Forgive, Forget, Forever

6.Gone

Whenever I felt down, wanting to isolate myself, I would urge myself to keep moving forward, chanting 'Leena, get your head straight!' Miraculously, those five words always helped me keep calm and move along with life. But the scene I had witnessed in the hospital ward made me numb.

Fear of the unknown coursed through my body, making it difficult for me to even breathe. Bret had never done anything that would make me question his love for me, and now, seeing him here with another woman, who is likely to be pregnant, raised countless questions in my mind.

I recalled his heartfelt confession and his declaration of love for only me in the message he had sent earlier, which spoke volumes about who and what I am to Bret, the man I love from the depths of my heart. Since childhood, I have been fascinated with the concept of two people bound together in a holy union, pledging to love, care for, and respect each other until their last breath.

The younger me would play house with my childhood friend, draping my mom's shawl, pretending to be a mature married woman, and chatting with my make-believe married friends. The concept of marriage then was childish; two people loving each other, living in a home, and then having babies.

That idea fascinated the growing me, and I longed to live that life with someone I love. Asking my mom how she met my dad and fell in love was the beginning, and daydreaming about my future husband was the ending until I met Bret. He is everything I had always dreamed of and much more, but now, an unknown fear lingers.

Never have I ever thought that one day I would have doubts about Bret or anything related to him. He had never given any chance to point out his mistakes until recently when he has been too busy to make time for us.

"I'm sorry." A slight push and a strange voice interrupted my thoughts, bringing me back to the crowded hospital hallway where I was standing.

I froze, but the whole world was moving on its own. One part of my mind urged me to go after him and understand the situation, but the professional me was not ready to be distracted.

"Leena." Nurse Amelia came into my view, and she took me to her department.

If I were not on duty or didn't have a task on hand, then I would have run over to him or maybe called him, but I caught up with work, pushing back those thoughts to the back of my mind.

My body was doing its duty as a nurse, but all I wanted was to wait for my shift to end so that I could rush back home and have a talk with my husband.

Finally, after endless hours of working, I was ready to get back home and put a stop to my wildest thoughts, making me question my husband, who I believe will be at home.

Without waiting for the driver to pick me up, I booked a cab and headed towards my home, not before messaging the driver to take a day off. Once inside, I leaned back finding a comfortable position and relaxed as much as possible.

Paying the fare, I got off the cab and entered the compound through the metallic gate. Bret's car parked near the entrance came into my view, and my pace quickened with tons of questions popping inside my brain. As my feet touched the front doorstep, Bret's loud shout entered my ears, freezing me on the spot.

"No. Not now."

Early in the morning, who has irked him when there should be no one home other than him?!

My answer came as I walked in and saw our driver, Lila, a woman two years younger than me, standing in front of my husband with an expression that she was trying to make him agree on something which Bret is totally against.

With flared nostrils and clenched fists, along with a pissed-off face, I did not need to second-guess that Bret was mad at Lila for whatever reason unknown to me. Lila, our driver responsible for driving me back and forth from home to the hospital, lives in the outhouse, and Bret was insistent on hiring her as she could also help me with some errands like grocery shopping and such, which I found to be a ridiculous idea.

When I had raised questions about why she was being hired out of the blue, he had said she was in dire need of a job and she was a distant relative of one of his old employees with whom he had some sort of emotional attachment.

"She ca-" Bret was about to say something when his eyes fell on me, and he stopped speaking.

"What's going on?" I couldn't stand his silence and wanted to know what they were talking about.

"Love y-" Bret had just opened his mouth when Lila interrupted him.

"Mam, I have a family emergency. It's life and death. Please let me go." Lila, who always had a strong facade, had tears welled up in her eyes and pleaded with me to let her go.

"Okay. You can go." I could not harden my heart and stop her from meeting her family who might take his/her last breath anytime from now.

"Thank you." With that, Lila literally ran out as if I would change my mind and stop her the next second.

"Lila, stop." Bret, whom I had ignored, shouted, making me look at him, and I couldn't figure out why the hell he was so angry.

"Leena, what have you done?" He looked defeated and tired, wearing his business suit.

"I a..." I trailed off as my eyes caught his travel suitcase just behind him.

"You a-" are going on a business trip, I was going to ask when his mobile rang, indicating an incoming message.

"Love, I am leaving for a week. I will try to clean up the mess as soon as possible." He hurriedly grabbed the suitcase handle and leaned down, pecking my forehead.

"I had sent you a text." I was busy with my thoughts that I didn't bother checking my phone.

As he pulled away and was about to walk away, I could only say, "You're leaving?!"

Disbelief was evident in my voice, and Bret stopped with a troubled expression. I knew he was debating whether to leave or not. But within a few seconds, his expression hardened as if he had something big to deal with.

He then pulled me into his embrace and hugged me, expressing his silent sorry. His scent wafted to my nostrils, and half of my exhaustion died with his presence.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Take a day or even a week off and relax with your sister. Okay?" His caring words put a smile on my face, and then I recalled the incident at the hospital.

"What were you doing at the hospital?" I asked, taking in his reaction.

He frowned as if the question was irrelevant to him.
Just then, his mobile pinged along with the sound of a car entering our compound, and he was gone before I could pester him for an answer.

******
Thank you everyone for reading my story. I am busy preparing for my license exam. Will complete the story after it ends. Once again thank you for your patience.

Note: This is a rage write for me. May not be a typical story you used to read.

Have a nice day ahead ❤️