Behavior change
Over the course of a few weeks, Darcy wasn’t acting at all. While he normally ran into his classroom full of energy, he began to silently walk everywhere, without a skip in his step. Even his beautiful paintings lacked a certain brilliance.
Instead of using every color he could get his hands on, he used black, white, and shades of blue. He did not go unnoticed by his teachers. They decided they needed to do something about it.
Parent-teacher meeting
For the first time since school started, Darcy’s mother, Ella, was called in for a teacher-parent conference.
She couldn’t for the life of her imagine why she would be invited to a meeting with such urgency. Was her daughter sick? Had she gotten into trouble? Was she being bullied? A plethora of ideas swirled in Ella’s mind, and none of them were pleasant. However, the real problem was nothing she herself could have imagined.
Something is wrong
She sat in the school office and was joined by Darcy’s teacher, Mr. Smith. She begins to explain her daughter’s unusual behavior and the red flags she was raising with the staff. She also showed him the paintings Darcy was producing and how different this all was.
Ella’s heart was beating faster than ever. What could her daughter be going through that could make her act like this? Was she okay? She would discover the problem very soon.
Darcy is interrogated
The two decided it was a good idea to listen to Darcy, so they invited her to sit with them. “Darcy, honey, is there anything you want to tell Mommy about this painting?” She asked with a soft smile, masking her concern.
The little girl sat quietly, looking at the ground. “We love your colorful paintings and miss happy Darcy, what happened to her?” said Mr. Smith. Still, there was no peep from the girl, only the soft sound of a sob coming from her stifled tears. Could she have experienced something terrible?
still silent
“I must apologize, Mr. Smith, our Darcy here usually does the most talking. She must feel bad, right, girl? She said. She turned to her daughter, who was trying not to cry. Something’s not right, Ella thought to herself.
It was one thing to be told that your daughter was behaving differently, but it was another thing to see it in person. However, she would soon discover the truth about what was really going on.
Darcy’s Truth
“Darcy,” Mr. Smith continued one last time. “It is very important that you tell an adult what happened to you. “Can we help?” He continued. Darcy looked at her mother, almost seeking approval, to tell the truth. “What did you see, darling?” She said with a comforting smile.
“Mommy, there’s something hidden in Dad’s office,” Darcy snapped, swallowing her anxiety. She asked her daughter to explain more. “Dad has a secret box,” she continued.
Things escalate
Both Ella and Mr. Smith exchanged a worried look and decided not to press the girl for more answers. Meanwhile, Darcy continued to sob in her mother’s lap. She hugged her daughter and told her that she had done the right thing by telling her.
She kept a brave face before Darcy, but inside she was riddled with worry. What could her husband be keeping in a secret box in her office? She was about to discover the harsh truth.
Director’s Thoughts
“We need to take immediate action,” Smith said, understanding the seriousness of the situation. He then suggested that they get the director involved. Together, they ran to the principal’s office and explained what they had discovered.
“Sir, my daughter discovered something alarming in her father’s office, do you have any advice?” she began. The three of them stood expressionless in front of the director. His answer almost surprised them.
Family issue
The headmaster sat back in his seat in astonishment. “Why are you bringing this up? This is clearly a family matter and has nothing to do with schooling. Stop wasting my time and get out of my office,” he said in a stern tone. He couldn’t have been less helpful if he had tried.
She was left speechless. She turned to Mr. Smith, who simply shrugged in defeat. Little by little, Ella began to realize that she was not going to receive any help from the principal or even from the teacher. She would have to investigate this situation herself.
The denial of Her
After thanking the teacher for her time, Ella put Darcy in the car and took her home. The rain hit the windshield like tears. She was totally distracted while she was driving, but she had to stay focused.
The only thing I could think about was this secret box. What could be so important to her husband that she should keep it from him? She started to think that this was all just a big misunderstanding. However, her bubble would burst very soon.
Curiosity piqued
After tucking Darcy into bed, she poured herself a drink to relax and reached for her phone. She popped up a text message from her husband, James. He was the one who let her know that she would be late from work and that she shouldn’t wait up for him.
Now that she saw him in a suspicious light, a million thoughts ran through her mind at once. Was she really at work? Who was she with? What she decided to do next was beyond unpredictable.
Opportunity arises
She put down her drink, climbed the stairs and walked slowly down the landing towards James’ office. She couldn’t believe what she was doing, but she couldn’t stop. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her. She felt ridiculous: James was a wonderful husband and loving father.
There was no way he could have done something sinister that would jeopardize the wonderful life they had together. Or so she thought.
Find clues
She turned the doorknob as quietly as she could and was now inside his office. Not knowing where to look for clues first, she began rummaging through the drawers of her desk. The drawer was almost full of paper and office supplies, and then she saw it: a large brass key.
His heart skipped a beat when he realized what it was probably for. She held him tightly in her fist as he continued opening cabinets and drawers in the office to find something else. What she saw next completely broke her.
Leather box
There it was. It was a brown leather box. This must have been the one Darcy described seeing. It wasn’t very big, only the size of a small notebook, but it symbolized something enormous: a secret between a husband and his wife.
What kind of things could James have been hiding there? He had to be bad if he didn’t tell his own wife and daughter. He was afraid to think about it, but curiosity was starting to get to him again.
