Extra's: A Jealous Wife

Today I learnt a new emotion about human beings.

JEALOUSY.

Jealousy is an emotion that can consume a person entirely, leaving them blinded by their insecure feelings. It can be as simple as wanting to be more beautiful, or as complicated as wanting to be better than someone else.

But right now, all I wanted was to rip that clingy woman off my husband and crush her with my bare hands.

Woah! Arielle, crazy much.

Relax, she's just a random woman and you're his wife.

His legal wife.

Nick loves you, why are you being so violent?

Nick and I had arrived at the birthday party of one of his closest friends, the owner of Halcyos. Nick was dressed in a black suit, looking hideously dapper. I was dressed in a black off-shoulder gown. We came inside and Nick got indulged with a business friend, we didn't even get to meet the person for whose birthday we came, I'd just stepped to a side to admire the decoration when that woman came along. I tried to ignore her, just like I ignored all the other women whom Nick talked to. But something about the way Nick laughed with her and she touched lightly on his arm egged me on.

I felt like a loaded bomb, ticking furiously.

"My, my Nick, you totally look like the man Taylor Swift's songs talk about. Gorgeous." The woman said, my hands clutched tightly around the water bottle.

"Easy there, love." A new voice came from behind me. I turned around to see a tall, dark-haired man standing, his brown eyes shining with a sense of humour. My face flushed as he peered down at the bottle in my hand, my fingers had turned white due to the pressure I was putting on it.

"Let me take that off your hands," he said, "I bet you need it."

"Thanks," I muttered, embarrassed at my outburst. " As he took the bottle from me, I took a deep breath and tried to calm down my racing heart. I knew I was being irrational, but the feeling of jealousy was still there, gnawing at me like a persistent headache.

I looked at the green-eyed woman, flawless skin glowing like a moon in the dark night, her perfect lips stained red moving like a hypnotist's fingers. I can't believe that I was being insecure even after knowing my husband had eyes for no one but me.

His Amore!

"Only if looks could kill.", the man beside me said and I flushed more.

Great Ari! You could not be more obvious.

Stupid!

Nick's eyes moved to mine and the corners of his lips curved into a smile that made my heart flutter. He took a step forward, and I could feel my body respond to his approach but before he could take another, the woman held his hand and took him right off my eyes. I walked after them only to get lost in the sea of people in the hall.

Whose idea was it to come to this goddamn ball anyway?"

'Yours only.', my subconscious chided me.

'F*cking delusional'

A waiter passed by and I took a glass of champagne from his tray. I can't believe I am doing this.

The bubbling sensation of the drink going down my throat reminded me of the beginning of the night- one that had held so much promise. But instead of feeling festive, I could barely control the overwhelming sadness that filled every corner of my heart.

It wasn't like Nick had given me any indication of being unfaithful I couldn't help but feel that green-eyed woman had something up her sleeve. Perhaps it was just my illness of heart taking over my senses, but I felt danger on the outskirts.

I looked around the ballroom once again in search of Nick, but my gaze couldn't spot her. A sense of insecurity arose in me, and I couldn't understand why.

Perhaps, Jealousy is a force that knows no logic.

It has not been more than three months since our marriage and I was behaving so immaturely, what the hell is wrong with me?

As I drank my nth glass of champagne, I don't know if I lost count, it's not like I am getting drunk. I just wanted to know why I was feeling so insecure, a hand held my drinking glass and I looked up to find the brown-eyed woman.

"Always knew a woman's jealousy could turn the sweetest things sour," He mused as I took yet another sip of my drink. My thoughts were consumed by the fact that Nick, my loving husband, could even remotely be attracted to another woman. My heart felt like it was being shredded into pieces as I meticulously analyzed every possible scenario. Would it be a colleague? A batch-mate? A close friend of his?

"I'm Conor.", the brown-eyed man said as he held out his hand. Alarms rang in my brain as I realized he was the host of the party. " Sh*t, I'm so sorry. Happy Birthday to you, Mr Conor. I'm Arielle-"

Before I could finish, he did."Arnold. Nicolas' better half." He smiled as he shook my hand."Thank you for the wishes Mrs Arnold but Conor would be fine."

I smiled as I took my hand back."Only if you do the same."

I was about to take another sip of my drink when he interrupted me, "That's not a wise decision."

"What do I do? Some woman has taken my husband and he has left me here alone."

"Oh, love. Only if you knew. It's him who sent me here to keep your company." My mind went blank as I wondered what the hell was he thinking sending the soul of the party to keep my company instead of coming by himself.

