03 May 2022, New York, USA.
01:34 AM
"Mr Cox? Are you listening?" a voice woke Matthew from his thoughts. It was the detective, who after receiving no response from him called his attention to the ongoing issue.
"Yes, excuse me, Detective, I was a little preoccupied with my thoughts. I'm sorry, what were we talking about?" Matthew replied, still succumbed to that distant and nostalgic memory that he had painfully tried to bury.
"Um- if you'll allow me, Mr. Cox, what exactly were you thinking?" asked the detective, hoping it was something inherent in Elizabeth's disappearance. Actually the detective wanted to end the call, by now it was clear that questioning Matthew would lead to nothing. Yes, the detective was patient; but he wasn't stupid. What husband didn't know where his wife was. It was clear from the tone of his voice and from his voice that it was not reduced to more than a whisper, that Matthew was far from work. And he was certainly not at his wife Elizabeth's house, otherwise he would have known about her disappearance.
"Nothing in particular detective. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Matthew lied; despite a small part of himself, in his heart he needed to know where she was. But reason prevailed over heart. Matthew did not want to deal with the subject, it was too painful for him, he had spent a lot of time to heal the wounds - he did not want to suffer again. It was too hard for him to get Elizabeth out of his life and him out of hers. He didn't want to go through it again. He knew that once they were back in each other's lives - they wouldn't be parted again.
"No, you answered all my questions. Rather, it got late. I'm sorry I kept you on the phone for so long, Mr Cox, have a nice evening, goodbye." said the detective, Matthew only returned the greeting and finished the call. He turned to look at the woman on the bed. He couldn't believe she was still asleep.
Matthew looked at the alarm clock, it was almost two in the morning, he went back to bed and this time he did not hug the woman, but he turned to the wall in the dark, what a joke of fate; I had finally managed to forget Elizabeth once and for all but then that call brought to the surface the memories of them together. 'No, please stop....non again!' thought Matthew, along with the memories also resurfaced the guilt and finally also the slight pain in the chest. It was as if his scars were opening again. His heart knew he was missing a piece of himself. No matter how much Matthew tried to fill the void with other women, none of them were her - none of them were his Elizabeth.
Needless to say, Matthew couldn't rest that night. As soon as he tried to close his eyes, the memories of him and her were trying to seep into his mind. He who was once addicted to Elizabeth was now nothing but the shadow of a man chained by the said addiction - and this was keeping him imprisoned in the past. And the hatred and anger he felt toward her was now turning into something familiar and dear to him - Matthew was terrified of the discovery.
***
03 May 2022
08:00 AM
The room slowly brightened, until it was completely illuminated by sunlight.
When, at eight o'clock, the alarm clock on the woman's bedside table began to ring, which woke her up, the woman under the covers reached out for the alarm clock to try to turn it off.
The woman in pajamas, still not fully awake, complained of having to get up, then not feeling Matteo's presence behind her, she turned around and sat down on the mattress.
Matthew was there, beside her, but he was facing away, facing the wall, which made it impossible for her to see his face.
"Matteo?" she whispered, crawling gently on the mattress towards him, trying to figure out if he was sleeping, not hearing an answer she shook him gently, this didn't cause any reaction from the man, worried; she tried to turn him towards her; to see if he was okay. But nothing; it was as if he was resisting. The woman had no choice but to get off the mattress and walk around the bed. Once in front of him she expected to see his face but this time it was the blankets that prevented her from seeing his face. She then reached out to try to reveal his face, but a grip on her wrist prevented it. This confused the woman even more.
"No" a murmur from under the sheet stopped her from struggling.
"What?" she asked, not understanding what he was referring to.
"I said no, Lily, leave me alone, please not today..." Matthew did not want to be seen by Lily, she would certainly notice the redness and swelling that a night of crying had caused his eyes. His wounds started bleeding again, Matthew was sure of that. The appearance that he had created was beginning to shatter and everything contained inside was beginning leaking out.
Lily remained silent for a moment, then Matthew did not hear her answer and decided to slowly let go of her wrist. After that, Lily got dressed and left her apartment, leaving a Matthew vulnerable to her silence.
***
11:28 AM
Matthew finally got out of bed, walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, his eyes were not as red as before but slightly swollen, his facial features were more mature and seductive, but the sadness in his eyes spoiled the whole and added a note of bitterness in his expression. That was certainly not the face of a man who had everything in his life, on the contrary that was the face of a man who had lost something - something very important.
Matthew opened the faucet and threw cold water over his face and eyes, trying to relieve the swelling. Then once he was presentable he settled in the mirror and dressed: a blue jacket, combined with trousers, under the jacket he had a white cotton shirt with a blue tie around the collar and a pair of brown leather shoes. He was a man now, and he had to look like one.
Then he took the keys to the black Jaguar, got on the driver's seat, set it in motion and left for work. After all, he was the CEO of the Cox companies, whether he wanted it or not, he too had to show up for work.