Entangled decision (Episode 5)
My heart skipped a beat as Richard’s words sank in. The weight of the moment pressed heavily on me, and I felt the suffocating grip of panic tighten around my chest. I had been so careful, so guarded, yet somehow, Richard knew something was wrong.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words caught in my thróat. I couldn’t lie to him anymore. I couldn’t keep up the façade, not when the truth had already begun to crawl its way into the light.
Richard stepped inside, his eyes fixed on me with an intensity I hadn’t seen before. His jaw was set, the lines of worry and confusion etched deep into his face.
“Debbie,” he said softly, his voice almost pleading.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I can feel it. You’ve been distant from me. And I’ve noticed you avoiding my father… something’s off about him lately. I mean what is really going on??”
I swallowed, my mind racing. How much did he know? How close was he to the truth?
Taking a deep breath, I finally spoke. “Richard, I… I never wanted to hurt you. But there’s so much you don’t know. About your father. About everything.”
His brow furrowed, and I could see the confusion shift into suspicion. “What are you talking about?”
I hesitated for a moment, gathering the courage to say what I had kept buried for so long. “I overheard something. Something horrible. I… I found out that your father plans to—” I stopped myself, unable to finish the sentence. The words felt like they would tear me apart.
“Plans to what?” Richard pressed, his voice growing firmer.
“Plans to have you… removed.” I choked on the words, feeling the weight of their meaning settle into the pit of my stomach. “He said that if you became a problem, if you stood in his way, he would *get rid of you.*”
The silence in the room was deafening. Richard didn’t move, didn’t speak, as if he was trying to process what I had just said. His eyes widened, and I saw a flash of something in his gaze, a mixture of disbelief, anger, and hurt.
“I don’t understand,” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. “Why would he say that? He’s my father. He’s supposed to protect me. And why would he even want to do such a thing to me?”
“I.. I don’t understand what you are talking about Debbie.”
I stepped closer to him, my hands trembling.
“Richard, I don’t know why. But I heard him. He was talking to someone on the phone. He said it himself—*if you got in the way, he would deal with it.”
Richard’s face paled. The color drained from his cheeks, and for a moment, he looked like a man who had just seen his entire world crumble in front of him. I could see the wheels turning in his mind, trying to make sense of the impossible.
“And there’s more,” I added softly, my voice breaking as tears streamed down my eyes. “I don’t think you’re really his son.”
His eyes snapped up to meet mine, more confusion giving way to pain. “What do you mean? Of course I am. He’s my father. I’ve always been his son.”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the next words. How could I also tell him that I’m pregnant for his father? Would sound impossible right? But he had to know the main reason why his father needed him cut off. But how could I?
“Richard, I don’t think he’s your biological father. The way he talks about you, the way he looks at you,. it’s not the way a father should treat his son. There’s something… off. He never truly sees you as his equal, Richard. He sees you as a tool.
Despite all this plan I was about to expose to Richard, Deep down I knew there was something more hurtful than the current truth, I was also pregnant for his father. But how could I tell him?
And the reason he wants to get rid of you is that ‘ I.. I.. i’m Pregn…’ hhhhhh… I’m so scared right now Richard.”
“You say you’re what?” Richard inquired with a shocked face I’ve never seen before.
“Richard, I.. i.. I am Pregnant for your father.”
I cried.
He drugged me, Richard and used me, while you were away. I cried.
Richard took a step back, as if I had slapped him. His entire body stiffened, and for the first time in our relationship, I saw the cracks in the perfect image he had built of his father.
“No,” he whispered, shaking his head as if to deny it. “This can’t be true. He’s my father. He raised me. He.. he.. he.. can’t never—”
Richard’s chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, as if he were struggling to control the storm building inside him. I could see the pieces falling into place, the realization dawning on him.
“I’ve been so blind,” he murmured, more to himself than to me. “I thought… I thought I was the son he always wanted. I never questioned him. I just wanted to make him proud.”
I reached for him, trying to pat him on the shoulder, my voice soft but trembling. “Richard, I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry.. You *are* worthy of love. You don’t need to be anyone’s puppet. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But you need to see Henry for who he really is. He’s dangerous. And right now, you’re in more danger than you realize.”
“Don’t step any closer to me!”
Richard warned, with tears streaming down his eyes.
His eyes flickered with emotion, hurt, betrayal, and something else. Fear.
I watched as Richard’s expression changed, the stoic mask he had always worn slowly crumbled in front of me. “What do I do now?” he whispered, his voice shaky. “What happens now that I know the truth?”
We both cried so hard.
I later managed, took his hand, my grip tight and reassuring. “We take control, Richard. Together. You can’t keep hiding from the truth. We need to confront him. And we need to find out exactly what he’s involved in.. I mean *all* of it.”
“But if I confront him,” Richard said, his voice barely above a whisper, “what if it’s too late? What if he’s already planning something against me?” he confusedly asked, his tone full of emotions.
I squeezed his hand. “We’ll do it carefully. But we can’t stay in the dark any longer. We need answers. And I’ll help you get them. No matter what it takes.”
Richard stared at me, his eyes filled with a mix of gratitude and fear. “You’ll help me?” he asked, his voice breaking slightly.
“Of course,” I replied. “I’m not going anywhere, Richard. Not until we get the truth.”
We stood there, locked in a moment of silence, the weight of everything still hanging between us. But in that silence, something shifted. Richard wasn’t just the son of a powerful man anymore. He was a man who was about to discover the truth, and he wasn’t going to let anyone control his life, not anymore.
And as for me? I knew I couldn’t back down now. The secret I had kept hidden for so long, the lies I had lived with, they were no longer just about me. They were about Richard. They were about our future.
I could feel the storm coming. And I wasn’t sure where it would take us, but one thing was certain: Henry Montgomery had underestimated us both..
To be continued…..
