My Ex-husband's Regret

Eva stared at the clock and sighed. It was past ten pm, yet Jacob was not back.

She sighed and rubbed her neck. She wondered why she stayed up waiting for him when he was not even looking forward to seeing her.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she ruminated on her life.

She stood abruptly when she heard the front door to their home unlock.

Jacob walked, looking as handsome as ever to her. She gave him a small smile and stood awkwardly in the living room as he stared coldly.

"You're welcome home, honey. I made dinner, "she said in a small voice.

"Dinner? Did I tell you I need your food? Get out of my sight and never talk to me again about any food. Anything from you disgusts me. "

She shrunk back at the intensity of the hatred in his voice.

She swallowed. "I'm sorry."

"And what did I tell you about calling me those damn pet names?", he snarled.

He walked towards her and pointed his finger directly in front of her, raising his voice. "The next time I repeat myself will be your last time in this house."

"I'm sorry, sir," she whispered.

He pushed down the carefully prepared meal she had made for emphasis, causing a loud crash to ring in the cold living room, and stormed off.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched his back till he disappeared into his room.

She sank into the nearby cushion in despair. Will her relationship with Jacob ever return to normal since her mistake of the last two years?

She did not know when she began to sob audibly, trying to muffle the sound by placing her hands over her mouth.

She cried herself to sleep that night.

*

Alex coughed some more as he read his newspaper through his glasses.

"Are you sure you are alright, dear?", his wife, Susanna, who was catching up on a reality show, asked, rushing over to him and patting his back.

"It's just..." Coughs. "A minor cough I've been having for a few days now,"

"Days?", she asked bewildered.

He tried to wave it off, but the cough became more raspy, and he heaved and sucked in air in between.

Her heart raced as she saw some redish fluids splatter on the ground as he coughed.

"Oh no! This is bad", she panicked.

She called a maid who was going about her chores, cleaning the marble tiles.

"Go call one of the drivers. Tell him to get the car car out now. "

The maid nodded and rushed out.

"There." Coughs. "There is no need for that. I will be fine"

She stated at him in annoyance for a moment before pulling him to a standing position.

"Let's go"

"But honey-"

"No! You have to get checked", she snapped as they rushed to one of Alex's jeeps, and the driver sped off to the best hospital in town.

*

Eva rushed over to the man who had been waving at her and had insisted that she be the one to serve him.

.

"Good afternoon, sir. You are welcome to Seymour's restaurant", she said with a pleasant smile. "What's your order?"

"Will it be froward if I say you?", the man said with a smooth voice. He looked at her with piercing gaze through his emerald orbs.

Her lips parted in a soft sigh. She took a look around, hoping no one had heard his comment.

"I'm afraid I'm not in the menu," she whispered, keeping her formal pleasant smile on her face, and took out her pen, raising notepad.

Wanting to hide behind her notepad, she put it directly in his line of view of her face. "This restaurant has a strict policy against any informal relations between customer and staff"

"Can I buy the restaurant and change the policy then?"

.

Eva had had a long day, even though it was just some minutes past one pm. The last thing she needed was a pestering from a flirtatious customer.

She gave him a blanket stare and tapped her pen on her notepad while looking into his eyes, which seemed to draw her in, to show she was in no mood for flirts.

"So you aren't game then? Such a bore", he said. He lifted the menu in front of him and blew out air as he flipped through it.

'So he had not even gone through it before calling for her', she thought to herself as she watched him frown at something in the menu and then flip back to the previous page.

"I see you have not decided yet, sir. You can signal me when you are ready to order. I bet my presence here will cause you to feel under pressure to select. I'll be back"

He smiled at her and replied, "On the contrary, your presence is quite soothing."

She groaned inwardly. Could this day be any more annoying?

She pressed her lips into a thin line and stared at him.

She looked back towards the waiters' station and saw two of her fellow waitresses snickering.

"I'll have the citrus-infused quinoa salad with grilled shrimp," he said after observing her face instead of the menu.

He smiled as she pursed her lips. He had studied her face, pretending to be going through the menu. He imagined different things as he looked at her.

She rolled her eyes subtly as she turned to get his order.

