AFTER MY HONEYMOON

chapter 3

He was still glaring at the 'flashdrive' when his attention was drawn to the song, that began playing on the radio. And he realized it was his mother's favorite song.

And once again he remembered. It was also raining heavily that night when the doctor had come to tell both him and his father while they were waiting outside the theater, that they couldn't save the mother or the child.

At first his father didn't want him to go with them to the hospital but he insisted with teary eyes while also holding on tightly to his mother's hand.

He cried so much that night. His father didn't shed a tear but he could tell the news shook him to the core because he was always lost in thought after his mother's death. He knew a part of his father had died that day.

Deep down he resented his mother because, she chose a baby whom she never got to see and left both him and his father behind. Not long after that, his father got married again and when he had asked his father why he decided to get married again, his father said to him " my son you are still too young to grow up without a mother. I want you to respect your stepmother she may not be your real mother but I'm sure she will do her best to take care of you".

Rebecca who was his father's new wife was a good woman at least until she had her son Aaron. A lot changed and because his father paid little attention to him, he didn't notice the change in his stepmother's behavior.

He was sure that she began to see him as a threat because of course he was his father's first son and naturally most of his father's property would go him.

And to crown it all, his Grandfather favoured him a lot over Aaron he would always say to him " you remind me of myself back in the day I was quite popular for my looks you know I'm sure you got your looks from both I and your beautiful mother". Although Rebecca's attitude towards him changed he still had a very decent relationship with his step-brother Aaron.

Back at home Lillian couldn't rest easy she had now started getting very anxious. She had so much running through her head.

She was very worried about Richard's behaviour and the change in his attitude she wondered to herself if the business deal had fallen through....perhaps that could have been the reason for his sour mood and his refusal to even touch any of the food she made.

But he had been there for six months already and he said all was well what on earth could be wrong.....She tried calling him but his phone was switched off. The food she cooked had already gone cold and the cupcakes as well. So she decided to pack them up in the fridge. She decided to call one more time when a call came in and she was surprised to see that it was Aaron calling so she quickly picked hoping to see if Aaron perhaps knew why Richard had stormed out of the house, or even knew where he went.

Once she picked the call she heard Aaron say " hello sister in law how did the surprise go?" Having said that, she suddenly remembered what happened earlier and replied

"Well he didn't really eat because he was tired but he left almost immediately. Is he perhaps with you"? And Aaron replied and said to-her "why do you sound so agitated he's not a child perhaps he had some work to take care of. Just relax ok he will be back soon".

She nodded although he couldn't see her through the phone and said to him " I'm just worried aren't I allowed to worry about my husband, it's just that he seemed so disturbed and restless has he perhaps told you anything?"

Aaron replied once again " you know he barely expresses himself to anyone don't worry he will tell you eventually. You are actually the only person he confides in so don't worry he will tell you if anything is disturbing his peace of mind ok now cheer up and relax". He spoke once again and before the line went off, he said " take care". And she replied with a Goodbye.

So many hours had gone by it was 12am already and Richard was not back yet she had already bathed, and dressed in her night gown and decided to wait in the sitting room for him. She put on the TV but she couldn't even enjoy what was because shown because she was worried.

She tired to call once again but this time the phone was unreachable maybe it was because of the heavy downpour she thought to herself and decided to lie down on the sofa.

It took sometime before he decided to drive home. He was scared to face her he didn't want to see the shock of being caught, on her face it would scar him anew but then he certainly couldn't stay packed outside the bar forever. And the rain had calmed down a bit so he decided to drive home.

Lillian was still lying down on the sofa but she was slowly loosing consciousness of her surrounding. Not few minutes after that she heard the sound of his car and she immediately tensed up. She knew she has been worried about him but she didn't think she was ready to see the cold look in his eyes once again so she remained where she was.

When Richard drove in he saw Mr bushwell walking up to the car so he brought down the glass and Mr bushwell said

"Sir mrs Wilson has been worried about you. She came out a few times when I saw her standing outside, I walked up to her and asked her what the matter was. And she told me she was worried about you and that your phone was switched off. Is everything alright sir?". Upon hearing that Richard's hands which were on the steering wheel, tightened his grip on it to the point that his hands turned white. And he simply replied and said " my phone's battery died that's why she wasn't able to get through to me earlier on". Mr bushwell nodded and said " alright Goodnight sir". Richard nodded and drove to the garage to pack his car.

When he opened the door and came into the house, his eyes was drawn to the sofa. He could see her feet's from where he was standing.

He slowly drew closer to her and he could see that she was sound asleep. Looking at her for a few more minutes, he slowly squatted beside her and starred at her face. One could see the pain in his eyes when he wispered the words " Did you ever love me? Was it all a lie?....why?" He starred at her some more, and slowly raised his hand to caress her face. To him she had always been the most beautiful... with her big beautiful violet coloured eyes he had fallen so deeply in love with. She had poor eye sight so she used lenses. Although, she had never really liked wearing them she would always say that they made her look like a teacher. But not to him. To him, they were cute on her with her short hair.

It took him so much time to confess his true feelings for her. But the day she accepted to be his wife was the happiest day of his life. But as people always say with much love comes great pain as well.
looking at her sleeping peacefully for a few more minutes, he stood up and walked away.