Two months had gone by and Dante and I were in completely separate spaces. I had gotten used to his absence and it had become a very contractive relationship as it should have been originally from the start. We no longer shared a bedroom, we no longer had meals together, he no longer went to the doctor's appointments with me and I had gotten used to all of it.
We attended functions together, fake smiles for the cameras and gave the whole world a show every single time and as promised I got paid every week.
Missy had become a huge part of my life and I appreciated how much she turned up for me. Most times she would tease me saying it should be my husband doing all these things for me and not her but I always shrugged off the conversation by telling her he was just such a busy man.
As the pregnancy grew, I was more worked up and stressed out often. I couldn't wait to have my baby and get the pregnancy over with.I wasn't particularly happy about how Dante switched up on me, I didn't have any expectations but I hoped he would be more empathetic not to abandon me in my condition. He spent most nights away from the house, and on the nights he returned, he always came back drunk and whenever I tried to help him up to his room, he always declined my help and after the night he yelled furiously at me when he was drunk, I promised myself I wouldn't try to help anymore. He was no longer the man who always came to tender an apology whenever he did something upsetting to me. I realized it must have just all been an act because his mother had been around.
I picked up the keys to my car, packed up my bag and decided to head home. I spent less time at work and most of my day all by myself at my own apartment.
"Heading home?" Missy asked, walking into my office. She no longer knocked anymore, sometimes I wondered if the office was mine or hers but I enjoyed her company so much I didn't care, she was like the only friend I had around.
"Yes, I'm heading home. I'm quite exhausted", I replied.
She helped me take my bag to the car and I drove off to my own apartment. I spent the entire day restless and thinking. I knew I wasn't okay with how things had turned out with Dante. I didn't care for any form of entanglements, I didn't want any of that and even though things may have been complicated from the start and I had developed a soft spot for him, I wasn't interested in any of that anymore. But living together demanded some sort of cooperation, we weren't enemies and I was pregnant. I needed him. We needed each other. I could tolerate him for the time being until the contract ends. I needed to talk some sense into him, we couldn't continue that way.
Later that night, I Waited up until he got back home. It was 3am in the morning and I had passed out on the couch waiting, but the sound of door creaking immediately woke me up.
"Why are you sleeping down here?" He asked, surprised to see me there.
"I was actually waiting for you" I responded.
"Waiting for me?" He asked, confused.
I tried to clear off the sleep in my eyes and look serious "Yes I need to talk to you" I said folding my arms across each other.
"Okay, go on," he said. I was surprised, he seemed calm and collected. He was usually always grumpy and wasted whenever he got back home.
"This past month hasn't been the best but we need to put all of that behind us. If we're going to live together, we need some sort of cooperation-"
"By cooperation you mean?"He asked, cutting me off.
"I mean you can't keep acting like I don't exist. I'm pregnant, I need help often, and you just go about like I don't exist. Don't you have any human sympathy?" I asked
He was silent for a while. I felt his gaze on my face, I couldn't tell what was going through his mind but he seemed to not be bothered by everything I had said. If his aim was to get on my nerves, he was certainly doing it really well because his silence was triggering. I wanted to have a simple conversation but he obviously wasn't going to make it easy for me.
"Fine. You know what, nevermind" I said and walked away.
"You want attention, is that it?" His voice came from behind me.
"You're lonely and you just need attention. I have a life and I can't be subjected to looking after you like you're a little child. If you need help around, I can always hire some workers for the house, that's not a problem"
I wondered how a person could be so arrogant and rude.
"Need attention? From you? That's a very diabolical thing to say. I don't care about your attention, all I'm saying is that we need some sort of cooperation in this house. I'm not going to spare any more time talking to you, but whether you like it or not, things have to change around here" I snapped at him and stormed off to my bedroom.
I was sure whatever I said had no impact on him, but I was determined to make it work. I was tired of his constant late nights, whenever he came back drunk, he would throw his clothes all over the house, and when he made himself breakfast, he always left the kitchen a mess and in the end it was all left for me to clean up after him always. I was convinced I had judged him wrongly in the beginning, but I wasn't wrong, he was just an arrogant, self centered, narcissistic man.