The Stranger In Me

“Please… don’t leave me.” The words came out broken, trembling softly from Marie’s lips as she held tightly onto Alberto Kelvin’s wrist like her life depended on it. Rain battered violently against the hospital windows.Machines beeped endlessly around the dim hospital room while thunder rolled across the Manila skyline like a warning from heaven itself. Marie’s breathing was uneven,weak. Her face had gone pale from emotional exhaustion, and the fading bruise on her cheek stood painfully beneath the white hospital light,yet even in her fragile state, She refused to let go of him. Alberto Kelvin stared at her hand gripping his. His chest tightened dangerously. The doctor’s words echoed repeatedly inside his mind. “If you keep rejecting her emotionally, her condition may worsen.” Damn it!This wasn’t supposed to happen.She was only a nanny,nothing more. Just another employee in his mansion. So why did seeing her lying helplessly on that hospital bed make him feel like he was suffocating? “Please…” Marie whispered again, tears gathering weakly in her eyes. “Don’t leave me alone again.” Kelvin clenched his jaw tightly. Across the room, little Mia watched silently before hurriedly scribbling on her notepad with trembling fingers. She lifted it toward her father. “Daddy, stop making Mum cry.” The words hit him like a slap.His eyes darkened instantly.Mum?No,no one could ever take Maya’s place. No one. Yet somehow,the mansion no longer felt alive without Marie’s laughter echoing through its halls. Mia refused to sleep without calling her name. His children had begun smiling again because of her and worst of all, He had started looking for her presence too. Kelvin slowly tried pulling his hand away. But Marie held tighter. Then finally,She opened her eyes and looked directly into his.Confused,fragile,trusting. “My husband…” she whispered weakly. The room fell silent. Kelvin’s breathing stopped and somewhere deep inside him, A dangerous c***k began forming around the walls he had spent years building. .