Mixed feelings
With a trembling hand, he put the key into the lock and started to turn it, but then stopped. He was aware that if there was something bad in that box, it could ruin his entire marriage and the life of his daughter. Then he remembered the sadness in Darcy’s eyes in the teacher’s office earlier that day.
Something in this box made her daughter feel this way and she had to know what it was so she could put an end to it. Then she turned the key.
Total disbelief
The key made a satisfying click and the box opened. She took a deep breath before using two hands to lift the lid of the box. She opened her eyes and looked inside the box. At first she didn’t understand what she was looking at. None of the objects seemed related to each other.
Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Nothing in her marriage would ever be the same.
Thinking about family
The first thing that came to mind was Darcy. How could he expose her daughter to this side of her father? Her hero? What would this mean for Darcy’s childhood? He had so many questions. His eyes began to fill to the brim with tears, threatening to run down his cheeks.
This wasn’t the James she knew. This was not the man she married. How was she capable of this?
The discovery
Unable to wait any longer, Ella reached into the box and picked up the first thing she saw: it was a photo of a young blonde who couldn’t have been more than 20 years old. Her face looked very familiar, but she couldn’t. I don’t remember where she knew her from. Her head began to spin.
Along with the photo was James’ passport, with two one-way boarding passes for a flight to Paris booked for that weekend. She felt dizzy and had to hold onto her desk to stay upright. This discovery was too much and much worse than I had imagined. But this was just the beginning.
familiar face
After regaining his balance, he wiped the tears from his eyes and logged on. She took a second look at the blonde girl in the photo and then it hit her. This was her personal assistant, Jessica. She recognized her from the Christmas party she went to with James a few years ago.
She was very charming and helpful every time she and Darcy visited James in the office. Darcy must also have recognized the kind, beautiful lady in the photos and been confused as to why her dad kept them in a secret box. But was her beloved husband really capable of sneaking around behind her back like that? And with his assistant?
Blame game
She fell to her knees and sobbed bitterly. What did this mean for her marriage? There’s no way she can talk her way out of this. There was no turning back from this.
She tried to find a reason to justify her actions and began to blame herself. Maybe if she had spent more time with him in her free time? Maybe if she had shown him more love? However, her feelings of despair were short-lived.
feeling stupid
“How could I be so stupid?” she murmured loudly, wiping away her tears. “Of course there was someone else!” She continued. She redirected her anger towards the box, packing the contents away furiously, thinking of the betrayal she had just experienced.
She thought about all the nights he worked in offices or the foreign conferences he attended for days. Jessica should have been there with him the whole time. She felt like a fool.
Protecting Darcy
She stood up, returned the key and the box to where she found them, slowly walked out of James’ office and closed the door behind her. She passed by Darcy’s bedroom and saw her daughter sleeping peacefully.
She thought about how all this would affect her. As a child, she only deserved good male role models in her life, not those who were disloyal and alienated themselves from their families. She realized that she had to protect her daughter, no matter the cost.
Packing up
She walked quickly and purposefully to their shared room, opened all the closet doors, and began throwing all of James’s clothes into a suitcase. She wasn’t going to stand by and let him humiliate her like this.
She was still in shock that her husband could have betrayed her in such a callous manner and with his personal assistant of all people. She trusted him a lot and it totally backfired on her. She knew what she had to do next.
Facing James
Because Ella was so absorbed in her own sadness, she hadn’t noticed the sound of keys in the front door or the call of her name from the hallway. “She dear, what is all this? “What are you doing?” James said as he stood at the door.
He looked at her with a perplexed expression. Not only was he going to stray from our marriage, but he was going to play dumb and lie about it. If she was still unsure of her decision to kick him out, her reaction only solidified it.
Spanking
“James, I know everything. The box, the photos, the trip to Paris. I found everything in your office,” she said, mustering all the courage he had. Before Ella could say anything else, her face turned red with embarrassment and she began to stutter and panic.
But she continued hurling accusations at him, without even stopping to breathe. She felt good, all the pent up anger caused by what she did was finally being released.
Go out
“Baby, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Those tickets were for you and me. And as for the photos of Jess,” James began in an attempt to convince her to calm down.
But She saw red. “Don’t you dare mention that girl’s name in this house, she is old enough to be your daughter! I’m done packing your things, you can continue from here. And when you’re done, I never want to see you again, and neither will Darcy once she tells him what you did,” she said confidently.
James’ departure
Once Ella’s harsh words sunk in, James realized there was no way out of this. She threw the suitcase in her direction and went to another room, her eyes filling with tears.
Her marriage was definitely over, but at least she knew the truth. James threw the rest of her belongings into the bag, picked it up, and headed to his daughter’s room. He kissed her on the forehead and left on tiptoe. She watched from a distance to make sure she was gone for good as James walked out the front door.
Looking to the future
It’s always sad when a relationship ends, especially when it’s a marriage and children are involved. When someone is such a big part of your life, it’s hard to leave them and walk away, even if they deserve it.
We are glad that Ella sought the truth and found the strength and courage to do what was right for her and Darcy. We hope that whoever she chooses to spend her life with treats her well in the future.
