Chapter 1 Hell of an Anniversary

“I got this for my husband, what do you think about it.” Lizabeth looked into the pack Mariama laid out on the massive bed of Mariama’s matrimonial room. A blue shirt, a Richard Miller watch, and a bottle of Martel, a pack no man in his right senses will turn down for any reason. A weak smile etched on Lizabeth’s lips. If only all day will be as blissful as this for the two young couple under whose service she is, she will be the gladdest domestic staff on earth. She looked up at Mariama who was waiting to catch a clear view of the smile on her face. “He will surely love it.” Said Lizabeth. “Such nice gift. Trust me, no man will come across this and stroll over without wishing to have such to himself.” Mariama smiled. It’s been long she last wore such smile, but her wedding anniversary with her billionaire husband is always a thing to be glad of, it is clearly their third anniversary, a pretty one at that. “He will get me gifts, right?” Mariama raised her brows. “Nice gifts.” Lizabeth chuckled. She knows so much about the young couples. While Mariama is drawn into nothing other than devotion and love for her husband, the reverse is the case for Oscar. He is a little older than Mariama, and he has not been nice for a couple of months since their last wedding anniversary. “Of course, he should, but even if he doesn’t, just be happy, you know he is always busy and might forget stuffs like this.” Lizabeth sounded like a mother soothing her child with soft words to keep her from weeping more than is necessary. Mariama nodded, but she isn’t satisfied with Lizabeth’s response. How could her man be so busy to forget their wedding anniversary and buy her nothing in exchange of what she bought him. “Help me wrap his gifts.” She rose from the lion sized bed on which she had been nestling all the while. “We need to do quick before he comes home.” Lizabeth joined her. Compared to Mariama, Lizabeth is not any younger. She is firmly in her mi-forties while Mariama is just a twenty-eight years old wife of a billionaire. The returned the stuffs to their packs and wrapped them up, giving it a precious look; the look of mystery boxes. “I can’t wait for him to come home and see this.” Said Mariama. Lizabeth looked towards the desk in the room and saw the file Oscar served Mariama the previous week. He had been persuading her to sign a damn divorce paper and call it off, but Mariama was rather too obsessed with him that she would lay a finger on the paper, rather, she shot the paper and his harsh words off her mind and resolved to preparing for their special moment, their wedding anniversary. Lizabeth scuffed and continued with Mariama. She could have advised her to sign the divorce paper and leave Oscar for a better life outside the mansion, but who is she, a common domestic staff, to tell her boss’s wife what to do. “I pray he returns in his best manners today.” Lizabeth muttered inwardly, but as if they calculated the whole process and knew for sure the time Oscar will return home, the sound of Oscar’s vehicle rippled into the room from outside. The boss of the house is back, and he has his rules which prohibits Lizabeth from entering his room for any damn reason, owing to the fat that she is a common maid. “Um, Ma’am, I’ll be on my way already.” Lizabeth excused herself and edged to the door post without waiting to be told to leave the room. “Okay.” Mariama beamed a sigh. “Get his food ready.” Lizabeth took off and shut the door, leaving Mariama alone in the room. Mariama rolled her eyes, she is anxious to see Oscar in his best reaction when she presents him with her gifts. At least, that could be enough reason for him to change his mind towards his bidding for a senseless divorce. She smiled and adjusted her dress. A couple of things comes with a wedding anniversary, the gifts, the memories of how they met and how it all went so far, and the shared passion in bed, that is, the sex. She heard Oscar’s voice, he was ordering Lizabeth around in the hall downstairs, in a pretty rude manner, but she is not concerned with how rude he sounds to Lizabeth. Everything stands a chance of getting better after tonight. The door of the room was pushed open, and Oscar emerged, smelling of alcohol. He must have been partying all day, and to make things worse, he has no bag or pack of gifts with him. “Hi…” she descended from the bed; her lips curled in a warm smile. “How are you.” Oscar seized her from head to toe with his eyes and winced. He wasn’t up for some chit-chat, but she is ready to have him do what they are meant to do as couples. “Um, I have something for you.” His silence was gradually killing her morale, her enthusiasm. “Today is our third wedding anniversary.” Oscar scuffed and made to the far end of the bed. He doesn’t want to bother himself, trading words with his obsessed wife. “Darling…I know you are mad at me. I don’t know your reasons but this isn’t what we should be doing tonight.” Mariama continued. “I bought you gifts.” She took hold of the stuffs on the bed and edged towards him with them, hoping he will at least put up a warm smile for her, but he seemed to be too busy with his shoes, as he was bent on taking them off. “Darling.” She said again, ignoring the fact that she was being snubbed for heaven’s sake. “Here is the token I brought you, for our third wedding anniversary.” Oscar turned to her and smiled, but his smile seized and his face rolled into a frowning mode. His eyes were sharpened by rage and his lips were ready to spit ugly words at her. “I never wanted anything from you.” He rose to his feet. “You were never able to offer anything useful and now, you bring your woe to me again.” He scooted closer to her and held her shoulders tenderly, like he cared if he grips harder and injure those pale thing that reminds him of cloth hangers. “When will you get tired of being stupid?” his voice was low and harsh, it drew tears out of her eyes. “And, let me remind you, I don’t like your perfume. Look what you are on, a silk gown and some silly bikini, huh?” He moved his lips to her ears. “You are the ugliest thing I ever set my eyes on, so, go to hell with your gift and your body.” He pushed her off his way, and she landed on the floor, her occiput hitting the edge of the desk on which the divorce paper was lying cold and untouched. “Just go to hell already, the devil is waiting to be your man in hell!”