AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ve been forcing the issue of marriage on her and I realize it’s only today when she brought it up as if she’s only now agreeing to it. Previously, she would act surprised or touched that I’d been willing to offer such a deep commitment.
I need to regroup, to think. I need to find a way to fix this situation I’ve caused in my greed.
Because I love this woman.
She’s my whole world.
And so is her daughter.
In my eyes, they’ve become my family and as I leave the building, I’m lost in my thoughts.
Sunday passes by quietly, uneventfully.
There’s not a single call or message from Elise and on Monday morning, I walk in early, hoping to catch her. I’ve thought up of a few things to say, to beg her forgiveness.
But she doesn’t come to work.
At some point in the afternoon, I run into Darren who just smirks at me as if he knows something I don’t. I’m still fretting over my situation with Elise, so I ignore him. He would certainly be dealt with later.
Monday passes and so does Tuesday, but Elise still hasn’t come to work.
Even Lana hasn’t heard from her.
Kendall is at a conference with Caleb. I still call her up to check, but she provides no clues as well.
On Wednesday, I finally cave in, and I show up at her apartment with flowers and chocolates, ready to grovel.
However, when the door opens, shock is followed by cold rage as I push my way inside, “Who the fuck did this?”
Elise has a black eye and a bandage on her forehead. Her right arm is in a sling.
“Break in,” she mutters as she watches me toss the flowers and the chocolates on the couch. “Why are you here?”
“Where’s Sophie?” I demand, looking around as if the six month old was going to come walking in all on her own. “Is she all right?”
At this, Elise’s face softens a little. “She’s with my parents.” When I stare at her, she shakes her head. “They don’t know. I didn’t want anyone to know.”
I’m quivering with anger. “Why didn’t you – When did this happen?”
When she realizes I have no intention of leaving, she closes the door. There is exhaustion in her eyes, along with pain and she limps towards the couch, sinking onto it.
“Fifteen minutes after you left. There was a knock on the door. I thought it was you. So, I opened it without checking. I wasn’t really expecting anyone else to show up at two in the morning.” She takes a shaky breath and goes on, “It was a guy in a mask.” She opens her mouth and then snaps it shut. “I don’t want to talk about the details. I can’t. He didn’t harm Sophie. I begged him not to. And he wanted me to beg.”
There’s a detachment in her voice as she talks to me as if she’s not entirely present or that she’s dissociating herself with the trauma of the event.
“He didn’t take anything. But he wanted to hurt me. I don’t know why.” She stares at her hands, almost blindly. “I was in a bad shape when he left. I only managed to call the police and I held Sophie until they came.”
The knot in my chest is so tight that it’s getting harder to breathe. “Why didn’t you call me?”
She lifts her gaze to meet mine, “I didn’t want to. I was too vulnerable.”
The emptiness in her eyes shakes me and it’s only then when I realize how my actions have broken the trust this woman had seemingly forged with me. She thinks she and I have been in two different headspaces in this relationship, that while I may love her, I don’t hold a very high opinion of her character, and for a woman like Elise who hates depending on others, this has torn into her like a whirlwind and left gaping wounds that are still bleeding.
How could I not have seen this?
Elise has never been one for grand gestures but she has always been independent and has valued herself to be strong. She thought this was who I’d fallen in love with until I opened my mouth.
“I asked Brad to take Sophie to my parents’ house the next morning. I called them up and made some excuses.”
