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"The Unexpected Return"

She was sitting on the beige carpeted floor of the motel room crying unstoppably like a baby. There were shattered pieces of china and blood all over the floor. Kim was sitting crouched in front of a corpse of a thin and hideously scarred man. In her hand was a small note, almost completely covered in blood. It read, “Kim I was innocent. I came here to see you for one last time. Your daughter is very beautiful, just like you, and Ben is a good man, just like you described him to me once. I wish you three a happy life. I won’t be here anymore. I am dying of lung disease. I love you very much. Goodbye.” Her husband Ben walked into the room shocked to see the sight before him. “Kim, Are you alright? What happened to Mr. Ross? Oh my god he’s dead!! Why are you crying?” She was not in a state to answer. All she did was hand over the note to her husband. He was clueless and even more confused. He embraced her to make her feel better and asked for an explanation. He said curiously, “do you know this man? I don’t understand...” Kim got a hold of her self and sat on the bed staring with swollen eyes at the scarred face of the dead man in awe. She said after a long wait, “Ben, I lied to you. I don’t know why I didn’t tell you. I should have. I’m sorry…this man was my husband.”
Kim continued with her story… “Ben this is not Mr. Ross. This is Harvey. I could not recognize him when he checked in on the day before. The truth is that I was married to him and never got divorced. I ran away from him for my safety. I thought he was a murderer. It was on the same day I met you on the ship. That night I lied to you because I wanted to leave the past behind me. I was in need of a new beginning. It was you who I loved; I didn't think it would matter. I wanted to start afresh, forgetting everything that happened. When you went away to work in the navy promising that we would get married when you return my mother got me married to Harvey. I could not defy her because I loved her too much and it was her dying wish. I could not shatter all her hopes and dreams so I agreed to marry Harvey despite my love for you. I had lost all hope on the dreams we shared together and lived with Harvey for five years trying to forget our love but I couldn’t.
Harvey was the head of the factory my father used to work in. The only reason my mother got me married to him was because she thought he would be able to take care of me and keep me happy because he was a rich man. He seemed like a nice man but I never trusted him because the truth is I never really knew him. The truth is none of us did. He told me he loved me but I never loved him back. I told him about you and that I would never love another man but it seemed like he still hoped that one day I would love him back.
One day when he was away on a business trip and I was home alone I decided to take a walk to the supermarket. When I was walking back home I was stunned to see Harvey’s picture on a wanted poster in front of the police station. Apparently he was wanted for a serious crime. He had killed an old woman. I was scared. I was all alone and did not know what to do. That is when I decided to leave. I made my safety a reason to leave him. He was never angry or unjust with me. The truth is I used that as my opportunity to think of him as a bad person. I know I was wrong now. I did not ask for the truth. I used that as a justification for my own actions. I did not care whether he was a criminal or not and so I left, leaving him a note saying that I was never to return.
That is when we met on your cargo ship. You were like a silver lining around all the grey clouds in front of me. A new hope was formed, hope to start a new life and forget about Harvey. That is why I chose not to tell you that night. I’m sorry Ben. I feel guilty for not telling you and even worse for doing this to Harvey. Please forgive me.” Ben kissed her softly on her forehead and said, “Its okay darling, I can understand what a shock this must be to you. I’m so sorry. It’s not your fault Kim. Let’s put all this behind us…you know I love you.”
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