Waiting to Exhale

Klea paced the sitting room as she waited for her husband to respond to her call. She has been trying to call him for over an hour but he was not picking up.

It was already late in the night and she couldn't help but wonder what may have happened to her newly wedded husband. She was already tired of waiting and was about to pick up her car keys from the couch when someone barged into the house.

It was her husband. He locked the door and took a seat across from Klea. He pulled his tie and his jacket and opened a few buttons on his long sleeve shirt.

"Ahh I had a long day at work" he rested his head on the couch, with him facing the ceiling.

"Aiden are you..."

Aiden interrupted before she could say a word. "Honey I am having a serious headache right now, I need to shower and go to bed. I hope you enjoyed your first time staying at home since you stopped working?" He stood up and picked up his things to leave.

"Not exactly," She said, placing her hand on her waist.

"You would get used to it" he scoffed and went upstairs. "Even if she did, she won't say it. Women will always be women" he murmured as he walked upstairs.

Klea had a lot to tell him but he doesn't seem to be interested in talking to her like he always does. This was the third time he returned home late without giving her a reason, and ignoring her like nothing happened. Now she has become a jobless woman, rather than a housewife just to suit his taste.

Klea went to the kitchen to serve him dinner hoping to talk to him over dinner and went upstairs to their bedroom.

"Sweetie, I've served dinner," she said as she entered the room.

Adien was already in bed. "I'm not hungry" he replied with his eyes fixed on his phone.

"You ate out?" She asked, sliding her fingers into her silky hair and pushing it through it.

"Klea I'm busy" He replied with a hint of anger in his voice.

Today is one of those days in which he refuses to eat. Klea walked out of the room and slammed the door shut. When she got downstairs, she picked up her phone from the centre table and went over to the dining room and sat in a chair across from where she had placed the food. She called her best friend's number.

"Klea" Her best friend screamed.

She smiled. "Ivy, please bring your voice down. You're hurting my ears.''

"Whatever" Ivy chuckled and cleared her throat. "How are you?"

"You should know better," She replied with a low tone and took a deep breath before releasing it and looking at the stairs. "He is at it again"

"Babe just ignore him, cheer up"

"I wish it's as easy as it sounds," Klea rolled her eyes. "I'm tired, months feel like a thousand years already. If this is how marriage feels, then I don't want it"

"Let's go have fun tomorrow," Ivy suggested.

"That would be great," Klea let out a sigh of relief. "I need to go now, I love you" she hung up.

She stared at the dinner she had prepared for Aiden, shook her head, and clicked her tongue before standing up to take it back to the kitchen.

***

The next day, Klea and Ivy were having lunch in a fancy restaurant.

"Why did you pick this restaurant?" Klea asked as soon as the waitress was done serving.

"Why? Is it less than your standard?" Ivy furrowed her eyebrows.

She shook her head and looked around and then turned to look at her girlfriend. "I mean which guy brought you here? This place is cool" she picked up her glass of wine and took a sip.

"Jeez this is unbelievable" Ivy rolled her eyes. "Let's break up" she gently tapped the table.

"Yes let's do that" Klea replied as both of them began to pick up their bags and car keys like they were going to leave. When both of them were about to stand up, they began to laugh hard.

"We can't break up duh," Klea said laughing.

"Hell no," Ivy replied, sweeping her hair behind her ears.

They started eating, Klea paused to stare at her best friend, admiring her beauty and her elegance, and couldn't help but imagine what her life would have been without her.

"I love you," Klea said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Ivy paused on hearing Klea. "I love you, darling," she smiled. "But you don't have to cry," she tried to console her.

"I know right" she sniffed and tilted her head back like she was going to send the tears back. She cleaned her tears with the back of her hand.

"I think you may need to wash your face honey I don't like you looking all messy"

"Okay excuse me" She replied with a smile, she picked up her purse and headed to the bathroom.

On getting there, she washed her face and stared at herself in the mirror. "You're pretty," she smiled. "He is not worth it I know but I can't walk out or maybe I can" she felt a burning sensation in her eyes again as tears rolled down her eyes.

