A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 13 - Broken Faith

"You!" he growled, pointing at her while she was approaching him. "How could you do this to me?"

"I never meant to hurt you like this. You will never forgive me for what I have done," she sorrowed, her face having grown pale that very moment.

He waved his hands in the air as he responded. "Privacy? Loss? Preparation? Second in command? Plans for the future? 'Be happy with the life you've chosen'? That sounds like cheating to me."

She laughed maniacally while he was glaring at her, his gaze burning with a hatred blazing enough to give him a migraine. 

"Yes, Kevin, I am still feeling guilt inside my heart, but your assumption was too broad for me to resist doing this," she told him, continuing to laugh.

He snorted. "I don't believe it, and I have no reason to do so."

As time passed, she did nothing, nothing but stare at him with an empty look. Look of a pair of eyes stuck in the void it was, and those same chestnut eyes became a fountain moments later. That fountain turned stronger than two normal ones afterwards, making her eyes red, parts of it passing onto her dress, yet he remained stoic.

"I must admit that your attempt at causing me to sympathize with you was quite nice. You must understand one thing, though. I am not a sheep, but I see why you might think that. After all, I married you because of true, genuine love. It seems as if I deserve to bear more guilt than you do."

Just as Maria was about to say something, she choked. 

"You can't even talk to me properly. This says something about our marriage."

She grabbed him by the collar, tightening her fingers against the smooth fabric of his shirt, twirling it while observing every detail of the movement of hers with extreme care so that she wouldn't hurt him too much. Her tears had faded with a flick of her hand, and her eyelashes seemed as if they were made of stone to him.

"What does this mean? Are you thinking of wrecking the road we have walked together for so many years, the road we gave so much to build, the road that so many people watched us trod with glee? If my assumption is correct, and I don't see why it wouldn't be, then do it. When I leave you, you will see not only the ruination of your reputation, but mine as well."

Kevin formed a stern facial expression that showed no emotion. He was doing nothing other than standing and staring at her until she shook him like an earthquake shakes a house, bending her head to reach the height of his head, giving him a look that told him she would release tears from her eyes again if she could.

"I thought you loved me, Kevin, but now I realize that all those kind gestures, all those intimate words, all those days we spent to prepare for the birth and raising of our children, they all meant nothing to you," she spoke, her nails having a firm grasp on his arm, leaving red traces on his skin.

His eyes broadened. "No, I love you. I love you more than anyone ever could. You simply refuse to listen to other people. If you did that, you would grasp that you need help."

She scowled, letting go of his arm. "How do you know what I need help with?"

"Do you notice the problem?" he whisper-shouted, remembering that his children were still asleep. "I can't possibly know what you need help with because I feel like I don't know you at all anymore."

"You wouldn't understand. You would never understand," she whispered back, heading to leave the room.

"And what it is that I wouldn't understand?" he all but yelled, noticing what he had done only when she abruptly stopped in her tracks, doing a heel turn to face him, resembling a frozen body standing upright when he took a glimpse of her posture.