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Chapter_252
Ludwik’s grip on his fork tightened, the metal edge pressing into his palm as his thoughts continued to drift. Elaine’s presence beside him felt increasingly hollow, like a shadow of something that had once seemed meaningful but now only served to highlight what was missing in his life.
Elaine, oblivious to the tension simmering beneath the surface, continued to fill the silence with cheerful chatter. She had always known how to keep a conversation light, never probing too deeply, always aiming to please. But tonight, her words seemed to echo against the walls of Ludwik’s mind, like an incessant buzz he couldn’t escape.
“Ludwik, do you remember our last trip to the vineyard?” Elaine asked, her voice dripping with sweetness. “It was such a perfect getaway, wasn’t it? Just the two of us, relaxing, no worries.”
Ludwik nodded absently, his mind far from the memory she was invoking. He remembered the trip, yes. It had been a pleasant time, but now, in the wake of everything that had transpired, it felt distant, like a lifetime ago.
“I remember,” he murmured, not meeting her eyes.
Elaine’s smile faltered just slightly, but she quickly recovered, as she always did. “You’re quiet tonight. Maybe we should take another trip, somewhere just for us. What do you think?”
Ludwik’s chest tightened. The thought of another trip with Elaine made him feel suffocated, trapped in a life he wasn’t sure he wanted anymore. But what choice did he have? His responsibilities were too heavy, his obligations too binding. And then there was his son—he couldn’t abandon him. He couldn’t make the same mistakes again.
He placed his fork down, finally meeting Elaine’s gaze. “I think we’ve had enough trips for now.”
The words were blunt, and they hung between them, heavy with unspoken meaning. Elaine’s brow furrowed, her eyes searching his face for the hidden meaning she sensed but couldn’t quite pinpoint.
“I just want things to feel… right again,” Ludwik said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. He couldn’t explain it fully—not to her, not even to himself. There was something aching inside of him, something he hadn’t been able to name.
Elaine’s lips curled into a soft, understanding smile. “I know, Ludwik. I know. But we’ll get there. I promise you. Just give us time.”
Her words felt empty, like a fragile bandage over a wound that had yet to heal. Ludwik wanted to believe her, to fall back into the comforting rhythm of his life, but there was a gnawing sense of something irreparable. Something that couldn’t be fixed by time or promises.
As the night stretched on, the weight of his internal conflict pressed on him harder. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could pretend that everything was fine, that he was content with this life. Not when his mind kept returning to Whitney, to the moments they had shared, to the strange, unsettling feelings that had surfaced in the wake of their brief encounter.
But for now, he had to keep playing the part. For his family. For his son. For the life he had built.
Elaine continued to talk, her voice becoming a soft background hum as Ludwik’s mind wandered back to Whitney. The memory of her face, the way she had looked at him, the unspoken understanding that had passed between them—it all seemed to echo in the hollow spaces of his heart. He tried to push it down, tried to force himself to focus on the here and now, but the pull was undeniable.
He had made his choices. He had committed to this life, to this future. And yet, a part of him couldn’t stop wondering what might have been if he had chosen differently.