This marriage wasn't her choice and she didn't even get the chance to pick the kind of man she has always dreamt of. The public would think she has a perfect marriage, and no one except Klea ever cared to ask if she was happy about it or not, even her parents were careless. All they want is for their company to move to the next level.

Klea pulled herself together, washed her face, and redo her makeup before walking to the bathroom.

Klea saw her best friend from a distance exchanging phone numbers with a young man and talking like she was attracted to him. Klea tried to give them a safe distance to avoid unnecessary drama and discomfort when Ivy saw her. She was only four tables away.

"That's my best friend," Ivy pointed out. "come here miss, why were you standing there?" She laughed.

Ivy knew what Klea was doing though she just didn't want anything to seem off.

"I just wanted both of you to have space. '' Klea faked a smile.

Ivy opened her mouth to say something when the guy spoke in her place.

"No it's fine I was about to leave" he bowed slightly, smiled at Ivy, and then left.

"Ohh" Klea raised her eyebrows and then wiggled them as she took her seat and turned to see if the young man had left them.

"Stop it" Ivy tapped Klea's palm playfully.

"A new catch ?" She smiled, grabbing her glass of wine.

Ivy shook her head, clicking her tongue. "Nah I'm not sure"

"He doesn't look like your type but he may be your type, you never can tell unless you find out " she winked.

"But he looks too calmed to be a Dom"

"That's what you thought when you met that nerd" Klea batted her eyelashes and sipped from her drink noisily.

"Stop staring at me like that" Ivy playfully snapped.

Klea kept giving her a weird stare.

"Okay, alright yes he was extremely good and he is married now so...." She let out a sigh. "let's put him aside"

"Okay, but you didn't love him," Ivy pouted.

"Hmm, I did, I mean his diçk was heavenly"

They both laughed.

"Why don't you get married already?" Klea rolled her eyes.

"It's not like marriage is that cool and you're a victim of that you know"

"The food is getting cold," Klea said in a low tone with a hint of sadness.

"I didn't mean it that way"

"It's okay just eat up," Klea said, tossing her food on her plate.

Both of them ate silently without talking to each other until a different song started playing in the restaurant.

"That's my favourite song," Klea said like she was about to cry, covering her mouth to prevent food from coming out.

"I couldn't make you smile but his voice did" Ivy stared at her surprisingly. "When did you start listening to music ?"

"Ever since loneliness got the best of me" she replied nodding to the music as she ate and sang her favourite line whenever she heard it.

Ivy chuckled softly seeing her best friend in a better mood.

They went shopping after lunch and thought of going to the club but Klea had to decline. She respects her husband so much although he doesn't reciprocate, and she really hopes that he would do that someday.

"I know you would always decline so bye" ivy drove off.

Klea struggled with her shopping bags as she walked through the gate, she noticed her husband's car parked in the parking lot. She smiled and went into the house.

She met Aiden watching soccer.

"Welcome," he said as soon as she walked through the door.

"Thanks, can you help me with these?" She requested.

"What ?" He turned to see her holding shopping bags. "Young lady, what did you buy ?" He smiled and stood up to assist her.

"Clothes, bags, and a few new kitchen appliances, those ones are still outside," she replied. "Why don't you get those instead of helping me with them?"

"I would do that too, " he said as he went upstairs. "I still wonder what we don't have in our home"

"A few things I guess and some things need to be changed," She said as she walked behind him.

He scoffed.

When they got into the room, he placed the shopping bag next to her dressing table.

"Thank you" she sighed and sat on the bed.

"I would get the others for you," He said leaving the room.

"Why is he being nice again? Now I'm scared" She laid on her back.

Aiden came back to the room to see her sleeping. He smiled and ran back downstairs, brought out his phone, and started dialling a number.

***

The next day, Klea woke up late, and she didn't see her husband next to her. She groaned as she sat up.

Her phone beeped. She turned and stretched her arms to pick up her phone from the bedside table.