Lala, one of the waitresses, scoffed as she approached them.

"What took you so long?", she asked.

"He was indecisive," she replied with a tone of finalty. She was not in any mood to talk. All she wanted to do was to brood upon her life.

"You're not allowed to be with a customer for so long,"

Eva was done replying to her, so she just went to get his order.

"Bitch. I wonder what they all see in her", she heard her say to Mika, the other waitress who was with her, before she entered the service station.

She soon returned with his order and muttered some pleasantries before turning to leave in a rush.

She could feel his eyes as he bore holes into the back of her head.

After her shift that day, she rushed over to the daycare which was not too far from her workplace to pick David, her baby and her treasure.

"Mama", he said, trying to run over to her but she rushed to him and picked him in her arms while twirling him around.

He giggled in delight as she pecked his eyes, his nose, his mouth and every part of his face.

"Mama, stop", he said in between giggles, his small hands roaming her face in an attempt to push it away.

"You are late, Mrs Donovan. We do not tolerate our staff being kept back because of parents who pick their kids late. You will have to pay a lateness fine the next time, ma'am. We've talked about this with you countless times"

"I am so sorry. It is just that work has been super hectic these days. I assure you it would not happen again. I am so sorry", she pleaded with the head of the daycare.

The older lady smiled down at her. She could see the stress signs telling on Eva.

"You should try to lessen your pace to take a rest, Eva. You have to be strong for your son. He's such an amazing boy", she said in a warmer tone to her.

Eva smiled at her, trying to mask her pain. "Thank you so much, Mrs Grace. I really do appreciate your advice. I will try to implement it"

"You can always talk to me if you have any issue, you know"

She smiled. "I know, ma'am. I will do so when I have any"

They bade each other farewell and Eva set out to her house with David making her laugh all the way home, telling her in his baby accent about his classmates.

She was proud of her two-year-old son. She cherished him more than anything. He was the only one kept her sane after all she had been through and had been made to pass through.

The walk was a twenty minutes walk and she kept singing rhymes with David to prevent him from sleeping off before they got home so she would be able to feed him and bathe him before he went to sleep.

She got home by eight pm and quickly prepared his meal. She was in no mood to eat so she only had greek yoghurt with granola and some fruits.

She bathed David and listened to him chatter on and on about his classmates and a certain Kira who had refused to play with him.

He eventually dozed off and she laid him in his little bed which was besides hers, patting his behind slowly to prevent him from waking up.

When she had put him to bed, she yawned. Sleep was not far from her as well.

She stretched and wondered if she should still wait for Jacob's arrival or response to the call of nature to her bed.

She stood and dragged her feet to the living room. She sunk in one of the cushion.

She missed Jacob. She still hung to the hope that someday he would forgive her and things would go back to how they were. She hoped that he would tell her he loved her. She hoped they would, like old times, hold hands and walk down the street just to take in the scenery while basking in each other's loved. Oh, how she missed the feel of his skin against hers as they made love and how he had always made her feel special.

She blinked back tears and yawned, her eyes drooping before finally surrendering to the warm caressing hands of sleep.

Less than an hour time after she had dozed off, she heard the door open and she tried hard to prevent her eyes from going back to sleep as she went to give her cold welcome to him as had been her nature.

She gasped as he staggered a bit before pulling himself together and walking with unsure steps.

Was Jacob drunk?!

Sleep cleared from her eyes temporarily as she watched him stagger, not knowing what to make of the situation or what to do about it.

He tripped over his own foot and almost fell if she had not rushed over to him to hold him, but not for long because she eventually staggered backwards under his weight and they both fell on the loveseat.

He smelled of alcohol, and she observed as his eyes drooped, and he gave her his charming smile that stole her heart.

She wondered if she had had her with for a moment, but she recalled her harsh reality. He was drunk.

Her husband never drank. She knew that for sure.

"Who are you?", he slurred, his hands caressing her face. "You are one beautiful damsel,"

Eva would not let herself be flattered by his drunken statements.

She pulled him up and tried to help him to his room. Yes. Their matrimonial room, the master bedroom, had become his room while the second room in the house was her's and David's.

He lazily followed her as she led him.

