Startseite / Emotional Realism Kurzgeschichte / Three Months of Mourning / Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 10

Alle Kapitel von Three Months of Mourning: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 10

12 Kapitel

Chapter 1

"I appreciate the concern, Sloane. But I'm not afraid of gossip." My tone remained even, with a faint smile still on my face.Sloane Hayes' smile froze instantly, displeasure nearly spilling from her eyes. She opened her mouth to say more when Donovan Marlowe, who had been eating with his head down, suddenly coughed."Enough. We're eating. Why bring this up now?"Sloane closed her mouth and shot me a vicious glare, clattering her utensils extra loudly.I ignored their expressions, picked up my utensils, and ate my food slowly without saying another word. Only the harsh sound of utensils clashing filled the dinner table.Late that night, I woke up parched and got up to get water from the living room.As I passed Sloane and Donovan's bedroom, their voices carried clearly through the door."Did you see his attitude? He's completely unreasonable!" It was Sloane's voice, anxious and angry. "I was planning to clear out his bedroom for Maya to use. But now, look at this. He's obviously

Chapter 2

"Besides, we have a house. What's wrong with the family squeezing in together? We can fit. Why waste money renting from someone else?"Donovan chimed in from the side. "Arya, does your husband look down on us for being poor?"I did not want to put Arya in a difficult position at the time, so I let it drop. However, now, less than three months after Arya died in that car accident, they were already eager to kick me out and take over my house.Only now did I understand. When they said 'home', they had long since treated this place as theirs.I stared at my name on the property deed, thinking back to their conversation earlier.I pulled out my phone and carefully photographed the deed from cover to cover, uploading everything to cloud storage for backup.After finishing, I hid the property deed in an even more discreet location.…The next day at dinner, I had barely sat down and taken a few bites when Sloane started sighing heavily. "Ugh, business at the factory has been terrible

Chapter 3

Donovan's voice carried anger too. "Keep your voice down. Don't let him hear you.""I wish he would hear! Maybe then he'd have the sense to move out.""How was I supposed to know he'd be like this? I thought he'd give in to my mom! Who knew he'd be so stubborn!""So, what do we do now? We can't get rent from him. Maya's starting elementary school soon and still doesn't have her own room. She can't keep sharing with us forever."I stopped listening to the rest. It was just more passive-aggressive complaining about me. I rolled over, closed my eyes, and went back to sleep.…That morning, I had fieldwork with the afternoon off. I came home early without telling anyone. The moment I opened the front door, I saw my bedroom door slightly ajar. My mother-in-law was hunched over, rummaging frantically through my nightstand."Mom, did you find it yet? The property deed should be in a red folder. It's hard to miss."Her phone sat on the pillow with the speaker on. Sloane's voice came th

Chapter 4

Sloane shot to her feet, pointing at me. "This has always been the Marlowe family's house. Asking you to leave is perfectly reasonable. And we're introducing you to someone for your own good, to give you somewhere to belong. Don't be ungrateful!""Let me make this clear right now. Either you remarry or you move out. Otherwise, don't blame us for not being nice about it!" Donovan's tone was harsh.I took a deep breath. "You need to understand. This house..."Before I could finish, my mother-in-law, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly went limp and collapsed straight to the floor."Mom!"Everyone froze in shock.When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics said only one family member could ride along. Without thinking, I got in.After a quick examination at the hospital, the doctor said, "The patient is fine. She just fainted from stress and emotional distress. Her blood pressure spiked."She clearly has something on her mind. As her family, try to be more accomm

Chapter 5

Less than half a minute after I hung up, the sound of sirens approached from a distance and stopped downstairs. Soon, two uniformed police officers came upstairs.Sloane peeked through the peephole and saw the police had actually arrived. Her expression changed. She hurriedly opened the door, plastering on a look of wounded innocence."Officers, thank goodness you're here!" She pointed at me standing outside, her voice breaking into sobs."This is my brother-in-law. My sister-in-law just passed away not long ago, and he's already been... fooling around! Now, he's here causing trouble and trying to steal our family's house. He wants to kick us out!"The officers looked at me, then at her, their expressions serious. "Who called the police?""I did." I stepped forward, speaking calmly."Officer, I made the call. This house is mine. My name alone is on the property deed. While I was out, they changed my lock without permission. They're illegally occupying my residence. I'm requesti

