Ricardo's obsession

Chapter-30

They sat staring at the screen of the big plasma on which they have been glaring at for the past 1 hour or so. Iris could not come in term with what she just witnessed on the screen. Ricardo had his hand on his face and Lambert paced back and forth, unsure of what to do.
She wanted to rush out and just confront Selena head on but then she was also unable to move a finger on her own. There was no strength or any sensibility left in her. She was seated as if she was rooted to the couch.
Ricardo pulled her in his arm but she was cold and did not bother to react to anything that will indicate that she was with them. He was glad that even under such circumstances she was still behaving like a rational person, had it been him he would have bend the world to get to whoever caused him the greatest lose.
Lambert brought the tape he collected from a kid who was involved in the accident Selena was in. By the background sound it seemed like they were on a trip to somewhere and the kid was trying to experiment with the camera and hence by chance caught the accident on his camera. It only showed how Selena’s Red Maserati ran into the black car which belonged to Iris’s father. The camera then met the floor of the bus and only loud gasping and screaming of children could be heard.
Lambert was about to leave when Iris suggested she will follow him but Ricardo thought it was better if she was not out of his sight at such moment and so he stopped her from leaving with Lambert. He promised that he will personally take her to meet Selena once he gives him the confirmation that Selena was more stable.
The anger she felt at how he was trying to protect his Selena made her not want to expect anything from him. Culprit or not Selena was his favoured sister and she always did and will come before her.  She walked away from him and went into the room locking the door from behind. She dropped her weight to the floor leaning her back on the door. She was tired, she wanted to unsee the past and she wished just how she should never met him in the first place.
As much as she wanted to meet and make Selena answer all the questions on her mind, there was just no way how she was to put her mind in words. She could not blame her for being a part of the heavens designed fate. She could not ask her to bring back her parents and there was no nothing she could do about that un-fateful night... Selena was also a victim of that very accident. Nothing was making sense to her.
Ricardo turned the knob of the bedroom but it was locked, he knocked but she did not response. He knew she wanted to be alone but he could not leave her be. She was not in her best. He should heave her be but he did not want her to be on her own when she was going through such hard times. It was a very bad idea to make her watch the video but he did not think it had anything to do with her as Lambert did not tell him the content of the video as he himself did not know about what was in the tape. He was simply told that it was regarding Selena.
He opened the door with the spare key he kept in his study. Iris was nowhere to be seen but the shower was running so he sat on the bed and waited. It had been long but she was not out yet and that fact that the sound of the shower never went off he rushed to the bathroom only to find her on the marble floor hugging her tight and the tears flowing down her cheeks along with the shower water. He walked to her and turned the shower off but she pleads him to leave it on and he did. He sat down next to her and she went into his arms and sobbed her heart out. The sound of her cries broke his heart into dust he hugged her tight to himself.
“You should go see her.” she said once her cries died, he was still. Her cries made him feel the worst he had ever felt and now that she was trying to push him away. He was at the verge of going all maniac on her.
“I am here for you and I am not leaving you alone.”
“I’ll get used to it, don’t worry about me. You should go.” She got off him and turned the shower off and noticed how he was all wet too she reached out, grabbed the robe and handed one to him. His caste was wet too but she ignored it, she will no longer have to do anything with him, she will not care.
“Just what are you trying to do?” his voice was no longer calm.
“I am doing just what your wife should do. Selena is your family and she needs you more than anyone at the moment and so you should go and be with her in such times.”
“Do you not need me?”
“I am fine.”
“That is not what I was asking.”
She said nothing and walked out of the bathroom and he followed her suit. She was pulled in his arms. His glaring eyes almost about to make a hole in her head. He was furious and she was not going to care. She stood on her toes and pecked him on his lips.
“I’ll be here waiting for you to return.” She whispered and that was it. His hold on her tightened.
“I don’t know what is going on your mind but whatever game you are up to will never go the way you want it to. I will make sure of it.”
“I am playing no games with you. I am tired of it.”
“What do you want?”
“Just behave the way you would have if I was not here.”
“Your whole existence is the reason for mine. Why don’t you ever understand that?”
She was taken aback by his words but recovered soon. He could also be gone and she will have no reasons to question why. This was how life was being to her. Always bringing her to points where she can do nothing and if anything happened it will not leave a reason of how she could question why.
“Okay.”
That was all she was saying after he thought he could make her see reasons and how she was the most important to him. The fact that nothing he said to her was taken seriously was enough to make him blow up. He pulled her up and carried her to their bed. He knelt on the floor facing her.
“Should I take Selena to court? Or should I erase the whole existence of hers?”
“What are you saying?” she pulled her hand away from his but he was dead serious.
“Tell me what you want and I will make sure I do it just the way you want it to be.”
Who was this man? Why was he talking like he was a robot waiting for a command and will do just that if commanded. Nothing more nothing less.
“Do you want me to take care of everyone else who survived the accident which your pare…
She slapped him hard across the cheeks, her palm stung. Tears flowed her eyes and her breath was uneven. Previously she was regretful for laying a finger on him but this time around wasn't the same. Did he think so little of her to want others to go through all the pain that she had been through?
“Stay away from me.” she yelled at him. She was roughly tugged to him when she tried to push away from him.
“Tell me just what you need from Me.” he raised his voice at her and it was her undoing.
She knew she was indeed not going to have things go her way and she before she could come in terms of parent’s death she had already created another situation for herself. She had just awakened the monster in him.
He pressed his forehead to hers, calming his raging mind. She was rigid, he did not want her to witness this side of his but it was her doing and there was no going back.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you but seeing you push me away. This is something not acceptable.”
“You should be sorry for thinking that evil of me as for you raising your voice on me, I had already envisioned it plenty of times.”
Just what did she think of him?
“Am I that horrible of a person?”
“You don’t prove it otherwise ”
“I’m sorry babe you are stuck with me for life. You need to get used to…
“To what? You raising your voice on me or even worse putting your hands on me or do you want me to be the reason of your unreasonable actions?”
He kissed her hard on the lips, it was a tormenting one. He sucked hard on her lips and his hold on her was going to leave their marks behind. She tried to push him but failed so she did nothing and that was when he calmed a bit.
“I will never repeat the same mistake again knowing how it makes you feel and I swear it will be the last day of my existence the day i raise my hand on you to harm you.”
She was still. Her heart trusted his words but then there was her brain coming up with all the possible reasons for him saying all that he was saying. One moment he made her feel wanted then next his words made her feel him pushing her away with such threats he called ways to prove his sincerity. A decade over her yet his rage like an young spoilt brat's.
“I’m sorry I cannot do anything to undo what happened to your parents but also it is all because of what happened that brought you to me.”
“Do you think that is what I need to hear?”
“If you think you got any idea of how obsessed I am with you, you will learn it is not that I am with you.”
His words made her feel unknown feelings and there was little warmth his words made her feel from the inside.
She thought she had come with terms that her parents were no longer with her but she was wrong. She could never let go of the facts regarding her parents.
He ran his hand on her cheeks
“Can we try to work it out?”
“I don’t know.”
“You stay still, as you said it will be me, the one to make work this marriage of ours.”
Just how much of her conversation with his mother had he heard?