THE LIES THAT BUILT MY FAMILY

2

Chapter two 

Philip slowly opened his eyes. For a few seconds, he didn't know where he was.

 He stared at the ceiling and frowned.

 This wasn't his matrimonial bedroom. He tried to sit up, but the moment he lifted his head, a sharp pain ran through it.

 “Ah…” he inhaled sharply. 

 He immediately held his forehead which was pounding badly.

 “What happened to me?” Philip shut his eyes again.

 He felt terrible.

 His mouth was dry, his stomach felt uneasy, and his entire body was weak.

 He slowly looked around the room. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there.

 He tried to think.

 He remembered the beach, he remembered drinking and he also remembered the women who had approached him.

 Then his face suddenly turned pale.

 “Elena…”

 The memory came rushing back.

 He remembered Elena finding him, he remembered her holding him and he also remembered telling her about the paternity test.

 His heart started beating faster.

 “I told her…” Philip swallowed hard, “I told her everything.”

 He remembered accusing her.

 He remembered asking her if she knew that Ethan, Daniel, and Ryan weren't his.

 And most importantly, he remembered Elena's silence.

 She had not denied anything.

 Philip slowly rubbed his face, “What have I done?”

 He remained seated on the bed, trying to piece everything together.

 He couldn't understand why Elena had not defended herself.

 Was she guilty?

 Or was there another explanation?

 He had so many questions running through his mind that his head started hurting even more.

 He fell back onto the bed. “I need to know the truth.”

 Not long after, the bedroom door suddenly opened.

 Philip turned his head and Elena walked inside.

 She looked completely normal. There was no sadness on her face, no anger and no fear.

 She looked as though nothing had happened.

 “Good morning,” she said cheerfully.

 Philip stared at her. “Morning?”

 “Yes.”

 Elena walked toward the window and opened the curtains.

 Sunlight immediately entered the room.

 Philip squinted, “Can you close that? My head is killing me." 

 Elena laughed. “Still suffering from the hangover?”

 “Obviously.”

 She turned around and smiled. “You really drank a lot yesterday.”

 Philip stared at her,“You found me.”

 “Yes.”

 “At the beach.”

 “Yes.”

 “How did you know where I was?”

 Elena shrugged, “You called me.”

 Philip frowned, “I called you?”

 “Yes.”

 “I don't remember calling you.”

 “You were drunk.”

 She walked toward him. Her heels clinking against the polished marble floor. 

 “You kept complaining about your life and asking me to come and get you. And most importantly, you called me for a good fuck." 

 Philip stared at her in disbelief.

 “I did?”

 Elena laughed, “You were very dramatic.”

 Philip's expression hardened, “I was?”

 “Yes.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “You even told me that it been long we had a steamy night.”

 Philip's heart skipped. “I did?”

 “Of course.” She smiled, “But you are not as good as you were in your twenties but still, I enjoyed every bit of you.”

 Philip frowned and looked away. He didn't remember any of it. 

 For some reason, he couldn't tell whether she was telling the truth.

 He looked at the woman standing before him. The woman he had loved for almost two decades.

 The woman who had given birth to three boys he had believed were his.

 Yet, after what he discovered, he couldn't look at her the same way again.

 Each time his eyes met hers, one question kept returning to his mind.

 Had Elena really betrayed him all these years?

 He looked away. “Why didn't you say anything yesterday?”

 Elena frowned. “About what?”

 “You know what I'm talking about.”

 "You were drunk, Philip. There is no way you are going to be accusing me of that." 

 Philip's hands tightened, "Is that your way of denying it?" 

 Elena's expression changed slightly, “You were drunk.”

 “That doesn't answer my question.”

 “And what question is that? That out boys are not yours?”

 Philip stared at her, “So you decided to pretend nothing happened?”

 Elena stood up, “You need to eat something.” she said walking, toward the door.

 “Where are you going?”

 “I'm hungry.”

 Philip frowned. “Seriously?”

 “Yes.” She turned around, “I've been craving pasta.”

 Philip stared at her like she had just said something ridiculous.

 “Pasta?”

 “Yes.”

 She smiled. “Come on. Get dressed.”

 Philip couldn't believe her.

 He had spent the previous day discovering that all three of his sons might not be his, and Elena was talking about pasta.

 Still, he got out of bed.

 They soon left the house.

 The entire drive was quiet.

 Philip kept looking at Elena.

 She was driving calmly as though nothing had happened.

 He wondered how she could be so normal.

 How could she sit beside him after everything?

 After a while, they stopped at a restaurant and Elena ordered pasta.

 Philip barely touched his food. He couldn't eat. Rather, his mind was too occupied.

 Elena noticed. “You're not eating.”

 “I'm not hungry.”

 “You need to eat.”

 “I can't.”

 She sighed. “Philip.”

 He looked at her. “Why are you acting like nothing happened?”

 Elena slowly put down her fork. “Because, you are sounding ridiculous." 

 Philip stared at her in confusion, “Ridiculous? Is that what you really have to say?" 

 Elena didn't respond.

 He leaned back in his chair. “Tell me something.”

 “What?”

 “How many men are you sleeping with?”

 The question left his mouth before he could stop himself.

 Elena froze.

 The smile disappeared from her face.

 Philip watched her carefully. He was expecting anger, he was expecting an insult and he was expecting her to slap him.

 But Elena simply stared at him.

 “How many?” Philip asked again.

 Then she finally opened her mouth.

 “You really are going to piss me off if you keep asking me that question. You need to stop this now if you don't want me to get mad at you." 

 Philip's heart pounded. He was a bit scared but he knew he had to know the truth. He simply put down his fork and relaxed into his chair. 

 “I just asked you a question, Elena. How many men?" he asked again.

  She said nothing before Philip finally passed out.