Chapter Three

"Yes, please make sure that everything is prepared at 5:00p.m. I cannot tell when we will start, so please make sure that it will keep its temperature for a few hours", Lena gave her instructions to the woman from the catering service they always book for any official event.

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"For fifteen people please, including soft drinks and the usual variety of alcoholic drinks. Plus cigars!", Lena almost forgot that point. She concentrated harder, no mistakes this time.

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"No, a waitress won't be necessary."

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"Yes, that's fine. Would you mind sending me the calculation via E-Mail in advance? I will then ensure to have the cheque prepared. Thank you very much for your help!", Lena said smiling before hanging up the phone. She frowned and stared down on her todo list, where she crossed the entry telling her to order catering. As there were still quite some issues to solve, she decided on spreading priority keys in order to make sure she would make it in time.

Most important was to find a place for Samantha to stay. Tom didn't like her being around when his colleagues or business partner came to visit. As neither Samantha nor Tom had any family in town, finding a place for her to sleep could become complicated. In the first instance, Lena would try Samantha's friends from nursery school. At least in situations like this, Lena could find something positive about sending Samantha to school for a few hours per day. About 6 months ago, Tom had forced Lena to do so. He had claimed that staying with Lena all day would make Samantha as anti-social and illiterate as her mother was. Thinking of that still caused a lump in her throat. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat and grabbed for the telephone again.

Already the first try was a direct hit. Mrs. Clark would gladly welcome Samantha at her house as overnight guest. Both women agreed upon Lena bringing Samantha at noon, Mrs. Clark planned on going swimming with her family and Samantha.

Another point to cross on the list. It was 9:30am now and the charlady would arrive in about an hour. Lena decided to wear one of the dresses she already owned as there was not enough time to buy a new one after bringing Samantha to Mrs. Clark. She begged that Tom would not make a fuss about that.

Lena spent the rest of the morning with Samantha. They had breakfast together and packed Samantha's little backpack with things she wanted to take with her to the Clarks. Fortunately, Samantha was eager to spend the day with her best friend.

When Jenny, the middle-aged brunette charlady, arrived, Lena told her about the dinner this evening and they both agreed that Jenny should concentrate on the ground floor today. She would also prepare the dinner table and decorate the buffet after its arriving. Lena was truly thankful to be able to lean on her support. She was reliable, punctual and worked fast and thoroughly.

The Clarks lived only fifteen minutes away and Lena brought her little daughter in time. Although Mr. Clark was already packing the car, Lena and Mrs. Clark spent 20 minutes with chatting about the latest gossip. Lena really enjoyed pretending to be an ordinary wife of a wealthy husband. It felt like a little escape from reality. And this was the life she chose, wasn't it?

After arriving back home, Lena directly went upstairs and into the bedroom. Their large king-size bed was faced by several huge mirrors, consuming the whole wall. Lena reached for the handle and pushed one of the mirrors aside, disclosing a large walk-in cupboard.

Lena tried several dresses on and finally decided on a dark-green lace dress, ending just above her knees and offering a low-cut back. It fit her shape tightly and became wider below her hips. She had worn it only once, several years ago at a party Tom arranged for celebrating her graduation from high school.

Lena stood in front of the mirror wall and carefully watched her reflection.

She chose an elegant black pair of high heels and combined it with golden jewelry. She styled her hair to soft blonde curls falling gently on her shoulders and put on a soft smokey-eye make-up with hints of green and gold.

The whole outfit perfectly emphasized her green eyes, her appealing silhouette and her long legs. She was very pleased with what she saw and felt her self-confidence grow. She often fell into a swirl of doubts and self-destruction that ate her away. But this time, she looked stunning.

Lena glanced at her golden watch. It was a few minutes after 4p.m. now and Tom had told her this morning that he would be home at 4:30. His team was invited for 5p.m. and a few of them would probably come directly from work. Tom expected his staff to work on Saturdays as well whenever necessary. And due to their increasing order inflow and very tight project plans, there was always someone working on Saturday. Lena was secretly thankful for that, as having Tom home all day was hard to handle.

She went downstairs and found Jenny draping the last napkins on the table. Lena paid her and gave her some generous extra money.

Then, Lena was alone. It was completely quiet, no sound was noticeable in the whole villa. Lena immediately froze. She went into the dinner room and turned on the stereo. Soft background music began to play. But she couldn't calm down. She went into the kitchen, took a bottle of champagne out of its bucket, opened it and poured herself an ice-cold drink. She turned around, opened the window with shaking hands and gasped for air.

No panic attack now, this evening was just too important. She closed her eyes and concentrated on bringing her pulse back to normal.

All of a sudden, she heard the garden gate open. Her eyes snapped open and she could see Tom's Porsche turn into the driveway. Lena could feel the tense coming back again. Her knees felt weak.

Then, she saw a second car turn into their driveway, while Tom stopped his car in one of the parking lots. It was a black Audi limousine and it stopped next to Tom's car. Both driver shut their motors off and left the cars. Tom grinned waggishly and said something to the other man that Lena couldn't understand.

She took a step back from the window, closed it and downed her drink in one go. Then, Lena put her glass into the sink and turned into the entrance hall. She closed her eyes for another second, put on a smile and reached for the door the moment it already swung open.

Lena welcomed Tom with a bright smile and he replied with a smile and a soft: "Hey Darling, I hope you had a nice day". He wrapped an arm around her waist, kissed her on the cheek and then took a step aside for introducing his guest to Lena.

She raised her eyes and her smile immediately froze on her lips. She felt panic arise in her stomach.

"Honey, this is one of my most talented recent recruitments, Jonathan Brown. Nate, this is my beautiful wife Lena!"

Hey guys,

thank you for reading this new chapter, I would be really, really glad about any review :)

Hope you have a nice day!