My husband came home from work one day. Just like he usually did.

My husband came home from work one day. Just like he usually did. We’d met at school, got married young. We didn’t have a lot of money. We lived in a small flat in London. It was fun. We found common ground in our dreams. Or rather, the shared lack thereof. We were both realistic. We knew that with the money we had and the qualifications we had, we didn’t stand a chance of success. So we didn’t even try. We lived for the moment, spending our days at work and our nights at the bar. Well, I say *we* did. I was a worker at a local bar. My husband, Alex, worked at a high-rise in the city. He made five times my wage, but hey, at least I had the tips right? In all seriousness, I was glad that at least one of us did well. And Alex loved it. He was a strange man, he loved accounting. Or rather, he was an accountant, he definitely didn’t love it. But he was good at it, and it paid for his smoking. He’d always come home at the same time. 4:30pm. In the morning, he’d roll out of bed at 10 and leave the house at 11. By 11:15, he’d text me to let me know he’d arrived at work. That was a 45 minute journey. We both knew he was lying, and we both knew he knew we knew it. Alex had a mistress. He was cheating on me, and he knew that I knew. He also knew I didn’t care. He’d been doing it for years, and the only reason I’d even found out in the first place was because he’d told me. I didn’t care. I loved my husband, he was a good man. Oh, and he was very good in the bedroom. After he’d come home, we’d fuck. Then he’d shower, and I’d shower. Before going down for dinner with my parents in law. Alex was a very sweet man, but he wasn’t very bright. He’d been seeing his mistress for years, so he thought it was time to introduce us. So when he came home, he’d leave the front door open, and his mistress would come in. Her name was Alice. And my in-laws knew about her too. Because they were the ones who’d bought her for him. *One thing I forgot to add, this is a British story.* You would not believe how different the attitudes to sex-workers are in this country compared to somewhere like America. My in-laws had bought Alex a sex slave as his birthday present one year. She was beautiful, big chest, long hair, and a wonderful personality. They’d paid to keep her for five years. By the time the five years were up, Alex was in a full-blown relationship with her. So they’d renewed the contract. Alex knew it was weird, but he was so in love with Alice. It wasn’t weird for me, all I cared about was that he was happy. And Alice was amazing. We’d eat dinner, each of us with our partner, and all of us with big smiles on our faces. And then my father-in-law would give her her orders for the next day. It was always such a wonderful day, I loved it. But one day, my husband came home from work. Just like he usually did. Except he’d left the front door closed. I texted him, asking where he was. And he said he was still in the office, finishing up a bit of overtime. My heart thumped. I’d just been given a reminder that he was cheating on me. I didn’t mind, but I still felt the betrayal. I walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of wine. My in-laws had arrived. “Hey dear, where’s Alex?” Said my mother-in-law. “He’s going to be late, he said he was going to be home in a few hours.” “But there’s no food ready, no wine!” “I know, I’m not a moron.” We sat down in silence. We were waiting for Alex to come home. It was 5:30, and he was usually home by 4:30 at the latest. But that was fine, he always came home at the same time. It was 9:00, and we were getting worried. Alex had never been late before. We’d called him, but he wasn’t answering. We called his work, but they said he’d left at 11:30. So where was he? We waited, and waited, and waited. And at 12:03, the door creaked open. Alex walked in, with a smile on his face. I turned to him and smiled. “Nice to see you” I said. Alex looked at me, and said “It’s nice to see you too.” “Alex, where were you?” I said. “I was at work.” He replied. “But it’s 12:03, why were you so late?” “I always get home at 12:03” He said. I could feel my face twist in anger. “Were you with her?!” I slammed my fist into the table. My in-laws looked at each other, before turning to me and saying “Who’s she?” “His mistress, Alice.” I replied, my voice cold. Alex looked at me, and his smile grew wider. “Who’s Alice?” He said. I slammed my hand into the table again, harder this time. “I had no idea he had a mistress” Said my mother-in-law. “Yes, you did. You bought him Alice!” “Who’s Alice?” Said my father-in-law. I stood up, shaking with anger. And I ran to our bedroom. I slammed the door behind me. I didn’t know what was going on, but I had an idea. I ran to the locked wardrobe and took out my phone. I dialled a number. “Hello?” Said a voice. “Hello, it’s Alex’s wife.” I said. “Alex doesn’t have a wife.” I slammed my fist into the door. “How much did it cost? How much did it cost for you to erase me from his mind? And my in-laws? And Alice?” “I don’t know what you mean.” “Don’t lie to me.” I said, my voice raised. “How much did it cost? How much did it cost?” “Enough.” Said the voice. “So send him back. I want my life back.” “I didn’t know you felt that way. I’ll send him back.” “It’s been three hours.” “You know what they say, time is relative.” The voice hung up. I heard the door creak open. I moved the clothes out of the way. Alex came in, and smiled at me. “Hey beautiful.” He said. I smiled back at him. Because I was a good woman. “Hey beautiful.” I said. And we fucked, just like we usually did. The next day, Alex came home at 4:30, Alice by his side. And with her were my in-laws. We’d spent the morning together, all of us. Eating breakfast, talking about our days, living our lives. Alex was happy, Alice was happy. I was happy too. Because I was a good woman. And a good woman doesn’t let a few hours get in the way of her life.

My husband came home from work one day. Just like he usually did.

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