Ch 24 - Love is Blind
1087 Words
Despite Oliver’s severe insistence to drop Emily home, she hailed a cab online and went home in it. The whole ride her mind was occupied with worry towards her mother. She had a suspicion, whatever it was, it was due to her father. Who else would have the power to upset her this much?
She quickly sent a quick text to the private investigator she had hired, to update her. As soon as the car stopped, Emily ran out of the car towards the door to her home and rang the doorbell. She was still dressed in Oliver’s pajamas but she could care less. Her mother was more important than someone catching her in Oliver’s pajamas.
The door opened to reveal a haggard looking woman. It was Emily’s mother and seeing her, Emily quickly engulfed her mother in her arms and looked her all over, inspecting for anything wrong with her.
“What happened, mom? Why were you crying?” Emily asked as both of them walked inside the house, closing the door on their backs.
Her mother paid little attention to what Emily was dressed in and continued to walk towards the living room in a dazed state. Emily noticed her mother hadn’t answered her questions.
“Mom, are you okay?” She asked again, seeing her sitting on the couch.
Her mother sniffled and then looked up at her. With one hand, Emily’s mother grabbed something from her side and extended it to her.
Emily noticed an envelope and folded papers. She grabbed them quickly and opened it to read.
Her mouth fell open in shock. They were divorce papers sent to her mother by her father. She felt shocked at his audacity and gaped, reading the papers.
Angered, she crushed the papers in her hand and looked at her mother. “Where is he?”
Her mother shrugged weakly. “I don’t know. I have tried calling him but he won’t answer.”
Emily saw her mother’s lips trembling and she felt pity for her. Her heart broke seeing her mother falling apart like that. All her life, her mother had remained a pillar of strength, but Emily doubted she would have that strength if she knew about Emily’s father’s doings.
But what was she going to do now? She had protected her father’s secrets in order to not hurt her mother, but now he was going to divorce her mother anyway. Maybe Emily should tell her mother about his doings. It was time. Maybe then her mother wouldn’t be that upset over her father leaving her. Yes, she would be hurt, but she would recover from the shock of divorce.
“Mom, I… I need to tell you something,” Emily said and calmly sat beside her, scared of her mother’s reaction.
Her mother looked at her with a frown.
Emily took her mother’s hand in hers and squeezed it lightly. “You need to be calm to understand that none of this is your fault. It’s all him. He… He had been cheating on you… for several years.”
She looked down at her feet, afraid to see her mother’s devastation, but when she looked up she saw surprise on her mother’s face.
“You need to believe me, he really has been cheating on you. These divorce papers have nothing to do with you,” Emily explained.
Her mother calmly squeezed her hand back and spoke up. “I know, Emily. I am surprised you knew it too.”
Emily frowned and then she realized what her mother was saying. Her mother had known that her father was cheating on her all this time. But why did she remain quiet? Why didn’t she say anything?
“What? You knew all this time?” Emily asked in shock. “I was trying to save you from the truth and I kept quiet.”
Her mother looked down at their joined hands and a sad smile formed on her lips. “Gerald thinks he can hide things from me and I don’t know. But I knew all this time and I loved him anyway.”
Emily felt stupefied and shook her head. “How could you tolerate him? You should have been the one divorcing him, not the other way around.”
Her mother shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that. I love him and I would have done anything to remain by his side, but now he doesn’t want me anymore.”
“That’s stupidity, mom. You knew he was cheating on you and not even with one woman but multiple! Yet you remained quiet and let him be. How could you do that? He was unfaithful to you, mom.” Emily couldn’t understand her mother’s logic anymore. Was love really that blind?
“I love him, Emily, and it did hurt me. But I forgave him, everytime, without even him asking for it. But look where it got me? He doesn’t want me anymore.”
Emily sighed and took her mother in a hug. “You shouldn’t have forgiven him one after another. He’s an asshole for not realizing what a gem you are. He doesn’t deserve you.”
Taking her mother in her arms, Emily let her mother cry on her shoulder. She rubbed her back and tried to calm her down while her mind was still stuck on the fact that her mother ignored her father’s betrayals just because she loved him. If this was love, then it was stupidity. Why would she hurt herself going after a person who no longer wanted her or cared for her?
After putting her mother to bed, she retired to her room and saw several missed calls from Oliver. She contemplated whether to tell him the truth or not. Of course, he would know. Her parents were going to get divorced and the whole Hansen family would know somehow. Deciding to tell him in person, she sent him a quick text telling him she would see him tomorrow.
It was then she remembered that call on his phone and she wondered who that ‘Evelyn’ was? Was it some other woman he was seeing? She knew she had hardcore feelings for Oliver, but she wasn’t foolish like her mother to ignore everything and sacrifice her self-respect. It was true that Emily and Oliver weren’t in an actual relationship but she wouldn’t let herself get hurt along the way just because it wasn’t a relationship. She would look out for herself.
- Writer
