11. Questions
MILTON'S POV
"I love Philip, not you," her words kept going through my head over and over. I had to accept Andrea's choice. I just did not understand how she changed her mind so quickly. Everything seem to be set. I imagine Andrea, Claire, and myself being a family.
Still the reality of the situation was that Andrea and Claire were already part of a family. As much as I wanted to be her biological father, I was not. I was not Andrea's husband either. Philip was.
I stood there with regret, knowing I did not belong here. Andrea was Philip's wife. Claire was his daughter. I was only the family friend who had an affair with the wife. But I knew that it had been real. Since the first day I saw her in that purple dress, I only wanted her to be happy. That was the reason I told Philip to let her be with Shane.
I felt like he would make her truly happy. And I knew I loved her, even then.
Still I was haunted. What if I had admitted to Andrea that I liked her before she got married instead of trying to what was best for her? Would she be my wife now? Would Claire be my daughter? I didn't though. I reassured her that everything would be okay if she married Philip. I went to the wedding, and let Philip have the life I wanted. Why in the hell did I do that? Because I loved Philip too. There was no other explanation.
"Why are you here?" Philip said, pulling me back to reality.
"I had some questions for Andrea," I said at last. The strange feeling of pain, stood there between us. I had only seen him once before he found out. I hope that maybe Philip might be able to forgive me. The look on his face told me that would never happen.
"Look, I know she called you. I will tell you myself what happened. She admitted the affair to me, and said she was leaving. But when she brought the divorcee papers over that night, she had a change of heart. She realize what that would do to our daughter. So we are trying to work on our marriage with no distractions. Away from you," Philip said coldly.
"I owe you an apology. You asked me to look after Andrea, but I feel madly in love with her. I shouldn't have. I know that now. But don't you think moving away is a bit much? Is there no way you could come back? I could help Andrea get a job at another law firm, and I would earn your trust again. I knew you would not be happy about this, but I did not expect this. Can't we work through it? You were my best friend. I love you. And I know there is only room for two people in a marriage. I would not try to get her back. I just want to still be in your life. I need to know she is ok," I said hoping to reason with him.
"You were my best friend, Milton. But the minute you touched my wife, our friendship was over. I will never forgive you for that. I can forgive her because she is wife. You are nothing to me now. And you will never see Andrea again," he said, in a voice that was violent.
"I want to help you. It's not good for you to be this angry. I mean no matter what happened Andrea wanted to stay here in Georgia, and for us to remain friends," I said, knowing that I should not expect Philip to want anything to do with me.
But what if Andrea was not safe?
Philip had been know to lose his temper. He had grabbed Andrea's arm several times, and admitted to me that he punched her ex boyfriend in the face more than once. He even talked about wanting to kill Shane for attempting to talk Andrea out of marrying him.
So was unfeasible that he lost control after he found out about the affair?
No, it was not. I only wanted to see her one last time, to make sure she was all right.
After Sarah and Penny's death, Philip had changed. Colder and more obsessive.
In his relationship with Andrea, she was never allowed to leave his sight, not even to go home to visit her parents. He almost forced her into the marriage, reminding her of the car he purchased her and the therapy that he paid for. I think at one point the she said Philip told her she have reimburse him for therapy, if she decided to leave him. And the money he apparently paid on her student loans.
Anyone could see that she was not ready. Part of her torn, maybe not because she loved Shane. But because what he remained her of.
Shane was still a young man. Someone she could grow up with. Philip was all marriage and children talk. She was a young woman who wanted to experience life. I was not surprised that she ran away from the wedding. I was shocked when she decided to come back and marry him. If only she hadn't. True I would not be in love with, but I would know she was safe.
"You need to go. And don't contact my wife again," Philip said pushing me on the ground.
I said nothing but accepted the situation for what it was. Undeniably, Andrea did chose to go back to Philip.
I should not be surprised either. Honestly, no matter what shit he pulled Andrea still cared about him. Perhaps I should just cut my loses and move on.