It was always you

Chapter 1

Life is like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, there is no happily ever after, there is only happiness in the moment. In every event there is bound to be an issue, nothing is supposed to be perfect, if everything is going right, there is bound for something to happen, it's called the calm before the storm.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Sasha groaned as she stopped her alarm from blaring, rolling over to see her boyfriend Raphael snoring away. She kissed his cheek to wake him up, as she does everyday, she wonders how lucky she is to have an amazing boyfriend and to live in an amazing apartment.

"Morning baby" he smiles looking down at her, and gives her a peck on her forehead. "Morning, how did you sleep?" she asked. "Much better," he winked. She giggled and got up to get ready for work.

Sasha is a realtor and has been working for a year, however her dream was always to open her own quaint cafe. Her plans were to get her degree and work whatever job she could to save up enough to open her very own cafe. Her passion was always on owning her own business and she loves food more than anything, so she knew it made perfect sense. She took culinary at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, that's where she met Raphael, and their love story began.

It was her finals and she was running to the examination hall, however she tripped and fell, scraping her knee and elbows yet she soldier on and sat for her paper without tending to her wounds, what she did not realize was she was bleeding through her shirt and jeans, Raphael was sitting next to her and noticed. After their paper, he nudged her and told her there was something wrong and she was bleeding, she then freaked out, as she got woozy at the sight of blood. He immediately tried to calm her down and brought her to the campus clinic to get her wounds cared for. After she was all fixed up, she offered to buy him a cup of coffee as a thank you gesture which he gladly took it up as he found her the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. From then on, they exchanged numbers and went on a few dates, they were happy and blissful, even though they had their fair share of arguments, they loved each other dearly, and on their 6th date, he gave her a promise ring, and vowed he will make her his wife in the future.

After Culinary school, Raphael got a job at one of the hottest restaurant in New York working alongside some great culinary masters and remained busy building up his career, due to the hectic working hours he rarely gets to spend time with Sasha, and their hours are so different in comparison, with him working in the evening till midnight, and she working from mid morning till evening, their relationship was starting to crack, but Sasha always tried to remain positive and she will always hold the promise ring Raphael gave her close to her heart.

When Sasha was done getting ready, she looked in the mirror for the last time assessing her outfit and smiling as she smoothed out her fitting bodycon dress. She wore a midnight blue sleeveless bodycon that reached her knees, and she had matching blue blazer to make her more professional, she loves her curves but often hiding it. Today is a big day for her, she is going to close a 10 million dollar sale, and with that commission she will finally be able to save up enough for her cafe. She was nervous, she knew that  Mr Hsu was fickle minded, but she also knew Mr Hsu really loved that property. She gathered her handbag and put on her stilettos, looking in the master room, she saw Raphael sprawled out on the bed snoring lightly, she giggled to herself remembering the events of last night, as few hours ago to be exact.

He came home at 3am, after work he showered and got into bed and started kissing her neck, she knew he was up to no good, she could feel him getting excited and pressed up against her back. She knew what he wanted, but she was too tired to give it to him, she told him that today she would wait up for him and surprise him with something. He halfheartedly agreed and passionately kissed her, then he held her as they fell into slumber.

***

She arrived 30 minutes early to the property, and she ensured that everything was perfect to the T, and she waited patiently for Mr Hsu to arrive. As Mr Hsu was pulling up, she put on the biggest smile she could and greeted him and his wife.

She showed them the property one last time and she gave them a little privacy for them to discuss, so she excused herself and was waiting by the foyer next to their bodyguard. He was always friendly with her, and after all this time of showing Mr & Mrs Hsu several properties, Geofrey -the bodyguard- and her have become friends. Geofrey is in his mid 30's and is married to his highschool sweetheart and the love of his life Sue.

"We will take it Ms Carter, I will wire the money in within the next hour, please draw up the papers." Mr Hsu said as he was walking out of the property, clutching his smiling wife.

"Thank you Mr Hsu, I will draw up the papers as soon as possible. Our lawyers will be in touch with yours for the signing of papers. Thank you again Mr Hsu. This house will be your home soon and I'm so glad that you've entrusted me to help you and Mrs Hsu in helping you." Sasha said as she grinned.

"You're welcome dear, I've spoken to my husband and we have agreed to leave you a generous tip aside from your commission. You've been kind and patient to us and we thank you for that dear. Oh and before I forget, once we've moved in please come to our housewarming party, we would love to introduce you to our friends, and maybe you might get more clients as well" Mrs Hsu said

"Oh my! Thank you so much for your kindness. I will keep you updated and also once everything has been smoothed out, let's all grab dinner, my treat."

"Sure thing. Well, will see you soon yeah? We've got to pick up our son from school. Bye" Mrs Hsu said while hugging Sasha.

"Bye!"

Sasha let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She was ecstatic that this commission will be the one that seals her dream of opening her own cafe. She called an uber to drop her off at her office to hand in some documents and she can finally celebrate, all her hard work has paid off. She planned on taking the rest of the day off and hopefully spent some quality time with Raphael before he goes off to work, maybe even continuing what he wanted to start.

***

She finally got home around 2pm, before that she stopped by the grocery store to pick up some merlot for her celebration. She knew Raphael usually left for work around 4pm, so she has a perfect 2 hours to celebrate and spend a much needed time with him. As she set her handbag down on the kitchen counter, she called out "Raph, baby! I'm home!" but to her surprise there was no answer. "Baby are you home?" she wondered.

She decided to go to their room, to check if he was still asleep, but he isn't there either, so she decided to send him a text:

Sasha : Baby, are you home?

"Swoosh" she turned her head to where the sound was coming from. It was his laptop, she then realised that he left his Mac open and it was opened to his messages. She then walked over to his laptop and wanting to respect his privacy, she wanted to close it but then;

"Swoosh" she heard that sound again, her curiosity peaked and she peaked, it was a message;

Cassie Baby : Raphy r u otw? I miss u, and i'm waiting in our room *winky face*

At that moment, Sasha's heart fell into her stomach. The realisation that he might be cheating on her.