The Lies I Believed

He Loves me. He Loves Me Not

He loves me.

He loves me not.

He loves me.

"Come on! I got something to show you. It's pretty cool."

"What could get cooler than a trip to the Maldives?"

"I don't know. I didn't think about that."

I giggled and allowed him to drag me to the back door. We'd decided to give Mocha to Diane for a couple of days. She needed company. Besides, Asher had said something about reconstructing the backyard. Mocha would just get in the way of everything. I couldn't have her getting hurt at a time like this.

He told me to close my eyes and opened the backdoor. I heard rushing water almost immediately. I thought maybe he'd left the hose on and had forgotten to turn it off. Asher was forgetful like that. Then, I heard something hit the water.

"Jasmine, don't do that!" Asher yelled.

"What did she do?" I asked.

"See for yourself."

I opened my eyes and was met with a tiny backyard oasis. The rushing water was coming from a cascade that flowed into a little pond. It was beautiful. The pond had been surrounded with plants native to our area. The rocks that made up the cascade were made to look like they belonged in our backyard. Since it wasn't too close to the pool, any fish inside the pond would be just fine.

That's when I spotted Jasmine picking up another rock. Asher rushed over to take it from her. I'll never be able to figure out why she does things like that. I walked over to the pond and saw that it had been filled with a couple of koi?

"Asher, what type of fish are these?"

"Koi."

"Koi?"

"Yeah. Kujaku koi. They were a bit on the expensive side, but it was worth it, right?"

"Of course! They're so pretty." I smiled down at the pond. "Would you say this is more of a fish garden?"

"Nope. I could do that, but that's something I'll have to look into. With Dominic still exploring, it's best we keep this to a minimum. Can't have him falling in the water."

"You're so thoughtful."

"Because, I care, dear. I love you and I love our children."

Our children? I love when he says that.

He loves me not.

I walked into the house and kicked off of my shoes. Today has been long and stressful. It was my first week at my new job and things had been so busy. Kendra said that it wouldn't be like that all the time, but she knows too many celebrities. If Hayden hadn't come by today, I think I would have turned in my resignation.

"Oh, you're finally home."

Asher stood at the base of the stairs. His clothes were a mess and his hair was coming out of its bun. Oh, no. I was dreading whatever he was about to say.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. I handled it."

"Ash..." I dropped my purse and rushed over to him. "What did they do?"

"Lexi, I handled it. They didn't do anything."

"You can't be afraid to tell me what they did," I said. "Kids will be kids, but they won't learn without being properly reprimanded."