Chapter 6

Donovan saw the police officers at the door, and his expression changed. He immediately put on an ingratiating yet awkward smile."Officers, this is a misunderstanding. It's all a misunderstanding!" He pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tried to offer them. The officer waved him off.He sheepishly withdrew his hand and explained nervously, "This... is my brother-in-law. We're all family here. It's just a little disagreement. I'm sorry you had to come all this way, but it's an internal family matter. We can handle it ourselves. No need to trouble you officers.""Family matter?" I looked at him. "Mr. Marlowe, that's not what your wife just said. She said this is the Marlowe family's house and has nothing to do with me. She told me to get lost. And while I was out, she changed my lock without permission."This is illegal entry into a residence. It's a criminal matter, not something you can brush off as a family disagreement."Donovan's face flushed red and t

Chapter 7

Donovan sighed and continued playing the victim. "I know we were wrong before. We didn't think things through when we spoke and acted. For Mom's sake, and for Maya's sake, since she's just a kid, could you give us a little more time?"Once my mom feels better and we find a suitable place, we'll move out for sure. We absolutely won't overstay our welcome!"Sloane quickly added, "Right, right. Graham, it was my fault before. I apologize. Please be the bigger person and don't hold it against us. We promise we won't bother you anymore. We'll just live here quietly. Is that okay?"I looked at their groveling faces now, compared to how aggressive they had been earlier when they changed the locks and tried to throw me out. The irony was almost laughable."No." I said that one word with absolutely no room for negotiation."You!" Sloane's expression darkened.I spoke calmly, my gaze sweeping over them both. "How you manage is your problem. I won't let you stay in this house any longer. Th

Chapter 8

After signing the intent to purchase agreement and receiving a deposit, I never went back to that 'home' again. I found a short-term rental at a hotel near my office and moved all my important belongings and documents there.On the afternoon of the third day, I received a tearful phone call from Sloane. Her voice trembled with unmistakable terror."Graham! Did you... Did you sell the house?" She was practically screaming."Some men showed up today. They looked vicious. They said the house is theirs now! They told us to get out immediately! Was this you?""Yeah." I leaned against the window of my hotel room and watched the traffic below, my tone casual. "It's my house. I can sell it if I want. Is there a problem?""You... How can you be so cruel? You're trying to destroy our entire family!" She started sobbing. "They... They threw all our stuff out! They said if we don't leave, they'll use force! Graham, come talk to them! You can't sell this house! Come here now!""I told the new

Chapter 9

My heart sank. I gestured an apology to the manager and got up to leave.Before I even reached the first-floor reception area, I heard a shrill wailing that drew the attention of many employees."Everyone, look! Look at this heartless man!"Sloane sat on the floor with her hair all disheveled, sobbing dramatically as tears and snot ran down her face. "My sister-in-law just died, and he's already running around with other women! He kicked our whole family out, including his sick mother-in-law! He stole our family's house and sold it for cash. He's trying to destroy us!"Seeing me appear, she got even more worked up. She pointed at me and screamed, "Graham! You have no conscience! Arya's body is barely cold! This is how you treat her brother and her mother?! Are you even human?!"A few colleagues and passing clients whispered among themselves, their eyes shifting between her and me.I walked up to her. Without losing my temper, I calmly told the nearby security guard, "Call the pol

Chapter 10

Once, I even heard colleagues 'quietly' gossiping in the break room. "I never would have guessed he was that kind of person. He always seemed so decent.""You never really know someone, do you? To treat his wife's family so terribly..."I walked in carrying my cup. They immediately fell silent, looking awkward. That was when I understood. Sloane's scene at my office was just the beginning.Without a permanent solution, this would never end. My work and personal life would know no peace.I did not confront the people spreading rumors. That would be pointless. I contacted a lawyer directly instead.Gathering evidence went smoothly. The security footage from downstairs captured her foul language and slander in full. Several colleagues were willing to testify, and the police report from her disturbance also served as proof.My lawyer told me her behavior constituted defamation. She had seriously damaged my reputation and substantially interfered with my work and life. I could file a

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