"I think we will be able to make this work, you just need to put your mind to it," Jared said and Astra nodded. Easier said than done.
"I will try my best Jared," she said. Her best did not guarantee anything. The rest of the ride was so quiet that she fell asleep on the way.
"We are here, Astra," Jared said as he tapped her awake. Astra yawned as she looked around. The cabin looked very stylish, much more than she expected. It looked like a vacation house. Two other cars were already parked in front of the house. Astra figured they were Jared's friends.
"Finally," she said as she yawned.
Astra stood up and walked to the house with Jared. Astra could feel her heart beating in succession. It was terrible. She was so scared. She felt they would see through her walls and know that she did not love or deserve Jared and then she would be alone at the end. Astra did not remember being so scared, except when she met Nicholas' mother and she was quite a formidable woman. It was justified for her to be scared.
"Jared! And this should be Astra!" A small pixie like woman said as they entered into the house in a high pitched voice. Her hair was obviously dyed red and she looked like she belonged in a cartoon.
The lady enveloped Astra in a warm hug and Astra could not help but cringe. The lady was giving her pure unadulterated love and she was a farce. Everything about her was fake.
"I am Tricia. Ian's wife. Jared has told us so much about you," she said in a chirpy voice. Astra panicked for a moment. What had Jared told them about her? She wondered.
"Oh that's nice," she said. Before she could even process the entire situation, three other people came into the living room. Two very masculine looking men and a tall and very beautiful woman. She would have never imagined that someone so huge would paint. Her image of Jared's friends were lean and feminine looking men. She would have never imagined those macho looking men and one of them was a doctor.
"Good morning, Astra. I am Ian," the red head amongst the two men said. He even had a Scottish accent. Astra almost melted into a puddle, he was so hot. And to think he was a doctor.
Ian walked to her and gave her a bear hug, one equally as warm as his wife gave her.
"My name is Wilson," the other man said in what sounded like a French accent, he then took her hand and kissed her fingers. He actually seemed like an artist.
"And this is my lovely wife, Rina," Wilson said introducing the tall and beautiful woman.
"I can introduce myself, Will," Rina said with a cheeky smile before bringing her into a hug. It was warm as Tricia's.
"Don't hurt Jared. He doesn't deserve it," Rina said and Astra frowned. She felt guilt immediately.
Astra did not know how to react to the little threat.
"Did Rina just threaten you?" Wilson asked. It seemed like her expression have her away and everyone burst into laughter.
"Don't mind Rina, she is always so protective of Jared," Wilson said and Astra calmed. She was wondering if it was a sign that she should leave Jared after all. Maybe it was.
"Relax, Astra," Jared said and she nodded. She just had to relax.
Astra could say that she enjoyed the weekend with Jared and his friends. Apart from the awkward moment when Rina had warned her not to hurt Jared, everything else was fine. They seemed to take her like a sister and that was something that was rare to Astra. Like it barely ever happened that someone would take her so closely.
She even had some painting classes from the men and even bonded with the ladies. Both Tricia and Rina were actually good artists, something that Astra did not expect.
The weekend was full of laughter and vibes. She did not expect it to be so fun. She even grew closer to Jared. Astra was not still very comfortable with physical touch from him, but she could talk to him more, it was easy for her to tell him about Nicholas and about her family.
She learnt to make a few dishes from Tricia and Rina, and she as officially invited to Rina's wedding. It was not something that she would miss. Astra began to view herself with Jared. It was so easy to imagine herself as his girlfriend and they would go on dates, talk have fun. She even took a stretch and started imagining him as her
fiancee, as her husband. It was all so easy. She could bring herself to love him eventually and they would have children together.
Astra was all but day dreaming as she sat on her desk at her office. It was Monday but she had absolutely nothing to do, it seemed like the company knew that she would soon be gone and so they were preparing themselves for the outcome. Astra had not heard from Nicholas since that night and she did not have any plans of contacting him. She heard later that Thompson was missing and a missing person complaint was laid. It got her thinking that he just disappeared after telling her all of that. It was scary. Astra felt that he was kidnapped, but by who?
She was still pondering on her thoughts when her phone rang. It was Stephanie.
"Hey, babe. How are you?" Astra asked as she picked up the phone Ray was not still back and Steph's plans to leave him where going as planned. She had already gotten a place that she would stay. She was just looking for an opportunity to travel so that she would move.
"Ray is back Astra. I am scared. It doesn't seem like he suspects anything, and I don't know what to do, should I approach him, should I tell him that I am tired of the marriage, should I leave? I don't know Astra, I am scared," Stephanie said. Her voice was shaky and Astra could hear the fear in her voice.
"Relax Stephanie. Everything will be fine. Act as though everything is normal. That would be best. And when he is leaving next, you can leave then. That would be the best course of action. It would be a while before he would suspect that you are gone. Just try and act like everything is normal, for yourself and for your baby," Astra said. She figured it was better that your husband should throw you out than for you to literally run from him, and that was what Steph was facing.
"I don't know if I can pretend anymore. I just want to leave," Stephanie said, and Astra shook her head. From what she heard from Stephanie. It would not be sensible to just say that she wanted to leave. Ray would take it the wrong way and something will happen to her.