Duncan thinks his family is happy when he travels for work. However, he returns to find his daughter seeing ghosts and an unknown stranger in his closet. Who is the man and why is he there? Is his wife cheating?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been married to Emmie for 15 years. In fifteen years, we\u2019ve weaved a life together, weaving in family joys and sorrows.<\/p>\n
Our daughter, Leila, a bright-eyed ten-year-old, brought us fun and interest like only a child can.<\/p>\n
Life was fine until Leila mentioned a ghost.<\/p>\n
Leila told a harmless story. I thought my daughter\u2019s imagination was wild at the time.<\/p>\n
As a businessman, I traveled frequently. I was used to living by my schedule with Emmie.<\/p>\n
I imagined she would struggle to develop a life with me packing up and departing every few weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour job matters,\u201d Emmie added. \u201cAnd sure, it takes you away from us from time to time, Duncan. But it\u2019s worth it because you enjoy what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t anticipate her comprehension. But I should have known\u2014my wife was unlike everyone else I\u2019d met.<\/p>\n
I knew my wife and kid would be home and in their routine when my partner at the firm told me we had to drive to another state for a business meeting with prospective investors.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long will you be gone this time?\u201d Emmie questioned while cooking dinner.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust over a week,\u201d I said, eating the counter\u2019s roasted nuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s okay,\u201d she smiled. \u201cYou\u2019ll be back before we know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was easy to imagine my wife wanted me to stay away and enjoyed our distance. However, as she helped me pack and put snacks in my suitcase, I knew she was everything Leila and I needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I answered. \u201cBut will you manage with Leila after school? I could ask my mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmie laughed.<\/p>\n
No doubt, my mother loved Leila and being a grandmother on her own terms. She wanted to pamper our daughter for an hour. She wouldn\u2019t stay with Leila unless forced to.<\/p>\n
Emmie added, \u201cI\u2019ve asked my mom already,\u201d stoking the stew. \u201cShe\u2019ll come over the night before you leave, because I know the airport drop-offs are always early.\u201d<\/p>\n
Work presentations and homework dominated the rest of the week.<\/p>\n
Then Emmie\u2019s mother, Marie, arrived.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother trip?\u201d she questioned. \u201cLots of traveling for you, Duncan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmie took me to the airport the next morning. Before going home to prepare Leila for school, she adjusted my tie and waved farewell.<\/p>\n
I returned early from the business trip. I took a cab to my wife and daughter\u2019s favorite bakery and bought their favorite snacks before going home.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, you\u2019re home!\u201d Leila ran to the door and sprang into my arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy trip ended early,\u201d I hugged her.<\/p>\n
Though I liked my job, I knew I missed elements of Leila\u2019s youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want ice cream?\u201d I inquired. \u201cBefore Mom gets home from work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leila nodded and called to her grandmother Marie that we were heading out.<\/p>\n
My daughter reported that she had seen a ghost in the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean, honey?\u201d<\/p>\n
Leila watched a drop of ice cream fall onto her shoe while staring at her cone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other night, when I was going to the bathroom,\u201d stated. \u201cThere was a ghost. Floating by the stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure you saw Grandma or Grandpa,\u201d I add.<\/p>\n
I knew that when my mother-in-law stayed, Emmie\u2019s father came for supper and the night before returning home. He disliked long absences.<\/p>\n
Leila,\u201dGrandpa didn\u2019t come this time,\u201d \u201cOnly Grandma. She said that Grandpa was with their cat.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had nothing else to tell Leila. I didn\u2019t want to dismiss her as imagining things. However, I wasn\u2019t sure about discussing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow about this?\u201d \u201cIf you see it again, or if you see anything strange, you come and tell me immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
We headed back after Leila nodded excitedly.<\/p>\n
After coming home, my wife and Leila were cooking and doing schoolwork. Since Marie was missing, I figured she was napping.<\/p>\n
I wanted to unpack later in the week, but my wife despised half-packed bags and clothes piles.<\/p>\n
The biggest shock of my life came when I entered our walk-in closet.<\/p>\n
An older man buttoned his clothes between my work clothes and Emmie\u2019s dresses.<\/p>\n
I shouted \u201cEmmie!\u201d before asking his name. \u201cWhat is this? Who is this man?\u201d<\/p>\n
Next, I heard my wife and daughter\u2019s thunderous footsteps through the house.<\/p>\n
Emmie entered our bedroom, calling \u201cDuncan?\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI should be asking you that,\u201d I said. \u201cWho is this man?\u201d<\/p>\n
With startled eyes, Emmie said, \u201cWhat man?\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmie shrieked when the older man emerged from the closet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d she exclaimed.<\/p>\n
I expelled the breath I didn\u2019t realize I was holding. When I found the man, I suspected my wife was cheating.<\/p>\n
The look of surprise on her face told me this man was also unfamiliar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the ghost!\u201d Leila exclaimed, hiding behind her mother. \u201cI saw him last night!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Emmie and I both said.<\/p>\n
Hissed, \u201cCall the police!\u201d Emmie.<\/p>\n
Marie entered with a glass of water.<\/p>\n
Before seeing the man, she inquired \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTony?\u201d she asked. \u201cWhat are you still doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know this man?\u201d Emmie exclaimed. \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother-in-law frowned. I had never seen her so uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain yourself, Mom,\u201d Emmie urged.<\/p>\n
Marie admitted, \u201cI\u2019ve been seeing Tony for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you should go and watch some TV,\u201d I urged Leila, who ran out of the room.<\/p>\n
Emmie, sitting on the bed, questioned, \u201cYou\u2019ve been cheating on Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marie appeared to have seen the ghost my daughter saw.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, Emmie,\u201d Marie exclaimed. \u201cDad and I have been having issues for a while now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he knows about this?\u201d my wife demanded from her mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, darling,\u201d she said. \u201cDad doesn\u2019t know. I don\u2019t think I could tell him anyway. But I\u2019m not getting any younger, and I need some joy for whatever is left in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmie clutched her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to promise me that you won\u2019t tell Dad,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
