Disclaimer:Stephanie Meyer created the twilight universe. The following story is in use of her property not intending to set flames.
Monday 31st of March
The room was utterly dark, without any outline of the furniture that scattered across the room, mainly due to the lack of any forms of light.
The only life form around here was Edward and I on the bed.
I scrunched up like a ball on my side of the bed with my head resting on Edward's outstretched arm.
With the room being so dark, I couldn't see any of Edward. Instead, I felt him and his movements.
Edward seemed to be sleeping peacefully with his chest rising up and down slowly. He continuously blew out air with every breath he'd taken in to replace the last.
With last night's souvenir still leaking from my opening and onto the bed, I decided it was a good time to head to the bathroom and sort myself out.
Disgracefully, I untangled limps from a ball shape to stand.
Once I'd gotten out of the hotel bed I used my hand to cup my lower region to prevent the sticky mess from running further down my thighs and getting onto the floor. It was something I had to deal with from now on since Edward didn't want to be using condoms.
Speaking of protection, I needed to discuss with him about getting on the shot.
Inside the bathroom, I switched on the shower to get the water heating.
I removed the hand cupping my below and looked at the sticky cloudy thing on my hand.
Should this be something that I should feel ashamed of and bash my head in for?
Surely I had convinced myself last weekend that I'll commit so much more into Mr Masen's company to compensate the money he would be investing in me. So much so that I could allow myself to think that he wouldn't be paying me for my body but for my brain.
The answer to my earlier question was yes.
I looked into the hotel mirror and saw all of the love bites Edward had given me.
Looking at my skin like that, so much violated and bruised, I felt tainted and used.
Edward had marked his territory, and branded my skin temporarily.
Whilst most people would like to be marked, to show the world their passion, it was not the same for my situation.
How was I to cope, knowing that I was whoring myself out despite my reason started off as being noble? I was trying to save the lives of my adopted parents, but on the way to doing so, I was putting myself into a situation where I was losing all self respect.
A sob escaped my lips and tears began running out of my eyes.
You stupid girl, stop giving in to your weakness! I told myself.
Unable to contain myself, I decided that escaping was the better option out of itself and staying there, feeling sorry for myself.
My first weekend with Edward came to an abrupt stop when the feeling utter guilt and disgust unknowing crept up behind me.
These feelings had been there all along, between the times he and I were together, the times I was alone by myself, the times I sat in a crowd room watching life go about around me, the times I walked from A to B. Always.
Only I chose to ignore them.
But, when things got so overwhelming, so much so that I could taste it on my tongue, felt it taking up the space from the tips of my limbs, making their way up into my core- how was I supposed to shut them down?
The feelings were so vile I believed I was sick to the core. So I did the one thing I believe was the remedy to the situation.
I packed all of my unpacked belongings, left Edward a note by the side tables and fled the hotel.
Straight from the streets I took a cab home and with determination to completely wash myself.
My bag and clothes scattered along the hallway as I hurried into the much-discontented bathroom that is my own.
Inside, I scrubbed the bathtub shiny clean, whilst being naked before I got in and scrubbed away a layer of my skin. I did so absentmindedly, paced but not in utter rush.
For a while I felt compelled to stay under the pouring water from the showerhead. Not worrying about the water bills as I'll have money beginning at the end of the month to fully pick up myself off the ground.
The swishing sound of the water smoothed out my thoughts, leading my feelings of guilt away to another direction whilst my actions replayed in my head.
Nothing is going to help you now, you know.
I know.
This is going to be your new life.
I know.
Are you disgusted?
I am. I sobbed silently.
You vile pitiful creature.
These thoughts replayed again and again. Over and over, I allowed myself to call myself a whore.
In one thought, I'd pathetically blamed Mr Masen for brainwashing me, or, hypnotised me into the agreement. But that was a no.
I was not going to hold him responsible for the choices I'd made lately. He had offered me another option- my life. It was an option I had forced myself into taking up as I thought of it as the easier option.
Instead of asking for help from somewhere else, or negotiating an alternative as repayment on my part, I took up what was in front of me. Looking back in a few years I knew I was sure that I'd regret it, just like I did that morning. Extreme regret.
After a long while of whimpering for my pride and dignity, I calmed and relaxed as much as I can.
The water washing down my head and body kept me steady and grounded in my thoughts. I didn't feel as much amount of arousal to my emotions, not elevating my mind to irrational leads.
