Tessa’s Revenge

TESSA IS BACK

CHAPTER FOUR

William.

Seven years later

“Daddy. I loved school today but then the kids teased me about something, you had a wife before mommy and she died in a plane? Why don’t I know her?

Today at parents teachers day, they all mentioned her and said she was popular, Tessa was that her name?” Mia, my daughter said as she sat down on my lap.

My mood turned sour and my face turned cold. I pressed the nanny dial on the house landline.

“Tara, take Mia to her room and assist her.”

“Daddy has to work okay baby.” She jumped down and went outside while she struggled to close the door with her tiny hands.

I stood up and I placed my hands behind my back as I walked over to the hidden portrait of Tessa and I.

“Where are you Tessa?” I asked as I closed my eyes, I longed and searched for her, I have hired tons of probated investigators and wondered where she went.

I spent months traveling and visiting all the places that we have visited before but I haven’t found her.

“You don’t want to accept that Tessa’s dead right?” Anna said as she walked into my office. She wore a red gown that is the exact replica of what Tessa wore on her birthday years ago.

“Don’t you dare say that about her.” I pointed my finger at her as I cautioned her. I ignored her cleavages.

“She is dead.”

I glared at her as I went to sit.

"William, we need to talk about this," Anna's voice pierced through the silence.

“It can't go on like this. I can't keep feeling like I'm just an afterthought in your life." She continued.

I sighed, as I ran my hand through my dark, tousled hair, she does this all the time.

She will bring up a reason for us to fight and make sure that Tessa is involved

"Anna, I never asked for any of this. You forced yourself into my life, making me responsible for a child I never wanted. I can't pretend to feel love or desire where there is none."

Anna's eyes welled up with tears, her voice trembling.

"Is that what I am to you, William? A mere burden, a mistake? Our child deserves better than this, than a father who is indifferent to their existence."

"It's not that simple," I replied, my voice tinged with frustration. "I still carry the weight of Tessa in my heart, the love we had shared. You can't expect me to erase those memories and feelings overnight. I can't replace her. You have to understand that."

Her face reddened with anger, desperation replacing the sorrow in her eyes.

"But you married me! You made a commitment to me and our child. How can you just dismiss us and expect me to accept it? I thought we could build something together, that we could find love and connection." She yelled out.

“We had s*x and you loved it. You wanted more, you replied to those texts and the pictures. You wanted more!”

I looked down at my hands, my heart heavy with the weight of her words.

"Anna, I never promised you love. I can't force myself to feel something I don't. Yes, I married you, but it was out of obligation, not out of love. I thought I could learn to care for you, but it's clear that I can't.

We can't keep living this lie. You know you twisted my mothers love for Tessa and redirected it to you and you got the life you want. ."

My office grew colder as the words hung in the air like icy tendrils.

Anna's tears fell freely now, her voice shaking with a mix of anger and despair.

"So, what now, William? Are you saying you want to leave us? Leave our child?"

I reached out, my hand trembling, but I withdrew it before making contact.

"I don't want to hurt you or our child, Anna. But we both know that staying together when the love isn't there will only bring more pain. We need to be honest with ourselves and with each other. You know the truth but you swallowed it and pretended you wanted Tessa’s place and all that she had. You took it all didn’t you. ."

Anna's fists clenched, her voice filled with a determined resolve.

"Then, if you won't love me, at least be a father to your child. Be proud of her, acknowledge her existence. Don't let her grow up feeling unwanted." Anna didn’t understand that even Tim doesn’t stop love.

“We talked moments ago, so stop this. And you do know that I don’t love you: I love my wife, Tessa.”

“She divorced you.” Anna's words ring hard in my eyes.

“After I couldn’t defend her and disrespected her, I cheated on my wife and I didn’t let her have a child, I gave all that to you.

My gaze hardened, the weight of my decision weighing heavily on my shoulders.

"I will be there for our child, Anna. I won't abandon her But you have to accept that we can't force a love that isn't there. We have to find a way to coexist, to support each other even if it's not in the way either of us imagined."

I said to Anna and she walked out, I went on to pick a bottle of scotch and I drowned in my own thoughts. I lost Tessa.

**********

The following day.

“I have warned you and I have told you that you are not the love of my life and never will be.”

