Once, my paranoid love

Robert was working on his laptop. His secretary, Lone, came unexpectedly.

“Sir,” Lone said to Robert.

“Yes,” Robert said.

“Sir,” he went on, “we have some awful news.”

“Wait, what?” With a strained tone, Robert asked.

“Both of our earning rates have drastically decreased,” he noted.

“What are you saying?” Robert was shocked and asked. It was the only thing he had. He put his heart and soul into this project.

“How is that possible?” Robert slumped back in his chair, his brow furrowed.

“We have no knowledge, sir, about an unidentified company that sells low-cost items. So, all of their income rates have unexpectedly increased. Mr. Obin has contacted me twice today,” he stated.

‘I’m not sure what I should do next.’ Robert furrowed his brows and bowed his head as he started thinking about the consequences.

“Sir,” he addressed Robert.

As Robert walked out of the room, he said, “Lone, I’m going; if Mr. Obin contacts you again, tell him I’m in Istanbul.”

Robert did not waste time and started the car to drive home. After an hour, he arrived.

“Robert, you’ve arrived? Is everything all right with you?” Anne asked worriedly, knowing that he usually returned home at night, why he came so early.

Robert had such a strained expression on his face. He sat unconcernedly on the couch and remarked, “I’m finished, Anne.”

“What exactly are you talking about?” Anne said, her eyes narrowing.

Robert explained everything to her. Anne’s face became pale as she heard everything; she could not think of what she needed to do at that time. She sprang up alongside him while tapping her brow.

Robert questioned, “Now what will I do?”

‘It’s a disaster. What will happen next? I will not let that man take our belongings,’ Anne thought, while tapping her forehead.

“What are we going to do now, babe?” Anne murmured as she clutched his hand.

Robert frowned and said, “We have to sell all our properties.”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“No!” Anne shouted.

“What?” Robert said, staring at her.

Anne responded slowly, “I mean, no, we can’t.”

“We have to do it. I need to speak with Elena,” Robert said to Anne.

‘Elena, what is it about her?’ Anne thought as she asked, “Why Elena? Robert, what do you think she’ll do?”

“Because without her, I couldn’t sell her properties,” Robert stated.

It felt like a bolt of lightning struck her head when she heard him. ‘Elena? What is he talking about?’ Anne thought to herself.

“What?? Her property? Robert, what exactly do you mean?” Anne sternly questioned Robert.

Robert put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. Anne thought while tightening her jaw, ‘This old man mistook my concern for their safety. He was entirely oblivious to the fact that he was completely worthless to me if he had nothing.’

“Anne, we’re staying at Elena’s place. She is in charge of everything, even the business,” Robert explained.

Anne’s eyes widened. It seemed as if someone had snatched her food from her mouth.

“What’s yours, Robert?” Anne asked him.

“Elena’s mother gave her everything. I am not the owner of this property,” Robert clarified.

Anne slowly drew her hand away from his palm. ‘I was wrong; I thought Robert was my trump card, but I was wrong.’ Anne thought. Her veins were bursting at the seams with wrath.

‘Idiocy!’

‘No, everything belongs to me and only me. How could this old man have done this to us? From the beginning, I thought he was the owner. Even for this property, I killed Elena’s mother.’

“Why didn’t you tell me anything about Elena’s past? So what about me and my son?” Anne asked.

“Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t own these things?” Anne couldn’t hold back her wrath any longer, so she gradually raised her voice.

“What’s the problem if I don’t own this property? Are you regretful or trying to tell me you married me for these assets?” Robert paused for a while.

‘Shit! Relax, Anne. You can’t keep losing like this. Because of that, I divorced my husband and killed my friend.’ Anne closed her eyes in disappointment while thinking.

“Robert, I won’t let you do this,” Anne said calmly after taking a long breath.

‘No,’ I answered, nodding. “Honey, you misunderstood me. That was not my intention.”

“What I am trying to say is, what about us? What if Elena agreed to sell all of her belongings? She is a youngster with a promising future. Think about her future,” Anne responded.

“What will I do then?” Robert let out a sigh.

“Why did you make such an important decision without informing Elena, if she asked you a question? What will happen then?” Anne questioned.

“I know that I’ve made a big mistake. I snatched everything she had.” Robert commented, “However, I don’t think she’ll question me about it. She reminds me of her mother. Her heart is pure,” he even stated.

“If that’s the case, keep it a secret from her,” Anne said, glaring at him. “Darling, we’ll find something out.”

“Do you have any other options?” Robert asked,

Anne was about to say something, but Elena walked in. She came from college.

**

I spotted Dad and Anne in the drawing room; it seemed they were discussing something important.

I called out to my father, “Dad.”

As he turned back, he stuttered, “Elena, y-you.”

“Are you all okay, dad?” I asked. He didn’t seem to be in fine condition.

‘What is the matter with him?’ I thought as I came close.

‘That witch appeared unexpectedly.’ Anne thought as she said, “Elena, you came so early today.” She said it with a smile on her face.

“Dad, what’s the matter?” I asked, ignoring her.

Dad said, “Nothing, sweetie.”

“Sir, someone wants to meet you,” Pom said as she emerged out of nowhere.

The expression on my dad’s face changed unexpectedly. He murmured, “What?”

Dad was perplexed. “Who?” He asked.

“Mr. Robert, it’s me. I heard you’re in Istanbul right now. So, I planned to meet with your wife.”

“But here you are,” a broad, muscular man said as he strode into the room without knocking and began conversing with my father.

“Mr. Obin, I just…,” dad was about to say when the man cut him off with a smile and said, “My boss hates lying.” He said, “This is something you shouldn’t have done.”

I said, “Don’t call my father a liar!”