“Are there any songs you’d like to hear? I can ask the singer to perform it just for you,” the manager offered.
“It’s okay. I just couldn’t sleep and wanted to listen to some music. Don’t worry about me,” Linda replied.
Then, the manager nodded and left.
About two hours later, she left the lounge. As she exited the elevator, she saw a tall figure crouched by her door.
“William?” She instantly became alert.
William reeked heavily of alcohol. He also looked as if he was wasted. “Linda, can’t you give me another chance?” He was struggling to stand up straight.
However, Linda just looked at him and didn’t plan to offer any help.
“For what?” she asked with sarcasm. “Another chance for you to ruin my life?”
William’s eyes were filled with bitterness. “Linda, about what happened back then-*
“I’m not interested to know. It has nothing to do with me. I just want you out of my life. Can you do that?”
Linda didn’t want to communicate with him anymore.
She continued, “You weren’t there when I needed you the most. Now, I don’t want or need you at all.”
“It’s not like that, Linda. I didn’t know who you were back then.” William tried to explain, but his words felt hollow.
“Didn’t I tell you before?” Linda scoffed. “I told you many times, but you never believed me. To you, I was Just a monster who’d hurt even her child.”
“William, did you know that you are making me sick? I don’t ever want to see you again. Please behave yourself.”
Linda swiped her room key card and entered her room.
After that, she called the manager and booked another room on the same floor. Her only request was for elevator access to be restricted to avoid any further disturbances.
Linda’s request carried weight as she was the Vice President of YK Media, and the Lynch family owned the hotel. After all, Samson had always looked out for her.
William returned to the apartment he and Linda had shared when they first got married.
When looking at the familiar yet alien decoration, he had considered ending it all for a fleeting moment.
What had he done to deserve this? How could he have treated Linda so terribly?
William was stunned while holding a piece of handmade clothing by Linda. How deeply had she loved. him?
Linda had done so many things for him, but he ignored them all. He wondered how deep Linda’s despair was to lead her to choose death as an escape from him.
After Linda’s “death,” William had come back to the apartment and encountered the security guard at the entrance. The guard had asked for Linda’s contact information.
She had entrusted him with some valuable items to be sent out. As such, he didn’t dare keep them without instructions.
William had taken those items back to the apartment and restored them to their original places one
by
one.
For the ones he couldn’t remember, William referred to Linda’s social media posts and reconstructed the setup as she had arranged it. It was then that he first truly paid attention to her online presence.
Linda’s posts were almost all about him. He found the messages she’d sent him, ones he had never bothered to read, and even set her notifications to “Do Not Disturb.”
As William read through all the posts, he broke down in tears.
A wave of hopelessness overwhelmed him. It was akin to him being at the epicenter of an earthquake and surrounded by collapsing buildings. He was waiting to be buried under the rubble.
The feeling of helplessness crushed and suffocated him. He began to reflect and remember the past. All the memories were a form of emotional torture that sliced into his soul.