Haunted House Part 6

Now I find myself in a different place, although after observing my surroundings, I realize I'm still at Erlena and Roul's house. However, the situation has changed; the little baby I saw earlier has now grown up. He is five years old. Now I have no doubt, the ghost of the boy I met last night is indeed Rory. Erlena and Rory are playing in the front yard, and it turns out Roul is on a video call. "When will Dad come home? Rory wants to meet," Rory said, making me touched to hear it. Apparently, even when Rory is five years old, Erlena and Roul are still apart; Roul has not brought his wife and child to London with him. "Yes, Dad will be home soon. Dad is also eager to meet Rory. Dad misses Rory very much." "Oh, are you coming home just because you miss Rory? Don't you miss me too?" Erlena asked, looking offended. Roul laughed. "Of course, I miss you too, Darling." "Really? But you didn't say that earlier. You didn't say you miss me too." "You're making things up; of course, I'm coming home because I miss you and Rory." "Hm, is that so? I thought you didn't care about me anymore. You rarely call or send messages to me now. You only contact me to see Rory through video calls." Once again, Roul laughed. "I've explained it to you. I'm busy here, so I rarely hold my phone. I'm sorry, Darling." "Huh, annoying. Well, hurry home." "I'll be home next week. We'll meet soon." I don't know what else they talked about because after that, I moved again. Well, not exactly moving to a different place, but rather moving to another time because I'm still at Roul and Erlena's house. It turns out Roul kept his promise because he's already back home. I see him playing toy cars with Rory. The toy cars that hit me when I was in Rory's room; apparently, those toy cars are Rory's favorite. He likes to ride them, drive the cars because they can be driven. "Rory, let's go to bed. It's late. We can play again tomorrow," Erlena reminded, and I saw Rory whining because he still wanted to play with his father. But Erlena insisted on taking the child to his room. I followed Erlena and Rory going up the stairs to Rory's room on the upper floor. "I'm not sleepy yet, Mom," Rory said. Erlena ignored the child's refusal; she helped Rory lie down and covered his body with a blanket. "It's late now. It's time for you to sleep. You can play again tomorrow morning." "Dad is still at home tomorrow, right, Mom?" Erlena nodded. "Yes, Dad is still on vacation. He's still at home." "Great, I want to play with Dad again tomorrow." "Yes, you can play with Dad as much as you want tomorrow because now it's time to sleep." "But I'm not sleepy." "Close your eyes; you'll fall asleep right away." "Huh, Mom." Rory whined, still not wanting to sleep. "Enough now. Mom will leave first." "Where is Mom going?" "Mom also wants to sleep. It's late, Darling." Erlena lovingly kissed her son's forehead. "Good night. Mom loves Rory very much." "I love Mom too. Good night, Mom." Erlena smiled sarcastically before turning off the light in Rory's room and walking away. I continued to follow Erlena because I was sure something would happen, and that's why Erlena's ghost showed me these memories. My steps and Erlena's came to a halt when we heard a voice. It was Roul, apparently talking to someone on the phone. The man was in his office. "Yes, be patient, Darling. I'm looking for an opportunity to talk to my wife." Erlena's hand, which was about to open the door to Roul's office, instantly stopped upon hearing Roul say this to someone on the other end of the phone. Darling? I'm sure I heard Roul calling that person darling. What's going on? Could Roul be having an affair behind Erlena's back? Erlena fell silent with a flushed face. I could understand what she might be feeling, catching her husband on the phone with his lover. Erlena acted wisely by opening the door slightly, creating a small gap. Through the gap, Roul's voice became clearer, and Erlena and I could now listen more closely to Roul's conversation with his lover. "How could I break my promise to you? You know I love you." Now I had no doubt; Roul was indeed talking to his lover if I listened to his words. "I miss you too; it feels like I want to return to London soon. Yes, as soon as possible, I will tell my wife that I no longer love her, and I will soon divorce her because I want to marry you. The only reason I come home is to meet my son." I couldn't imagine how hurt Erlena must be right now because as a fellow woman, I also felt hurt hearing Roul's words. Perhaps unable to bear the pain in her heart any longer, Erlena entered Roul's office without knocking first. She walked up to Roul, who was still talking to his lover on the phone, and forcibly and roughly took the phone from Roul's hand. "Hey, slut, how dare you seduce my husband. Aren't there any single men who want you? Are you so shameless that you engage in a relationship with a man who already has a wife and child?" Erlena shouted at Roul's lover. Roul looked angry, trying to snatch his phone back from Erlena's hand, but before the phone could transfer back to Roul, Erlena threw it very hard to the floor, making the sound of the screen breaking audible. "Erlena! You've gone too far!" Roul scolded while slapping Erlena's face very hard. The slap was so hard that the corner of Erlena's lips tore, causing blood to flow. One side of Erlena's face also reddened, showing the mark of Roul's slap. "Who has gone too far? You're the one who has gone too far by secretly having