up, she stretched and secretly hoped to find Don next to her.
The previous night she had fallen asleep before he got home and that meant she was missing his touch terribly.She instead reached for Bella,their Golden Retriever.She smiled,if Don knew she was sitting again on his side of the bed she’d regret it immediately.Which only meant that Don would not treat her to any Italian delicacies.Left overs, to be fair,but nonetheless.She petted Bella who seemed to enjoy it a lot.She smiled again as she recalled how Don brought Bella into their lives one day.She had been terribly depressed because of the miscarriage she had suffered.
Don surprised her with a beautiful puppy he had brought in a basket and had a red bow attached to her collar.He mentioned he would have bought a cat but there was simply no room for two wildcats under that roof,or anywhere else for that matter.
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he added sweetly then kissed her gently.She felt immediately better,wiping her tears away and smiling wide,but she knew that Don was broken hearted as well.She shook off those thoughts about her miscarriage, and put on her dress robe.She brushed her hair that had grown almost waist length and brushed her teeth.She decided to shower after breakfast,as she knew how adamant Don was on having breakfast together,and he was already running late for a business appointment with Sam.
She stepped into the dining area and Don looked over the rim of his reading glasses at her.She resolved long ago that on most days she would wake up just to see that look he gave her in the mornings.She smiled and approached to kiss him lightly, but he was still holding his glasses on the tip of his nose, that meant trouble.She giggled
SwaraWhat’s the matter
He exhaled audibly as he tossed the piece of paper he was reading aside
Don:This is.Your son’s grade report
She raised an eyebrow
Swara:Isn’t it funny how he’s my son when he’s doing something wrong and solely yours the rest of the time?
she smiled and reached for the paper.
Don tapped his fingers onto the table
Don:This is not funny,Swara. He’s attending the best school. He’s receiving the best tutoring. Yet he doesn’t get straight A’s
She couldn’t stop laughing
Swara:He can’t be perfect, Don!
Don:He’s my son,he better well be
Don smirked then sipped some more of his coffee
‘Good morning’
a sleepy Samar entered she turned towards her son and received his hug.He then reluctantly went towards his father whom wasn’t even looking his way
Samar:Papa?
Don continued reading the newspaper and gestured for his son to sit
Don:You overslept again.You know how I feel about that
The 10 year old sat quietly and began eating.As always he didn’t feel at all hungry.All he wanted was to get more sleep in the mornings.He could use those 20 minutes for some quality dreaming but no,his father had to have them all eat their breakfast.Or else.
Swara:Sam,what’s with that B in Biology?
She asked almost playfully.She wanted to cheer everyone up the boy squirmed in his seat and suddenly seemed to be feeling hungry and began eating
Don:Answer your mother
Samar:I don’t know how that happened…
Don:Playing video games all day,that’s how it happened!
Don tossed the newspaper aside just in time to catch his son feeding Bella some of his breakfast under the table
Don:That does it! How many times did I tell you not to feed the damned dog?
Swara:Don..!
She whispered but Don was already on his phone
Don:He’s coming.I’ll come myself to the location.See you there.
he then hung up
Don:Sam is waiting for you. We’ll talk more about this tonight
he warned his son but still went over and kissed him goodbye before closing the door behind him
Swara:Was that really necessary?
She asked softly while Don was clearing out the table.He insisted on not hiring maids.He sighed and turned to her,placing his arms over her shoulders
Don:You know why I did it
She smiled understandingly at him.She knew why Don didn’t like wasting food and insisted everyone ate properly when starting the day.It was because he had starved many times while growing up.And he didn’t want Bella to be fed by anyone else beside him.And now she had Slept on his side of the bed and was especially not deserving a treat.
She knew all that.Still she sometimes wished Don wouldn’t be so hard on their son.She knew he only wanted what was best for him, he wanted him to be the best, just like his father
Swara:He’s just a kid.You know grades don’t reflect reality.You know how bright Sam is
Don:I don’t know.The little time I attended school wasn’t really relevant.I can’t remember much from back then.But I’m being hard on him for his own good
he said while running his fingers through his wife’s long,thick hair, gently
Don:How are you feeling?
he smiled, for the first time that morning She smiled back
Swara:I’m fine
Don:You didn’t eat your special breakfast
She kissed him. He would even cook something special for her, avoiding anything that made her feel even sicker in the mornings
Swara:I didn’t get the chance.I promise I will.Now you run along,you’re running late as it is she then pushed him playfully but he caught her hands
Don:Don’t push me away,not even as a joke
he said seriously but not gravely.He then circled her waist.
Don:So what if I want to spend a little more time with you?You didn’t wait up
he whispered in her ear and she blushed
Swara:I’m sorry,you know the pregnancy makes me tired all the time
Don:You’re not tired now
he pointed out cheekily and she giggled
Swara:Interesting observation!
He grabbed a hold of his tie and removed it in one swift motion that made she bite her lip. He then grabbed her and placed her onto the kitchen table
Don:You see why I don’t agree on servants?
he wrinkled his nose playfully.
Swara giggled and began unbuttoning his shirt.He reached and untied her robe,letting it glide down her shoulders.Then he grabbed the lace hem of her night gown and pulled it up and over her head.He began kissing her neck and went down her collarbone when they heard someone at the door
‘You have a visitor!’
She looked back at Don inquisitively and forgot all about it when he grabbed her thighs and placed them around his waist and she ran her fingers through his longish hair which had gray threads now that she found incredibly masculine and s*xy
‘You have a visitor!’
She woke up and stood right up, the reality slowly hitting her.She was once again,in that small prison cell,all alone,Don gone. Hope started growing in her heart when she realized the usher was waiting for her to take her to her visitor.She tried not to get her hopes up.It could very well be her attorney.After all, the trial was in 2 days.
Swara:Who are you?
she asked while she was being uncuffed
‘I’m Simon Reeves.I’m here on behalf of miss Ayesha,I believe she has told you I’d be coming to see you
She folded her arms
Swara:What do youwant?
Simon:She mentioned you might be uncooperative
he said
Simon:I was told to give you this in order to give you a sense of perspective
he opened his briefcase and pulled out an envelope She looked at it inquisitively.She opened it and pulled out what appeared to be photos.Immediately her heart sank.
They were photos of Don and Ayesha.In all 4 of them, there were just the 2 of them.She looked at them one by one.Don holding her very tenderly, smiling to the camera,in one of them he was kissing her next to hear earlobe,in another he was kissing her hand.They all seemed spontaneous, instantaneous photos.2 of them seemed to be taken during some sort of vacation,the other were at parties,from what she could tell.
Her heart broke.They genuinely looked…in love.Don looked happy,content,even in love with Ayesha.She was obviously head over heels for him,but that was no novelty.In one particular photo Don seemed so young.His hair all ruffled, clean shaven, puffy,casual shirt and a cigar between his teeth while gazing at Ayesha.
To Be Continued