Hidden [COMPLETED]

Chapter 7

"What did Saint do? Did he have a job?" Freen asks as she settles onto the couch in her new room. Becky sits next to her.

"He was an accountant for some wealthy clients. He had to travel to Phuket at first. Later, he tried to work online from here, but it didn't work out."

"If you haven't noticed, this place barely has any reception," Becky jokes. "In the end, he just quit."

"He just quit? Why?" Freen asks, even though she knows the answer.

"How would you like to leave every week with all of this here?" Becky gestures to the outside. "It's like you said; you get hooked on the quiet here. So he quit and started doing the numbers for some neighbors."

Freen notices another photo of Saint and points it out. “Hey, he doesn’t look too happy here. When were these photos taken?”

“Oh, I think it was five years ago,” Becky recalls. “I remember… we were hanging out with my friends, and Saint was... pretty quiet that day. I asked if he was okay, but he didn't want to say anything at that moment. After my friends left, he finally admitted he felt uncomfortable that I was still close to some friends I had an on-off relationship with.”

"He was jealous?" Freen says, surprised.

“Yeah…”

“He doesn’t have a right to be. He’s married!” Freen responds.

"Ownership isn't for me. I told him that if I fell in love with him, it wouldn’t be to make him leave everything behind to live with me. I liked him being here. He could stay as long as he wanted, and I could be with whoever I wanted too.”

“So, it was just a casual sexual relationship with him?” Freen had to ask.

“Well… yes and no. I don’t think you want to hear it. It’s complicated.” Becky shakes her head.

“Try me.” Freen encourages with a smile. "From the beginning."

"Alright. It starts when we met in the middle of the road when his car broke down, and we immediately hit it off. He was interested in me, and I felt the same way. Then he started visiting more often, and we got closer until one day he told me he was in love with me."

"Do you know how he confessed?"

"He was supposed to go to Phuket. But he didn’t get on the plane. Instead, he got in his car and drove here. I was in the fields planting. He didn't care about the expensive suit he was wearing or the shoes; he jumped right into the mud and ran straight to me. He told me he loved his wife and also loved me."

Freen was taken aback. It felt like Becky was talking about someone else, not her husband.

"But I didn’t want us to get serious. It was sexual at first… because it shouldn’t have been anything more.”

Becky pauses to sip her tea. “Do you really want me to keep going?”

“Yes, please.” Freen nods. She wants to hear more.

So Becky continues. “Saint was honest with me. He loved me, but he also loved his wife. I understood that, but I told him I wanted to see other people too. A few times he couldn’t handle it, and I told him we should end it if it was too hard for him..."

"But he refused," Freen guesses.

"And I gave in," Becky nods. "I guess I was weak too. I know... it was a toxic relationship. But we kept it going for years by being honest with each other. We learned to love without expectations. Eventually, he got used to our open relationship... but after Lyra was born, I really wasn’t seeing anyone else but him."

"But that still isn’t fair to his wife because she didn’t know about any of this," Freen points out.

"You're right. But he chose not to tell her. He didn’t want to hurt her and risk losing her. And I didn’t want to encourage anything. No one should get hurt," Becky explains.

Freen is curious about something else. "And you never felt tempted to ask him to leave his wife?"

Becky shakes her head. "Never. I'm the other person. I shouldn’t. Like I said, ownership isn’t for me. To me, love and possession are completely different."

Becky decides to wrap up her story and turns to her housemate. "Okay, enough about me! What about you, Sam?"

"Like I said, he left me for another woman. So there’s nothing to tell," Freen says, partially truthful, as she sips her tea.

But before either of them can continue, there’s a knock at the door. Becky goes to check.

Freen soon hears another voice greeting Becky. The voice sounds familiar. Freen peeks from upstairs and sees a familiar figure. Is that Detective Heng? Freen gasps and wonders how to hide now. The detective will definitely recognize her and ruin her cover!

“Hey Heng!” Becky greets happily, moving to hug him.

“How are you doing?” Heng looks at Becky with concern.

“I’m glad you seem... fine!" he remarks.

“I'm fine…” Becky sighs.

"I’m worried about you, Becky. Jane left this world too soon, and I know how it feels to lose someone you loved, Bec. Are you sure you are okay?" Heng checks in with his best friend.

Becky shakes her head as she holds his hands. “I’m really fine. I’ll be okay. You don’t have to keep worrying about me."

"Have you told Lyra yet?"

Becky shakes her head no.

"Becky..." He starts.

"I know I need to tell her, and I will."

"Okay. I'm trying to figure out what really happened that night. Just promise me you'll be okay."

"Don't worry about me. We are not alone anymore. I rented the spare room to someone already."

“Really? When did that happen? Who did you rent it to?” he asks.

“I rented it out about three weeks ago. She’s a wildlife illustrator here to photograph some rare birds in the woods. Lyra already loves her. Do you want to meet her?”

“Sure!” Heng replies.

“SAM!” Becky calls out.

"Shit, shit, shit! What should she do?" Freen panics internally. If the detective exposes her cover, Becky will hate her and she will never get her answers!