"Guess who I saw today…" Maleek groaned as he slumped onto the broken couch that had carried too many sad evenings. His body dropped heavily, as though the weight of the encounter still sat on his shoulders.
Lisa, still smelling faintly of dish soap, wiped her hands on her wrapper and walked toward him. "Who did you see? You know I'm terrible at guessing."
He didn't answer. His eyes were far away, drowning in old memories.
"Honey… talk to me," she urged, sitting gently beside him.
Maleek swallowed. "McDon. I saw McDon walking toward the farmland I work on…"
Lisa's reaction was instant. She stood, her chest rising sharply. "Don? What does that evil man want again?" Bitterness trembled in her voice.
"Don't think too much about it. He is past and gone," she whispered, kneeling before him. She held his hands, grounding him. "See him as a dead man and move on."
But Maleek lowered his head. The memories he buried deep began clawing their way back — the betrayal, the helplessness, the loss of years.
"Lisa… I'm hurt," he muttered.
He rose suddenly and fell into her arms, sobbing like a broken child. Lisa held him tightly, rubbing his back in slow circles, giving calm where the world had given him chaos.
She didn't rush him. She didn't tell him to stop crying. She simply stayed, the way she always had.
When he finally slept, exhausted from the storm inside him, Lisa gently laid him down on the couch. Her hands trembled as she picked up her phone.
She dialed Ella.
"Ella…" she whispered.
"Mom? Why are you crying? What happened?" Ella's voice rose sharply.
"Your dad saw McDon today," Lisa choked out. "It brought back everything. He looks bad, Ella… so bad."
Ella pressed her hand against her chest, breath unsteady. Tears welled up instantly.
"Mom…" she whispered. "I'll be there tomorrow. Please have some rest."
Lisa nodded even though Ella couldn't see her. "Alright, Ella."
She ended the call and held the phone against her chest like her heart needed support.
Through it all, Lisa never complained. She carried her pain with grace, letting her strength be her husband's refuge.
Ella sat alone in her dark room, her tears falling silently.
"I hate you, McDon… I really do," she whispered, curling into her bed. Her chest ached, her mind restless.
A knock came.
"Ma'am… you're late for work," the house help said softly.
Ella sat up quickly. "Oh my God…" She rushed into the bathroom. "I overslept," she muttered.
When she stepped out, she saw several missed calls from her mother.
"Mom… I'm on my way," she said immediately when Lisa answered.
She rushed out of the house, telling the help she might not return for a week. Her mind raced faster than her car.
When she arrived home, she ran inside, breathless.
"Mom…" she whispered as she entered the living room. Maleek's head rested on Lisa's lap, and he looked smaller than she remembered defeated.
Ella dropped into a chair.
"Mom told me everything."
She inhaled deeply. "Mom… Dad… I haven't been honest with you."
Both parents looked at her with tired eyes.
"I've been working with McDon for some time," she confessed. "And… I had to enter a two-year marriage contract with his son so he doesn't lose his inheritance."
Maleek sat upright, eyes narrowing. "He did that?"
"Yes, Dad. And the reward would change everything for us. I didn't know he was Don's son at first."
She wiped her tears.
"Now I run one of his companies… and he still doesn't know I'm your daughter."
Silence fell.
Lisa squeezed her hand. "Ella… Don won't spare you if he finds out."
"I know what I'm doing, Mom," Ella whispered, voice steady.
Maleek groaned. "I wish I could tell you to stop…"
"But what would you gain?" Ella cut in gently. "You've spent your life paying for a crime you didn't commit."
Her eyes burned with fury.
"This is why he fooled you, Dad. You're too soft. He took advantage of you and I will make him pay."
Nothing, not even her father's pain could shift the fire in her voice.