QUEEN MENACE

The-date #5

I woke up feeling light headed and in excruciating pain, my eyes brimming with tears. That dream really shook me to the core. Suddenly, my mind went eerily silent, and thoughts of Mark flooded in.

Flashback

Mark: "What the hell is wrong with you? What kind of woman are you?"
Christine: "What? What have I done? Mark, seriously, what have I done now?"

Mark: "Don't call me by my name, you foolish woman."

Christine: "Then what should I call you?"

Mark: "Don't call me anything, you bastard."
With that, he turned around and slammed the door in her face...

Just like that, he left and never came back. It always seemed to happen to her. She was a victim of her own making.
9:40 AM
Dragging myself out of bed, I felt drained and utterly exhausted, with a pounding headache. In a panic, I rushed to the bathroom and hastily got ready for work, scrambling to the door. Kris called out, "Sister, are you ready already?" I nodded, realizing I was running late for work.

Kris: "Wait, work? Isn't today Saturday? I thought you said you were going out on a date with that guy you met yesterday."

Christine: "What?! Today is that day? Wait, what's the time?"
"It's 10:05," Kris replied.

Christine: "I need to get ready. He said we have to meet up at 11:08 at the Baluchi restaurant."

Kris: "Wait... isn't that the most expensive restaurant located in The Lalit London House?"
Christine: "Yes, it is, darling."

Kris: "But... you have to follow him there? Isn't he generous enough to at least pick you up from here?"

Christine: "Ahhh, Kris, of course he is, I think. We just met yesterday, remember? He has no idea where I live or anything much about me."

Kris: "Oh yeah, fine then. Let me help you get ready then."

Christina's pov

Sitting there in front of the mirror, looking at myself with overwhelming joy and excitement, felt surreal. I couldn't believe what was happening. I asked Kris to pinch me, just to make sure this wasn't another one of my dreams – the kind I often had after my breakup with Mark. "Kris, can you please Pinch me, please?"

She chuckled and replied, "Do I have to? Come on, Benny, this is real. A guy finally came along, and many more will. I looked at her with doubt because I knew it would take another seven years for someone to notice me.

Thirty minutes later, Kris finished applying my makeup. I felt and looked different. Not that I never wore makeup I do, mostly because of my job but this time, it was different. I was genuinely happy doing it. I felt proud, immensely proud...
Kris: "Well, you're all done, but first, close your eyes. Hurry!"

I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, there it was my white fronitana dress. The dress I had kept for the past nine years, waiting for the perfect occasion to wear it. And finally, that moment had arrived. It was... breathtaking, to say the least.
I was finally going to be in his arms, free from the shackles of the abusive relationship I had with Mark. Only God knows how agonizing it was to move on...

Kris, looking at me as if nothing else mattered but my happiness, said, "No need to feel sad. He genuinely cares." I glanced at her, speechless, my thoughts racing. But what about her? The other girl he spends more time with and talks to the most. I'm not one to voice my thoughts openly. It hurts; I wish I could.
But despite the turmoil within me, I resolved to hold on. I refused to let myself fall into the same trap. I couldn't endure another situation like the one with Mark.
"It doesn't matter at all. You are perfect, just as you are."