Trevor looked at the beautiful woman smiling down at him as he lay on his bed, clad in his favorite superhero pajamas─the same one she had gifted him for his birthday. His mother brought her lips closer to his face until she tenderly kissed his forehead.
"I love you sweetie," Elise whispered against her son's warm forehead.
She didn't have to pull back to know that he was smiling at her words; she felt him relax against her touch.
She didn't want to pull away but tonight was the night─the last night she would spend in this home with her son and her husband Benjamin; the man she had spent fifteen years with, only to find that their marriage was going downhill and fast.
"I love you too mom." Trevor said to his loving mother, unaware of what was to happen later that night. His mother, who had finally pulled away from him smiled, surpressing her depressing thoughts which had now turned to how she would survive without her beautiful child. 772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPy1GbCswBC
She began to gently stroke his hair as she continued to look at him, making sure that her smile never faultered so that he would remain clueless. But she knew that it was impossible for him to stay in the dark about it for long; he would find out sooner or later.
The widening of Trevor's smile pulled Elise out of her thoughts. Reluctantly, she stood up and finally whispered, "goodnight son." She began to walk to the door until she heard her son's voice.
"Goodnight mom."
His content voice brought tears to her eyes as she thought of how all of this would impact him. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her son but she could no longer stay in this marriage─it wouldn't be fair to her or Benjamin.
At the door, she turned around and faced her son, smiling for the last time before leaving his room and closing the door behind her. She leaned against it as the tears finally fell.
She didn't know that it would be this hard to go through with the divorce. Was she being selfish? She shook her head as she willed herself to walk towards the stairs, towards her husband who was seated at the dining room table with a book in hand.
Benjamin who was an editor at a publishing company, was busy reading the latest story which his company had published. He was astonished at how amazing it was, considering how young the author was. With a smile on his face, he reached for his coffee mug and took a sip of his warm coffee, keeping his eyes on the page.
"Hey sweetie," he said to his wife when he saw her enter the room. He stood up and placed a kiss on her cheek as she walked past.
Elise walked to the seat across from his and sat down, a blank expression on her face. Benjamin, having picked up on his wife's odd behavior, looked at her concerned.
"Everything alright?" he asked her. Instead of answering, she looked down at her hands which she had intertwined.
"Benjamin we can't ignore this forever," she said, her tone solemn. Benjamin's face immediately darkened. How could he not have seen it coming with the way things were going?
His wife whom he had dedicated his heart to had broken the news to him several months ago. But the love that Benjamin felt for her had blinded him into thinking that it was only temporary. But when she had continued to bring it up, he had eventually come to the painful realisation that it was permanent─she truly didn't feel anything for him. Even after all these years.
"Please Elise, you have to think about it."
"I've thought about Ben! I've had fifteen years to think about it! And you still think it's a joke?!" she couldn't help but to yell. It surprised her how after all these months, he still didn't take it seriously.
"You're not the only one this will affect. What about me? What about our son?" he tried to plead with her.
Trevor who had been turning over several times, in an attempt to fall asleep, had just heard the sound of someone yelling from downstairs. He had never heard or seen his parents fight─in fact it was unheard of for them. But after the sound of something breaking, he couldn't stay in his bed any longer as the worry in his heart grew.
Slowly, he crept out of his bed and before long, he was standing by his door. He didn't know if he should go down to see what was happening; it was obviously something for adults. But even so, he felt his hand twist the doorknob and open the door.
He slowly walked down the stairs, trying his best not to get noticed by his parents. He rubbed his eye as he felt a yawn escape his lips.
Benjamin and Elise who were busy arguing, immediately stopped as their conversation came to an end after Elise had pushed his mug onto the floor. It seemed like no matter what they said to each other, all that mattered to them was their own feelings. Neither of them wanted to acknowledge the feelings of the other party.
Amidst the silence, they heard a soft yawn which caused them to turn their heads towards the stairway where Trevor stood, looking at them.
"What's going on?" he asked his parents.
They looked at each other and exchanged a mutual look before looking back at him.
"It's nothing baby, just go back to sleep." Elise told him. But from the look on his father's face, he could tell that something was up.
"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at his father.
Benjamin, who had been in his own world, dreading the fact that he was losing his wife, turned his head slowly to his son. He forced a smile onto his face as he nodded.
"I'm fine son."
Trevor wasn't convinced. However, instead of arguing, he nodded and turned around to walk back to his room. His parents remained in their spots, listening until they could hear that he had returned to his room.
When it had been silent for a long time, they turned to face each other.
"Is there really no way to get you to stay Elise? I can't lose you," Benjamin begged. He didn't care how pathetic he looked, all that mattered was getting the chance to stay with the woman he loved. But to his disappointment, she shook her head.
"I'm sorry Ben but it wouldn't be fair to any of us."
She looked at the man she had spent fifteen years trying to love, only feeling pity for him. She had led him on for so long and right now, as she looked at his heartbroken face, she couldn't help but to feel guilty.
Benjamin, after finally coming to accept that this was the end, felt tears fall from his eyes. He had spent many days loving her and hoping that he would never lose her only to find out that she had never loved him. He wanted to continue begging her to stay but he could tell that there was nothing he could do─this really was the end.
He was still crying when he felt her wrap her arms around him in a farewell hug. He wasn't sure if he should hug her back because the pain he felt in his chest was overwhelming. All he wanted to do now, was to crawl into a dark corner and cry himself to sleep.
"I'm sorry Ben," Elise whispered against his chest, feeling the guilt begin to increase. But she knew that there was no point staying in a one-sided relationship. She wasn't the only one who would be hurt in the end; she had known that and still decided to go through with it.
When she was trying to pull out of the hug, she felt him wrap his arms around her.
"Please just allow me to stay like this for a while," he whispered. To his surprise, she obliged. It probably wasn't much for her but to him, this would be one of the last things he would have to remember her by.
He felt her warmth surround him for the last time as his tears continued to fall. The day that he had never thought would come was here and it felt worse than he could ever have imagined.
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