Chapter 1: Sunday morning
Its morning in the big city and everyone is awakened from their deep slumbers. The sun's bright rays travel slowly across the landscape coaxing the inhabitants out of their cramped buildings into the city streets to restore the noise that energizes the day. As the city regains its vibrancy a woman lays motionless on her side staring at the door of her luxurious bedroom in the upper east side of New York. Her eyes are red and achy and her head throbs with pain as the sun forces its way into her dark haven. She is a lovely girl of petite stature in her late twenties with big brown eyes to die for. Her ebony hair hangs to her mid back and her silky skin brings to mind a sweet Hershey kiss. But despite her obvious outer beauty, there is an inner turmoil that threatens her very sanity.
He's cheating on me, the dark haired beauty whispers, finally admitting to herself what she has suspected from the beginning. She never followed him or tracked his calls or even searched for lipstick in strange places. She ignored the smell of peculiar perfume wear on his collar bone when she kissed him after work. She ignored the frequent business trips and late night meetings. She even ignored the cheap earring hiding in his suit pocket. But the phone call he made to her in the bathroom before dinner on their anniversary last night, she could not ignore.
She pushed herself from the bed and slumped over to the bathroom. Turning the handle to run herself a bath, she thought of the all the times Chad insisted that the help do it for her. "My queen should never have to lift a finger." He would always say. She shook her head and looked into the mirror at her broken self. In a shaky voice she whispered, "What happened to you Taylor?" secretly wishing that she could answer that puzzling question. After peeling off her night clothes and putting her hair in a nice bun, she slid her body into the steaming water. As her muscles relaxed into the heat, she closed her eyes and let her mind drift to happier times. She was jerked from her leisure when she heard the phone ring. Sighing she picked up the phone from its cradle without thinking to look at the caller id.
"Hello?" She answered genuinely unsure of who she was speaking to. "Hello darling this is your mother as if you couldn't tell by my wonderful voice" She said with a little laugh, Taylor remained silent. "So how was your anniversary love? It's been five years already!" She exclaimed into the phone making Taylor increasingly nauseous. "Great mother just great" she mumbled in reply never able to really lie to her mother. "Well honey you sound awful! What is the matter I can send for Dr. Martin at once, don't you worry-" "No mom that is not necessary. I'm fine." "No you're not and do not lie to me young lady you were never good at it." Taylor shifted her weight a little and placed her arm on the side of the tub as if bracing for the reaction. "Mom Chad is cheating on me." She heard her mother sigh on the other end. "How long?" "For ... a long time. I've been trying to ignore it but I just can't take it anymore… I'm leaving him."
