Justin is making life difficult for me
Author’s pov
The day became much brighter when Juliana left her parents’ house to meet Stephanie, her childhood friend whom she had always been close to. They had a great bond, which is why Juliana didn’t hesitate to call her and knew that her spontaneous visit wouldn’t upset Stephanie. Juliana had one thing on her mind: being with Stephanie would help ease her anxiety, and their conversations and laughter would provide comfort as it has always done.
Stephanie lived in her own house, so Juliana planned to spend one or two nights there before going to her own place. As Juliana arrived in front of Stephanie’s house, she honked her car horn twice before stepping out of the car. She rummaged through her handbag, knowing that Stephanie had given her a spare key to enter her house when she wasn’t around. Juliana thought Stephanie might still be sleeping that morning and didn’t want to disturb her. As she approached the front door, her hand found the silver key, and she confidently stood in front of the door, opening it as if it was her own house and there wasn’t any anxiety in her eyes.
Just as Juliana entered and was about to sit down, Stephanie hurriedly walked into the living room. The sound of the front door opening surprised and shocked her.
“Juliana!” Stephanie exclaimed. “You startled me. You didn’t tell me you were coming. Is everything alright?” She immediately noticed the unpleasant expression on Juliana’s face. Juliana sat down and pursed her lips. Stephanie approached her, taking hold of her right hand, and asked again.
“What’s the matter?” Stephanie’s voice was now more concerned. Juliana took a deep breath, stood up, and slowly let go of Stephanie’s hand.
“Why can’t you sit down, Juliana? What’s wrong?” Stephanie asked.
“I’ve finally decided to leave Justin.” Juliana refused to look in Stephanie’s direction.
“What? I thought you guys were working things out, and you even mentioned your family going for a picnic. Isn’t tomorrow the day?” Stephanie’s voice changed.
“Yes,” Juliana responded with a different tone.
“Please don’t cry.” Stephanie stood up and walked closer, embracing Juliana tightly.
“Please don’t cry.” She held her close. After Juliana had taken several deep breaths, she said,
“I know I haven’t told you this before, but I need to tell you now. It’s been over six months since Justin last touched me. I haven’t felt like a woman in all that time. We never had intimacy.”
“What…?”
“I know I’ve never mentioned this to you,” Juliana interrupted and continued, “I kept it as a family issue and didn’t want to burden you with it.” She paused, noticing that Stephanie wanted to express her frustration.
“Aren’t we friends?”
“Yes, but I thought he would change. I decided to wait and told myself that if he didn’t make love to me before the picnic, I wouldn’t go with him and our daughter to the picnic. If it was just my daughter and her friend who came to visit her that were going, I would have joined them…”
“Sweetheart!” They both heard a man’s voice, and Juliana was the only one who turned her face towards the direction of the voice.
“Do you have a visitor?” Juliana lowered her voice.
“Darling, I’m coming. Give me a few minutes.” Stephanie held Juliana’s hand and led her to the guest room. After closing the door, Juliana waited for Stephanie to answer her question.
“Who is that?” This time, Juliana showed great interest in what Stephanie was about to say.
“That’s my new boyfriend. I was telling you about him later today and I know you haven’t met him.”
“And I don’t want to meet him right now. I’m not in the mood.” Juliana placed her hands closer to her body.
“I understand, Juliana. That’s why I was waiting for the right time to tell you. He came here to celebrate the success of his new job. Would you like to meet him?”
“No,” Juliana sat on the bed.
“He’s my new boyfriend. Would you like to meet him?” She asked again and she reduced her voice.
“No, how many times will I say no, I don’t want to meet anyone right now. I’m tired. Justin is making life difficult for me. But hold on a minute, you couldn’t wait for even four weeks before getting involved with a new boyfriend after your previous boyfriend cheated on you.” Juliana turned her face and looked at Stephanie as she paused. Stephanie started giggling.
“This isn’t a laughing matter. I’m sorry. Can’t you bear it?” Juliana added.
“Juliana, I can’t. I admire what you’ve done. You’ve gone more than six months without sex. Juliana… you’re a very strong woman. Can you give me two minutes? Let me quickly check on him. I left to check who was opening the door,” Stephanie said.
“Wait…” Juliana wanted to say something.
