Perfidious Paramour

CW: mental abuse, child murder

We are merely ants who believe the world to be ours. But surely no ant would ever hurt its own kind to portray its view of reality. Then why do we humans step over each other for our desire to be seen better than those around us?

The story that I am about to tell you is of a girl and a boy, of a man and a woman, of love and hate. Their names are not important to the tale. 

A lot of places to choose from but I choose the start:

                                                                                       A boy born in a house full of servants, maids and butlers. Love from a mother, support from a father who cared enough not to spoil. The boy was raised with care, quality, love and respect, put in the finest of schools, given education of the highest quality. The boy was taught- he knew nothing but success. Groomed to be number 1.

However, there was one thing that lowered his position. A girl born with a similar silver spoon. A girl he would remember for the rest of his life. Who would haunt him forever. Who lived next door. He would remember her from the neighbourhood, where she would beat him at every game they would play. He would remember her from school, where he would always come second and she would always be on that step higher. Even in the life of college, where he strived to be the highest, the list showed him 2nd, under her. Every time he would walk back home, his once supporting, loving father would now berate him for failing to reach the top, for losing to a girl.

The boy was plagued by stress- tortured throughout his youth but once he got out, once the boy became a man, he left the sad life and made his way to the big city. He got a big job, slowly climbing the corporate ladder.

But the dream came to a tragic halt when the shadow which haunted him his whole life decided to return. That perfect little girl had returned but in the shape of a fully grown, beautiful woman. She was back, back to put the boy back in his place, under her.

He saw her and it scared him because she was here not for him but his job. For years, the man had worked hard to reach where he was. He worked day and night, took no holidays, he even worked weekends! but she just walked in at the position he had been begging for. She was now corporate, his boss.

Why was she here? Why? He knew why, to prove that she is perfect but he wasn’t going to let that happen, no. He had to prove that she wasn’t perfect. For the first time in his life, he had to prove it!

That woman had perfect hair, she had the perfect, most beautiful face, the perfect voice, the perfect accent, the perfect clothes, the perfect car. She could sing, dance, cook, clean, knit, swim, climb, you name it, she could do it. but there was one thing, one imperfection, something that could be exposed. That one thing, that imperfection was that she was head over heels in love with him.

So that was his plan; to burden her with his imperfections, prove to the world that Ms. Perfect had an imperfection, but for this to work, the plan had to be perfect.

Of course, she said yes.

From day 1, he treated her with no more respect than he would give to those servants back at home. He never appreciated her, never helped her, never cared for her, never said I love you, he never said anything. He gave her glares which resembled those of a predator towards its prey. He burdened her with all the chores and even made her leave her job.

But she wouldn’t break. The love this woman had for this horrible man, just wouldn’t let her hate him and this infuriated him, not because she kept on loving but because somewhere deep down inside, he started feeling for her what she felt for him.

The smile she greeted him with every morning and the smile she greeted him with every time he would return home, slowly started putting a smile on his face. 

He tried to prove her imperfect, make her hate him, make her life hell but she still wouldn't do it, she would not hate. This drove him insane. It made him do things that he otherwise would have never done. He knew that she would never let him go. So instead of hurting her, he decided to hurt the thing she loved the most, himself!

He started arriving home late.

She still didn’t mind.

He started drinking, something he had previously frowned upon,

Once again, nothing.

He put on weight.

She said nothing.

He quit his job.

Still no hate.

After all had failed, he decided to do the one thing which was guaranteed to put a signature on divorce papers. He was going to have an affair. 

But before he could make the move, something happened. He hears something. Something coming from the other side of the bed. A sight which made his heart melt, That perfect woman was crying, weeping in her sleep. The tears proved to be contagious and so he began to cry as well. She was crying because she was hurt but he cried because he hurt.

He went to her, wiped the tears from her eyes. She woke up to see what she thought was a dream, the man she loved, loving her back. They both cried on each other's shoulders that night.

So after all that, it was a happy ending.

Well... not quite. 

You see, real life is no fairy tale. The only ending is death. Things good or bad, tend to fester in the minds of the masses. 

6 months is how long it lasted, how long it took for things to go back to madness.

She was always perfect. The madness was jealous. He needed to end this before he lost his sanity. He had to ask her for the divorce but no, the husband wouldn’t let him

A dual personality; The husband vs the Madness- Good vs Bad. Who will win?

Sadly, in the world we live in, bad usually triumphs over good. Not because bad is stronger but because bad needs no reason and bad will not hesitate to lie- to cheat. 

But not today. Today, the good will not let the bad hurt him. the husband will not succumb to the madness. So the madness plays a little game. It will not ask for a divorce. I mean, in the end, he will look bad if he asks for it. This was about showing to the world that she was imperfect.

The madness had another plan. No longer will he try to prove her imperfect. He was going to make her more perfect than she ever was. He was going to put her in the most perfect state known to humanity, the state in which you can do no wrong- you are flawless. The madness was going to KILL her!

He got a knife from the kitchen. He gripped it hard in his hand, questioning himself after each breath he took. The madness might have taken over but the husband was still in there.

Sweat dripped down from his forehead like an open faucet as he stepped out of the kitchen. 

The woman’s voice is heard, “Honey! I have something for you” He wipes off the sweat and dawns a sadistic smile.

He replies in a joyous tone, “I am coming!” hiding the knife behind his back.

He walks into the room. She is across the room from him on the other side of the bed. He walks near her clutching the knife harder than before. He slowly raises his hand and…………. “I am pregnant!”

His eyes tear up and he falls to hug her. The knife drops to the floor.

You see, even though the bad- madness was stronger than the good- husband, once the father was born, things changed. that one feeling, that third person inside this one body, changed everything. Maybe this is it. The change which will make the madness go away.

Maybe…

Just maybe...

9 months later,

                                            The man is waiting outside, his heart pumping. Will it be a girl or will it be a boy? That does not matter as long as the baby is healthy. Oh, how the mix of excitement and fear can make you feel weird.

Out walks a nurse, “Congratulations, it’s a boy”

The boy is beautiful, healthy and has the cutest blue eyes. 

Tears fall from the man's eye as he walks to the woman with the baby in his arms. She looks at him from the bed giving a tired smile.  The man leans forward and puts the baby into the woman’s arms. He whispers into her ear, “You are the most perfect person in the whole wide world.” He then starts crying and falls to the floor. The confused woman looks towards her baby but finds no blue eyes, but in their place, a blood-dripping knife.