“Why did you do that? Why are you always looking for ways to embarrass me and my daughter? Anna asked as she dropped her bag and followed me to my office.

“You wrote a divorce letter to my wife and she signed it, she was your best friend. Have you tried to look for her? “ I asked her as I sat down, the absence of Tessa wore down on my heart.

“We have a daughter, she hasn’t even felt your love but yet you sent her away from the stage. Why would you do that?

Why did you do that? Why are you always looking for ways to embarrass me and my daughter?"

Anna’s face flushed with frustration.

"What? You already made the decision that you will be my wife, right? You will never have my respect, Anna. Don’t forget that,"

My jaw tightened and my patience wearing thin.

"Respect is earned, Anna. You haven't exactly given me any reason to respect you. The way you've gone about things...forcing yourself into my life, manipulating situations. It's no wonder I struggle to see you as anything more than a burden."

Anna's eyes flickered with hurt, her voice quivering.

"Why do you hate me so much? I thought you could learn to love me, tolerate me, for the sake of our daughter."

The words hung in the air, the tension reaching its peak. My mind swirled with a mix of frustration and regret, as the pain of Tessa’s absence gnawed at my heart.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.

"You wrote a divorce letter to my wife, Anna," I began, my voice tinged with a blend of sorrow and accusation.

"She actually signed it. Do you even comprehend the magnitude of what you took from me? She was your best friend, and you betrayed her. Have you tried at all to look for her, to mend the bonds you severed?" I asked her again.

Anna's defiant exterior crumbled, her eyes welling up with tears.

"I...I didn't know what else to do. I felt so lost without you, William. I thought if I pushed enough, fought enough, you would see me. But all I've done is cause more pain. You weren’t there until I was three months due.”

My heart softened slightly, his anger melting into a mixture of sadness and understanding.

"I know you were lonely, Anna. But what you did was wrong. You crossed a line that can't be uncrossed. And because of that, our daughter is caught in the middle of this mess."

Anna's voice quavered as she whispered

"We have a daughter, William. She hasn't done anything wrong. Can't we find a way to make it work, for her sake?"

A deep sigh escaped my lips, exhaustion etching lines on my face.

"It's not that simple, Anna. Love can't be forced or manufactured. We can't pretend in front of our daughter that we have what we don't. It would be unfair to her, and I won't put her through that charade."

Her tears stained her cheeks as she pleaded,

"But doesn't our daughter deserve to have both her parents in her life? Can't we find a way to coexist, even if it means setting aside our own desires?"

My gaze softened as I met her eyes, a flicker of empathy passing between us.

"Our daughter will always have both of us in her life, Anna. I won't abandon her. But we have to accept that the love we had hoped for, the connection we longed for, just isn't there. We can find a way to be civil, to support each other as parents, but anything more than that would be a disservice to everyone involved."

Anna's shoulders slumped, the realization settling upon her like a heavy burden. "

I understand, William. I just wish things could have been different, that I could have been enough for you."

My voice softened as he reached out, brushing a stray tear from her cheek

"Anna, it was never about you not being enough. It was about the history that I carry, the love that I lost. You can't replace Tesaa, and I can't ask you to. We have to find a way to accept each other as we are, to be there for our daughter, and to move forward with the understanding that sometimes, love doesn't always look the way we want it to."

“I will be with Anna. We have a wedding to attend next year and a business launch too.”

Anna said as she closed the door.

*******

Just as I walked into my room, the same room I shared with Tessa before she left.

I saw her ring, placed on the nightstand. I just couldn’t let her go. I can remember the last time we argued, that was the last time I saw her.

She didn't wear the gown that she wore on our anniversary.

“Sir, someone left a package for you.” My secretary, Mia said as she knocked.

I checked the box and it was small, like a wristwatch box. I unwrap the seven little bows.

A paper is all that is in there, boldly written.

“William.

I hope this letter finds you well. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that child isn't yours, and did you miss me during these few years apart?

With all my love,

Signed T”

“Tessa is back!”

My face contorted with fear, I stood frozen in place. My wide eyes darted around, searching for an escape that seemed impossible to find.

Every shallow breath I took quivered, and my trembling hands clutched at anything within reach as terror gripped my every thought and movement.