Chapter 1

 

Richard sat down on his sofa feeling completely frustrated. He finally felt as if he had come to the end of the road with Christina, his live in girlfriend and soon to be ex, if he had any say in it!

A single sheet of paper bore a short note written in her childish handwriting letting him know that she had decided to fly off on a weekend break with her girlfriends at the very last minute. He grunted. No doubt that he would be the one paying for the trip along with any purchases she might make during her getaway.

Not that Richard could say that he was that surprised. It was typical Christina behaviour. He had come to know her much better throughout their year living together, and in that time he had come to see that her inner self did not match her beautifully composed outer exterior. Eventually it become very apparent to Richard that Christina was both self-absorbed and selfish, choosing in most cases to think of herself first.

Her note emphasised this very fact. It was obvious that Christina had given little thought to the fact that he had been busy slaving away all day to give them the good life so she would want for nothing. He had provided a large roof over her head, bought her a flash car, and basically spoiled her with other luxury items, such as clothes, jewellery, and expensive holidays. In return he had expected only companionship, caring, and love from his mate, having taken off the table the more ambitions aim of starting a family for the time being due to Christina's great reluctance to let herself be tied down.

But Richard found himself getting very little that he wanted from Christina, with her seeming of late to prefer spending time with either her girlfriends on some frivolous pursuit or immersing herself in her important personal training sessions at the gym.

She was, however, still happy to use him as an ATM, but it appeared to Richard that despite all the money and possessions he had bestowed upon her, it still was not enough for Christina. And he could not deny that the popular saying now rang ever true in his ears: one couldn't buy love!

But Richard was more annoyed with himself than Christina at times, because despite now knowing all of Christina's negative points, he was still hesitant to pull the plug. He knew that there was no lingering affection that made him maintain the status quo of their broken relationship. Any real bitterness that he had once felt about Christina's cold manner had since subsided along with his love and liking for her.

No, the reason for not breaking it off with Christina was far more complex. He had not wanted to admit the truth for a long time but in the end he had to confess to himself that he allowed Christina to get away with her poor behaviour again and again due solely to Susan.

Susan was Christina's nineteen year old daughter who had also come to live with him when his relationship with her mother became more serious. He had dismissed her as a pretty brat when he first set his eyes upon her. She had been a younger, carbon copy of her mother with her long dark hair, olive skin, and dazzling green eyes.

Luckily, that seemed to be where Christina and Susan's resemblance ended. He had now spent a lot of time alone with Susan, whether having their meals or relaxing and watching TV, while Christina was absent on her many errands. He had found Susan's temperament to be sweet, kind, and caring. He felt like she was a breath of fresh air for him, especially after he had a long hard day at the office. He enjoyed coming home to spend time with her and listen to her talk about her day before she always asked him about his own in turn.

If he had felt paternal towards Susan his indecisiveness may not have been so bad, and he would have been able to bring himself to break away from Christina. But the truth was that he had developed feelings for Susan that were not that of the fatherly kind. It was hard not to feel so if you were a normal red blooded heterosexual man, Richard always tried to justify his lustful thoughts to himself.