Chapter 2

After a week of plotting and planning her escape, Lily was finally ready to leave. Her two suitcases that she had spent the past week filling up with her things she didn't sell or donate laid at the foot of the bed.

Even though she had spent the past week preparing for this day, she couldn't help the ache that she felt. After five years, five years of giving her all to a man who didn't even appreciate it in the slightest... She was finally leaving, but she was leaving with nothing but a broken heart.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked around the room she stayed in all those while. She had taken off all the decorations and changes she made in the past year, returning it to the lonely room it was the first night she slept in it. She thought that she would at least spend her wedding night with her husband, but he cast her away into a room, a lonely room that he never crossed the threshold of. It hurt a lot at first, but she learnt to live with it... But not any more.

Taking a very deep breath, she picked up her suitcases and walked away from the room. Her intentions were to walk away without looking back, but when she got to his room, she found herself stuck before the door. Asher banned her from going into his room, but she couldn't stay away. Everytime he left for work, she would sneak in and look around. At first, if was harmless, she would just look around, but slowly she began to make little adjustments. They were barely noticeable but you could feel the change, and she always wondered if he knew what she was doing.

She derived a little pleasure in assuming he knows but chose to not say anything because he likes it, but she had taken away every change she made, and not just in his room, but everywhere else in the house. It took a lot of work but she got it done. He always wanted her out of his hair, his actions made it abundantly clear and now she's going to bring his wishes to life. It was her last act of love, ripping herself entirely from his life.

Tightening her grip, she denied herself the leisure of taking one more look at his room. There was no need to.

The helps gave her curious looks as she walked out of the house, they all get their payments every month but they barely ever come to work because she handles everything. Today however, she asked every single one of them to report to work. She informed them that their services would be required for all the hours that they pay covered but she gave none of them except the head maid her reason, she didn't have to. They wouldn't be seeing her again anyway.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" Marie, the head maid asked and Lily nodded with a smile. She was the one person that knew quarter of what she went through, and Lily could tell that despite the sad look on her face, she was proud of her.

"I'll see you around, Marie."

Marie nodded  and waved her good bye as she walked out of the house.

The minute Lily got into the cab after giving the driver the address for the apartment she leased, she felt like she could breath again. It felt like she was relieved of a burden she had carried for so long without realizing, and that caused a lump to form in her throat.

Just how long was she going to continue living like that if Charlotte hadn't strutted in that very day. Just how long was she going to delude herself of a happily ever after?  She let the tears drop, they were both sad and happy tears. Sadness from the knowledge that all she ever wanted would never be hers, and happiness from the fact that now, she could finally live.

Annoyance tugged on Asher's nerves as he walked into the house. He wanted to spend the entire day with Charlotte, but she had brushed him off for a girls' night. He tried all he could to get her to stay with him, but she so coyly shut him down and the last thing he wants to do now was come home to his wife. The word had a bitter taste to it because of the face he has come to associate it with.

He wanted nothing to do with her, but he couldn't get rid of her. She was always there, her presence, her scent, her hair, everything about her keeps invading his home. Even when he tried so much to ignore her, she was always there.

He sucked his teeth in annoyance and released a deep breath. "I should have just stayed in the hotel." He mumbled as he grabbed the door handle. After Charlotte turned him down, he couldn't bring himself to stay back at the hotel. He felt humiliated.

His anger however faded into surprise when he walked in and Lily wasn't by the door with her usual smile, waiting for him. His eyes darted to the staircase, hoping to catch her running down the stairs, but he was met with an empty staircase. His brows knitted together at the emptiness, and an unexplainable feeling tugged on his chest.  Was she sick? He thought, still scanning around for her.

He took steady and cautious to the dining room, hoping to find her there but instead he was welcomed by two of the hired helps, and he halted, his frown deepening. When was the last time he saw them? It felt foreign and strange coming back and being welcomed by the servants instead of her. His eyes darted to the table, and dinner was sprawled out on it. At least, that didn't change.

Clearing his throat, he took a seat and one of the helps rushed to his side to help him dish out his food. Almost immediately, Marie walked out of the kitchen and a smile formed on his lips. Marie was the oldest servant in the house, and they both were really close, she after all has spent the longest time with him.

"Welcome back, sir." She said, taking over the responsibility of dishing his food.

"It's nice to see you, Marie" he said and she placed his food before him, a pleasant smile on her face, and he shot her a small one in response before he dug into his food.

The small smile on his face immediately disappeared the second he took a bite of the food. He dropped the spoon softly, and it took everything in him not to spit the food out. "Who made this?" He asked when he finally managed to swallow it, and Marie appeared beside him almost immediately.

"I did, sir. Is anything wrong with it?" She asked, her eyes darting from the food to Asher's face.

Asher glanced at her then back at the food and his hold on the spoon tightened. He survived many years on Marie's food before he married her, and now Marie's food tastes... Awful.

"Where is she?" He finally asked, betraying his decision to act indifferent about her absence. Not welcoming him is one thing, allowing him to feed on something so awful is another, and if she doesn't have a legitimate reason for this massive change, then...

"Who, sir?" Marie asked, interrupting his train of thoughts and he arched a brow.

"Lily... Where is she?"

Realization dawned on Marie's face and she cleared her throat. "She left this morning, sir."

"Left?" He looked around then back at Marie, "left to where? She didn't tell me prior."

Marie reached into her apron and brought out an envelope. "She said to give you this." Asher immediately reached out and took the envelope from her, before he hastily tore it open, and a letter fell out.

His eyes darted through it and with each word he took in, his face morphed into a frown, his eyes darker than the black suit he had on. When he was done reading it, he squeezed the paper into a ball and threw it on the table. "I don't care how you all do it, but ask Lily to be back before sunrise or you can all consider yourselves fired." He said, and stormed out of the dining room.