Episode six

Veronica stood at the window watching the husband of her youth walk away. She gripped her window blind to stop her tears from flowing. 

He entered his car without looking up as he used to years back. 

When they were just married he would look up and blow her a kiss and she would catch it and place it on her heart.

 It used to be their daily ritual before. But now it seems as if she doesn't exist to him anymore.

Salman was among those men that people say aged backward. He literally became better looking as he aged.

He was as handsome as he was when they first met, his dark hair now had touches of grey which even made him look better

His body was fit like a god, she used to call him Zeus when they were younger because of the way his body was built. 

He knew he looked good and he wouldn't want it any other way.

Salman still took her breath away even after all this year's but he had also broken her heart in many more ways.

She had fallen in with him when she first saw him, he was irresistibly handsome.

Salman had flirted with her and given her flowers each time they went on a date.

She fell deeply in love with him and enjoyed the attention and care he showered on her.

He proposed to her after a year of dating and she said yes.

He had always cheated on her even when they were younger, but she overlooked it because she was blindly in love.

The first time Veronica saw her husband with another woman was on their engagement day, he had excused himself to go to the restroom when he took more time than expected, and some of his friends were asking of him she decided to go search for him. 

She heard whispers coming from the guest room and opened the door, shocked, she stood frozen at the spot her husband stood, his pants and boxer shorts pulled down to his knees, his manhood standing erect. If circumstances were different she would laugh at how he looked but sprawled on the bed, was her cousin Karen who was well known for her sexual escapades.

She gently closed the door and walked away, Salman came running after her.

 Karen and Veronica had been at loggerheads since then avoiding each other like a plague.

Salman had apologized, putting the blame on Karen, how she seduced him. She accepted his apology, after all, she loved him so much and believed him when he said it won't happen again.

But she heard the rumor, all the rumor of his affairs. Some with his female clients, other random ladies, models, he had a taste for beautiful, glamorous women.

Veronica had once prided herself in her beauty and self-confidence, she had blond wavy hair and skin that was smooth and clear. 

Men and women complimented her for her looks, if she wasn't beautiful Salman would have never dated her, talk more of marrying her.

But her beauty and intelligence weren't enough to make Salman faithful to only her.

They would be celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary with two beautiful children, Kabir and Aisha. 

Friends complimented them on how long their marriage had lasted, some wished they had what she had, asking her the secret of her successful marriage.

If only they knew that half of those years were lived in agony and pain. 

She had tried to continue looking beautiful and attractive for him yet it wasn't enough for him.

His affair with his personal assistant broke her completely.

Tara who was known for her gossip had asked her if she knew her husband was having an affair with his personal assistant Juliet.

"Veronica, guess who I saw in the mall today.?"

"I can't guess Tara, kindly tell." She sipped her lemonade.

"Salman, and what's the name of his staff, the one that works closely with him."

"Do you mean Juliet?" Veronica couldn't hide the pain from her voice

"Yes, she is the one. He was carrying what they bought and they both looked gorgeous together like a newlywed couple."

This made Veronica nearly choke on her drink as she closed her eyes momentarily to swallow how hard the revelation had hit her.

"Salman has always been handsome, he is quite irresistible you know." Tara continued, she knew her friend was hurting but continued to poke her more. "Seems she is pregnant because I saw them at the aisle for baby stuff."

She smiled inwardly, knowing fully well that it was a lie, she just said that to make her sadder having been jealous of her friend's marriage, success and children.

Tara was divorced for the third time and anytime she saw  Veronica she felt all she had was supposed to be hers.

"I have to leave now Tara, I have an appointment with my gynecologist today.

She hurriedly left the cafe almost knocking off the glass on their table. She had to get home before she breaks down completely in front of Tara.

Her supposed friend Tara watched her leave, laughing to herself. " let her hurt, she deserves it." She said lifting her glass in celebration.

Veronica was blinded by her unshed tears as she walked towards her car, she opened her car, sat inside, and cried.

She cried so hard letting out all the pains she had buckled inside her all these years. She felt she had failed and blamed herself for living in denial all these years.

As she drove home she passed a popular pastry cafe and went inside. 

She bought a bowl of ice-cream, croissant, cupcakes, and went home.

Her journey to self-pity and low self-esteem began that day, she consoled herself with food.

In the beginning, she blamed herself for Salman's insatiable lust for women, then she blamed the women for not leaving her husband alone even though they knew he was married.

She blamed everyone but Salman for his infidelity. But as she watched him today there was a shift in her thinking.

Today she blamed him, for not taking their wedding vows seriously, for hurting her over and over again. 

Standing from where she sat she packed all the ice-cream and pastries out of her fridge and into the dustbin.

She stared at herself in the mirror, angry at the woman she had become, angry for giving him so much power to her emotionally, angry for taking so long to realize she had the power to live on her own terms.

She vowed to her image in the mirror to heal from her hurt, to eat right, to be happy. She was now on a mission to self-discovery. 

She wanted a better version of Veronica because she owed only herself to be awesome again.