3. Getting hit

Early the next morning, Melissa walked into the living room, her face beaming with gladness. Every second spent with Alex played back in her head like a movie on replay, and they never ceased to put a smile on her face.

It was only a matter of seconds before she noticed the decorations that had partially been taken down, the dish, candles that had been put out, and food that had stayed over the night.

The roses and petals were in really bad shape. Thus, the romantic setup appeared more like a mess. But with how every single item was to her taste, from the color to the dishes, even the lingering scent of the candles made Melissa realize how much effort he had put into making this a memorable date, yet she was unimpressed.

“Good morning,” Jason's voice drew her attention. It was surprising how she had been in the living room for a few seconds without noticing his presence.

Her smile faded instantly, and as she stared at her husband from head to toe, Melissa couldn't help but squint in disgust. Jason looked exhausted, his hair scattered, and his face like that of a man who had just survived a plane crash.

“Good morning,” she replied, her tone carrying a hint of apathy, and from the look of things, she didn't seem interested in having any conversation or asking questions about the setup.

In fact, Melissa was on her way toward the stairs when Jason's words stopped her in her tracks,

“You didn't even care to ask me about any of this?”

“Look, Jason,” she interjected, taking a few steps backwards so that she could see his face,

“I'm tired, and I genuinely do not want to talk about this setup.”

“Do you know what it took me to do all of this?” Jason asked, without realizing that he was raising his voice at her. He stood to his feet and closed the distance between them within a few seconds.

“I do not care,” Melissa snapped, backing away from him a little.

“What exactly did you do here that you are so proud of? The shabby romantic setup and dinner?”

She was about to walk away but paused and turned back to face him because she wasn't done with all she had to say.

“Do you think I'm impressed?” She asked Jason, looking straight into his eyes without regard,

“Anyone can set up a table and light candles, okay? Your stupid setup is meaningless to me. If you really want to do anything to impress me, Jason, then get a job and become successful… Make yourself useful, Jason. That's all I ask. Is it too much?”

In a fit of rage, Melissa walked past Jason, brushing her shoulder against his, and making her way to the sofa, where she folded her arm. And with a frown on her face, she turned back to him and said,

“Come and give me a massage, at least make yourself useful to me!”

“Wow,” Jason scoffed, not moving an inch from where he was standing,

“You were out all night with your phone switched off, you didn’t seem to care about how much I have done, you are such a fool to ask me for a massage at a time like this.”

Melissa was taken aback, Jason was known to be quiet even in arguments. He said a few words and never said any insulting words, so this came as an unpleasant surprise.

She sized him up from head to toe and regretted the day she walked down the aisle to be with him.

‘If only I had waited for Alex,’ she thought to herself, comparing the man she only spent a few nights with to the one she was married to.

Melissa was full of resentment, and there was nothing she wanted more than a divorce at the moment because, to her, Jason was not worth wasting her time on.

“So what do you suggest, huh Jason?” She asked him

“You just indirectly told me that I am unfaithful. Isn't that what this is all about? Telling me that I was out all night with my phone switched off, and so what, do you ever trust me?”

While she was yet to finish nagging, Jason threw his phone to the couch where she was seated, he made sure to open the picture so that Melissa would see it with her own eyes and not accuse him of making up stories.

With the image before her, Melissa went silent. She was unaware that this picture was taken, and for some reason, she was ashamed of it.

She scoffed, “So what if you have some behind-the-scenes shots from my next movie?”

At this point, Jason was just lost for words. The fact that she lied to his face was just bewildering.

‘ But how would she know that?’ he thought,

‘When she doesn't even know that I am aware of every role she plays in her movies even before she auditions? With all I have done for her, taking out her rivals, making her a figure that filmmakers around the world are looking for?’

‘How will she not lie to my face and call me worthless when she's unaware that her talents would have gotten her nowhere if I hadn't intervened and gotten her a lead role in her first hit movies. Everything she won, from cars to estate and shares from big companies are all my doing. How can she appreciate me when I send them to her anonymously and make it look like she was someone special? I was her biggest fan before her fame, yet this is what I get? Cheated on? lied to.’

“Melissa… you are just such a …

“Liar?” Melissa took the words off his mouth and stood up briskly,

“You accused me of being a liar huh, what do you even know? you sit at home all day, doing nothing, yet I go out there to work and make the money, yet you stupid and good-for-nothing man calls me a liar!”

With anger conveyed in her tone, Mellisa failed to realize how loudly she was screaming and how close she was standing next to Jason and pointing her finger at his face.

“Don't you ever dare…” Mellisa had yet to finish her statement when Jason silenced her with a slap across the cheek, its sound echoing throughout the living room.

Even Jason himself could not believe that he had done something like this, but he could barely control his rage, and all that Melissa was doing was fueling the flames.

In a split second, Melissa threw herself to the ground like it was the end of the world, and at the same time, the door to the living room was dashed open and Alex walked in like a raging beast ready to attack Jason.