38

Aaron drove his way home, determined. He carried a bunch of roses and a box of expensive chocolates wrapped in golden paper and with a red ribbon. Tonight he would confess to Laurel.

He would confess, and then leave all decisions in Laurel's hands. He would explain it as clearly as possible so that she would not misunderstand and come to the wrong conclusion. He will make sure that everything he does stems from guilt, which then develops into love. In the end, she would appreciate his honesty, Aaron was sure of it.

Aaron clings to that belief.

To be honest, he was scared to death, could not bear to face Laurel's hatred, the hatred that crushed him, just like ten years ago, which made his heart shattered.

As his car was parked in the garage, he looked up at the house and his heart skipped a beat. Tonight is the night of determination. He grabbed the box of chocolates and flowers and walked into the house.

The house is quiet and dark. Aaron frowned. Usually Laurel was waiting for him in the living room, greeted him cheerfully and told him about her day and then held him up to tell her about his day too. However, the house was quiet and lonely. The servants must have been sleeping in the back of the house.

Where is Laurel?

Aaron stepped up the stairs, slowly opening the door to his room. The room was dark and, after he adjusted his eyes to the darkness of the room, he found Laurel sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at him with an unreadable expression.

“Laurel? What is it?” Aaron stepped in and, as usual, knelt before his wife. He touched her forehead gently. “Are you sick?”

Laurel tilted her head, avoiding him; a reflex movement that was completely unexpected by him.

His wife avoided his touch. Why? What happened?

“Laurel?”

The room was dark, but Laurel's gaze was so sharp, full of wounds, it made Aaron's heart throb with anxiety.

“I just want a truth. Answer my question, Aaron.” Laurel took a deep breath. “Are you the one who caused my father's death?”

The world seemed to be crumbling under his feet. Instantly, it seemed to engulf him and make his chest cavity feel tight, a pitiful tightness.

Laurel already knows. Laurel already knew from someone and he was too late. What should he do? The wife of his must have hated him very much now, refused his touch, disgusted by him.

Aaron lowered his head, his voice coming out full of pain. “Yes, Laurel.”

That short answer is sufficient. Laurel's heart broke in an instant. Tears streamed down her cheeks, all her defenses crumbled, leaving her melted and helpless. Therefore, everything is correct. All of these are just lies that Aaron constructed. All of this turned out to be falsehood.

“Why did you lie to me?” Laurel sobbed in anguish. “You lied to me, you tricked me all this time and… and I even love you! Oh my goodness! How stupid I am!”

Laurel stood up, avoiding Aaron's proximity and stepping over to the window. “How dare you, Aaron!”

Aaron felt excruciating pain seeing her sadness. After all, all he did was make her cry sadly, just like ten years ago. All he could do was destroy her life, make her cry.

He was evil and, no matter how hard he tried, he was unforgivable.

“I am evil, Laurel. I-I never meant to lie to you. I am just afraid to reveal all the truth to you. I was afraid you would hate me.”

Aaron stepped closer to Laurel, tried to touch her chin, but the girl brushed him off. The man did not give up. He held both of Laurel's shoulders; soft but strong enough that she could not get away from her.

“Look at me, baby, look at me! Even if everything is just a lie, but my love for you is real. Does all that mean nothing to you? I lied to you because I love you, because I love you so much!”

“I will not accept love from the man who killed my father!” Laurel screamed, half shouting; could not bear to accept his insistent declaration of love, made her heart weak. “Our marriage is over, Aaron, I'm leaving!”

“No, Laurel!” Aaron's eyes lit up. “You promised that you would never leave me, no matter how bad things were between us! You promised me!”

“That promise was made on a lie you built!” Laurel shouted angrily. “You think by doing all this, and then I will forgive you? By deceiving me, pretending to love me… you think I will forgive you for killing my father?”

“I'm not pretending to love you!” Aaron's voice rose. “And for God's sake, I have never asked you for forgiveness for my sins to you. No, Laurel, I never apologized because I didn't deserve it, because I realized I was unforgivable!”

“You are indeed unforgivable, and for me it is all over. I will go.”

Laurel stepped to leave the room, but Aaron caught her hand quickly, holding it firmly.

“Let me go, Aaron! You hurt my hand!” Laurel screamed trying to wriggle out of Aaron's grip, but the man gripped her arms so tightly. The man's gaze was blurry.

“I'm sorry, Laurel, but I won't let you go. You're my wife, you can't leave me!” Aaron held Laurel's arm tightly, trying to ease her struggle.

“Our marriage is fake! I thought it never existed!”

“How dare you say that?” Aaron's eyes lit up with anger. “Then what do you think of all the things we went through yesterday? Our first night, our hot romance, the affection and love we built all this time; what do you think it's all about?”

Laurel felt sick hearing Aaron's words, which reminded her of their good times. Her struggles had stopped, but Aaron was still gripping her hands tightly, afraid she would run away. Her tears were still flowing, the tears that fell because of the betrayal and the pain she felt.

“Those are all gone, Aaron. I hate you, hate you so much!” Laurel threw those words just to hurt him and the effect was incredible.

Aaron's face was pale. His expression was like that of someone being crushed from within. Then his eyes went blank. He smiled bitterly.

“I do deserve to be hated.” Calmly he released his grip on Laurel's arm. “And I guess it's okay if you hate me even more. You hate me anyways.”

The man walked to the door and glared at his wife. “I will not allow you to leave me, until you calm down and do what I say. I had to lock you in this room.”

Then the man walked out of the room. Laurel was still stunned in the middle of the room at Aaron's words when a click sounded from the door. She just realized by then and finally half ran towards the door. She tried to open the door, but could not; the door was locked from the outside.

Aaron really locked her up!

“Open the door!” Laurel shouted, banging on the door. “Open the door, Aaron! You evil! I hate you!”

Laurel hit and kicked the door as an outlet for her frustration. In the end, she was exhausted and fell to her knees, leaned against the door and sobbed.

Yesterday her life seemed so perfect and beautiful. Yesterday everything seemed to be fine. However, in an instant she realized that not everything is as beautiful as it seems. The palace of happiness slowly collapse and crumbled, leaving only its ruins.