"You look like my pretty wife who hurt me,"

She felt a pang in her heart at his statement but nevertheless led him to his room, barely managing to breathe as his weight lay on her.

"Careful," she said as she walked into the room, and he almost tripped.

The room that used to be their matrimonial room. She smiled sadly as she realized nothing had really changed about it.

The room was dimly lit by a coloured bulb that served as their sleeping light. She recalled the times they had made love under that same light and cuddled.

She had not been inside this room for two years.

She could not hold back her tears as she looked around. She sniffled and turned away to prevent him from seeing her tears.

"Are you crying, damsel?", he asked her when he saw her tears glisten.

"N-no", she for some reason, found his care faintly familiar.

For two years, she had only seen His cold face, and he had remained as hard as a block.

She turned to leave. He would be back to normal tomorrow, and he would not be happy to know that she had been on there.

He had made her choose between a divorce and them living as strangers in the same house. The latter option had been the most feasible for her.

Her breath hitched when she felt him hold her back.

She felt him snake his hands around her waist and take in her scent.

"I'm obsessed with this scent," he said, caressing her cheeks while his other hand roamed beneath her nightie.

She knew she had always wished he would make love to her, but she did not want it this way. She did not want to be his drunken mistake.

She pulled his hands away from her.

"Stop, Jacob," she muttered, mustering every strength of resistance she had to stop him.

He frowned and stated at her. "Do you not love me, damsel?"

"I-I- Of course I love you, Jacob. I just -"

She stopped herself.

He pulled her to himself and wrapped his arms and lifted her up, causing her to straddle him.

"Then why don't you want me to touch you?"he slurred, his head buried in her neck.

She shivered and moaned as he placed feathery kisses down her neck.

She held unto his shoulder. She wanted so badly to resist him, but her mind gave way for her heart. Her whole being desired him.

He connected his lips with hers, and she responded to the kiss with eager hunger and passion.

In a moment, they were stripped and tangled between sheets. Her soft moans, followed by his low groans, filled the room as they explored their bodies till they had spent up all their lust.

Eva watched as he snored lightly. He had shown her body much love and care but left her soul in pains and angush because she knew that the next day, he would barely look her way without expressing disgust at her presence.

She wore her dress and slipped out of the room with tears in her eyes.

Jacob woke up and went to work without sparing her a glance or even thanking her for the painkiller she had left on his bedside table for the hangover.

Eva knew it had become normal for him to not greet her, but she had hung to the thread of hope that their escapade last night would have sparked something in him for her, too.

She sobbed as he gave her the cold shoulder and left.

Was this how love felt? Like her heart was being ripped out of her chest and stomped upon by the man who she had given it to?

With a tear streaked face, she smiled at David when he woke up and smiled.

He was her sunshine and her assurance that she still had something to hope for. She had someone who cared for her in this world of deception and temporary love.

She picked him up and twirled him around, pecking his nose while he giggled.

"Mama, you cwy?" he asked, touching her face with his small palms.

"No, baby. Something just got into my eyes," she said with a fake smile. "Let's go get you prepared for school, honey."

He flailed his arms as she undressed him, not wanting to be bathed. She laughed, picked him up as he tried running away, and headed to the bathroom.

*

Work was as usual for Jacob. He was the assistant manager in Sename's, a big car reselling company.

He had not had his peace since he began to maltreat his wife, but he had always reminded himself that she deserved it.

He was not one to forgive so easily, especially not infidelity.

He missed the days of their love and when things were normal between them. To avoid the thoughts, he had buried himself in his work, aiming to hit the seven figure yearly income.

He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and got to work.

Love was something that had come first in his life, but now that the love had turned sour, his ambition was the only thing he lived for.

He was as ambitious as he was firm on his decisions.

Money is power and respect. The more of it he had, the more he would be

He was working when an unsaved line called him. Not being happy about the interruption, he silenced the call and continued on his grind, but the line kept calling him repeatedly.

"Hello," he replied with a displeased voice.

"Hi Jacob," a soft female choice called.

"Yes -"

"This is Mel speaking."

A small grin appeared on Jacob's face as he recalled the woman he had met at the club the previous day.

