The Stand In Wife’s Revenge
Chapter 11
The sight of everything I had constructed was a dull sight tonight as I entered the mansion through the enormous front door. Every detail including the marble floors, the chandeliers and the high ceilings served as a reminder of both my accomplishments and how empty everything now felt.
As I passed I hardly noticed the dozen maids in uniform standing in perfect formation with their heads bowed in greeting. They waited in silence for recognition but I had nothing to offer.
Not tonight.
I was thinking about something else. Ava’s mystery, the day’s events and the weight of everything looming over me dominated my thoughts.
As my life seemed to be falling apart I was unable to concentrate on the little details of my mansion. I lacked the strength for formalities and the likes as I
went up the grand staircase, my footsteps echoing in the silence of the mansion.
After Fiona’s unconsciousness, the mansion had become eerily quiet once again. The same silence that had given this place a tomb–like feel.
I let out a long sigh as I got to my room and placed my briefcase on the bed. The business issues that awaited me didn’t concern me so I didn’t bother to
unpack.
I was emotionally as well as physically worn out. Although my body felt exhausted the most painful part was the ache in my chest. Fiona’s absence When she wasn’t here everything seemed to fall apart.
The weight of the whole situation was pressing in on me as I got up and walked to the mirror. I stared at my reflection and I could barely recognize myself.
The man in the reflection face was hollow and marked with pain giving the impression that he was older.
The dark circles beneath my eyes had become a permanent feature.
I could not avoid the effects the grief and loneliness had taken on me.
My stubbled jaw served as a reminder that I was neglecting my health and I was just too occupied in the darkness that was closing in on me.
1 had forgotten this man’s identity. The man who stood tall next to his wife who was so certain of his position in the world. The day Fiona slipped into the cold hands of unconsciousness, that man passed away.
This ghost was now all that remained wandering around a life that no longer felt like his own. I reached into my nightstands drawer in the hopes that doing so would help me escape my reflection and the agonizing reality that had taken over my life.”
I gently pulled the velvet box out as my fingers touched it. As I opened it I felt as though the entire world was resting on my hands. Inside was her silver necklace which gleamed subtly in the dim light. Fiona’s necklace.
The tiny delicate pendant glistened in my hand. I touched it with my fingers hoping to revive a piece of her. Wearing it daily was a part of who she was. It was now only a piece of jewelry. It served as a harsh reminder of my losses.
‘I’ll get someone to fill in your space so we won’t lose everything.” I muttered with a heavy tone. Even as they were leaving my mouth they felt wrong.
I had to keep the company safe. I had to hide the fact that I was losing my mind. But it made my stomach turn to think of someone else taking Fiona’s place, in meeting’s and in the life we had created.
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Chapter 11
Nobody could replace her. She had been everything to me my love, my anchor. The void she left behind could not be filled by anyone etce
Deep in my chest the pain was more intense than before. My heart seemed to be constricted, gradually suffocating under the weight of everything and i
could feel it getting tighter.
I was having trouble breathing. I had trouble thinking. All that was left of me were these void memories that were slipping through my fingers like sand and
my body seemed to be rejecting the fact that Fiona was no longer with me.
“But she won’t occupy your space in my heart I completed, my voice hardly audible above a whisper.
All I was talking to was myself. No matter how hard I tried to keep going, no one could ever take her place. Herself had been my heart. And it had vanished…it was empty.
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My chest constricted even more as I placed the necklace on the nightstand with a sense of finality. Now that I was so deeply hurt I couldn’t bear to hold it any longer.
With a trembling hand I reached for the drawer once more and opened it. Something was needed by me. A fragment of her. Something to help me cope with this sense of emptiness.
I took out the handkerchief as my fingers touched the comfortable fabric. She’d owned it. Even after all this time there was still a subtle scent of roses and lavender. Her scent was still in it.
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