the wrong kind of love

Chapter 1
Mandy looked at the time for the zillionth time that evening. Letting out a heavy sigh, she threw herself on the sofa and rubbed her rumbling stomach.“Where the hell is he?” she muttered to herself, looking at the time again.She had gone through all the trouble of making this amazing dinner for her and her husband, who was now over an hour late. They had not had a proper evening together for a while now. In fact, she could not even remember when they last shared a nice romantic evening, with just the two of them. If the house wasn’t full of friends who he had invited, he was working late. And if he wasn’t working late, he was away on business. She missed the quiet nights in, just the two of them snuggled on the sofa, cuddling, whilst watching the latest Hollywood release on DVD. She looked at the beautifully set dinner table, and let out another heart felt sigh. She had planned on surprising him with this dinner. She thought that he would appreciate it, after a hard day working as an accountant. He took pride in his job. He had worked his way up the ranking ladder to assistant manager in the accountancy department in an advertising firm. She checked the time once more. He was now an hour and a half late. Letting out yet another sigh, she lifted herself from the sofa and picked up the phone. She dialled his number and after a very long wait, he finally answered. She didn’t bother with the friendly and welcoming hellos. She just got straight to the point.“Where the fuck are you?” she growled.“Sorry love. I have been having an awful day! Jake hasn’t been at work today and I have had double the workload.” He sighed.“What time will you be home?” she asked, almost giving up home, knowing he would be having yet another late night. Those late nights were getting too frequent now. She should be used to them by now.“I honestly don’t know, love! I have a meeting in half an hour and then I have to go over some files for Stuart! It’s manic in here!” he sighed.“Nicky! It is nine o’clock in the evening!” she shrieked, “What kind of company has meetings at this time of night?”“We do, babe! This is important, honey. Please don’t give me a hard time. We’re really short staffed at the moment. I am doing my job along with 2 other people’s jobs. It has to be done. There are deadlines to be met!” he argued.“But what about dinner?” she sighed, “I have gone through all the trouble of making dinner. I even got a DVD for us t watch tonight. I was hoping we could have a a quiet night in, just the 2 of us!” she whined.“Awwwwww sweetheart! I am sorry ok? I shall make it all up to you. I promise!” he soothed.That was always his answer! Trouble was, he was never any good at keeping those promises. She was still waiting for him to make it up to her from the last time, 2 days ago. She sighed and brushed her red hair back, “Fine! I’ll see you tomorrow!” she mumbled moodily.“I am sorry ok darling? I’ll try not to wake you up tonight!” he blew a kiss at her down the phone.“Whatever, goodbye!” she moaned, before she hung up. She rested back on the sofa in the dimly lit room. The only source of light came from the flickering candles adorning the dining room table. She got up, blew the candles out and turned the lights on.“Well, so much for a romantic night!” she sighed to herself, clearing the table, “I should have expected it really!”5 minutes later, she found herself sitting alone at the dining table, eating that lasagne herself. When she finished, she got up, and went to the kitchen. She put er plate in the dishwasher and looked at the remaining lasagne on top of the oven, in the Pyrex dish. Normally, she left the remains for Nicky, so he could take it to work the next day, but she was now seething with anger. She picked up the dish and threw its contents into the bin. He was not worthy of her time and efforts. She put the dirty dish in the washer and switched it on. She sat on the kitchen table, seriously contemplating on going to bed. But she was not tired yet. She was bored. Bored and alone. With an idea forming in her head, she headed straight for the shower and then went to her bedroom. She opened her wardrobe and scanned through her clothes, finally making a decision. She got dressed, applied her make up and grabbed her keys. She got into the previously booked taxi cab, which took her to her chosen destination. Club M. The most decent nightclub in Dublin.“I’m through with sitting in that house alone! I need a life!” she whispered, as she checked her make up on her pocket mirror before she went in. She walked into the club and sat at the stool by the bar. She didn’t know anyone. She had only moved to Dublin a month ago, when Nicky got promoted and transferred to this city. The only people she knew were his friends from his job and his family who lived in Dublin.She had been sitting on that stool for an hour, just drinking and watching everyone dancing and laughing, and generally having a great time. She looked sadly at the couples, kissing and canoodling, wishing she could be like that with Nicky. She sighed and shook her head slowly, “Dream on, Mandz!”She looked glumly at her surroundings, lit up a cigarette and ordered herself another drink. She sat there and just thought about where her life was heading. She thought about when she had met Nicky at that conference when he was just a junior and she was his colleague. She thought about all the happy times they once shared before he became this highflying candidate in this business. Before he became so obsessed in this line of work, that everything else in his life was secondary. She remembered when they used to laugh, chat, joke and cuddle all the time, but now all that seemed a thing of the past. She was so deep in thought that she did not notice someone standing right next to her, looking at her every now and then, wondering if she was the person he thought she was.