"Oh my.. I'm sorry. Forgive my manners, Melinda," he said, tearing his eyes away from his screen as he began to feel comfortable towards the pretty lady he had been seeing around his friends for a while.

Chase, his best friend, eyed him from his cubicle in the work room.

He wriggled his brows at Jacob and winked at him, mouthing, "Spot on."

He shot him a glare and kept talking with Mel on the phone.

The call ended after twenty minutes, and Chase, who had been eying him since he started call, rushed over to him.

"Brooo"

"What is it, Chase?"

"I knew you had a thing for Mel, man. You keep saying you're married, but man, we all know you need to get laid"

Jacob frowned, "Buzz off, man. I'm trying to work here," he said dismissively

"C'mon, man. You can't be seriously tied down because of that woman in your house that we both know you are practically strangers in the same house."

"I'd rather get laid with the stranger I know," Jacob blurted out without thinking.

"You're sick, man. Are you talking about the stranger who you have not spoken to in the past? What... two years?"

Jacob sighed, unable to concentrate with the constant buzzing of Chase, who wriggled his brows at him.

"I don't have time for this," he said and stretched. "I have work to do, and I know you've got your as well. Why not let us continue this conversation later? "

The latter frowned but turned to leave anyway, not without giving him a look that said, 'This conversation is far from over'

Eva had to work overtime. She was worn out and feeling so tired, but she knew she had to keep going. It was past six already, and she knew that David's teacher would be unhappy with her, but she could not lose this job.

The restaurant had become more busy than usual, and she had to do two or three things simultaneously, which were not in her job description.

The restaurant was becoming more busy, she observed.

She had seen a couple of sophisticated ladies come to the restaurant the day before yesterday, giggling sheepishly as they gossiped in hushed tones.

Oliver had as well become a regular face in the restaurant, much to her displeasure.

She sighed and huffed subtly as she saw him wink at her from where he sat at a table.

She was mopping at a table where a little child had just spilt orange juice and was making a fuss.

"Stop it, Tristan," the lady who held him snapped.

The baby stopped for a second, and a look of relief flooded the young woman's face till the little boy burst into tears, bawling uncontrollably and causing more ruckus.

"Dammit!!" the woman hissed as the drink poured on her dress.

Eva was given more work to do, but she did not mind. She was a mother, so she knew how it was for kids to throw tantrums.

She smiled apologetically to the woman who shot her a frustrated look.

"So much for being a good friend", the woman muttered and brought out her phone to call someone.

"Lilian. Where the hell are you? Your son has been causing a nuisance here, and you said you would be back in a freaking moment", she snapped into the phone while the baby kept wailing.

"Can I hold him?" Eva asked, seeing the young woman's frustration.

"Gladly," she replied, gladly, practically shoving the child into her arms.

She put down her mop and cooed and swayed softly with him.

He stared at her face, still crying softly, but as she kept swaying with him, tickling his sides, kissing his cheeks and singing softly to him, he calmed.

Soon, the baby that was once crying calmed and began to giggle and smile.

The woman who was still yelling at her friend on the phone stopped for a second and turned to her with a mixed expression of both surprise and gratitude.

"How did you...", she trailed off, seeing the baby now smiling and holding her finger.

"Kids are innocent," Eva told her. "With a little patience, you'd love having them around."

The lady was embarrassed at first, but she smiled. "Thank you so much..."

"Eva"

"Alright. Thank you, Eva."

"Yeah," Eva said.

A woman rushed into the restaurant, almost knocking down Lala, who was waiting on a table. Oliver's, to be precise.

The woman rushed over to Eva, and upon seeing the child who was already drifting to sleep in her arms, she threw her arms around Eva in a hug.

"Thank you," she said and took the baby from her arms, kissing his head.

"You have a wonderful son," Eva said and got back to what she was doing.

The woman smiled, pride shining in her eyes, and she thanked Eva.

Eva nodded. The woman introduced herself as Coco while her friend, who was still pissed at her, was Mila.

They went away immediately, and Eva was left with some of the few customers left.

Eva walked to the service station and heard Lala complaining.