She opened her cell phone, it was a message from Aiden. "I will be going on a business trip this evening. I will be back in three days" she read aloud.

She called him immediately. "Hello"

"Yes, honey? Did you sleep well?" He said as soon as he heard her voice.

"Aiden, why didn't you tell me that you were going on a business trip ?" She said, placing her hand on her forehead.

"I'm sorry it's just that work is taking the best of me" He replied calmly.

"Fine!" She snapped. "Your jobless wife would try her best to understand" she hung up.

"I'm fed up!"

She walked into the bathroom, showered up, and got dressed in a green crop top, and black jeans trousers and picked up a matching handbag, stuffed it with her bank cards, and car keys, picked up her black heels, and held them as she walked downstairs.

As she was getting closer to the sitting room, she heard noise from the kitchen and a nice aroma hit her nose.

She sniffed trying to enjoy the aroma of the food. Her mood suddenly changed as soon as she remembered that Aiden never cooks. She went into the kitchen to see a girl who looked two or four years older than her cooking in HER KITCHEN.

"Good morning ma'am" the girl greeted quickly on seeing her walk into the kitchen.

Klea furrowed her eyebrows and laughed softly. "Wow," she nodded. "Good morning"

"I was preparing breakfast and I didn't want to wake you up," she said quickly knowing very well that she has never met with Klea and she needed to introduce herself to her.

"Oh, it seems ...."

"I'm working here as a maid, I resumed this morning" she replied quickly.

"What's your name ?"

"Samantha Nelson," She replied.

Klea nodded and clicked her tongue.

The air was tense and Samantha was scared to even continue with the cooking until they began to perceive food burning.

"Are you going to raise my house?!" Klea yelled unconsciously.

"Sorry ma'am" Samantha apologised quickly.

"Stop staring at me and handle it" She yelled again and stormed out of the kitchen.

'It's getting crazier here,' she said to herself as she angrily went upstairs to her room. She had left her bag and shoes on the dining table.

As she opened the door to the room, she dialled Aiden's number, he didn't take time to pick up.

"Hello dear how ....."

"Dear indeed? Why am I always left out in anything that has to do with making decisions in our home ?" She yelled.

"What is it ?" He asked.

She didn't say a word because she expected him to know what he had done.

"If it's about the maid, then it's nothing serious. I just want...."

"It's nothing serious? Aiden it's our home " She said calmly with a hint of anger.

"When you went to buy kitchen appliances, was I informed?" He queried.

"Aiden ?"

"Please I'm in the middle of a meeting so we can talk whenever I am free," he hung up.

She sat down on the bed feeling weak and heavy. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. Her parents' marriage never looked anything like hers. She had always dreamt of marrying a person that's sweeter than her father but all she got was the direct opposite. Her father treated her mother, her siblings, and her so well that she can't stand being treated any less but she tries to ignore it because of her parents.

She cried her eyes out until she fell asleep.

The knock on her door woke her up, making her sit up quickly, she heard another knock from the door which made her come to reality.

"Yes ?" She placed her palm across her lips as she yawned.

"Are you up now ?" She heard a familiar voice say.

"Samantha ?" She said remembering she now has a maid.

"Yes ma'am" she replied.

Klea didn't reply.

"Dinner is ready," Samantha reported.

"Okay" Klea replied.

Klea realised that she had slept for hours, she picked up her phone to check the time it was exactly 7 pm. "Argh, eleven hours ?!"

Klea felt like she was getting lazy as the day passed by. She is known to be a workaholic until she was trapped in her useless marriage.

She walked into the bathroom to wash her face, wipe it and hurried downstairs as she was only trying to avoid eating cold food. She likes her food hot.

"Have you eaten ?" She asked Samantha as she pulled out a seat.

"Yes"

"Was it enough ?" Klea asked.

Samantha nodded.

Samantha had painted Klea to be a tough, rude, and unreasonable lady due to the way she had reacted earlier on. Klea seemed lazy to her as well.

