Malachi was undressing. He was like a proud Greek God, unashamed of his glorious physique. In the earlier part of our relationship, there was a time when he couldn’t get his hands off me. Now that I am pregnant---he’d barely touch me. Mal’s reasons are logical. He didn’t want to hurt the baby. I explained to him that there’s more than intercourse to show affection. There’s cuddling and other forms of affection. I got lucky twice or thrice after a lot of attempts, but in the last month? Nada, zero.
“Please choose a nice suit. And oh, one more thing. I might be out olate tonight. Don’t wait up.” He reminded me. After showering, Mal closed the distance between us and I leaned in for a kiss, but he lowered his head and kissed my bulging belly instead. “Take care of my kid, okay? That should be easy, you’re a nurse and you're just staying at home.”
"What?" I don't know what to feel first, to be surprised or offended or both.
Before I knew it, I was alone in the two-bedroom unit again. My phone pinged ten minutes later. It was an email notification. One of the many that I’ve been receiving since last month. Another one that’ll bite the dust. It came from an anonymous sender. At first, I wanted to ignore it because with the kind of technology these days…it’s so easy to fake a photo. But as harmless as I presumed they were---they still hurt me.
They’re Mal’s photos, shot from different locations in the city. Places where he would never take me because I knew he and Lili used to hang out there. That was their place and it will never be ours.
“Oh, God…” I muttered under my breath. My heart sank. “Oh, God…”
It was Mal again. This time, at our favorite cafe---with Lili.
Malachi's POV:
Do you know how an alcoholic quit drinking years ago but relapsed with just one tempting bottle of his favorite booze?
That’s how I felt when Lili called me a month ago. She had no one in the city and she’s picking off where she left off---that means she’s starting with me.