Anne was silent to hear Mrs. Riley’s words, she returned to remembering her only marriage with Leon two years ago. Maybe if Anne had a mentor who wanted to share her experiences about being a housewife at that time, her marriage with Leon would not have ended like this. She thought to herself that maybe Steffi too wouldn’t have succeeded in taking over her position as the woman who satisfied Leon on the bed. After having to remember it suddenly, Anne’s eyes were filled with tears that shocked the two middle-aged women in front of her.

“Anne, why are you crying?” asked Mrs. Riley frantically. ​​

“Did we joke too far?” said Mrs. Delila who was also surprised.

“Darling …”

“I got married once, Madam, but my marriage was ruined because of a seductive woman who I consider to be my own sister,” said Anne stammering to Mrs. Riley.

Brakkk

Mrs. Delila’s tray fell to the floor when she heard Anne’s terrible words, she stared at Anne without blinking as if she wanted to ensure whether she heard it correctly or not. She was not so sure if the things she just heard truly came from Anne’s thin lips.

“My marriage only lasted for ten months, Madam, in the twelfth month I officially hold the status of a widow huhuhuhu,” Anne finally broke down when she recalled the incident of Leon and Steffi’s affair which gave her a big wound in her heart.

Mrs. Riley immediately got out of her place, she rushed towards the laundry door which was wide open. Without thinking, she turned the sign OPEN into CLOSED and locked the glass door from the inside. Then, she rushed back to the cashier counter where Anne and Mrs. Delila were.

“Darling, come on down, let’s talk downstairs,” said Mrs. Riley quietly while inviting Anne to get down from her chair and talk behind the counter, which turned out to be a floor mattress that was comfortable enough to sit on.

Without speaking, Anne followed Mrs. Riley’s invitation, she entered the cashier table and sat down with Mrs. Delila who was waiting for her, and Mrs. Riley who was sitting right in front of Anne. The two middle-aged women were sure that the beautiful girl in front of them was serious and did not just make up a fake story.

“If you want to share it with us, we would listen to it dear,” said Mrs. Delila softly as she wiped Anne’s tears which had covered her face.

“Yes dear, we are both ready to hear it, if you want to share the story with us,” added Mrs. Riley more gently.

Anne looked at the two middle-aged women who were very close to her with eyes full of tears, she once again shed tears that immediately flooded her bare face, no trace of makeup was covering her face this morning.

“Anne, if you don’t want to tell the story to us, we won’t force you, dear. But if you feel more comfortable and relieved to tell the story we are ready to listen to everything, maybe after telling the story you will feel much better, dear,” said Mrs. Delila softly as she wiped Anne’s tears using a tissue.

After taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Anne then told the story that had happened to her 2 years ago. When she divorced Leon because of her ex-best friend named Steffi. Anne even told about the insults that Leon gave to her on the first night of their marriage. Leon and Steffi’s affair also did not escape from Anne’s thin lips.

Mrs. Riley and Mrs. Delila seemed to hold their breath when they heard the story of the beautiful girl in front of them. They could not believe that this very cheerful girl turned out to have a very dark past as a woman. Experiencing failure in the marriage was not a pleasant thing for any woman, especially if the failure of the marriage was due to a third person who was close to them. Unable to hold back, Mrs. Delila finally gave a warm hug to Anne, who was still sobbing about her bad luck.

“Don’t cry dear, you shouldn’t cry over this anymore, I can’t hear it further,” said Mrs. Delila who also started sobbing.

“Sob sob … I don’t know how to get rid of this pain, Madam, remembering that terrible incident always makes me sick. As if it just happened yesterday,” said Anne haltingly.

“Don’t think like that, love, you don’t have to cry anymore. You are a strong woman who was saved by God from that immoral human, you should be glad and stop crying over it, dear. Let the two traitors live in a puddle of mud. You are young, beautiful, independent, and smart. Any man would want you instantly. You have a bright future, there are many good men out there who will fight to their death to get your love,” said Mrs. Riley quickly.

“Don’t be like me, dear, I was stupid because I continued to hang on to my husband who was a heavy drinker and a gambler until I finally had nothing left. My children also lived with him, in the end, I suffered alone on the streets until I finally met Delila. I was so stupid because I hung on to such an unhealthy marriage until I finally ran out of time to live happily, I can’t do much when I’m this old, darling. But you are in a much different situation because you’re still young and very beautiful. You don’t have to grieve for those traitors. You are so much better than them. So you don’t have to be sad dear. Stand up for yourself and prove your worth. Make people who hurt you regret it for the rest of their life,” added Mrs. Riley back excitedly.

Anne was silent to hear Mrs. Riley’s words, she was very surprised to hear Mrs. Riley’s confession. Seeing Anne’s confused expression made Mrs. Riley smile, she then stroked Anne’s face slowly.

“You don’t have to regret the things that had happened in the past, take the lesson from all that incident and use it as your valuable experiences in the future. You are still young dear, it may be hard to be a widow at this young age but believe me, it is better to be a widow than a seducer,” said Mrs. Delila gently while smoothing Anne’s thick, slightly messy hair.

“Yes, Madam, I understand, thank you for the advice. I’m very happy to get this valuable advice from you two,” said Anne softly.

“Trust me, Anne, the hymen is no longer important for a man who has sincere feelings for you. If they truly love you, they will not care about your virginity, but if they …”

“But I’m still Virgin, Madam,” said Anne quietly interrupting Mrs. Riley.

“What…”

To be continued