Chapter 5

When can I be able to fly free?

Nora

I took my time getting ready. My beautiful black hair takes time and effort to make it look radiant. I let my hair down, my waves falling gently over my shoulders, reaching the middle of my back. The dress I chose hangs loosely, reaching mid-thigh. It is not long, but it is not short either. This one has no sleeves and the neck is V-shaped, so it shows my feminine attributes in a sexy way but without being vulgar.

Not that I dress up for someone in particular. More than anything, I want to show everybody that I have not been defeated. I want to look my best. In this way, the inferiority that Erik caused me with his infidelities would not weigh me down so much. And it would give me more courage to face people who know my situation. By now, I think everyone knows what we were up to. After a while, I heard someone knock on my door. I knew it was time. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my handbag, with everything a woman could need. I opened the door without seeing who it was and came out. I went downstairs and Erik was waiting for me at the exit door.

When he saw me, his eyes darkened, and his gaze became dangerous. I’m used to his mood swings by now. To me, he was ridiculous. He opened the door for me to get out first. We didn’t exchange a single word from the time we got in the car until we reached The Collins’ house. The journey took us about forty minutes. I waited in the car until Erik got out and opened the door for me. He held out his hand for me to take it. But like all other occasions, I did not accept it and got out without his help. I know this infuriates him, but at the moment, he couldn’t do anything to me. But returning to his house, it will be another story.

When we reached the front door, he rang the bell, and immediately the help opened it and welcomed us. Upon entering, I observed that everything remained the same. Except for some small changes in the decoration. A few steps from where we were, The Collins were talking to a couple of entrepreneurs. I’ve seen them before. But I had never struck up a conversation with them. When the Collins saw us, they apologized and walked over to us. My mother had a smile on her face when she saw me. And me, I looked the other way. Charles greeted Erik first. As always, he was always first. That no longer mattered to me, they were nothing to me. After exchanging a few words. Finally, he addressed me.

“Daughter, you are beautiful. I haven’t seen you for a long time.” He was going to kiss me on the cheek, but I backed away, avoiding him. His hypocritical smile faded, then he only shook his head in frustration. Erik saw this. And he immediately took my arm and discreetly squeezed it so much that I couldn’t contain the little cry of pain that escaped my lips.

He leaned close to my ear and said in a low voice, “Nora, behave yourself, I don’t want incidents.” After that, he released me. My mother came up to me and hugged me. But of course, I didn’t return the hug. It was as if she was hugging a wooden post. They didn’t get my affection, ever again. I swear long time ago. She looked at me and her face looked disappointed. After that, they started talking, as if they were the best of friends. I preyed on that moment to escape from them and went to the terrace. I always like to spend time here. The walls were glass, so the view of the garden was incredible. Inside, it was all full of plants and there was a room with a giant television hanging from one of the walls.

I went to the couch and turned on the TV. I chose whatever program seemed interesting to me, and that was how I spent most of the time. Until unfortunately I was interrupted by Charles. He came over and sat on the couch across from me. I kept watching TV. He didn’t exist to me, no matter how many beatings Erik gave me or how many days I spent in the basement. Nothing could make me accept them again, nothing. He cleared his throat to get my attention, but I was still staring at the screen. Until he spoke. “Nora, daughter, we cannot continue like this, many years have passed. You need to get overall this resentment you have towards us. We are your parents.”

Hearing the words “we are your parents” I felt the bile reach my oesophagus. I wanted to vomit. How dare he call himself a father, having done what he did to me. No, a true father would never do it. So I remained silent. He didn’t deserve anything from me, not even spitting in his face. No, he was a stranger to whom I would not give my time. He began to get frustrated with my lack of response. He should be used to this, the same thing always happens. But it seems that he still keeps hope that I will forget his betrayal and fold my hands. Then he grabbed the control of the TV and turned it off. But I kept my gaze on the screen.

“NORA, ENOUGH.” He yelled at me, grabbing my arm, but I managed to free myself immediately. His touch burned me. I got up slowly and left the terrace. In the distance, I could only hear him calling out my name. After that, I decided to go to the bathroom. I had spent a lot of time sitting on the terrace and my bladder was already complaining. Two bathrooms are located on the ground floor. I decided to use one of them. The purpose of those was to attend to visitors. The top ones could be used by family members or friends. However, I was just a stranger in this house. After I finished, I opened the door and walked out. To my dismay, Erik was outside waiting for me. After swallowing hard, I tried to gather what remaining strength I still had.