Remembering they were just over 50 kilometers from the nearest pizzeria, Daniel heaved a long sigh, mulling over how silly Juliana was being today. He merely shook his head in disapproval and then went into the kitchen, made two sandwiches, and afterwards called Juliana to eat. She gave a mild smile and said:
"I admire people who are skilled at that thing, but I never bothered to learn," she said, pointing at the stove. Daniel didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he definitely felt a heightened sense of missing Lucy in that moment.
Aware that Monday was coming and another work week was about to begin, Daniel reconsidered his recent actions. He had dismissed all the mansion's staff, thinking he would no longer live there. Yet, something was urging him to stay at the house. He had never been happy there, but he believed that one day he might be, which led him to call all the employees, asking them to come back.
After watching Daniel make several calls in a row, Juliana coughed lightly and said:
"This is getting annoying, let's watch a romantic movie, shall we?"
Though Juliana's words were paired with a teasing smile that made her even more beautiful and alluring, Daniel simply declined by shaking his head instinctively and then made another call, this time to Nancy, the last on the list.
"Hello Mr. Daniel," she said politely.
"Hi Nancy, I'm calling for the same reason I did the others, because I've changed my mind about my decisions, I'd like you to continue being my employee," he replied with a small smile, recalling how much Lucy had liked Nancy.
"I'm sorry, but I've already found a new job, in the city, and besides, the salary is very good, please find someone else. You are a very good employer and will surely have no trouble finding someone to take my place."
"Being a very good employer is the same as a guy who hardly steps foot in the house and doesn't care about anything?" Daniel pondered silently while he remembered his married life, always avoiding Lucy.
After a few seconds of silence, he said:
"That's unfortunate, but all I can do is wish you success, good night."
After that, Daniel ended the call, went on to indulge his beloved and watched the romantic movie. While there, he couldn't help but remember all the times Lucy had suggested doing something like that; perhaps she didn't enjoy it and just wanted to spend more time with him. Daniel had always laughed off her silly advances. She was meant to be captivating, but Lucy always ended up being the highlight of the evening. Remembering this suddenly made Daniel feel sad.
Around 11 p.m., they finally decided to go to bed, but Daniel didn't dare take Juliana to the same room he once shared with Lucy; he was certain he would feel that odd sensation from earlier.
"I'm going to take a shower; I want to smell nice for you," Juliana said as she ran her fingers over Daniel's bare abdomen.
"I have a terrible headache, and besides, I need to wake up early. There's a lot I have to do at the company, good night," Daniel replied. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and then lay down in bed, leaving Juliana seething with anger.
"It's his head that's aching, not his damn pride," she fumed internally, masking her irritation with a fake smile before heading off for a shower.
Alone in the room, Daniel found himself reflecting on everything that had happened in the last 48 hours, and unintentionally, a sneaky tear escaped him. He was thinking that it would take a while for his life to go back to normal. His grandmother was very important to him, and apparently, so was Lucy.
It was clear that he loved Juliana and had shared many happy moments with her. Lucy, however, was someone he had scarcely interacted with, but her absence was felt. He didn't know why, but he just did.
Lucy was the opposite of everything; Juliana craved luxury and showiness, Lucy yearned for love and companionship. Juliana had the passionate and seductive Daniel, while Lucy got the grumpy and cold one. Juliana received beautiful declarations of love, and Lucy longed to hear even a simple 'good morning.' Making this comparison made Daniel realize how unfair he had been to his wife. It was too late now.
At that moment, Juliana emerged from the bathroom completely naked and lay beside Daniel, thinking he had changed his mind. But Daniel turned away, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.
"Great. I used up gas for nothing. I really thought tonight would be fiery, especially when he drinks," she whispered to herself, then covered her body with the blankets and also tried to sleep.
Despite his efforts, Daniel couldn't drift off to sleep, but if he got out of bed, that would certainly draw Juliana's attention. So he took his phone from the nightstand and in silence searched for something to occupy his mind. Just then, a notification arrived on his phone, alerting him that Beto had commented on a post on Facebook.
Driven by curiosity, Daniel opened the app to check it out. Lucy had posted a message to Daniel a few days earlier, on his birthday. Beto congratulated his friend and added that he wished Lucy the best because she deserved all the good in the world.
Upon visiting Lucy's profile, he realized she had sent a friend request and even followed him on Instagram, but he'd never reciprocated. Daniel began to look through all she had posted, numerous writings for her love, heartfelt words, and expressions of devotion, yet in the photos his face never appeared, probably because she had taken them surreptitiously, as if it was wrong. Reflecting on this, Daniel felt a tight knot form in his throat. Only now did he recognize how much Lucy had suffered in their relationship, in which she had fought alone.
He liked some of her posts and even saved some photos, then he left her profile and browsed through some friends' updates and even left a few comments. At that moment, he thought he should thank Lucy for the birthday greetings. He entered her profile again only to find that she had deleted all her posts. He searched everywhere and found nothing; evidently, Lucy received notifications of Daniel liking her posts and because she didn't want any closeness, she simply erased everything.
"Good luck," he murmured quietly and stopped using his phone. Ready or not, life must go on, but is it really that simple?
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