Third Person’s POV
Chapter 10%
So that day, when Clarissa spoke so harshly, it wasn’t because she was being difficult. It was because Gabrielle had pushed her too far. Norris had come home that night and seen the shattered wedding photo on the floor, but he’d brushed it off. He assumed Clarissa was just throwing a tantrum.
But now, hearing Matthew say that it was Gabrielle who was behind it, a cold rage crept up his spine.
He couldn’t begin to imagine how Clarissa must have felt in that moment, watching the photo she had painstakingly picked out, after reviewing hundreds of others, being torn apart right in front of her eyes.
His jaw tightened, molars grinding, as he looked down at Matthew, his gaze bloodshot. “What else?” he asked, voice strained. “What about the journal?”
Clarissa wasn’t someone who wrote in a diary often. As far as Norris knew, she only had one old notebook she’d treasured for over a decade, and it had belonged to her late parents. When he had searched the drawers earlier, he hadn’t seen it and simply assumed she had taken it with her.
But then Matthew spoke again, completely unaware of the weight behind his words. “Mom read through it. She said the pages were all smudged and ruined, and told me to burn it for fun…..”\
Norris froze.
His breathing hitched as images of the burned paper he’d angrily knocked away that day flooded his mind. The yellowed fragments had looked vaguely familiar, but he hadn’t made the connection.
And now he remembered exactly what he’d said then.
“It’s just a notebook, Clarissa! If you want, I’ll buy you a hundred more, a thousand!”
What did Clarissa say back? She said, “Fine. You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”
And yet, she had done nothing wrong.
It was him. All of this. He was the one who failed her.
With a sharp slap, he hit himself across the face, as if trying to wake himself from the mess he’d made. But it was too late now. The damage was done.
He remembered how precious that journal was to her. When they first moved into this place, she used to fall asleep holding it every night. Later, he who had promised her, “As long as I’m here, no one would dare touch it.”
But in the end, it was under his roof, and with his silence, that the journal was destroyed.}
His jaw clenched tighter, a pulsing headache blooming at his temples.
“What else?” he demanded. “Tell me everything.“}
He needed to know. Just how much had Gabrielle done behind his back?”
Matthew flinched and started to cry again. But with a trembling voice, he admitted, “The ring in the box… Mom told me to toss it when you weren’t looking… And the family dinner… she told me that if I saw Auntie Clarissa wet her pants, I should make sure everyone heard about
it…“2
Norris already knew about the ring, but hearing it again, he couldn’t keep from balling his hands into fists.
He thought back to that day. He had stepped away for only a moment. When he returned, Gabrielle looked flustered and claimed that Clarissa had run off with another man.”
Furious, he had stormed off to the dressing room, only to see a man walking out.
And just like that, jealousy and pride took over. That man was good–looking, probably better than him. The sight triggered something primal and ugly. As such, he didn’t ask for an explanation.
Instead, he let himself believe the worst, connecting it to all the odd behavior he’d seen from Clarissa lately. He thought he’d finally caught her secret.
And just like that, he hurt her again. Based on nothing but suspicion and his own ego.
Norris bent down, eyes locked on the floor, trying to suppress the feeling like knives slicing through his chest.
Tears, long dried up and meaningless, now spilled freely onto the hardwood.”
He remembered how everyone at the event had given Clarissa strange looks. No one had said she’d had an accident because no one had taken her to the restroom. He only learned later that the staff had to quietly escort her away.}
Then there was the car accident.”
Clarissa had thrown herself in front of him to save his life. She ended up with both legs severely injured, permanently disabled. She gave up her future for him.
And in return, he let her be humiliated by his own family.
Clarissa had always been clean and meticulous. If her body hadn’t failed her, she would’ve never allowed herself to lose control like that. He shut his eyes, and suddenly, the looks his family had given him that day made sense. Those weren’t confused glances, they were full of judgment and disgust.
He couldn’t bear to imagine how helpless Clarissa must have felt in that moment. Just remembering it now made him feel like he was drowning.
what had ha dana in rat mo
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And what had he done in return??
He accused her of cheating, turned his back on her, and betrayed her when she needed him most. A crushing weight settled in his chest. The pain was suffocating.
Beside him, Matthew had gone quiet, his small hands hesitantly reaching out to pat Norris’s back.” “Uncle Norris…” the boy sniffled. “Please don’t be mad at Mom. She just wanted me to have a dad.“}
10
