The Life I Want To Live With You

The Sad Ending Chapter 10

"I understand what you're going through," William said reassuringly. "The initial hope slowly fading, and the uncertainty of how much more you can endure while listening to the doctors, it's all so difficult, Lisa."

She wiped her tears and tried to focus on recounting the story. "My mother invited us to California for a reason, something we weren't aware of before we arrived there..."

*********

She drives them to her mother's house, being surprised at her change and wanting them to come to her house, since she gave Lisa an impression of disliking Michael, especially with her marrying the guy.

When she parks a car, Michael gasps on the view of a huge house. Priscilla is already walking down the stairs to greet them. Michael leaves first and opens Lisa's doors and gives her hand, so she can easily get out.

"Should I be scared, she told us to come over?" He whispers to her.

She looks at him, whispers back, "Like I know."

Priscilla smiles at Michael fake what makes Lisa already feel stressed about it all.

"Okay, Lisa and Michael come in!" She says, and they walk up the big stairs holding, hands tightly.

When they walk in, Lisa sees almost her whole family in there. "Fucking great" she says under breath.

"Good, you have such a beautiful dress." he puts a hand on her waist, unbuttons his first button from the jacket. She gets irritated already by seeing all those people and her mother of course not telling her anything. 

Priscilla introduces her son-in-law to everybody and some of them didn't like the fact of seeing him, making Lisa feel like everything was her mother's idea for Lisa not telling her before about her getting married to Michael. She looks at Michael who really tries his best, and he catches the same language about business with one of her family member.

"Michael, I will go for a second." he smiles, agreeing, kissing her cheek.

She tries to find her mother, who is standing with some of her aunts and also their daughters. When Priscilla sees her, she makes a whole scene of her intolerance for her. "Oh dear! Come here, you need to meet your cousins after years!"

Lisa gives a little smile, everybody tell her what has changed in their life while Lisa was living in New York.

One of her fourth aunts look at her, "We heard you got married to this young gentleman! How you both are doing?"

Lisa smiles gently trying to be polite, "Fine, thank you." she then looks at Michael who's standing in the other corner of the room and talking with some of her family members slowly getting along. Women who were standing beside Priscilla and Lisa walked away, and now they are completely alone.

"Can I know now why you told us to come, in the middle of THIS?" Lisa says upset.

Priscilla smiles gently, "I still think about you wanting to take over your father's legacy, after all, his company is yours." 

Lisa laughs, "And you are still about that? Don't tell me you are done of being rich?"

Priscilla gets cold on the face: Lisa, "Don't show me an attitude of broken girl who tries to run from her past. You are old enough to get it all, anyway you really think Michael will stay with you just because he loves you? He probably wants a child so he can have hands on our family money." 

Lisa stares at her confused, frowning eyebrows at her "What are you talking about right now?"

Priscilla grasped her daughter's arm and turns her to face the gathering of family members, including Michael, who were deeply engrossed in discussions related to their business ventures. "You think they're getting along with him just because they like him?"

Lisa followed her mother's gaze and watched as Michael interacted with her family members, who were heavily involved in their various business endeavors. She observed Michael's ease and realized that he didn't appear to be as stressed as he had initially claimed. The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place, and Lisa understood the insinuation.

Priscilla's words hung heavily in the air, leaving Lisa stunned. She pulled herself away from her mother's grip and left without uttering a word. Michael, from a distance, noticed her departure and hurried after her, calling out her name as heavy rain began to fall.

He reached the car and realized that something had gone terribly wrong. He implored her to turn off the engine, but Lisa was too upset to listen. As she started the car, he got in, slamming the door shut. She began to drive, but the atmosphere inside the car was tense and silent.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, Michael spoke up. "So now we're just going to be quiet because of what your mother said?"

Lisa stopped the car just before reaching the highway and glared at him. "Get out."

He looked at her, clearly confused. "Are you serious?"

"Are you deaf? Get out of my car!" Lisa's voice was filled with anger and frustration.

Michael sighed. "Just tell me what my leaving accomplishes. What are you planning to do?"

Lisa took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself, but her anger and frustration continued to simmer. "How was it chatting with all those businessmen?"

Michael left the car and approached her side, opening her door. "Move, I'll drive."

Lisa complied, moving to the passenger seat. As Michael took the wheel, she confronted him. "What did you mean by having fun with them?"

Michael began driving towards the airport, his expression serious. "I meant I was trying to fit in and build connections. Not for any other reason. I love you, Lisa, and you should know that."

Lisa stared at Michael as the rain pelted the windshield, her frustration mounting. "Well, when I walked away, I saw you having a lot of fun, so now I think you had fun talking about the job."

Michael furrowed his brow while keeping his focus on the road. "Can you please start making sense?"

Lisa sighed angrily. "I'm saying that you fit perfectly into the world of business. In fact, you'd love to have a bigger company, not just in New York."

Michael's confusion deepened. "Yeah, and? What does your mother have to do with my company?"

"Having my father's company would be great for you. If we had a ch—"

"Okay, Lisa, do you hear yourself?" Michael interrupted, his voice filled with frustration. "Are you suspecting me of being a thief? That having a baby would somehow bring me closer to your family's money, and that's what I care about the most? I thought we trusted each other!"

Lisa glanced at him, her anger and suspicion still present. "Well, I thought the same, until what I saw today."

Michael's anger flared. "Oh, here we go again! Your mother told you something, and you're taking it as the truth. She manipulated you to make you believe her, not me. So either you regain your common sense or—"

"Or what?" Lisa asked defiantly.

"Or I'm done!" Michael yelled, his eyes a mixture of anger and pain.

In the midst of their heated argument, neither of them noticed the car in front of them until it was too late. The rain-soaked road caused them to lose control, and their car collided with the vehicle ahead, jolting them to a sudden halt. Their argument was abruptly silenced by the impact, leaving them both stunned and shaken.

**********

Lisa continued to explain, her voice filled with sorrow. "And, well, then I woke up with people around me. I was fine, but Michael didn't wake up. When they took us both to the hospital, I spent whole nights thinking about our argument, blaming myself for it, because if I had driven, maybe—"

William interrupted her, his voice filled with understanding. "No, you can't blame yourself. Accidents like that can happen regardless of the scenario."

Lisa let out a deep sigh, the weight of her guilt still heavy on her. "Now, all that's left is the fear that if he doesn't make it, I won't ever stop blaming myself for what happened."