"That bitch. She ruined my chance with Oliver Brown. I wish I could just rip her heads off. I just lost all the composture I had been building to talk to him. "

Mika rolled her eyes. "You could have shoved her back," she replied in a duh tone.

"She's a customer. I couldn't have done that. "

"Well, a little foot trip incident wouldn't have done any harm", Mika said sassily, blowing on a gum while winking at a customer who was giving her a flirtatious smile and pulling her top lower to show more of her cleavage.

Eva shook her head and went to take off her apron, washing her hands.

She was closed for the day so she headed to David's school to pick him.

Her two year old son sat on a chair in the empty waiting room, kicking his feet and looking around whole asking his teacher, Mrs Erica baby questions.

"Mama," he squealed when he saw her. His eyes lit up with joy and he jumped down from his chair, running to his mother.

Eva picked him and kissed his cheeks.

Mrs Erica was red in the face as she began to question her for her lateness.

"I had to stay overtime because you came late today. This behaviour of your Mrs Eva Lane is becoming intolerable. This is past eight for crying out loud. You can not keep abandoning your son here-"

The word abandonment made her feel things that caused her to shake.

She interrupted her. "I am so sorry, Mrs Erica. Please bear with me. I have to work overtime now that the restaurant has gotten busier", she pleaded but the woman, who had missed her date because of the delay was not happy and went on to say her mind.

"I understand, Mrs Eva, but you need to plan your life. Who knows, maybe you should quit your job to face your son because he is indeed a full-time job! Do you not have a husband who can come pick him up, or are you a single mother? I bet you are one of those women trying to be independent, who would rather work to death than take care of their family! The next time this happens, you will pay a hefty fine, and this is not a bluff. "

Eva wondered when the teachers got to start yelling at parents. The woman's words hurt, but Eva was in no mood to go back and forth with the woman.

She nodded gently and left, suppressing the tears that threatened to spill from her cheeks.

"Mama, is Mrs Eva you teacher?", her curious son asked her as they began their walk home.

"No, baby. She is your teacher", she said with a slight smile.

She could not imagine how she would be treating the children under her if she could talk to parents the way had just spoken to her.

"Why she talk to you like that, mama?"

Eva had no answer to his question. She only shook her head.

"Look at that", she pointed to the squirrel that leaped past them an jumped on a tree.

"Sh-sh-shk-sku-wwil", he said excitedly as he tried to get the pronunciation right.

Eva laughed. "Yes, baby. Squirrel", she said and he nodded.

"Whatever you call it, mama."

"What?", she asked, unable to hold back her laughter.

"I want one, whatever you call it, mama"

"What is that?"

"Mama," he whined, and she laughed as she gave up on the subject.

"Fine, I'll try to get you a squirrel if I can catch it", she said.

"But mama, sh-sh-shkul is fast, but you slow," he said thoughtfully, and she laughed.

"I'm slow?"

"Yes. I always beat you in a race," he said, and she feigned displeasure.

"Really? How about we have a race now?"

"Yes, mama," he said in excitement, and she set him on his feet. "First to get to that bin,"

She nodded, laughing as she looked at him in admiration.

"One, two, three, go," he said in just baby voice, and they both took off, but Eva let him be ahead of her.

He got there first and stuck his tongue out at her, with his his thumbs on either sides of his temple.

Sge feigned anger and sat on a bench beside the road.

"I'm not your friend again"

"Why, mama? It's not my fault. It just happened", he said, coming to her side and snuggling into her motherly arm. "No worry, mama. I love you even if you're not fast. I love you more than squirrel, mama."

Her heart exploded with love and emotions. David was such an amazing child. She loved him so much. She kissed his eyes, his nose, his mouth, and tickled him.

As they continued their journey back home, a car zoomed past them, splashing some dirty water on them.

Eva boiled within her. David rubbed his face to get rid of the dirty water on his face and giggled at his mother's face.

There was dirty water on her face, and the deep frown on her face made her look more funny to him.

"Mama, you want to cwy? But that's how you force me to bathe and you pour water on my face", he laughed, and her anger disappeared.

"This child!!" She exclaimed, spanking his butt playfully, and he giggled.

Such a happy child! She swore to do anything to ensure nothing made him sad.