Its not what you think, Eleanor, I havent been unfaithful, Thomas pleaded, his voice shaking with desperation. Swear on my health, Id never betray you! He shouted the oath, halflaughing, halfcrying, as he chased after his wife down the stairs of their flat. He cared not a whit that a few nosy neighbours peered through their cracked doors, nor that a handful of curious onlookers lingered in the hallway, their eyes glued to the domestic drama unfolding before them.
Eleanor burst from the entrance, hailed a black cab, and vanished into the night. Thomas could only watch her go, his breath catching in his throat.
It had all begun three months earlier, when Thomass life started to unravel. A colleague with whom hed kept strictly professional ties for yearsOliviahad suffered a tragic miscarriage and a swift divorce. After months of convalescence, she returned to the office a changed woman, her eyes sharp and her smile a little too bright.
Listen, I cant take this any longer, Olivia confided one evening, her voice trembling. Shes been stalking me for a monthlatenight calls, messages, even turning up at my house. Im at my wits end. Thomas, irritated, stormed into the directors office and vented his frustration.
The director merely chuckled. Women get infatuated, it happens. Im not seeing any crime here, he said, shrugging. What do you expect from me? As far as Im concerned, Olivias fine at work. What happens outside the office is none of my business.
Thomas found himself teetering on the brink of despair. He had tried to ignore the situation, to pretend everything was normal, but the façade was crumbling. Rift after rift grew between him and Eleanor, and she began to doubt his fidelity. She could not believe that a woman could engineer such unmistakable messages, hints, and photographs.
Eleanor, please, dont start this, Thomas begged, his voice pleading. Ive never cheated on you. Not even in my thoughts.
You think your words can mask the flood of messages? Eleanor replied, her tone icy. Do you think Im as naïve as a seashell that cant add two and two?
Its all a setup, Thomas insisted. I block her number, yet she writes from other lines. I cant control her. Shes just a puppet, and the numbers she throws around look good on paper. What do I do? How can I prove Im clean?
I dont know, Thomas, Eleanor whispered, exhaustion lining her voice. Its been almost three months. Im tired of this. I cant simply believe you any longer. Too many coincidences, too many Olivias in our lives.
Enough, Thomas shouted, Shes not mine! I dont need her!
Eleanors thoughts swirled: *Why cant I trust him? I used to trust him without question. But these calls, these messages the coincidences are too many. Olivia appears wherever Thomas is. Randomness feels manufactured. How many men have truly strayed, yet turned their wives into jealous wrecks, convincing them that its all imagination? I dont want to become that, I dont want to be reduced to a fool.*
She recalled the night she caught Thomas hurriedly deleting messages, his eyes darting as he erased photos she never saw. After that, his work hours stretched longer; his temper grew short, his demeanor closed off.
*Am I merely paranoid?* she wondered.
Olivia, once a gentle, quiet woman, had once been married, taken maternity leave, then suffered a nervous breakdown after a medicallynecessary miscarriage, her husband leaving her. She returned to work, initially as her former self, but soon began to send subtle compliments to Thomassmall, seemingly innocent gestures that never crossed the line into outright flirtation. Thomas brushed them off: Just a random hallway encounter, a harmless comment.
Eventually, Olivia unleashed herself upon Thomass household like a storm, tearing away years of builtup trust.
Thomas and Eleanor began to accidentally meet Olivia at the local supermarket, despite her living in a different district. She started visiting the same gym as Thomas, slipping into his phone calls with odd remarks: Youre as cute as a kitten, or Ive made you coffee, why arent you coming over?
One evening Olivia called from a new number, her voice sweet as honey. Thomas, could you help? My neighbour wont answer the phone and my batterys down to two percent. Could you come down? Im in a hurry.
Eleanor, watching from the window, shrugged. She didnt intend to abandon a stranger in need, even if it was late and in another area. Yet the sight that unfolded when Olivia saw Thomas emerging from the stairwellshe lunged at his neck and clung to himwas the final straw for Eleanor.
Later that night a message pinged on Thomass phone. Eleanor, sleepless, read it, a chill running down her spine: Thanks for coming, otherwise someone might be watching you. Ill be half an hour late tomorrow, as planned.
Thomas werent you meeting a friend tomorrow? she whispered to herself, disbelief clouding her thoughts. For the first time she typed a reply: Well talk in the morning. Im asleep now. Ill call you. The reply came instantly, I understand. Ill wait for your call. You know Im always here.
Eleanor sat frozen, unsure how to react. At dawn she made a decisive choiceto stay with her sister temporarily and contemplate everything from a distance, away from both Thomas and Olivia.
Thomas awoke to the jangle of his keys. His phone lay beside his pillow. Sensing trouble, he sprang up, raced to the front door, and, after a frantic attempt to stop Eleanor from leaving, returned to the flat, pacing like a cornered animal. The situation had become absurd.
Eleanor ignored his calls. Her sister asked Thomas not to trouble her further.
Days stretched on. Thomas felt displaced, knowing he had to act, to clear his name and restore his wifes trust.
After a week, he finally mustered courage. He phoned Eleanors sister and begged for a meeting with his wife.
Eleanor, please give me one chance. I know you dont believe me, but I have something that could change everything. After this meeting, youll decide whether we stay together or part forever.
After lengthy persuasion, Eleanor agreed.
They drove in silence. Thomas kept his eyes on the road, occasionally glancing sideways at Eleanor, who tried to read the dimming landscape outside.
Eleanor, I need to ask you something, Thomas said as he pulled up outside an ordinary terraced house. I want to blindfold you. Well walk a short distance. Trust me.
She looked at him skeptically but complied. Thomas guided her gently by the elbow, leading her into a building that reeked of fresh paint.
Are we on a construction site? she asked, uneasy.
Not exactly, Thomas answered.
He lifted the blindfold. A faint light illuminated an old school sports hallthe very place where their story had begun.
In the centre of the room, on a bench, lay a bouquet of white lilies. Eleanor froze.
Eleanor, do you remember the moment I realised I loved you? Thomas began.
She stayed quiet, gazing at the vaulted ceiling. He continued, It wasnt when we first started dating after the graduation ball.
When? she asked suddenly.
I transferred to this school in Year Ten, remember? I missed a few days and was thrust straight into PE. I walked in, not knowing anyone. In the corner, I saw you, cheeks flushed from volleyball, a ponytail of damp curls bouncing as you laughed. Your laugh was contagious. In that instant I knew Id fallen for you forever.
Thomas spoke, and Eleanor listened, tears welling but held back. She had forgotten that memory, that detail, after all these years. Yet Thomas had kept it alive.
He told her how hed been terrified to approach, how hed gathered courage over months before finally asking her out. Each day he thanked fate for leading him to that school, to that hall.
I have never betrayed you, Thomas whispered, taking her hands. All this time I have been only yours
A single tear slid down her cheek. She lifted her eyes to meet his, seeing the same sincerity that had once drawn her in.
Id give up everythingmy job, get Olivia to leave hers, move towns or even abroadjust to have you believe I never cheated, he pleaded.
They stood in the old sports hall, the place where love had first sparked, realizing that true love could not be shattered, no matter how many jealous hearts might try.
The memory of those days, though tinged with pain, lingered like a soft echo, reminding them both that love, once genuine, endures beyond storms and spite.