an affair with another woman behind my back. What's so good about that slut? She must be a cheap, shameless woman." "That's enough!" Roul still spoke in a loud volume, scolding Erlena, making his voice echo in the house. "Why? Are you angry because I insulted your lover, huh?" Erlena snorted while folding her arms in front of her chest. "I remember very well you promised me before going to London that you wouldn't be tempted by other women. You promised not to turn away, let alone to have an affair. But what's the reality? You lied. You broke your promise. You scoundrel!" Erlena pounded Roul's broad chest hard. Roul, who was filled with anger, caught Erlena's hands, gripping them tightly, causing Erlena to wince in pain. "I'm sick of you, Erlena. You're too possessive and restrictive. You're also incredibly boring and spoiled. You always force your will without ever understanding my situation. All this time, I've always tried to understand you, grant all your wishes, including buying this house." "I never told you to buy this house!" Erlena yelled, attempting to release herself from Roul's grip, but her efforts were in vain because Roul's strength was clearly greater than hers. Roul had no intention of releasing his grip on Erlena's hands. "You always complain when we lived in my parents' house, urging us to leave as soon as possible. I'm tired and fed up with it, so I had to use all my savings to buy this house. Have you ever once thought about my condition, Erlena? Have you ever asked what I want and plan?" Roul snorted, shaking his head several times. "Never, right? You always think about and prioritize yourself." "I'm just expressing my grievances because of your mother's cruel attitude towards me. Who else should I pour it out to if not you? You're my husband. It's impossible for me to tell it to someone else, right?" Roul sighed, his lips forming a sardonic smile. "Since marrying you, I've always felt pressured. You demand too much. Especially when I'm in London, you're so possessive and jealous. I feel restrained, not free because you always contact me." "Oh, so you don't like it when I contact you? Why didn't you say it openly?" "I've said it many times. I'm busy and have a lot of work, hoping you understand my situation, but my hope has never been fulfilled. You always incessantly contact me until I can't breathe and live freely." Erlena's eyes welled with tears; I'm sure she didn't expect this to be Roul's true feeling all along. The man always lied as if everything was fine, but in reality, he was hiding his true feelings. "But I'm lucky to meet Nirina in London. She's different from you. She's caring and really understands me. I'm happy and comfortable with her. Now I realize what my mother said is true; I made a big mistake marrying you. I'm so unlucky to have a wife like you. I will soon divorce you and marry Nirina. I will take Rory; he will live with me and Nirina." Erlena widened her eyes, tears now streaming down her face. "Don't think you can take Rory away. He's my son; you can't separate him from me." "Did you forget that Rory is my son too? I also have the right to take care of Rory. Moreover, I'm sure Rory will be much better off living with me and Nirina." "No! Don't you dare try to take Rory away. He's my son!" "What can you give Rory? You have nothing, Erlena. You and your family are very poor; how can you afford Rory's life and meet his needs? It's different if he lives with me and Nirina; we will give him the best." Erlena continued to shake her head; she certainly didn't want to be separated from Rory. I could understand Erlena's feelings now; what mother would want to be separated from her child born into the world. "I will contact a lawyer immediately and prepare divorce papers for you. Wait for it, and I hope you sign the divorce papers. Understand?" Roul walked towards the door; it seemed like he intended to leave. However, Erlena didn't stay quiet; she hurriedly chased after Roul. "Where are you going, you bastard?!" "Are you still asking?" Roul formed a sardonic smile full of mockery. "Of course, I'm going to take Rory away." "No! I won't let you take Rory away. Step over my dead body if you want to take Rory away!" Erlena tried to restrain Roul from leaving the room and taking Rory as he said. A fight ensued between the husband and wife. I wanted to intervene, but as usual, there was nothing I could do in this world of memories except watch. Erlena, who was extremely angry, scratched Roul's neck until it bled. I'm sure Roul's skin and blood stuck to Erlena's deliberately long nails. However, Roul began to resist; he choked Erlena until she started having difficulty breathing. Erlena continued to struggle; she scratched Roul's arms until they bled, but he still didn't release his grip on Erlena's neck. After that, an unexpected thing happened. Roul dragged Erlena, who he was still choking, to the wall where an antique dagger was displayed. Roul took the dagger, then mercilessly slit Erlena's throat. Now I understand the reason Erlena's ghostly appearance is so terrifying, with her neck nearly severed; apparently, Roul was the one who killed her. Her own husband who cut her throat until she died in a pool of blood. This is horrifying; I didn't expect Roul to be the perpetrator of this crime when I initially thought someone else had killed Erlena. A lingering question still dances in my mind: what will happen next, considering that Rory also becomes a wandering ghost? I feel the answer will soon be revealed.