"Why couldn't he just come ?", I argued. Conor shook his head. "Well, you've to wait for the answers to reveal. Until then, let me tell you a story." He gestured for me to sit down on the nearby couch. "It's a story about a man who had everything he could ever ask for but still couldn't resist the allure of one woman. One woman, for whom he would do anything. For this woman, he was ready to do whatever she wanted and what she wanted was nothing. All she wanted was to be away from him because, to her, he was a narcissistic, selfish a*ss. My apologies for the language."

I laughed and he continued."It's like she dimmed the shine of all women when she came in front of his eyes. He'd cross all limits to get one glimpse of her, her smile, her eyes, her laugh." He smiled and I couldn't help but look at him. The way he started, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the way he was narrating the tale. "He even threatened one of his closest friends just to see her once." Connor paused as a voice boomed from the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the dance." I got down from the seat and my body swayed for a second due to the alcohol before I balanced myself. I dialled Nick's number but maybe he could not hear the ring because it went to his voicemail. My gaze wandered to find Nick, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"A Dance?", Connor forwarded his hand and I got hesitated, he seemed like a nice friend but I wasn't sure if I would be comfortable with him at arm's length. Before I could refuse, Connor laughed, "2 minutes Arielle and I can bet my everything that your husband would be here."

"2 minutes? Really!"

"Just 2 minutes.", he cheekily smiled.

Before I could keep my hand in his, a familiar touch embraced me. An arm wrapped around me pulling me impossibly close. His manly cologne wrapped me like a warm blanket, instantly familiar. "That'd be all." Nick's voice was low, a little husky. He pressed a soft kiss to my temple before releasing me and grinning. I felt chills running down my spine.

"Sorry, it took me so long, Amore," Nick whispered as I felt his warm breath. Even though the overwhelming urge to kiss him rose in me, I pulled back abruptly as a nagging thought came into my mind. Connor was still here.

"Ba*tard.", Connor laughed and walked away. I looked at Nick and got away from his touch to be held again. The lights had dimmed down so no one could see us."I am sorry Amore."

I looked at Nick and got away from his touch just to be held again. The lights had dimmed down so no one could see us."I am sorry Amore."

I didn't know what to say, who does he think he is? He should better know than to leave me alone in such a strange place. I was angry with him for not being there with me, maybe the champagne was a bad idea, the anger I was feeling right now was so overpowering that I was not able to think straight.

As I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down, Nick placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Amore, please forgive me. I didn't mean to upset you," he said softly. Despite my anger, his touch and kind words had a calming effect on me.

The music was so light and breathy that I felt like I was floating in the air. He wrapped his arm around my waist and softly nuzzled my neck, "I know how you feel, I know I should have made things clear to you before only but trust me it's you, it's always been you and it will always be you, Amore. Nicolas Arnold can't even think about a woman who's not you. You're the only one for whom his heart beats."

As I thought about his words, my anger dissipated into the heavy air around us. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my forehead against his. "I love you, Nick," I whispered."I know I was being irrational and immature and I'm genuinely sorry for that. I don't know how-- I really don't know how I got so jealous. I'm sorry that I thought of ripping the woman's arm off when she touched you. I'm sorry I got so violent in my mind, I don't know how I became like this. I should probably ask sorry -"

"It's okay, Amore. It's okay. You accept your feelings and you're not afraid to show them. That's more important to me than anything else. You're a good person, you are self-aware. You know when you're wrong and you never get afraid of apologizing for your mistakes and that's what I have always been in love with you for.

Although, you don't have to ask for that lady's forgiveness. She was an imposter and it was Conor's and my plan to have her reveal herself as an imposter. She was trying to play hard but we played smart. She was trying to frame Conor in a bad light and she failed."

"So everything's alright now?"I was actually shocked, all this was just a set-up to get her to reveal herself and here I was being so paranoid and assuming that she's gonna steal my husband from me.

Total Dumbass Arielle Summers Arnold

"Yeah, everything's great.", Conor said behind me. Nick sent a deathly glare his way as he tried to ask my hand for a dance. I laughed at my husband's possessiveness.

"We'll leave now."

"But the party-", I was cut off when Nick pulled me towards him, "You need to sleep and get some rest."

"But-"

"Come, Amore."

"By the way Mrs Arnold, the star of the story I narrated to you was your own husband." I gasped and looked at Nick who was busy pulling me towards the car but before he could get me into the car, I held his hand, pulled the lapels of his shirt and kissed him. As I pulled away from Nick, I couldn't help but laugh at my husband's antics. I should have better understood that he's the only man who can do such things.

He surely was the cutest man alive.

"I love you, a lot."

"I love you too Ari." His words were the last I heard as my eyes grew heavy and I was pulled into a deep slumber.

***

Writer's block sucks!