𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 | 𝟏𝟖+

24

Chapter Twenty-Four: Crazy

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"Giselle, it's so nice to have you down here. Your father has talked about you since I met him." Stacy, my dad's wife, says. I take a bite of the chicken that I just cut chewing slowly.

I smile at her. "I'm glad I came." I chirp at her.

"So, I was thinking mani-pedis. How about shopping?" She squeals. I raise my eyebrows at her amusement.

"That sounds like fun Stacy," I say picking up the glass of iced tea. I landed maybe a few hours ago, and now I'm having dinner with Stacy. My father is working, so it's just me and her at the moment.

"Does my dad always work late?" She wipes the corner of her mouth with a napkin in an elegant way before setting the napkin on her lap. She picks up her glass of wine stirring it before taking a sip.

"Yeah, he buries himself in work always away on business trips." I stare at her calculating her movements. The poor woman is being cheated on.

"After our first two miscarriages, he keeps himself busy." I almost choke on my food. Rage fills me as I thought what such a low-down dirty dog my dad is. Stacy's being cheated on after all they've been through. For once, I thought of having a moral compass. I quickly disregard the thought thinking nothing can separate me from my dad.

"I'm sorry. That's a bit too personal." She says with a sad smile. I reach my hand out to cover hers.

"I'm sorry Stacy. Maybe you should talk to him." I tell her.

"I've tried. We've gone to counseling, but I just don't think we'll ever get back to the way we were." She says a hand is adorned crossed her chest as fiddles with a pendant.

"Divorce?" I ask softly.

"I love him too much." She says sighing and shaking her head.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was cheating." She says laughing hysterically. I pause before laughing along with her.

You aren't wrong.

"I think it's just he had lost you, and then the miscarriages. . . It put a strain on our marriage." She tells me. I listen to her as I'm truly intrigued.

She's weak. The love for her husband should make her strong.

"You're making excuses for him," I tell her.

"I'm sorry." She looks and sounds taken aback.

"If you love him Stacy, and if he loves you, there's nothing that should strain your marriage," I tell her.

"Oh yeah, what do you know about love at such as young age." She genuinely asks. I smile at her.

"I'm such a romantic. I love love. Love is such a strong and powerful emotion. Greatest emotion of all." I say proudly thinking of the love of my life.

Oh to be hammered by him right now makes my insides twist with excitement.

"We love with a love that was more than love," I say dreamingly quoting Edgar Allen Poe.

"Is that Poe?" She asks. I nod my head.

"You're quite fascinating Giselle. I see traits of your father." She says smiling. Her smile is warm. A timer goes off interrupting our conversation.

"The pie is ready." She chirps. I watch as she disappears into the kitchen. I sigh thinking about my father. How dare he do this to her? I need Stacy to grow stronger.