“Please, I’m coming!” Stephanie rushed out of the guest room, and when she entered her bedroom where her new boyfriend was, the man in his early forties was already putting on his trousers and looked angry.
“Babe! Why are you upset with me? I was trying to comfort my friend who’s having issues in her marriage.”
“When was the last time you became a marriage counselor?” He said sarcastically, and his name was James.
“Empathy is what we all owe to our friends. I need to give it to Juliana because of what she’s going through.”
“What exactly is she going through?” James asked.
“Can you believe it? For the past six months, her husband has been secretly cheating on her and hasn’t been intimate with her.”
“Is she that unattractive?” James asked, convinced that Juliana must be an ugly woman.
“No, she’s very beautiful. Actually, let me show you her pictures on my phone.” Stephanie moved to the bed and sat down, while James watched as she scrolled through her phone gallery and showed him Juliana’s pictures.
“Look at her,” she handed him the phone, and he started swiping through the pictures.
“She looks gorgeous, or is she just photogenic?” James asked.
“No, she’s a naturally beautiful lady. She looks exactly like what you see in the pictures.”
James continued to look at Juliana’s pictures and became lost in thought.
“For six months, this beautiful lady hasn’t been touched. She’s like a virgin to me. If I had the chance, I wouldn’t hesitate to have her in my bed.”
“Have you ever met her in person?” Stephanie asked, interrupting James’s thoughts as he was captivated by the pictures.
“No, I don’t know her, but her situation is painful. What is she going to do?” He asked.
“That’s what I was trying to discuss with her. We haven’t finished talking. I want to go and meet her in the guestroom. Can I join you?”
“No, I don’t want to meet your friend in this kind of situation. I would have loved us to meet where she is not upset. I don’t really know how to cope with such a situation. She must be angry right now. If that’s the case, let me go so that your friend can have your full attention.” James started zipping up his trousers.
“James, are you okay with that? Are you angry? Why do you suddenly want to leave just because my friend is here? I don't even know if she’ll stay for long. Please give me a few minutes, and I’ll come back, let me find out.”
“No, I want you to be with your friend,” he adjusted his collar.
“If that’s the case, I’m not going anymore. I’ll stay with you in the room. I haven’t had much of you.”
“Sweetheart! I’m not angry, you are my queen.”
“You said you would stay here until Monday morning, and then you’ll leave for your new job from my place, why the change of plans?”
“Hmm… you’re right.” He unzipped his trousers and sat down on the bed.
“Thank you,” she kissed James’s lips and left the room to meet Juliana. When she arrived at Juliana’s room, she asked,
“How long are you planning to stay with me?”
“I didn’t say I’m staying with you,” Juliana replied. “I just wanted to see you and then go back to my house.”
“Stop saying you want to leave. If you go back to your big empty home, how often do you think your daughter Daisy will keep you company? Or do you have any secret plans with a man to visit you?” She smiled and added, “I’m here for you. We can stay together with my boyfriend. He’s calm and understanding.”
“No, I have to go,” Juliana adjusted her bag and headed towards the door.
“Wait, what will keep you busy at home if you leave?” Stephanie asked.
“I’m going back to work on Monday. My leave is over. I only extended it for the picnic and housewarming by two weeks. Now there’s nothing holding me back. I also want to meet the two staff they employed during my leave. I need to return to the office.” She started walking towards the door, and Stephanie followed her. A few minutes later, they were outside near Juliana’s car.
“I’ll get in touch with you before noon,” Stephanie said.
“That would be nice and lovely.”
“Now that you’re single for a while, can I find a man to visit you on some chilly evenings? You need it, don’t say no," Stephanie asked, waiting for Juliana’s response.
“I’ll let you know when I feel the need for something like that. But for now, I want to focus on myself.” Juliana got into her car and drove away, and Stephanie didn’t notice the parked cars outside. As she was about to enter the house, she called out,
“My sweetheart!” but received no answer. She went straight into her room but didn’t find James there.
“Sweetheart, where are you? Don’t tell me you have gone? Why would he do this to me?” She picked up her phone from the table and dialed his number. As she put the phone to her ear, she said to herself.
“Please, don’t let this happen to me. I don’t want to lose James. He’s the most attractive guy I’ve met.”
The phone started ringing, but there wasn’t an answer.
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