After my long shower, I got out and wrapped myself in a towel.
Forgoing moisturisation, not that I had any moisturiser in the flat, I headed for my bed and plopped myself down on the top of the sheets. Allowing my overheated skin to cool down.
My mind drifted a little while before I heard my phone's ringtone sounded through my bedroom walls from the hallway.
My body picked itself off the bed in search of my cell. It was inside the coat I'd hastily abandoned down the apartment hallway when I was on my hurried way to the bathroom.
It was him.
"Hey." I answered. I sat on the floor, crossed my legs and waited for his reply.
"Hello." His smooth voice betrayed nothing.
I didn't know what to say in that moment, and left him to take the lead. I was not sorry for leaving. It was a moment I needed alone.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
I thought very hard.
No, I was not okay.
"I'm fine. Thank you for asking."
"Isabella, we had an agreement."
Yes, asshole. Are you going to force me to go back to that hotel room to spend the rest of the day with you?
I said nothing.
"Listen, when you and I signed that contract on Friday afternoon. Not only am I promising you financial security. I am also going to look after your wellbeing as much as I can. You have to work with me. If you don't tell me that there is a problem, it will go unnoticed until you say or indicate so. Do not give me the cold shoulder and expect things to get better. We need to work together in order for this agreement to be a success."
His speech was very caring. It sounded sincere. It would have been so easy to believe him.
Yet, insecurity showed its ugly head and told me no.
If anything life so far had taught me, it was to not trust so easily. Don't share oneself to another. Life and they will judge the person, put a value and label on the person. Encage the person into a trap consciously and subconsciously, either way. It was not beneficial for oneself to entrust onto another.
Things will eventually fuck over and the person will get screwed.
"Sorry." My voice found its way to the surface. "It must have seemed so immature of me."
The voice was calm and tranquil. It paused and waited for time to pass.
"I wasn't lying on my note. I'm feeling unwell."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No, I'm staying away so that I don't pass it onto you if it turns out to be a bug."
"Have you eaten?"
"I will soon." No I won't.
"Have you locked your front door?"
"Yes." I looked towards the direction of my door. It wasn't locked.
"Are you getting some rest soon?"
"Maybe."
"Let me know if you can't make it to work tomorrow."
"I will." But I'll be there tomorrow. I wasn't sick.
"Rest well, Isabella."
"Yes sir."
"Goodbye."
"Bye sir."
He hung up and I tossed the phone back into my bag.
Did he hear through the lie? Heard the bullshit in the voice?
Maybe. Edward Masen was an intelligent man.
Deciding that the white wall in front was no longer interesting, I stood up, headed to the lock and locked my door.
I returned to my bed and laid on top, still in my towel.
The feeling of unease began to brew again, but I allowed it to stay. Not denying it or running away from the problem.
Instead, I planned around it.
Since I'd already lied to Mr Masen, why not also cheat on feelings?
Next day onwards, I was going to continue to be Isabella Swan. I'll let Edward Masen take me how ever he wanted, when ever he wanted, how ever many times he wanted. I'll answer his questions with intelligent answers. My thoughts will be orientated towards him. My interest was going to be in interest of his benefit. My world will shadow his world.
Edward Masen was going to become my new obsession.
If I focused on this new obsession, nothing else was going to consume me. No feelings of guilt and no feelings of disgust will get to me as I'll do my best to serve him.
I opened my towel, and touched myself down there.
Two fingers playing on my clit as I bit down on my bottom lip. I closed my eyes and visualized his tongue, his cock and his fingers.
They were all wet and ready to inflict themselves on me.
I licked the thumb on my free hand and touched the tip to one of my breasts, slowly massaging.
The tender ache reminded me of last night's activity; when his tongue, teeth and lips played my tits.
Slowly my hips rocked in rhythm to my fingers stroking my pussy.
I drew out the motions and brought my fingers to my lips occasionally to taste myself.
One finger entered my pulsing pussy and I tried to recall the times Edward's manhood entered me. His cock, pulsing and angry, ready to pleasure my pussy as much as my pussy itself returned the same pleasure back to Edward through his cock.
Unused to the difference between my fingers to Edward's fingers and cock, I returned my attention to my clit and soon I held my breath and climaxed without Edward.
Laying there in bed, I felt ridiculous being naked and huffing for air. Some time had passed before I reached for my towel and wiped myself clean from my arousal.
