Martha seemed to pause from the other end of the line. “Of… course not, Matt,” she said. “But if things keep being like this, I cannot allow your father to think that he can control everything as he likes.” “You mean that if he pushes it farther, you will really do it,” Matthew said quietly. There was yet another pause. “…Perhaps.” Matthew didn’t know why he had this sudden sinking feeling in his stomach. “Do you think that Father will ever change?” he asked quietly. “What?” His unexpected question seemed to have caught Martha off-guard. “Well… I’m not sure. He can be quite the stubborn man, as you know.” “I see.” Matthew was silent after that. “Matt?” Martha asked gently. “Would you like to come over tomorrow? I’ll cook you your favorites.” “I have an important meeting tomorrow at the company, and I think I would be getting off work late at night,” Matthew said automatically, having memorized his schedule beforehand. “So I don’t think I can make it tomorrow.” “Oh. All right.”
When Martha made that request to him earlier, Matthew was, understandably, caught off-guard.He had expected her to ask him to paint still-life or landscapes or perhaps a portrait of her, but in the end, she asked him the last thing that was ever in his mind.“Can you draw the three of us in a photo, looking like a family?” she had asked, in the softest voice he had ever heard her say.Matthew didn’t know if Martha was aware of this, but he wasn’t very good at painting portraits — rather, people in general.He liked to watch sceneries in real life and draw inspiration from them, casting them onto the canvas in various shades of color. He liked to stand before a table with a fruit bowl nearly arranged at the center and copy it on a painting. He liked to see a haphazard room with various objects strewn everywhere as though a hurricane had left them that way, and then try to replicate the scene on the canvas.He did not have the same passion for people. He had tried to paint portraits or
Allison would never have guessed how similar she was to Martha. Not entirely similar, mind you, but they did share some things in common.Feeling trapped. Feeling pressured to be well-behaved and to succeed constantly. Feeling the eyes of society on them and expecting them to slip up at any time.The implication in Matthew’s words was clear to Allison. Martha was probably seriously considering divorcing Edward and living her life for herself.However, there were several things holding her back.Of course, that meant having to take into account the reputation that Edward would have after the separation. Divorce meant that something went wrong with the marriage, which would discredit what Edward and Martha had been showing the public the entire time.That they were a loving husband and wife who would do anything for each other.Even though some say that bad publicity was still publicity, Allison knew that Edward did not want any kind of negativity to shame his name. He was very particul
When Matthew stepped into Edward’s office at his old home, he didn’t have any particular expectations in mind. Having lived with his father for more than two decades now, he had a pretty good feeling of what might happen in the end. Either Edward would tell him to get out of the house, or he would engage in yet another fruitless argument with Matthew and establish his dominance.None of which helped matters in what Matthew was trying to do in the first place.‘Have you ever really cared about us, Father?’ he thought to himself as he approached Edward’s desk, the latter hunched over as he inspected some documents, acting like he just didn’t tell his son to come in just now.‘Or maybe you did, once upon a time, but how about now?’“What do you want?” Edward asked, still not looking up at Matthew as he spoke. He seemed to regard his documents of way more importance than his own son.Though this didn’t surprise Matthew in the least. Typical Edward Laurier, the one who preferred business o
Two weeks later, things calmed down a bit after the incident with Matthew’s mother. For some reason, Martha called him the day after his visit to Edward’s home office and told him that he could take his time with the painting and that there was no rush.“You’re going on a week-long vacation with Allison, aren’t you?” Martha told him over the phone. “You should go ahead and enjoy your time. I think the two of you need a break from here.”“…Okay.” Matthew hesitated for a moment. “Mom?”“Yes?”“Take care of your health.”The phone call turned a little awkward at the end, but he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.The reason his mother rarely blew up or got very angry was because she had a weak immune system. She had nervous habits that intensified whenever she was angry, such as drinking too much alcohol, not sleeping for several nights, and even refusing to eat.She was easily overwhelmed by her emotions, but she often tried to appear strong and calm on the outside. Sh
For the past few days, Allison made it a point to watch over Matthew’s condition as much as she could. When they finally got on a flight to Rosenburg, she was tense the entire time.Matthew reached out and squeezed her hand. “Something the matter?” he asked.“Nothing. Just nerves, that’s all,” she mumbled.“You’re nervous about going to Rosenburg?” he questioned.“Not just that. I’m also worried about you.”He smiled. “There’s no need to worry about me. They’re just headaches, hon. It’ll go away soon, I promise.”Allison found that hard to believe, but she chose not to say anything. If he didn’t want to take this symptom seriously, then she needed to observe him carefully. He had no idea why she was paranoid, but it was probably better that way.When they got off the plane, the sun began its descent, casting a warm, golden glow over the horizon. Allison felt the gentle breeze envelop her in a comforting embrace.She sighed softly as a sense of nostalgia seeped into her. This was the c
The next day, they arrived at the place where the Miracle Well was supposed to be.An old building. A library, to be exact.Allison stood before the tall structure, just gazing at the architecture. It had a weathered façade adorned with intricate carvings and ornate columns, suggesting that it had been there for years. The exterior was constructed with brick walls, and large arched windows lined the sides of the building.The entrance was framed by oak doors, and above them was a stone emblem bearing the library’s name. It had weathered over the years, but was still legible.Penburg Library.A few people came in and out, sunlight shining upon their busy figures. Since it was the only library in the area of this small town, there were adults and students wanting to access the archives. It was a weekend after all, so it was understandably busy.They were currently outside of the building, with Matthew’s car parked nearby. They weren’t right at the front, just at the side, so nobody batt
Allison was devastated.How could she have let this happen? She had sworn to herself that she would look after Matthew, that she would make sure he didn’t suffer the way she had.But she failed. All she could do was stand there, frozen in shock, as he stumbled and fell to the ground. All she could do was scream and hold him in her arms, crying for him to wake up.She had never been so relieved to hear his heart beating steadily.She immediately called for help from passersby, who quickly entered the hospital and alerted the guards and nurses. In no time, Matthew was lifted from the ground and examined by the doctors.He just fainted, they said. A result of stress and mental exhaustion. Probably also from fatigue and hunger.Allison couldn’t bring herself to believe any of it. After all, Matthew’s symptoms were erratic. His headaches did not occur at reasonable times. He ate three times a day, exercised, and managed his stress. He was perfectly healthy.But even though she told the doc