She sounded so serious and aggressive on instructing her mother-in-law.
Somehow mother-in-law showed worry, "You sound scary! Hope you're not planning on doing anything foolish?"
But Ishtar, displaying an anger description, courageously stopped at nothing to remind her, "am the victim in this remember!" "Besides, what's the point when both of you took my loyalty for granted?"
Deep breathing, calming down her sudden bust, she asked her mother-in-law, "Which harm do you think I'm capable of causing to my husband? In your arms I grew up."
Mother-in-law sighed out of shame.
"I love my husband, Ishtar made it more clear to her, "It's my duty to protect him."
Silent for a few seconds, much aware of the unwavering love Ishtar revealed to her son from childhood, "You can do as you please," mother-in-law responded.
Giving more clarity, she used her hand and drew a zip sign from the right hand side of her mouth to the left, a signal that she was going to do exactly as her daughter-in-law pleased _ to stay silent about it.
Suddenly, a faint smile quirked corners of Ishtar's mouth.
With too much confidence, "It's about time for me to bring some people to their knees and put them where they belong," in her mind she spoke.
She turned back and gently headed to the mansion to finish her unfinished business; to prepare an energy giving meal her husband requested for.
"What exactly is boiling on this girl's mind?" At Ishtar's back in a distance as she was walking on, mother-in-law stuck her eyes, wondering in a thought.
"Damn," Nadia Browne blurted and suddenly asked the taxi driver to stop the car by the road side when the phone call she was trying to make was not answered.
Worried on the face, she stepped out,
"It's three days now... he's can't be doing this to me!" Three anxious steps on the right and two steps on the left, looking tormented and confounded, she angrily screamed out loud, startling the passers-by.
"Am sorry," noticing people's eyes stuck on her, she immediately apologized, stepping back into the car.
"Unless it's an emergency, you don't call my phone in the morning," comfortably sitting in her office chair, Sonia spoke as soon as she put her mobile phone on ear.
"I need your help!" Nadia couldn't wait to ask.
As Sonia was opening her mouth to ask about the kind of help she needed, "Good morning, Sonia!" Bob Lee suddenly opened her office door, giving very peaceful smile.
Un expectedly when Sonia startled, "oh, am so sorry I startled you."
After laying him on his bed and covering him properly, she stormed out of his bedroom and gently closed the door behind her. She stood frozen, stared at the door, her anger grew widely, turning into regret.
Under the dark sky, two hours to twilight, full night and sunrise, Ishtar was lost in tears with her hands wrapped together, standing on the mansion compound.
From behind approached her mother-in-law with a downcast gaze and stood a few steps distant, "am sorry you had to hear that from my silly son."
Mother's sorry couldn't fix Ishtar's heavily broken heart. She couldn't stop sniffing and whipping her face like a child taken off her doll.
Ishtar's voice shaking, "mother... is it _ true?"
Mother-in-law took a deep breathe, struggling to continue, "I didn't expect things to turn out this way; I wanted to talk to him and find a way of stopping the affair before things get out of hand _ all my fault."
Ishtar closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the weight of her mother-in-law's words. She swallowed hard with her heart in depression.
"So, all along you knew!" Disappointedly, she blurted.
Mother-in-law stepped forward a little more closer to her, "look, if there's one thing I hate to see, is you getting hurt _ keeping it a secret from you was to protect your feelings."
"No... you were protecting your son not me!" Angrily, Ishtar raised her voice at her, "I can't believe I was counting on your snake words; pretending to care yet you weren't!"
Mother shook her head, "that's not true," in a small voice she sighed, discouraged.
It was clear Ishtar was hurt. The atmosphere around the two felt not conducive that Ishtar, suddenly walked out of her mother-in-law's sight, leaving her behind, worried in regrets.
"All my fault," deep in mind, on an apologetic and downcast face, mother-in-law took the blame, "you're right... I did it all for my son," her emotions could be felt as she spoke to herself, "as a loving mother, I couldn't sit back and watch him loose you _ a cool, intelligent, ambitious and descent woman you're. Am so selfish... I accept," her eyes dropped sorrily.
Later that very day in the afternoon, inside Bob Lee's bedroom, Ishtar moved back and forth, with hands wrapped.
She was arrested by tormenting thoughts.
She had waited impatiently for some good time to see him waking up from a deep sleep he was in, but under the white sheets he still snored with a low sound every time she took a glace.
"Another one hour had passed and you're not waking up," talking uncomfortably at the back of her mind, "is it because you returned home drunk?" Questioning herself.
With a desperate stare at the bed where he was, she stopped the movements, "can't wait any longer _ I need to hear what you have to tell me about your infidelity," impatiently speaking in thoughts, "forgive me but I've got to wake you up."
Ishtar unwrapped her hands and walked in confidence on a serious face to one side of the bed. However, her heart seemed terribly hurting as she gestured anxious and nervous before she sat.
"I need you to speak in my face that you don't love me."
She sat down on the bed side, inhaled and exhaled deeply. Hesitantly, she stretched her hand and tapped on his upper arm _ once at first, but it was not enough to wake him up since he slept off tired and intoxicated.
In worry, respectfully though, she twisted her face more nervously, and tapped on his arm again, twice in a row, then thrice.
Bob Lee started responding, slowly coming out of deep sleep.
Seeing him move encouraged Ishtar to add on a voice, "honey...," as she tapped on him more, "would you please wake up?" Asking calmly and politely.
Bob Lee's stretched his muscles, followed by the hands as his eyes sluggishly opened.
Right at his wife sitting beside him on the bed, he set his eyes.
He pulled himself to sit upright, but suddenly, his face frowned in pain. This made Ishtar to immediately wonder unsettledly.
Worried on her face, "Are you alright?" She asked.
He placed a hand plam on his forehead, "my head is heavily bombing."
Well thought she told him, "having returned home drunk, you slept longer hours today," in a calm and caring attitude.
Ishtar was always vulnerable in Bob Lee's presence.
At this moment, the pressure within her soul which was pushing her restlessly to demand a dialog eventually dropped. However, in the mind she wasn't yet relaxed.
"My love...." Bob Lee talked to her.
Ishtar's anxiety suddenly rose when when he stated.
Although she needed to hear what he had to say, she was so scared of the repercussions. She expected nothing but heartbreaking words from him, which on the other hand she wasn't willing to take.
As she responded with a faint smile, "yes my husband", her heart was already racing.
"I think I crossed the line yesterday...."
Curiosity wrote allover her worried face, "he's going to tell me he had sex with another lady, that he never loved me before...." the thought was so worrisome when it crossed her mind.
"... I made a bet with a friend of mine who drove me into something am regretting."
"You slept with a woman in our matrimonial!" Immediately a conclusion bombed her mind and her face began to turn angrily.
Looking aside, Bob Lee gestured a recalling face, "it all started at the bar counter after I lost the bet..."
Ishtar's adrenaline had been released and her heart was already racing in disbelief, "am listening!" She couldn't wait for him to spend a second without talking, looking at him attentively while she maintained a calm face.
"I can't believe I accepted to take in ten shots of tequila after pouring a double wiskey down my throat; it was a penalty for losing the bet!"