Lyle drew a deep breath. I could feel the intense disappointment comically subduing the rage that grew rapidly. He looked like he was in agonizing pain.
Lyle stood rooted on the spot as he breathed deeply to will himself to calm down. Finally, he spoke in a relatively placid voice. “How’re you feeling?”
“I’ll live, unfortunately for you,” I replied bluntly.
“I really did not know what happened with the incident last night.”
Lyle tried to explain his side of the story to me but I was not in the mood to listen. However, at his insistence upon his innocence, I became convinced that he had no part in my ordeal. Lyle had a superiority complex as a result of being spoiled by me and Crystal. If he really had done it, he would not only have admitted to it, but he would also point an accusative finger at me, claiming that I was too salacious to have seduced Mr. Wilson for him to be interested in me.
He really did not do it. But does that mean that I should forgive him for everything else that he has done?
“I know you didn’t,” I replied shortly.
“You believe me?” Lyle asked joyfully.
“I do. Someone as shameless as you would admit to doing something as nasty as that, wouldn’t you?” I could not resist another jab as I opened up the thermos on my nightstand and helped myself to a drink. After a sip, I realized that it contained honey water. I usually did not enjoy plain water, so Christopher must have prepared this especially for me. I was determined to savor every last drop.
Lyle’s expression grew dark again. This man’s face changed quicker than a set of traffic lights during rush hour traffic. After a while, he strode over to sit next to me. With an arm around my waist, he spoke softly. “Eve, I’ve thought about it a lot last night. We have had too many misunderstandings between us. No matter what, we are still husband and wife. What say you that we leave the past behind and start anew?”
“Pfft!” I had not managed to swallow when he came up with that ludicrous proposition that I sprayed a mouthful of honey water all over Lyle’s face, as I descended into a coughing fit. The vibrations jarred my wounds which hurt so bad that I hastily covered my mouth to cease the coughing. Did he say this on purpose just to get me to choke on my drink?
“Eve, are you alright?” Lyle asked anxiously.
I shoved him away and stood up, feeling disgusted after being embraced by him. Upon close examination of his face, he appeared to be normal, aside from looking slightly tired from the lack of sleep, “Are you having a fever?” I enquired.
“Eve!” Lyle cracked a rare smile. “As I watched you being escorted off by Christopher yesterday, covered in blood, my heart felt fit to break at your suffering. I do not want to lose you. Let’s forget about the past, shall we? Let’s start fresh.”
This was probably the most romantic speech I have heard from Lyle in over a decade of knowing him. If it was a year ago before Crystal came back, when she had bullied me, when Dad couldn’t wait to see me off, all of those times when he had stood by my side just once, I may not be this determined to cheat on him with Christopher.
My vision became blurry from tears. This overdue confession must not have been easy. Every single time when I had wished that Lyle would trust me just once, or to have my back, I have been disappointed with the sight of his back as he walked away, or his cold, disapproving glare.
I have already given up hope on us and there he was, wanting to start over.
“Give me another chance, will you?” Lyle pleaded. He attempted to wipe away the tears that streamed down my cheeks, without even getting angry when I slapped his hand away. “We will do it right this time, and have a happier marriage than before.”
It sounded familiar. The last time when Lyle took me back from that other house, he had spoken of starting over, but only to fulfill Grandma’s wishes to help Crystal out in the short term.
“What about Crystal?” I wept, not because I had feelings for Lyle, but because I felt sorry for myself. When my husband had detected the presence of another man in my life, the conquering nature of his sex emerged, determined to keep me as his. When I used to fawn all over him in the past, he wouldn’t even look twice at me.
Lyle’s expression froze. “Crystal has a lot of admirers,” he said quietly. “She will be fine.”
I laughed at his words. “You can’t even let go of her,” I jeered. “Why would you want to start over with me? I don’t believe a word you say, Lyle. I…”