"How can she sleep for more than eight hours even after waking up late ?" That's what she murmured anytime she knocked on Klea's door in the hope of reporting a few things to her or asking her questions about where things were during the day. Samantha kept calling Aiden to answer her questions since she was new to the house.

Samantha was willing to add kindness to the characters she presumed Klea to be but she felt it would be too quick to do so.

Samantha did the dishes as soon as Klea walked out of the dining room.

Klea was watching her favourite TV show when she noticed Samantha watching from a distance.

"Have your seat and stop, acting as if I bite" She said with her eyes still fixed on the television.

Samantha slowly sat on a couch next to Klea's.

Klea and Samantha ended up discussing and laughing because of the TV program. When the show ended and they had nothing else to talk about, it resulted in an awkward silence.

"So Samantha Nelson, how old are you ?" Klea asked with a more serious tone.

"26" she replied.

Klea nodded and said to herself. "Two years older than me, "

"Anyways I'm sorry for what I did this morning" Klea apologised.

Samantha smiled. "It's fine"

"Alright,now that we're good I need to go to bed." Klea stood up to leave.

***

Klea was sitting beside her mother crying, she had been complaining about her relationship with Aiden.

Her mother kept telling her, "marriage is all about patience and understanding both of you need to talk things out, I was also betrothed to your father."

Klea hated the fact that her parents would not want to interfere in it, especially her mother.

She stayed over at her parents' house and returned home the next day, her maid wasn't home yet, she had called her to tell her about going to the grocery store so that Klea needn't worry.

Klea felt more relaxed since she was able to pour her heart out to her parents about her marriage for the first time and kept thinking of how she could talk things out with Aiden.

She walked into the bathroom to shower, she came out with a towel loosely tied across her chest. Aiden was sitting on the edge of the bed. She didn't hear him walk into the room and he wasn't wearing office wear, he was putting on a white t-shirt and blue shorts and she couldn't find his suitcase anywhere close to them.

"Babe," Klea smiled.

"Good morning miss," he replied, turning to look at her.

"Good morning" she went over to sit in front of her dressing table, plugged her hand dryer, and began to dry her hair.

He cleared his throat. "Why weren't you home last night ?"

"I stayed at my parent's house," she replied.

"And you didn't even tell me about it"

"Didn't you see my text ?" She turned off the hand dryer and turned to look at Aiden.

"I.... I " he clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his head. "fine I didn't check my texts and ...."

"You weren't picking up" she cut in.

"I'm sorry"

She rolled her eyes and continued drying her hair. " Aiden we really need to talk through"

"About what ?" He asked.

"Us"

He smirked.

"Yes, why do we feel so far from each other? And I don't seem to understand you any longer" Klea explained.

"Come on, you know me best, you've known me for years now, we've been childhood friends," He replied.

"You seemed to have changed, we've not met for years too" she unplugged the dryer and placed her chair across from him.

"Maybe" he raised his brows.

"You changed a lot, you were nicer, warmer, sweeter in fact everything was better" She replied and bit the corner of her lips. "You were almost perfect but now I don't know this Aiden in front of me, I was beginning to crush on you before you went to the UK to study"

"So you don't like me now ?" He asked, standing up.

Klea kept mute.

"My baby, I would try to change for you" he leaned in and placed his lip on hers.

She wrapped her hand around his neck as she claimed his upper lips, sucked on it, and slid her tongue into his mouth as she followed his pace. She stood up, and Aiden wrapped his hand around her waist as the kiss got deeper and more passionate.

She helped him pull his shirt while he loosed her towel exposing her nicely placed boobs and tout ass. He grabbed her ass and continued to kiss her as they lay on the bed.

He slid his finger into her cunt making her moan softly into his mouth. He began to stroke his fingers into her wet pússy. She arched her back as she moaned softly. Aiden smiled and was about to lean in for another deep kiss when the alarm on his phone rang, he pulled his finger out immediately and brought out the phone from his back pocket to turn off the alarm.