All Men Are Not The Same

A Valuable Gift Called Forgiveness

Lydia gulped down the rest of the water and breathed in deeply. Then, she went on with her narration without lifting her eyes.

"It was the day Elisa died. I went to the funeral and afterwards, I came back to meet Miranda at home. Evan was not there. It was the first time I saw your mother. She was sitting down on the floor in a corner of the house, holding her knees against her chest.

She was lost in a world of her own, tears flowing down her cheeks from her swollen eyes, her hair uncombed. I looked at her, she did not even notice me.

As I approached her, her fragility became more obvious. I saw before me, a vulnerable woman, a destroyed mother. I realised that no pain could be greater than that of a mother who lost her child. It might be painful not to be able to bear children but the pain of losing a child is unfathomable.

I presented myself as 'Miss Lydia, Evan's boss'. Miranda gave me a disgusted look. She immediately snapped at asking me why I was there. She kept questioning, 'You are Evan's mistress, right? Don't lie, tell me.'

People around were looking at us in astonishment. I did not answer her. Miranda was in a highly disturbed state of mind. She cried and literally begged me, saying 'Please, please tell me the truth, who are you to Evan? Who are you?'

I turned to leave, fighting against the tears which threatened to fall at any moment. But Miranda stood up and ran behind me. She pleaded, 'Please Miss Lydia, tell me the truth. I am so broken right now that nothing can break me more. I lost my baby, nothing can hurt me more than this. Please tell me the truth. I have heard people talking about you and Evan. Don't I have the right to know the truth?'

At those words, I could no more retain myself. I requested her to allow me to speak to her in private. And I finally mustered the courage to tell her about my marriage with Evan. I could no more keep her in the dark. I had to tell her the truth. If I had not done it at that precise moment, I would probably never have been able to tell her."

Maddox clenched his fists, trying to calm himself down. He could not bear to hear about his mother's grief. But the lady who was crying in front of him at that moment was also in immense pain. It was clear that she regretted all her past decisions and was repenting.

"Maddox, at that moment, I did not know much of Miranda. All I knew about her was what your father told me about her. I believed all his lies. But before I left, Miranda only told me a few words which today is the biggest truth of my life, in a broken voice she said, 'Miss Lydia, all I can say is that, you have made the same mistake as me. You have chosen the wrong man.'

"My mum was right," Maddox said. "You have chosen the wrong man. You have destroyed so many lives. You have ruined your own life as well. But I know that my father is the biggest culprit. He has played with your feelings, and those of my mother too."

"It was only after your mum died that Evan started showing his true colours. When you people moved in here, his attitude changed. He started spending nights out. He started gambling. He was disrespectful towards me. He changed," Lydia mumbled.

"No, he did not change. He was always like this. It's just that the mask he was always wearing in front of you fell off," Maddox sighed.

"Yesterday night, your father said things that made me realise that he has never really loved me, he has not even pitied me, I was only a means for him to get rich. That was all he ever wanted in life. He used each person along the way to achieve his destination. Your mum." Lydia paused, gasping for air, amidst her tears.

"Please stop crying. You'll ruin your health, Mrs Lydia. My dad is heartless. Since my childhood days, I have seen how he mistreated my mother. Even when she was dying, my father was not by her side. The grief and stress that he gave my mum killed her!"

"Your father does not feel the pain of others my dear. He really hurts me. At times, I cannot handle the pain anymore," Lydia cried.

"But... Mrs Lydia... Why don't you just leave him?"

"I don't want to give you a broken life once more. You may not have lived in my womb but you have lived in my heart. I can never be a mother, but at least I am a stepmom because of you."

"Mrs Lydia... I'm... I'm honestly very sorry for all the harsh words I said to you before. Forgive me. If I say I didn't mean to hurt you, it will be a lie because at that moment, I wanted you to feel hurt just like my mother did. But right now, I feel that I should not have said such things to you. I feel life has been unfair to you as well. Please forgive me," Maddox looked towards Lydia, his eyes pleading for forgiveness.

"I have long forgiven you my dear. I know all you said were always out of grief. I have never been angry at you. But, have you forgiven me for having entered your father's life? Have you forgiven me for all the pain I caused your mother?" a vulnerable Lydia asked.

"Mrs Lydia... I don't know what to say. Mrs Lydia, you are already suffering for that decision of yours, how can I not forgive you? I forgive you. But I may never be able to forget the pain my mum went through."

"This is already a lot for me that you forgave me. Forgiveness is a valuable gift. Thank you son. Thanks a lot."

At those words, Lydia placed a hand over Maddox's head, caressing his hair while wiping off her own tears with her other hand. This gesture of hers once more reminded the young guy of Miranda and brought a weak smile to his lips. Maddox felt somehow relieved after that conversation with his stepmother.

After a while, Lydia got hold of herself and served Maddox breakfast. After spending some fifteen minutes eating his meal in silence, the latter climbed back to his room, eager to share his relief with Deborah.

It's high time I reveal to her the real person behind 'Mad Cow' and I really want to tell her that I mended my relationship with my stepmom.

Maddox was all-smiling until he logged onto his Facebook account. His smile faded away as he stared at the screen.