AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Piya’seyes were unblinking.Herskin paled as she stood like a statue, not making a single move.
“Afterthat night on the beach,”Icontinued without letting her recover. “Icouldn’t make sense of why you’d leave all that money if you planned on walking out of my life.”Everyword out of my mouth was filled with heat, reliving those days withoutPiya.
Iwouldn’t return to that life.Neveragain.
“Atfirst,Ithought maybe you were investing in me; perhaps you needed me to prove myself before you could be with me.Iworked like a dog, determined to achieve everything you wanted for me.Istarted gaining recognition and even kept my job at the venue for a few extra months so you’d know how to track me down.Still, you were radio silent, and it started pissing me off.Overthe months,Ibecame fixated on your intentions for leaving me that money if you had no plans of reaching out.Themonths turned into years, and my obsession with the matter only grew.Themore my obsession grew, the more drivenIbecame… and the moreIwanted to punish you for staying away.Icounted each day to pass by, promising to make you my prisoner for the same number of days you’d made me yours for years.Nomatter where or what condition you were in,Iwould’ve hunted you down.Evenif you were dead,Iwould have dug up your grave.Nothing, not even death, would’ve kept you from me.”Myrazor-sharp words cut through the air like a blade, reverberating through the glass.
Theworld stood still as she confronted the extent of my obsession.AsIsaid, there was nowhere to hide, not even behind death’s door, let alone behind a glass door.
Piya’sshallow breaths told me she knew it, too.Hergaze, intense yet melancholic, locked with mine.Shepressed a palm against the forsaken pane of glass dividing us.
Imet her hand with my own through the glass door.Piya’sbreath hitched as if she could feel the caress through the barrier, and the cold surface somehow felt warm.Istared at where our hands were linked through the glass.
“Doyou know what thirteen years, eight months, one week, and four days equate to?”Iasked in a low voice.
Piyastared at me as if she had no idea what to say or how to feel.
“Itequates to the 5000 nightsIspent without you.”
Piya'ssilence was filled with the scent of uncertainty as if struggling to make sense of whereIwas going with this conversation.
“Icounted each nightIspent without you until realizing 5000 days had gone by in trying to find you.Iwas throwing myself a party, a memorial, if you’d call it, to the timeIhad spent searching for you.Thelast thingIexpected that night was for you to walk through the doors.”
Piya’seyes widened, her pupils dilating as the words registered in her brain.Theedges of her mouth began to slope in an ironic smile.Witha half-smirk of my own,Idropped my gaze at our hands connected through the glass.
“So, tell me,Princess.Didyou think you could fool me into thinking we hadn’t seen each other in fourteen years?”
Hereyes darted to the garden outside, dodging my stare and searching for an answer to alleviate the deception. “I-Iwasn’t trying to fool you.Iwas rounding up.”Piya’sbody was tense, thoughIknew she was moments from falling apart.
Isighed as if explaining reality to a petulant child. “No, you weren’t.Youwere worried about whyIhad returned to your life and were desperately trying to cover your tracks.Sowhy don’t you save me the breath and admit the secret weighing down your soul for so many years?”
Piya’seyes were wide and glassy, her face drawn. “Axel,I—”
“Sayit.”
“Please,” she pleaded, eyes wide with terror and voice shaking.
“Thereis nowhere left to hide,Piya.Ialready know, butIwant to hear you say it.”
Theheavy scent of fear lingered in the air, but her time was up. “Ican’t.”
“Sayit!”Ishouted.
Piya’scheeks turned ashen, her eyes fading to a hollow stare as if the life had been sucked out of her. “Poppyis your daughter.”
5000NightsAgo
* * *
Piya
“You’repregnant.”
Dreadcoiled around my spine.Thedoctor’s words sounded like a joke, andIwaited for the punch line.Whenit didn’t come,Iquickly resorted to challenging the results unearthed by modern medicine.
“No,I’mnot,”Ideclared.
Thedoctor in the crisp white lab coat stared at me through the black-rimmed glasses resting lightly on her nose.Shewas a tall brunette with shoulder-length hair pulled back in a loose bun.Herblue eyes gave off an aura of intelligence mixed with sympathy. “I’msorry if this news is coming to you at a bad time,” she offered kindly.
