NOTE: This is a work of fiction. I hope that whatever I am writing won't affect anyone negatively. If you are going through a hard time, feel free to seek help.
Mondays,
The slow-rising sun from the east is the only hope that she clings to. As she ignites her car, leaving behind her misery, if just for a few hours, she wills this new day to be hopeful. Fixing her glasses, she lets her hands swirl on the steering wheel and drives out of the gate.
On her desk, books are neatly stacked, various novels of different genres, and her laptop is positioned directly in front of her, waiting to be opened.
"Hey Ms. Sandy," Greets one of her colleagues.
She adjusts her glasses before offering a slight nod with a small curt smile.
Next walks in a short, plump lady. She has her hair in a pony tail. Sandy doesn't seem to notice her at all. She smiles, two cups of coffee in her hand before she does some simple dance styles.She creeps behind Sandy, lowers her head and looks deep into her laptop. Sandy's body suddenly tenses when she feels a presence behind her. She clenches her fist, ready to close the laptop but the lady whispers into her ears, "Aren't you going to say hello?"
Sandy faces her, she smiles and hugs her. She wants to extend the hug but hesitates and pulls back.
"How was your weekend, Tumi?" She asks before grabbing one cup of coffee from Tumi.
Tumi smiles before showing her a picture from her phone. Sandy giggles and grabs the phone from her. She swipes left at the pictures. They are pictures of two people hanging out, sharing a meal and smiling together.
'When was the last time I had a meal with him like this?' She thinks.
She looks at Tumi who is still waiting for her words. Tumi looks hopeful and doesn't care about anything.
"Did you get between the sheets?" Asks Sandy cheekily.
She has mastered the art of pretending to be cheeky to her colleagues at work. She smiles, laughs with them and even talks about some topics that she would rather avoid. She doesn't want to show them how deeply she is hurting inside. She appears bright, hiding behind a layer of make up that masks her daily suffering.
Tumi moves closer and whispers into her ears, "Full details at break time."
Sandy nods.
She returns back to her seat and suddenly meets with Thornson's glance. She feels small as he walks towards her.
Everybody in the office knows about their marriage. The way he behaves here is very different with the way he treats her at home. He wears his sweet smile before walking to her desk. Two cups of coffee in his hand while holding a box of doughnut. They are the perfect couple that everyone envies at the office. Sandy smiles back, it is a cue, part of the illusion that they are happily in love.
"Uh, you had a busy morning that you didn't get to have breakfast?" Asks Tumi, grabbing the coffee she bought for Sandy.
Sandy smiles shyly and starts picking her fingernails.
Tumi leans over at Sandy, "I envy this." She leaves Sandy and Thornson alone while greeting other teachers in the office.
"Let us go outside," Thornoso.
Sandy shakes her head and sits back at her desk, "I have to prepare for a lesson." She opens her laptop and quickly starts scribbling in her notebook.
Placing the coffee and doughnuts on the desk, he walks over to her, Thornson gently grabs Sandy's collar while other teachers are busy talking, "Now!"
Sandy knows that, the moment she gets up from that chair, her day will be ruined.
She knows the daily warning that Thornson wants to give her.
Everyone around her thinks that she has the best marriage. They think that they met when Sandy was abroad. They fell in love. They married each other and now live a lavish life.
What they don't know is that Sandy has never truly knew Thornson, not until she was placed in his hotel as his wife. She doesn't live a lavish life, she used all her savings to buy a lavish house in gated community. Their marriage is a product of a forced, arranged union. There is no love.
She is living in hell, disguised as a perfect place on the outside. All she ever wishes for is to just run.
She pulls her chair behind and grabs the coffee on the table, her hands strongly on the edge of the paper cup, threatening to crash its. She hates the smile on the other teachers, The ones pretending to know her and her life. She wishes she could give them a day as Thornson's wife so they could experience the hell on earth that she is going through.
Can she really do that?
Instead, she follows the image her husbands wants to portray.
She sways her hips, seductively in her red bottom heels, Thornson's hands around her waist as they go to eat their breakfast.
"What were you trying to pull out there?"
They are in the cafeteria. It is an early morning; no ones uses the place. It is a good, secluded area where evil can go unnoticed.
Sandy sighs. She tosses the paper cup, the hot coffee spilling on the table. She grabs the scarf away from her neck and throws it carelessly onto the table.
"Are you seeing this?"She points at her neck.
For a moment, it is like she doesn't care that Thornson is the mighty one who can lay a hand on her without any hesitation.
"This is a reminder that I am your dog, right? You love saying it over and over again, like I could never forget. I know I am supposed to shut up. I am not allowed to talk to male teachers alone. I shouldn't argue with students. I get it. You've made rules clear. But what else do you want to remind me of today? That I hate breakfast with you in this cold, chocking place? That I don't even like black coffee? I like cream. I hate doughnuts. I'd kill for croissants with honey instead. You don't do this to share food, you do this remind me I belong to you. Why are you following me everywhere?"
She stands, her breath shaking but her spine straight. Without another word, she snatches her scarf from the table and turns on her heel.
Thornson's grip tightens around the paper cup. It crumples in his fist before he flings it at her. The cup misses, hitting the wall with a loud splatter, coffee dripping like blood down the pale tiles.
Sandy doesn't flinch. Doesn't look back.
She walks away, deliberate, unhurried. Each step felt like breaking a chain.
At the door, she pauses just long enough to slam it shut behind her. The sound echoes across the cafeteria, silencing the room.