Before the day could turn into night, I rummaged through all of my drawers in search of my UK currency.
Eventually, at the very top of my kitchen cupboards, hiding behind my mugs was a small jar half filled with a few pound notes and a lot of silver coins. They came back to the US with me from my vacation two summers ago.
I hid it half a year ago, promising myself that I would only use money as last resort.
Altogether I had a hundred and ninety eight pounds. I took all of the change and got out of the house.
I went to the closest currency exchange office and swapped my pounds to dollars. Then, I headed to the closest grocery store.
In my trolley, I stocked up on pasta, rice, bread, noodles, biscuits, crisps, fresh strawberries, apples, bananas, kiwi, oranges, lemons, blueberries, melons, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, spinach, fresh corn, lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, fresh garlic, bacon, ground beef, pork chops, chicken fillets, fresh fish, eggs, cheese, milk, cream, flour, salt, sugar, olive oil, fresh herbs, canned chopped tomatoes, canned baked beans, canned sweetcorn, canned soups, fresh soup stock, nuts, dried fruits, chocolates, coffee, tea, fruit juice, fruit squash and a bottle of wine.
These were my basic staple items I'd normally be well stocked with at home before I gave up eating normal food.
It felt like a ceremonial affair, replenishing my bare kitchen with fresh foods and snacks.
I paid at the cashier till with dignity and promised the cashier that I will return the trolley after I finished with it. There was no way I could have carried all of the bags home in one go, so I deposited ten dollar to get him to agree for me to transport all of my goods home with the store trolley. And to convince him that I wasn't planning on stealing the store's property.
Swiftly I made my way home in the harsh weather with only a few bucks left in my possession.
Arriving home with plentiful of groceries for the first time in about year made problems surrounding my head feel less significant- there were life outside of worrying- like the satisfaction of filling up the kitchen cupboards.
Soon I disposed of my sentimental thoughts and processed to making grilled chicken fillets on a bed of salad. The smell of food wafted through most of my apartment and wrapped me in my home.
Although being fully stocked with food, my appetite was minimal at best so I didn't manage to finish off the plate I made. I covered the leftovers with a piece of plastic wrap and stuffed the plate into the healthily half stocked fridge.
After dinner was a finished affair and I wiped down my kitchen surfaces, I proceeded to preparing for tomorrow.
I chose a black pencil skirt and paired it with a cream chiffon sleeveless blouse. I also went with a pair of black heels to finish off the outfit, I would keep my jewellery minimal with two rings and a necklace. The first ring was passed down to me from my granny Marie, and my other ring was a gift from Charlie and Renée as graduation gift after I'd completed college with a first class bachelor degree. The necklace was a Christmas present to myself after I'd worked at Masen Corps for just under a year- it was one of the last few items I had yet to pawn.
I'd ironed my skirt so that it was crisp and ready for the next morning.
In my hand bag, I packed my makeup supply and wallet. I checked that my umbrella was inside as well as my work ID.
Before I went to sleep that night, I checked that my alarm was on and working, setting an alarm on my cell phone also to make sure I woke up on time.
Next morning, I woke up with plenty of time to cook a healthy breakfast consisting of a bacon butty with slices of tomatoes to and a good mug of coffee. I packed last night's dinner into a lunch box so that I could finish it at work during lunch time.
I took extra care in preparing my face and applying makeup, plucking the last few unwanted hair when they became extra visible under the bright lights above the bathroom mirror.
Finally I was dressed and ready to start my first day as a more dignified woman than I was yesterday; prepared to serve my newest purpose in life- to aid Mr Masen in his reign over his successful corporate domain.
I packed my lunch box into my bag and headed toward the office by foot.
The trek on stiletto clad feet was uncomfortable to say the least. Once heels were well-worn, they'd easily get out of shape, looking ugly and boldly in need of repair. At least, that was the case for the heels I was able to afford at that time.
Soon I will have a car to drive around. I promised myself as I made the walk to work.
And tomorrow I'll travel in my trainers before changing back into heels when I get into the office, I told myself.
Normally, I would be in dolly shoes and kitty heels, they were more comfortable and practical- especially when it came to walking the blocks to work. But wearing heels symbolised something strong, something bigger than strength. It empowered me to feel more able to make it through serving Mr Masen- so I made the conscious decision to borrow this ridiculous notion of thought and drive of power.