My wife gasped and left the bedroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuncan,\u201d I said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to talk to her. This has to be a secret. We cannot tell my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUp to Emmie,\u201d I said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what else to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marie and Tony left our home shortly after.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe my mother,\u201d Emmie stated as we discussed the afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, at least you found out now,\u201d I add. \u201cIt\u2019s not a secret anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but at the same time, I don\u2019t know how I can keep this from my father. But more than that, I don\u2019t understand why my mother had to bring him over to our home.\u201d<\/p>\n
I agreed with her\u2014Marie was an adult with free will. However, I couldn\u2019t understand why she would do it at home.<\/p>\n
She was supposed to watch our daughter too.<\/p>\n
It was reckless.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he was there for you,\u201d I shouted.<\/p>\n
Emmie set her mug on the coffee table.<\/p>\n
So \u201cThat\u2019s a much bigger conversation,\u201d she remarked. \u201cBut I get it. It would have been quite the shock to see a random old man in our closet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tony hid in our room since he was leaving when Emmie got home. Leila and I entered when he believed it was safe.<\/p>\n
The closet was his refuge till he could flee. Marie believed Tony had left. And rested in the guest room.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a mess, Duncan,\u201d Emmie replied. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I can lie to my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saying \u201cThen don\u2019t,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m not happy that Leila was exposed to this.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew the secret would haunt her. My wife had trouble keeping secrets\u2014this would send her tumbling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to hurt my mom,\u201d she added after we put Leila to bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSleep on it,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
I sat in bed that night wondering what would have occurred if I hadn\u2019t come early. Could Leila have seen Tony again and become more scared? I felt uneasy about a stranger entering my home after hours. Since Emmie didn\u2019t know either.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s up to Emmie to determine what happens next, but I\u2019ll back her.<\/p>\n
What would you do?<\/p>\n
Liked this story? Another tale! |<\/p>\n
I cried when I saw what my rich husband was hiding in one room.
\nAlexis had no idea what she was getting into when her parents made her marry Robert. Alexis disregarded her husband\u2019s one rule and entered the room he warned her about, revealing truths she wasn\u2019t expecting.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t understand why my parents wanted me to marry before finding someone.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlexis,\u201d she began, \u201cRobert is a catch. He\u2019s a wealthy man who will take care of you. You wouldn\u2019t even have to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t refuse. Father made it obvious.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cYou marry Robert, Alexis,\u201d smoking a cigar. \u201cOr you can figure out your own living arrangements.\u201d<\/p>\n
I considered Robert my prince charming. Our family bakery lost customers because it didn\u2019t offer gluten-free choices.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to bake what we know,\u201d my father said.<\/p>\n
Our marriage was arranged. Robert was icy and wouldn\u2019t allow me get to know him. I don\u2019t know how my dad connected us.<\/p>\n
Our wedding was a lavish display of Robert\u2019s wealth. The wedding planner for Robert had considered everything.<\/p>\n
He had me a unique wedding dress made. Despite wedding plans, we hardly spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to being married,\u201d he said one evening before the wedding.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing,\u201d said.<\/p>\n
That was the closest Robert came to admitting me.<\/p>\n
I moved into our new house two days after our wedding.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome, I\u2019ll show you around,\u201d Robert said.<\/p>\n
He showed me our mansion, which had huge golf courses, a glistening pool, and a fleet of personnel at our disposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful,\u201d I exclaimed in the kitchen. \u201cEverything is beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, Alexis, this house belongs to you too,\u201d he boasted.<\/p>\n
I grinned at the stranger in front of me. We might create something of our marriage.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut one thing, Alexis,\u201d began. \u201cThere\u2019s one rule. The attic. Never go in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nod to Robert. Why I wasn\u2019t allowed in the house was beyond me. However, I realized I didn\u2019t know my husband well enough. I had to comply.<\/p>\n
A few days later, Robert departed to a conference, leaving me alone in our huge house.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow dare you come in here? Now, I have to change the locks in my own home because my wife does not respect my requests?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bobby\u2019s face went red with wrath.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to understand,\u201d I mumbled. \u201cI just want to know you, Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n
He slowly lost his fury and began to regard me as a friend rather than an intruder.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlexis,\u201d he said, \u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert took me to the living room.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was a stern man. He was a soldier and he believed in keeping emotions locked away. These are the only things I have of a time when I felt loved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I hung on his every word as his voice broke.<\/p>\n
His soul was revealed. Our family heard stories of lonely childhoods and boys seeking parental approval.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Duncan thinks his family is happy when he travels for work. However, he returns to find his daughter seeing ghosts and an unknown stranger in his closet. Who is the man and why is he there? Is his wife cheating? I\u2019ve been married to Emmie for 15 years. In fifteen years, we\u2019ve weaved a life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30806,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30805\/revisions\/30806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}