An Unusual Affair

Chapter 23

Emily took a shower and changed into a comfortable pajama set that Mrs. Swan had hung in the cupboard. She felt exhausted. Although she was not used to sleeping in the late afternoons, she got into bed to rest for a while.

Lily and Hayden kept playing in the room as Emily dozed off.

The sound of thunder suddenly woke Emily. She looked around the room. The lights she had left on were now off, with only a bedside lamp giving off a soft glow. The curtains were undrawn, revealing a dark sky with occasional streaks of lightning.

Emily glanced at the clock above the door. It was half past ten. Lily and Hayden were nowhere to be seen, and she realized she didn't have her phone. The officer had given it to Jake along with her other belongings, but he must have forgotten to hand it back to her.

She got off the bed and washed her face. Hunger gnawed at her, but she wasn't sure if anyone else in the house was awake. After a few minutes of contemplation, she hesitantly opened the door and walked towards the stairs. Hayden's and Richard's rooms were closed.

'Where could Lily be?' Emily wondered.

The house was eerily quiet, the only sound being the heavy rain pouring down mercilessly, accompanied by the rumbling of thunder. Standing at the first step of the stairs, Emily looked down. Lamps were turned on all around the house, casting a soft, warm light.

'I don't even know where the kitchen is,' she murmured to herself.

She started down the stairs as quietly as possible. Peeking through the open doors beside the dining room, she finally found the kitchen. Lamps were on there as well, so she didn't turn on any additional lights.

The vastness of the house, the dim lighting, and the thunder outside made it feel like a castle from an old Elizabethan movie. As Emily walked into the kitchen, the wooden floor creaked softly under her feet. She poured herself a cup of milk and took a piece of bread from the counter. Then, she went to stand by the window. The backyard was visible in the soft light of the lamps lining the area along the walls.

The house was warm and made her feel comfortable.

'Why didn't Vanessa appreciate all this? She had everything given to her on a plate—a loving husband, a beautiful son, and a perfect house,' Emily thought to herself, sipping her milk and looking at the rain. 'Had she been more thankful, maybe two houses would not have gotten ruined.' She felt tired again.

Her life and her choices started flashing before her eyes. How she married Charles, knowing that he didn't love her as much as she loved him. How her parents left her when she was quite young. The struggle she had to go through after her marriage and then the disappearance of her husband after just one year of Lily's birth. She had finally started to settle into her life with Lily and her bakery when everything fell apart again..

Charles only brought sadness to her life. Just as his disappearance brought her so much pain, his coming back to her life left a mark that she was sure would not be going away easily. Neither was he a good husband nor a good father. She was lost in her thoughts, and the sadness she was feeling created a gloomy halo around her. She barely noticed the footsteps approaching her. Tears started to trickle down her face. She put the cup on the shelf beside her and wiped her face, but just as the rain outside, the tears did not stop.

'Emily,' said Richard's soft voice from behind her.

Emily froze for a brief moment. She had thought she was alone here in the kitchen. She quickly wiped her face and turned around to see Richard standing there right in front of her. He was still in his suit.

'Did you come back just now?' Emily asked in a hoarse voice. Her tears were still trickling down her face.

'Hmm,' replied Richard, looking at Emily with a pained expression.