Chapter 8
I was amused by his response and nodded in agreement.
When I stepped outside, Daniel was standing near the door, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes when he saw me. His expression was filled with desperation and his voice trembled with restrained
emotion.
“Lenore, you finally came out to see me,” he said, his voice catching as if he’d won some imaginary battle. “I knew you couldn’t bear to part with me.”
I frowned, crossing my arms. “What do you want?”
He carefully reached into a gift bag he held, pulling out a stack of photos.
Hundreds of them spilled from his hands- pictures of us from childhood to the present day.
“Lenore,” he began, his voice quivering,
40% 12:09
1/6
Chapter 8
“these are all the memories we‘ ve shared
over the years. Look at them! You‘ re smiling. I’m smiling. We were so happy together back then.”
His eyes sparkled with an unsettling fervor as he continued, “When I see these photos, my love for you grows even stronger. I’ve never loved Grace. I only married her to help her escape her family’s control. Now that her family‘ s off her back, I’ll take her to file for divorce tomorrow. A month later, I’ll be free. Then we can be together, Lenore. We can finally get married.”
He was moved to tears by his own self- righteousness and I found what he said extremely absurd. He didn‘ t love Grace, yet he was willing to lower himself to help her, even if it meant becoming a divorcee? And he seriously believed that if he turned back, I would still be waiting for him?
“Do you know anything about love?” I said coldly. “Love is something that comes
40% 12:09
2/6
Chapter 8
from the heart, not from your words. You said that you don‘ t Grace, but your actions say otherwise.” Maybe he didn’t understand what it means to love someone, or maybe what he loved more than anything was himself.
“No… it’s not like that, Lenore,” he stammered. “Grace and I are just friend. Her family prefers boys over girl, I had to help her, or she would‘ ve been married off to a stranger. I did it out of pity.”
“I don‘ t care if you did it out of pity. And I don‘ t care whatever reasons you might say. What makes you think that I will still be there while you‘ re doing you mighty- knight action?” I shot back. “You don‘ even care about me. But you say you love me. When you knew I got married and you showed up at our place, yelling about our past yesterday. Have you thought about how that made me look to the neighbors?”
His face paled and he visibly shrank under my words. “It was an accident. I was
40% 12:09
3/6
Chapter 8
upset, Lenore. I wasn‘ t thinking clearly.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Upset? That‘ s your excuse? Your impulsiveness would have ruined my reputation, Daniel. And that is what you call love?” I sneered.
“You just wanted to embarrass me, didn‘ t you?” I added through my gritted teeth.
If it were anyone else, I might have believed it was an accident. But not from him. I didn’t trust him.
“No, Lenore. It’s not like that,” he said, rushing forward to grab my arm. I instinctively stepped back, trying to avoid his touch, but he was relentless. His eyes were filled with hurt as he desperately pleaded, “Lenore, please, don’t do this to
me.”
“Just leave, Daniel. I’m married now. Don’t ever come looking for me again.”
“You’ve forgotten, haven’t you?” he said, his voice rising. “You‘ ve forgotten
40% 12:09
4/6
Chapter 8
all the promises we made to each other. You swore you’d marry me no matter how long it took!”
Before I could respond, he lunged forward, grabbing my arm in a grip that made me wince.
“Daniel, let go of me!” I shouted, trying to pull away, but he tightened his grip.
“You promised we’d be together forever,” he said, his tone a mix of anger and desperation. “I’ll take you home and after a month, we’ll get married. I’ll give you the grand wedding you deserve. Everything he can give you, I can give you more. You just need to trust me, Lenore.”
“Daniel, you‘ re hurting me!” I said, my voice sharp with fear and frustration. “Let go!”
But he wasn’t listening. His manic determination seemed to drown out everything else. He began dragging me toward his car, muttering under his breath
40% 12:09
5/6
12:09
41
Chapter 8
like a man possessed.
“We promised, Lenore. I‘ ll fix
everything. We’ll be happy again, just like before. Just trust me!”
His behavior was completely manic and it frightened me. I instinctively yelled out his
name.
“Frederick!”
40% 12:09
6/6
12:09