Once I got to the top floor, I immediately got to work, dropping off my bag, coat and scarf on my desk outside Mr Masen's office.
I headed towards the kitchen and surveyed the kitchen, I wanted to make sure that coffee and refreshments were ready for Mr Masen as soon as he got to the office and whenever he wanted it.
First was his coffee.
I dumped the crap left over from the weekend and started a new pot.
Then, all of the biscuit packets got examined and anything that was out of date was immediately chucked into the bin. Everything was reorganised and was able to be reached at first convenience.
Making sure the kitchen area was clean and organised wasn't part of the job description to being Mr Masen's secretary. But it was about time that everything should be righted and organised as much as I could help it.
There were plenty more that could be done around the kitchen, but I was running out of time, with work waiting to be done, Mr Masen was due to appear in the office in the next few minutes, so all of it was just going to have to wait for another time.
I poured my second coffee of the morning into my mug and headed back to my station to boot up my computer and start the day.
Today, I was going to go through some of his accounts, making sure that everything added up. If not, I had to head to company's accountancy and smooth out the problems with him. Next, I needed to oversee a promotional project from the marketing department. Mr Masen had already approved the idea, it was up to me to keep everything on track and help with the last few technical problems. If I had time left, I'll look through his paperwork, making sure that everything was correct and get rid of typos and mistakes.
Edward Masen was an intelligent man, but his typos were his flaws sometimes.
At eight fifty, he stepped out of the elevator and looked ready to work hard as usual.
I stood up and looked him directly in the eyes.
As if he could sense that something had shifted, he paused, waited and smiled almost pleasantly in my direction.
"Morning Miss Swan."
"Morning sir." I nearly bowed.
"Hope all is good for you this morning."
"Yes sir. I want to apologise for my abrupt leave yesterday."
"That was no problem. I'm glad you are well now."
"Yes sir. I am. Would you like coffee?"
"Yes please Isabella. That will be nice."
He continued on into his office.
I headed into the kitchen and poured him a caffeine fix. He and I liked our coffee strong, without milk or sugar- just the dark stuff in its watered form.
"Here you go sir." I said as he granted me permission into his office.
"Thank you Isabella."
"You are welcome sir." I laid down his cup and saucer in front of him on his cherry wooded desk.
"Can you come over here?"
Wordlessly, I walked to the front of him and waited for my next instructions.
"Sit on my lap facing me." He ordered.
I did so without complaint.
"Good girl." He smirked as if pleased by my actions.
He started unbuttoning my blouse that opened up my chest to him. His head dipped and nipped at the skin on my neck. He made sure to avoid the spots that he had already marked in the weekend- probably knowing that they were still sore from their branding.
I silently hoped that he wouldn't leave a mark. I liked him marking me when things got affectionate between us, but it wasn't professional to be doing that in the workplace.
Perhaps I sounded a little hypocritical, but liking to be marked during passionate kisses and seeing the aftermath disaster in the mirror afterwards was a different matter.
His thumbs lightly grazed my nipples and I reached out to catch my arms under his shoulders.
His lips continued to layer me with attention and my hips buckled to gain friction with his growing manhood.
Soon, his lips descended and found their way to one of my nipples. His tongue swiped and his lips tugged lightly.
"Mmmm." I moaned and tilted my head backwards, arching my chest into Edward Masen's face.
He did the same on my other nipple and continued to shower my chest with his kisses and care.
"Pass me my coffee."He stopped him ministrations on my chest and gestured with his hands in the direction of the drink.
Quickly, I did so without being told twice. Reaching out for his coffee, I had to arch my back in order to do so, he took the opportunity to give the valley between my breasts a lick. It weakened my muscles and I didn't dare to transport his cup of drink in fear of spilling it. So my back was suspended in midair as I waited for him to stop his actions of cruelty to my body.
"What is the problem Isabella?" He asked and poked his head up.
The devilish glint in his eyes told me that he knew exactly why I stopped reaching for his coffee.
The fucking bastard was messing me about.
"Nothing sir." I reached for his coffee with one hand and presented it to him with both of my hands.
"Good girl. Now get onto my desk and lift your skirt up. I want you to spread your legs, use my knees for support if you want. You can even reach into your panties and stroke yourself if you please."
I stared at him with wide eyes, his eyes narrowed and dared me not to follow his order.
It was hard to figure him out. Did he want to humiliate me for leaving him unattended yesterday? Or was he genuinely horny and wanted to play?
