Once, my paranoid love

As Paul turned to leave the room, Anne’s frustration boiled over, and she couldn’t hold back her exasperation any longer. She yelled, “Paul, listen!” Her voice echoed in the empty space, a desperate plea for her son’s attention.

But Paul’s resolve remained unshaken. He continued on his path, determined to confront his inner demons and seek reconciliation with Elena. The rift between them had become too deep to ignore, and he couldn’t afford to delay the process any longer.

“Damn it! This crazy boy is too much for me to handle,” Anne muttered under her breath, her frustration palpable. She gazed at the closed door, a mixture of worry and exasperation etched on her face.

With a heavy sigh, Anne entertained a fleeting thought. “I’m going to find a wife for you as soon as possible.”

**

Inside the confines of the car, Lucy’s voice filled the space, her questions coming at Derek with a force that matched her astonishment. “What’s the matter with you? Why did you lie to her?” she demanded, her frustration evident in her tone.

Derek, now faced with Lucy’s barrage of questions, took a deep breath and attempted to explain himself. “Lucy, I’m married now,” he said, his voice steady but tinged with happiness.

Lucy’s reaction was immediate and intense. “What?” she exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. The revelation had taken her completely by surprise, and she struggled to make sense of the situation.

Derek could see the confusion and disbelief in Lucy’s eyes, and he knew he had some explaining to do. “Wait, how?” she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. “And when?”

As Lucy bombarded him with more questions, Derek narrowed his eyes.

Lucy’s questions kept coming, each one punctuated by her astonishment and disbelief. “If you’re married, how come you got to see Elena?” she demanded, her voice rising with frustration. Her mind raced to make sense of the bombshell Derek had dropped.

Derek tried to find the right words to explain, but his excitement overtook him. “Elena,” he said, his voice filled with enthusiasm. “My wife’s name is Elena.”

The revelation hung in the air, a moment of surprising clarity amidst the confusion. Derek’s joy was palpable, evident in the way he eagerly shared this newfound information.

Lucy, on the other hand, struggled to process what she had just heard. “Are you serious?” she asked, her disbelief evident.

Derek abruptly braked the car, bringing it to a halt. His emotions were running high, and he turned to face Lucy with a mixture of elation and frustration. “Now get out of here,” he said firmly. “I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

Lucy’s anger flared up at Derek’s sudden decision. “What? Dude, you did not even say anything, and now you’re kicking me out of the car, leaving me in the middle of the road,” she protested, her voice tinged with irritation.

The car had become a battleground of emotions, with Derek’s newfound revelation causing a whirlwind of reactions. Lucy, still grappling with the shock of the truth, felt a sense of betrayal at being cast aside so abruptly.

Lucy’s anger flared, and she couldn’t contain her frustration any longer. “You’re telling me to get out of the car? You brat, you ungrateful brat!” she yelled, her voice laced with indignation.

Derek, determined to pursue the newfound connection he had discovered with Elena, remained resolute. “Lucy, get lost. I need to meet with her,” he stated firmly, his focus unwavering.

But Lucy was not ready to give up so easily. She pleaded, “Take me with you.” Her desperation was palpable, as if clinging to Derek was her last lifeline.

Derek’s response was blunt and filled with concern. “Do you want to die?” he asked, his frown deepening as he considered the potential dangers of involving Lucy in his complex situation.

In the end, Lucy had no choice but to comply. She stepped out of Derek’s car, her frustration boiling over. “Asshole. I hate you, Derek!” she screamed, her words filled with anger.

Derek, undeterred by Lucy’s outburst, simply retorted, “As if I like you,” and winked playfully before starting his car. With that, he drove away, leaving Lucy behind on the roadside.

As Derek sped away from the turbulent encounter with Lucy, his mind raced with a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. The revelation that Elena was his wife had left him in a state of shock and disbelief.

“Elena is her name,” he muttered to himself, his voice filled with regret. He couldn’t help but berate himself for not having seen his wife even once before this momentous discovery.

‘Damn it! I should’ve seen her at least once. Everything has been ruined because of me. What does she think of me now?’

With each passing moment, Derek’s urgency to reach home grew. He needed answers, he needed to face the consequences of his choices, and he needed to bridge the gap that had unknowingly formed between him and his wife.

As the car sped through the streets, Derek couldn’t help but wonder if there was still a chance to salvage what had been lost.

**

I lounged on the porch, idly flipping through an old photo album filled with snapshots of Mr. Huston’s childhood. Boredom had led me to explore the memories of the house’s previous occupants, particularly my husband’s.

The maid, who had been assigned to assist me, stood nearby and pointed to a picture. “Ma’am, this is our sir, and this is his mother,” she explained. I offered a polite smile and extended my hand to touch the photograph, studying the woman who had once been a part of Mr. Huston’s life.

“His mother looks quite attractive. Where is she now?” I inquired, and my curiosity piqued as I gazed at the image.

With a somber expression, the maid replied, “She is no more.”

A sense of melancholy washed over me. “Oh, what happened to her?” I asked, unable to look away from the photograph of the woman who had been Derek’s mother.

The maid hesitated briefly before responding, “I heard Sir’s mother died in an accident.”

“An accident?” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper.

Suddenly, the memories of my own mother came rushing back, as vivid and painful as if they had occurred yesterday. The word “accident” resonated with a deep and haunting familiarity.

My mother, too, had been taken from me in an accident, a tragic event that had left a permanent scar on my heart. It was a wound that had never fully healed, a loss that had shaped the course of my life and my choices.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

As I continued to look at the photograph of his mother, I couldn’t help but wonder about the parallels between our lives. Had he experienced similar pain and grief? Had the loss of his mother influenced his journey in unexpected ways, just as my mother’s passing had shaped mine?

My curiosity about his family history continued to gnaw at me as I turned my attention back to the photo album. The image of his late mother had triggered a cascade of questions, and I couldn’t help but wonder about the other members of his family.

“And what about his father? Does he have a father?” I inquired once more, determined to unearth any information I could about my enigmatic husband’s past.

The maid hesitated, her words weighed down by a sense of secrecy. “It’s a bit of a secret, ma’am. This is something we aren’t allowed to say. Sir is quite rigorous when it comes to his personal matters,” she replied, her tone cautious and guarded.

I offered a reassuring smile, hoping to put her at ease. “You are free to tell me whatever you want. I’m not sure if I’ll ever meet him or whether our paths will ever cross in the future. If you share that with me, nothing will happen,” I assured her, my curiosity tinged with a sense of longing.

Her resolve seemed to waver as she considered my words. Finally, she relented, her voice lowering to a hushed tone. “I heard he had a stepfather and a brother,” she revealed, hinting at the existence of a more complex family dynamic.

Before our conversation could delve any further into the secrets of my husband’s family, the shrill sound of a car horn shattered the moment. We both turned our heads toward the source of the disturbance, startled by the unexpected interruption.

As the car approached, I couldn’t help but wonder if it held the answers to the questions that had begun to consume me. The mysteries of his past were like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, waiting to be assembled to reveal the complete picture of the man I had married.

The maid’s words sent a jolt of surprise through me. “Sir is here. Ma’am, I’m heading downstairs,” she announced before quickly exiting my room, leaving me to grapple with the sudden revelation.

I hadn’t anticipated his arrival. In fact, his absence at our own wedding had left me with more questions than answers. So why was he here now? What could have prompted this unexpected visit?