Unforgettable, Before I Let You Go

Reed Being a billionaire meant I could buy the entire world but I still couldn't buy the one thing my five year old son wanted for his birthday. His mother's love. I stepped out of the car and walked into the foyer of Wyatt Mansion. I handed my briefcase to Nancy, our housekeeper, who was waiting in the hallway. “Is the cake ready?” I asked her as I loosened my silk tie. “It sure is, Mr. Reed.” She gave me a sympathetic smile. Her eyes always looked a little bit sad whenever she looked at me. “Chocolate with extra fudge frosting, just like he wanted.” “Thank you.” I said as a genuine smile touched my lips for the first time all day. I had left Wyatt Corp. right at five o'clock today. I didn't care about the emergency board meetings, the plummeting stock prices, or the endless stack of files waiting on my desk. Because today was special. Today was William’s fifth birthday. “Where is the birthday boy?” I asked as I walked down the long corridor toward the kitchen. Before Nancy could even answer, I heard the clumsy thumps of tiny feet running down the hardwood floor. "Daddy! Daddy!" William ran into the kitchen so fast he almost slipped. He threw his little arms around my legs and hugged me as tight as he could. I chuckled as I reached down to scoop him up into my arms. He felt so light, yet he was my entire world. He had my dark hair, but his ocean eyes were a perfect mirror of his mother's. “Happy birthday, buddy.” I said softly, kissing the top of his head. “Look how big you are getting. You are practically a grown man now.” William giggled. Then looked around my shoulders, his eyes widening with excitement. "Did you bring it? Did you bring my gift?" I pretended to look confused. "Gift? Was I supposed to bring a gift?" His little face fell for a moment before he saw the teasing glint in my eye. "Daddy! You promised!" "I did promise." I admitted, setting him gently back down on his feet before I reached into my pocket of my overcoat and pulled out a box I had picked up from the toy store that morning. It was wrapped in shiny blue paper with a big silver bow. William gasped out loud. He grabbed the box and ripped the wrapping paper off as fast as his little hands could move. A brand new, giant Transformer toy. “Optimus Prime!” He yelled. “Wow! Thank you Daddy! Thank you so much!” He was so happy, jumping up and down with the toy in his hands, blasting noises with his mouth as he ran the toy through the air. “Alright.” I said, standing back up. “Who is ready to eat some delicious birthday cake?” I turned to Nancy, silently gesturing for her to grab the matches to light the candles. But William stopped jumping. He lowered the toy slowly. First, he looked at the big chocolate cake sitting on the counter. And then he turned and looked down the long hallway toward the front door. He hesitated. “Can we wait for Mom?” His voice was suddenly so small. My heart twisted painfully in my chest. I looked at Nancy again and she quickly looked away, suddenly very interested in the kitchen sink. I pulled back my sleeve and glanced at my watch. It was already past eight o'clock in the evening. I knew my wife. And knowing Wendy, knowing the high-end socialite life she preferred over her own family, I figured she wouldn't be back before midnight. She was probably out at some fancy club right now, drinking expensive champagne, laughing with her so-called best friend, Sabine. Or worse. She was with Logan. I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and forced a reassuring smile onto my face as I crouched back down to William's eye level. “I don't think Mom is going to be home for a little while.” It was a lie I had told a hundred times before. "We can cut it now and save her a very big slice for when she gets home. How does that sound?" William looked down at his light-up sneakers. His small shoulders slumped forward. But when he looked at me again, his lower lip twitched and he nodded bravely. "Okay. But she gets a big piece.” "The biggest.” I promised. Willam slowly walked over to the counter and climbed up onto a tall stool. Nancy turned off the main kitchen lights and lit the five little candles on top of the cake. “Make a wish, William.” I told him softly. He closed his eyes tight and scrunched up his nose, thinking very hard about his wish. And then he leaned forward and blew out all five candles in one big breath. Nancy cut him a large slice of cake and handed him a fork. I leaned against the counter and watched him eat his cake alone with a strange calmness. He got that from me but the way his brow furrowed when he concentrated… that was all her. And looking at him sometimes felt like looking directly into the sun… beautiful, but it hurt. God, it hurt. Five years, I had spent being the villain in my wife’s life. To Wendy, I was the billionaire who had bought her. The monster who forced her into a loveless marriage just to swallow up her father’s failing empire. I let her believe it. I endured her rage, her cold stares, the way she flinched when I stood too close. I took it all because the truth would break her. She didn’t know about her father Eren’s desperate pleas to me. She didn’t know about the six-year contract locked inside my safe or the debts I had quietly paid off to keep her world untouched. I took the blame because I loved her. Hopelessly. Pathetically. Ever since we were young. She was naturally kind hearted back then. She was beautiful and full of life. I loved her even harder when she gave me William. But I knew the truth. She never loved me. She loved Logan, a mechanic she met when getting her sports car repaired. I looked at William, who was now smearing chocolate frosting across his cheeks while playing with his toy. One more year. 365 days. That was all I had left before the contract expired, the truth came out and I had to open the cage and let her fly away. Part of me… the selfish, desperate part wanted to tear that contract into a thousand pieces and beg her to stay and to look at me, just once, the way she looked at Logan. Sometimes I wondered if I told her the truth now what she would do. Would she pack her bags that very night? Would she walk away from William just to finally be rid of me? I wanted her to stay. God, I desperately wanted her to love me. But watching her wither away in this house, watching her hate me more with every passing sunset... it was killing me. Suddenly, the front door clicked open loudly and the distant sound of high heels echoed on the floor of the foyer. William’s head snapped up. He immediately dropped his fork. “Mommy!” He slid off the tall stool and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him toward the hallway.