Chapter Three
1233 Words
Mr. Davis Eric and Ms. Lillian Jack – A Struggling Love and the Envy of Wealth
Davis Eric stood quietly, in deep thought, staring at the painting in front of him, appreciating the aesthetic creativity in his artwork. It was indeed a pretty view —an almost poetic backdrop to his life, but to him, it wasn't. It was nothing more than a gruesome reminder of how far he was from the wealth and success he had always aspired to.
He anxiously worked now, more than ever; his envy for those who had everything he desired was gnawing at him like a ravenous beast.
Lillian shifted on the couch behind him, her voice cutting through the heavy silence of the room. “Davis, you’ve been quiet all evening. Is everything okay?”
He loved Lillian, or at least he thought he did. But love didn’t pay the bills, and it certainly didn’t grant him the life he believed he deserved. Lillian was sweet, humble, and supportive, but sometimes, that wasn’t enough for him.
Davis wanted more. He wanted wealth, power, and fame, things that Lillian, with her simple dreams and modest background, could never offer him.
“I’m fine,” he muttered, still staring out at the lights, his jaw clenched.
But he wasn’t fine. Lillian knew it too. She could see the way his moods had shifted over the past few months. Their relationship, once built on dreams and promises, now felt like it was teetering on the edge of something darker.
She had stood by him through his disappointments, through his half-baked business ideas and failed attempts at making something of himself. He was recently exhibiting a kind of awkward attitude; it felt like she was losing him, like his dreams were detaching him away from her, further into a world where she didn’t belong.
"Davis, I'm not complaining about anything," Lillian said as she moved to sit beside him, resting her hand gently on his arm. “It's glaring; things haven’t been easy lately. But we’ll get through this. We always do.”
Her words, meant to soothe, only deepened the irritation simmering within him. Davis didn’t want to hold on. He wanted to escape—to break free from the mediocrity that clung to his life like a curse.
He turned to face her then, his expression hard. “Lillian, sometimes I wonder if you see what’s happening. We’re stuck. I’m stuck. I’m tired of scraping by, of watching other people get ahead while I’m left with nothing.”
Lillian’s face softened, and she reached for his hand, but he pulled it away, standing up abruptly. “I don’t want this life anymore, Lil. I can’t keep living like this.”
She swallowed, her eyes following him as he paced the room. “What do you mean? We’ve been through hard times before, Davis. We can work through this together.”
But Davis shook his head; together? No, that wasn’t enough anymore. He had already started forging a new path, one that Lillian didn’t know about. His interest in Ms. Sophie had given him a glimpse of the life he wanted—luxury, extravagance, and access to money he could never dream of on his own.
Certainly, Sophie didn’t mean so much to him beyond the financial opportunities she presented, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was his ticket to the life he craved, even if it meant betraying Lillian in the process, despite the fact he was initially into this to better his relationship with her.
“Things are different now,” Davis said, in a low tone, as if admitting it to himself for the first time. “I aspired beyond what we have. I have to act smarter, not the guy who’s always behind schedule, one step behind. I’m venturing into whatever until I get there.”
Lillian shrank, her heart dipping at the unfamiliar coldness in his tone. “Davis, where is this coming from? I don’t care about wealth or success. I care about you. I thought we were in this together.”
“Maybe that’s the problem,” he said sharply, finally looking at her, his eyes flashing with the bitterness that had been building for months. “You don’t care about success, and that’s exactly why we’re stuck. I can’t keep living this small life, Lillian. I won’t.”
The words stroke her, blaring through her heart like a spear. She had always known that Davis aspired beyond what they had, but she less imagined that he would blame her for his fate. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she tried to be courageous and withheld them back, refusing to let them fall.
“I didn't get you right, what are you saying, Davis?” She asked, her voice wavering slightly. “Are you saying our relationship should've made you better than this?”
For a moment, Davis hesitated. He hadn’t meant for it to come out like this. He wasn’t ready to end things with Lillian—not yet, at least. It slipped out unintentionally, he tried to suppress his feelings, but he couldn’t. His love for her had become knotted in his resentment of their situation; he was unable to unravel the complexity, and he no longer knew where one ended and the other began.
“Uh, I don’t know, Lillian,” he whispered, his voice softening but still uncertain. “It just occurred to me that something has to change.”
Lillian was heartbroken at his utterances, though she restrained and remained calm, trying to keep her composure. “I don’t understand. We’ve longed to build a future together. Why is that not enough for you now?”
Davis sighed, trying to be polite and mild in his discretion, running a hand through his hair, feeling the weight of his resolution pressing down on him. Considering her emotion, he couldn’t tell her about Sophie, about the affair, or about his plans to use Sophie’s money to fund their dreams. Not yet. Lillian was the one piece of his life that still felt pure, and he didn’t want to shatter that—not completely.
“Maybe I overstayed in the waiting room so long,” he murmured, swaying avoiding her gaze. “I need to figure things out on my own.”
She couldn't believe the whole scenario playing; Lillian stood there, frozen in disbelief, her mind spinning with confusion and heartbreak. The man she loved, the man she had committed to, was slipping away from her, and she worried about how nothing she could do to stop it.
Davis, on the other hand, felt a strange sense of relief. The more distance he put between himself and Lillian, the easier it became to justify the choices he had made. He told himself that once he had the wealth and power he sought, everything would fall into place. He could take care of Lillian and give her the life she deserved. But deep down, he knew it wasn’t that simple.
He stepped out of the apartment at late night quietly, leaving Lillian alone with her thoughts; Davis couldn’t shake the feeling that he was crossing a line he could never come back. And yet, as the city lights beckoned him toward a future filled with promise, he convinced himself that it was a price worth paying.
- Writer
