Chapter Three :AVi -The Stranger at My Door
1683 Words
Nobody prepares you for the moment you open the door of a house you have lived in alone for three years and find a man standing on the other side.
Not just any man.
Your husband.
The husband you had seen for seventeen minutes.
Three years ago.
Avi stood frozen in the doorway.
For a moment, he genuinely wondered whether he was dreaming.
Because the man standing in front of him looked nothing like the blurry memory Avi had carried from the courthouse.
Well…
He looked like him.
But older.
Harder.
Sharper.
Everything about him seemed more defined.
His jaw was stronger. His features were sharper. His shoulders were broader. There was something intensely masculine about the way he stood, completely still, completely confident, as though the entire world had been designed to move around him.
And his eyes…
Avi remembered those.
Barely.
But he remembered them.
Dark.
Cold.
Uncomfortably intense.
The man looked at him without saying anything.
Avi’s mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Three years.
Three entire years of wondering whether this man even remembered that he was married.
And now he was standing there.
In front of him.
Inside his home.
His husband.
Technically.
Legally.
According to a piece of paper Avi had kept locked in a drawer because he didn’t know what else to do with it.
“You’re…”
Avi stopped.
What was he supposed to say?
Hello?
Nice to finally meet you?
Why did you disappear for three years?
Do you even know my name?
Why are you here?
There were too many questions.
Too many emotions.
Too much confusion.
And the worst part?
The man wasn’t explaining anything.
He simply walked past him.
Walked into the house.
Like he belonged there.
Avi slowly turned his head.
He watched him walk away.
What the hell?
That was the only thought his brain could produce.
He closed the door.
Then stood there.
Still.
He looked toward the hallway.
The man was already walking farther inside.
Avi’s heartbeat was getting faster.
Why was he here?
Why now?
Why after three years?
Where had he been?
Why hadn’t he called?
Why hadn’t he visited?
Why had he suddenly decided that today was the day he would appear?
And most importantly—
Why was he acting like this was normal?
Avi didn’t ask.
He couldn’t.
Instead, he turned around and walked upstairs.
One step.
Then another.
His hands were shaking slightly.
He reached his bedroom.
Entered.
Closed the door.
Then locked it.
Avi stood with his back against the door.
He stared at the lock.
Then frowned.
Why had he locked the door?
He didn’t know.
Actually, he knew exactly why.
There was a strange man in his house.
A strange man who happened to be his husband.
A man he had met only once.
A man who looked like he could break the door down if he wanted to.
Avi walked toward his bed.
He sat down.
Then lay back.
He stared at the ceiling.
Five minutes passed.
Ten.
Twenty.
He turned over.
Then turned again.
Sleep refused to come.
His mind wouldn’t stop.
The image of that man standing at the door kept replaying.
The courthouse.
The marriage certificate.
Those seventeen minutes.
Then the present.
Three years later.
Something had changed.
Avi could feel it.
The man who had stood beside him at the courthouse had seemed distant.
This man?
This man looked like power.
Like control.
Like someone who had spent the last three years becoming something Avi couldn’t understand.
And Avi didn’t like it.
Not one bit.
Eventually, exhaustion forced him out of bed.
He showered.
Changed.
And went downstairs.
The dining room was already prepared.
Avi stopped at the entrance.
His husband was sitting at the table.
Eating breakfast.
Calmly.
Casually.
Like he had lived there his entire life.
Avi stared.
The audacity.
He walked toward the table.
He pulled out a chair.
He sat.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Avi looked at him.
The man continued eating.
Avi looked again.
Still nothing.
Finally, Avi couldn’t take it.
“Why are you here?”
The man stopped eating.
He slowly raised his eyes.
Their gazes met.
And something about the way he looked at Avi made Avi’s stomach tighten.
“Because this is our marital home.”
Avi blinked.
“Our…”
He almost laughed.
“Our marital home?”
The man calmly returned to his breakfast.
Avi stared at him.
That answer had somehow made everything worse.
Our marital home?
So this was his first time here.
His first time stepping inside.
His first time sitting at that table.
His first time seeing the house.
And he had the audacity to call it their marital home.
Avi pushed his chair backward.
“So this is your first time here.”
The man didn’t answer.