He and I kept eye contact as I slowly moved backwards onto his desk. I perched my bottom onto the desk surface, rest the soles of my feet on his knees and spread myself eagle. I reached for the bottom of my skirt, and snaked my fingers into my panties. I was beginning to soak up and it was an embarrassing thing to be showing Edward Masen.
The bloody bastard smirked and lifted his cup towards his lips for a drink. I had almost imagined him lifting up his pinky to take the mick.
"Mmmmm. Good strong coffee to start the day. Well done Isabella." He spoke to me as if to a loyal lap dog.
"Thank you sir." I replied with as much dignity as I could muster without stroking myself.
I must have looked so ridiculous.
He downed the thing in one go as his green eyes darkened. The way his cheeks expanded to take in the capacity of the liquid and the way his adam's apple bobbed were eye catching. Unconsciously I bit my lips without realising until it hurt.
He waited for some time to pass and kept his eyes on me- never where I had placed my fingers in my panties. His eyes were trained on me, seeing me.
"Right then, let's get to work."
Immediately, he pulled his chair toward the desk, my knees were bent more inwards. He placed his cup and saucer somewhere beside me on the table and took my fingers out of my panties. He sucked on them and closed his eyes for a second.
"Not quite wet yet?" He asked.
I had no words. I waited until the minutes of humiliation were over, when he would leave me alone to get back to my day. May be I shouldn't have brought him coffee.
Then, the unexpected happened. He hooked his arms under my knees and brought himself closer to my pussy. On one of my legs, he kissed from the tip of my knee, right up towards my panties. He licked a path down the outline of the slit, getting me excited. He then moved his lips down my other leg and paid as much attention down my other limb.
He placed my fingers with my arousal on his dishevelled hair and helped me by gripping it. His head dived into my panty covered pussy, as his nose inhaled my scent, I felt the suction down below. I fought the need to squeeze my knees in anticipation.
Edward proceeded to kiss my panty clad pussy through the lacy fabric.
I bit my lips and allowed not for a moan to escape me.
He tugged on my panties and used his tongue to move it aside. I felt the moisture of his tongue as I felt it glide the fabric along the way out of covering my pussy.
His lips kissed my clit and I gripped the hell out of his roots. My engorged clit was sensitive from all of the waiting and anticipation.
Finally, he lapped on wetness gathering out of my pussy opening, always ended his strokes at my clit and swirled once or twice, both directions; from the right, from the left.
It was maddening and arousing.
I locked my legs behind his head and dug his head as far I could accommodate him on the bottom half of my body. Unbeknownst to me, his fingers were snaking their way up the desk and entered my pussy.
My back went off the desk the moment they did and I strangled to keep my moan in check.
One of his fingers hooked at the right place in the right angle and I was addicted to the work of his fingers.
His fingers, lips and tongue continued entering and leaving my pussy, making it tingle and gasped in need, wanting more.
My arousal was reaching its peak and all Edward had to do with press on that pressure point one more time before I would become dishevelled with the impending climax.
He'd teased out the moment, and only when I begged did he allowed me the pleasure of reaching there. I felt like my fingers had betrayed him for stroking myself down below on the day before.
My fingers slowly released their hold on his roots and slowly massaged his scalp. Thankful that he was so generous in giving me a tantalizing start to the day.
When my breathing had calmed, he replaced my panties back to where it belonged and my pussy was no longer wet with arousal as his tongue lapped up every bit visible to eyes whilst I came down from my height.
"Sit up." He commanded.
And I did.
He'd also placed my bra over my breasts after he had tugged the garment down to taste my skin, and started buttoning the buttons to my blouse. He finished with draping my skirt back down to cover my exposed thighs.
Edward stood up on his tall legs and held me tightly onto his torso. His hands snaked into my hair and forced our lips together. I tasted myself on him and blushed just knowing where it had been a few minutes ago.
Finally, he kissed the top of my head and lingered a moment before he took a deep breath.
"Let's get back to today's work. Anything you need Ms Swan?" He asked as he released me.
I stepped down from his desk and adjusted myself slightly.
"No sir. Anything you need?" I redirected his own question onto him. My eyes lingered on his aroused cock.
Did he want any help in reliefing his situation?
He must have seen where I was looking and shook his head.
"No, I'll be fine Ms Swan. Thank you for the coffee." He nodded to the empty cup and saucer.
I gathered the drinking utensils in my hands and nodded at him.
"No problem sir. I'll get back to work now."
"Have a good day Isabella."
"Yes sir, you too."
Once I had the used cup and saucer washed, again, not in my job description, I went back to my desk and reloggined myself back onto my workspace.
Mr Masen's accounts worked out with problems, all of the numbers added up, there wasn't a sum missing or muddled. Everything was clearly stated. That took up most of my morning and I worked on some of his paperwork next. When everything was checked over and I had him sign a few documents to validate them, I sent them to the relevant directories to get further processed, whether it was to our partners, suppliers, outlets or within our own company on the floors below.
Everyone were still a little hyped from the finalization of purchasing the airline company. Some more high priority matters were signed and sent off.
It was a busy day, but I was working on a buzz, making sure that everything was going smoothly.
The end of the day came too soon and I worked over time until Mr Masen emerged from his office.
He was looking handsome as always, even after the full day of work.
"Have you eaten Isabella?" He asked, his work bag hung over his shoulders as he covered his hand in gloves.
"Not yet sir, I'll put something together once I get home." I said as I closed down the last of the documents and saved every single one of them.
I checked the time and it said seven twenty eight.
Man that day was long.
"Do you need to call for a cab?"
I bit my lip and contemplated a moment. Nah.
"No sir, I'll just be walking home." I tugged on my coat and wrapped my scarf around my neck- grateful that he hadn't left a mark there this morning. I had been seeing people from many departments today, trying to get everything to settle.
His head peaked up at my answer and he came over to me.
"You can call for a cab if you want, I'll pay the fare." He reached into his bag, for his wallet, I presume.
"It's okay sir, it's not all bad. I need some exercise and stretching from all this sitting in the office." I smiled.
He hesitated, but then kissed the top of my head.
"Be safe." He stated firmly. Almost like he had just blessed me.
"Will do." I replied. Blush covering my cheeks.
We made way down to the lobby together but parted ways as I exited through the revolving doors and he went for the underground garage.
As I got to the next block, the Aston Martin I recognised as Mr Masen's whizzed pass me and disappeared ahead.
I wondered how much that piece of toy had cost him.
Observing the traffic from left and right, I quickly crossed the street.
What car would I get when I could finally afford one again?
A new car? Second hand car?
I missed my old truck back in Forks. But there was no way I'll be driving a truck around the city. It was much too big to handle and to get it parked with busy traffic.
Two doors or four?
I wanted a car that would protect me- preferably coming out of an accident with minimal damage. It was one of the traits of my old truck. I missed that old piece of metal.
I looked at the cars passing me by one by one at moderate speed.
Ford? Considerable. Fiesta may be. But it looked a little fledgy around the corners.
Volvo? Safe. Too expensive.
Fiat? Chic. But it looked easily squished.
BMW? Too important. I'm not important.
Mini? I wished.
Save for another day, I told myself as I stepped into my apartment complex.
I made the way up the stairs and welcomed myself back home after a hard day at work.
Hurriedly, I dressed out of my clothes ragged from the day's activity.
I boiled some pasta and added tomato soup at the end to form a quick sauce and fed myself to the brim with just half a bowl. Tomorrow's lunch sorted once again.
Setting the plate aside to cool down before I put it into the fridge to chill, I went to my bag and got my lunch box out to be washed, ready to carry my lunch to work tomorrow.
When I was finally ready to head to sleep, after reading for an hour and a half, I headed to my closet and assessed each piece of clothing I owned.
I decided on a green long sleeved turtle neck and dress pants for tomorrow. But instead of the normal safe dolly shoes, I was going to wear my shiny black heels tomorrow.
Granted, it wasn't the most attractive of outfits. But it was going to be cold tomorrow. Or that was what the weather forecast on my phone told me.
Once an outfit was pieced together, I returned to my nightly routine. Making sure that every unwanted hair was plucked out of its place from the roots, and examined each blemish, luckily there wasn't any.
I searched high and low for moisturiser but with no luck. I stopped affording moisturiser a few months ago, again with the drastic cuts to keep up with the more important medical bills.
The next morning I woke up extra early in order to head into the office early so that I could finish revamping the top floor's kitchen as much as I can.
My life was going to be dedicated to him now. His welfare was my welfare. As long as I kept him happy, everything was going to be alright. I promised myself every night before I closed my eyes.