Cai and Molly Davies

The bedroom was mostly white, an almost empty tiny room with a small bed with grey covers in the middle of the room and a bright white night stand on each side of it with a mirror was attached to the door. It was a stark contrast to the way Mildred dressed earning her the nickname, ‘Goth Mildred’. Her husband Cai Davies was always working and lived in his grey suit and thick eyeglasses. Cai towered over Mildred at 6’ 1” despite being in his 60’s. Mildred was only 5’ 3” and in her late 30’s. She had a slim figure, long black hair kept in pig tails, and a light bronze skin with green eyes. The fragrant of the freshly bloomed blue lilies scattered on the bed was overwhelming in the tiny room.

Cai stood in front of the mirror and adjusted his tie, “That’s it, Mildred Molly!” He took off his tie, “I want a divorce!”

Mildred adjusted the straps of her dark red camisole, “What?” she cried. She couldn’t understand him. She felt out of breath. Had she gone too far in celebrating their love anniversary? She had already planned their tenth wedding anniversary next month. She had watched plenty of Youtube videos on the subject and went bargain shopping so he’d never know that she had planned this surprise.

“What have I done?” she choked back her sobs and it echoed in the tiny bedroom. “I can’t imagine my life without you in it. What have I done wrong?” She fell to her knees and put on a display of sadness sobbing without an end in sight. Honestly, she didn’t love Cai. It just surprised her it took him a year to figure it out. “What do we do now?” she pulled herself up on the nightstand that had a present for him on top of it.

Cai straightened out his shirt with his hands, “I don’t know what you plan on doing, but I’m filing for a divorce. My lawyer has advised me to file for an immediate eviction notice for you.”

Mildred had to pull out all stops on this one so she let the strap fall on her camisole to show her cleavage more clearly, “Is that really necessary?” She grabbed the gift she made him and handed it to him. “Can’t we just work things out?” It was then she realized that he must have found out about her affair with Darren Morgan who worked at the kitchen at her current job at the Studi-oo Art Gallery. She was extra careful when he had hired a private investigator, but she must have not been careful enough. “I’ll quit my job if that’s what it takes to stay with you my love. It’ll be rough and I’ll have to depend on you more.”

Deep down the thought of quitting her job as a commissioned artist terrified her, but she needed to stay with Cai long enough to gain his trust. She’d be giving up her cover career, but her true career was that of a con artist. She has spent the last five years working hard on her leads that Cai Davies was a multi-millionaire. It was all about trust and getting put in his will as the only beneficiary on his life insurance policy. This imposter had disposed of the real Mildred Molly a year ago and assumed her identity. It was a miracle the old man had never noticed or maybe he just did?

“Cai, baby?” Mildred pushed her body against his not caring that he was still dressed in his work suit. She had learned early on that seduction had worked wonders against the old man. She handed him the gift, a portrait of him she had sketched out herself. “Did I go too far for our love anniversary and you’re mad at me for using all those lilies?”

Cai blinked a few times, “Our anniversary? That isn’t until next month love.”

“Not our wedding anniversary, love,” Mildred continued crying, “It’s our love anniversary. When we first met and started falling in love with each other. Do you remember it? I remember like it was yesterday.”

“You couldn’t just wear a pair of jeans and a tee shirt for that one class, could you?” Cai rolled his eyes at Mildred.

“I figure I’d dress for the funeral of my brain since I hate Math so much.” Mildred said looking down and shuffling her feet.

“Every single day, I had to loan you my jacket so you could still attend your class...” Cai mumbled, “You couldn’t think about carrying a pair of regular clothes for that one class?”

“I didn’t see a problem with the way I dress.” Mildred said, “I was a distraction he said.” Mildred smirked a bit at using her imagination to fill in the blanks, “I don’t know. It was so long ago though…”

Cai nodded, “I have already contacted my lawyer. Don’t you have work tonight?” Cai tossed the gift on the bed. “Clean this up too,” he motioned at the lilies.

Mildred sank to the floor again, “But why? I thought this was a good surprise for you and our love anniversary,” She cried again, “Can’t I call the maid to help me? I just thought it would be a good break for you from work.”

Cai looked at Mildred again on the floor, “No. I have an important meeting early tomorrow morning.” He bent down to kiss her. “We’ll resume this talk tomorrow afternoon. I know you also have work tonight too.”

Later on at the Studi-oo Art Gallery, Mildred sat in her office; a small empty room except for one stool without a back and two seemingly empty canvases propped up on separate easels. The first easel was accompanied by a small bucket filled with small paint tubes, brushes, and an empty cup. The second was accompanied by a tray filled with color pencils and vibrant markers. The door to her office was always kept open and a window in the back stayed open while she was working to handle the fumes, but it was shut right now. A young man with short dark hair and an apron around his waist knocked at her office door, “Mildred, honey?”

She looked up to show her tear-stained face, “He’s on to us, Darren.” He was the other part of her con artist team. They lived a rich life under the cover of their current jobs. He was preying on an old woman and she was preying on an old man.

“I thought you said you got rid of the private investigator,” Darren Morgan pulled at his apron, “How do we continue this? Has the old man trusted you enough as Mildred to put you in his will? Did he already have Mildred in his will?” he kept questioning her.

Then, Mildred looked up from crying, “I don’t know. He said he wants to file for a divorce. That means I have to stay being this depressing Mildred longer. Next time we pick a target, can he please have a regular dressing wife?” she wiped at her face.

“Don’t tell me you actually care for the man. You know to stay detached. You know better,” Darren coached her, “You have to trick them into thinking you love them, but keep a safe enough distance so that they can never hurt you. Do you need to back out?”

“I’m just scared. What if he knows I’m not Mildred? What if he’s known this entire year and he’s just let me waste my time?” she put her face back into her hands. “I don’t know how to continue if he leaves her.”

Darren hugged ‘Mildred’ tightly, “We’ll figure something out. We always do.”