Avi laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
He grabbed his bag.
He didn’t want to ask anything else.
He didn’t want to stand there and argue with a man who had disappeared for three years and returned as though he had simply gone out to buy groceries.
He walked out.
His father’s driver was already waiting.
Of course.
Avi stared at the car.
Then at the driver.
“Did my father send you?”
“Yes, sir.”
Avi rubbed his forehead.
“Of course he did.”
Nothing in his life happened without his father knowing about it.
Nothing.
He got into the car.
And for the entire drive to the office, Avi said nothing.
He was furious.
Confused.
Embarrassed.
And, although he didn’t want to admit it, unsettled.
By the time he reached his office, he was ready to throw something.
Instead, he threw his bag onto the chair.
He sat behind his desk.
Opened a file.
Read the same sentence three times.
Closed it.
Opened another.
Read nothing.
His mind kept returning to one sentence.
Because this is our marital home.
Avi groaned.
“Who talks like that?”
“Someone married to you, apparently.”
Avi nearly jumped.
He looked toward the door.
Janet stood there.
His best friend.
His only real friend who had the unfortunate habit of appearing at exactly the wrong moment.
“What are you doing here?”
“You called me.”
“I did?”
“You told me to come.”
Avi stared at her.
Then sighed.
“Right.”
Janet walked in and closed the door.
She studied his face.
“You look terrible.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She sat down.
“What happened?”
Avi stared at her.
Then said quietly,
“He’s back.”
Janet’s expression changed.
“Who?”
Avi raised an eyebrow.
She stared at him.
Then her mouth fell open.
“No.”
Avi nodded.
“Yes.”
“Your husband?”
“Unfortunately.”
“The husband you’ve never seen?”
“I’ve seen him.”
“Once!”
“Exactly.”
Janet stood.
“You’re telling me that the mysterious husband who disappeared for three years just showed up?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
“Last night?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“My house.”
Janet stared at him.
“Your marital home?”
Avi glared.
“Don’t.”
She sat down again.
“Okay. Sorry.”
Avi leaned back.
Janet stared at him.
“What did he say?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you ask him?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Avi paused.
“He said it was his marital home.”
Janet blinked.
Then blinked again.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Nothing else?”
“No.”
“Did he apologize?”
“No.”
“Explain where he’d been?”
“No.”
“Ask how you’ve been?”
“No.”
“Ask if you were okay?”
“No.”
“Did he even say hello?”
Avi looked at her.
“I don’t remember.”
Janet stared at him.
Then slowly shook her head.
“This is insane.”
“I know.”
“Do you know why he came back?”
Avi sighed.
“No.”
“Do you know where he’s been?”
“No.”
“Do you know what he does?”
Avi hesitated.
“Not really.”
Janet’s eyes widened.
“You’ve been married to this man for three years.”
“I know.”
“And you don’t know where he lives?”
“No.”
“What he does?”
“No.”
“Why he disappeared?”
“No.”
“Why he came back?”
“No.”
Janet leaned forward.
“Do you at least know his name?”
Avi looked at her.
“Xavier.”
“Full name?”
Avi paused.
“Xavier Alexandra Falcon.”
Janet’s expression immediately changed.
She went completely silent.
Avi frowned.
“What?”
Janet stared at him.
“Say that again.”
“Xavier Alexandra Falcon.”
Janet’s face had lost all humor.
“Avi…”
“What?”
“Do you know who your husband is?”
Avi frowned.
“Apparently, a man who doesn’t understand the concept of communication.”
Janet didn’t laugh.
She simply stared at him.
“That’s not what I mean.”
Avi’s smile disappeared.
“What do you mean?”
Janet leaned back slowly.
“I’ve heard that name before.”
Avi’s heart skipped.
“Where?”
Janet swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
She looked toward the office door.
Then back at him.
“But I’ve heard people say that name like…”
“Like what?”
Janet lowered her voice.
“Like they’re afraid of him.”
Avi said nothing.
For the first time since Xavier had walked through his front door, the confusion in his chest changed into something else.
Something colder.
Something deeper.
Because perhaps the question wasn’t—
Why did my husband come back?
Perhaps the real question was—
Who exactly had he been married to all this time?
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD