LOVE IN PARIS: Married To My Brother-in-law

The front door clicked softly behind Yvette as she stepped inside the house with an excited expression.

As she input the passcode and stepped inside the house, she was welcomed by the scent of lavender, fresh from the diffuser in the hallway.

She slipped off her shoes, the relief immediate as the cool hardwood floor met her bare feet.

Mrs Lawrence appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Welcome back home, Madam.Shall I set the table for your dinner?"

Yvette shook her head, offering a soft smile. "No need, Mrs Lawrence. I've already eaten outside with my friends."

She replied as she made her way across the hall, the weariness of the day settling into her bones now that she was home.

Mrs. Lawrence gave a gentle nod. "Very well, ma'am. Have a good night."

"Good night". Yvette replied back already halfway up the grand staircase, her hand gliding over the smooth oak railing as she ascended.

The soft hum of silence filled the house, almost too still for her liking, an emptiness that seemed to grow more pronounced as she neared the master bedroom.

When she entered the room, the large bed with its freshly pressed sheets and neatly folded duvet stood waiting, but it only serves as a reminder of Zeke's absence

The absence of his presence, the warmth he always brought into the room, to her made it feel colder than it should.

She tossed her handbag onto the armchair by the window and sat on the vanity, lost in thoughts. She couldn't help but admit it , she was missing his presence. More than she had expected herself to.

She glanced around the room and suddenly felt it was too empty, no decorations,no ornaments except for their daily necessities and furnitures but soon she retracted her gaze and picked up her cellphone to call him but paused halfway on dialing his contact, her thumbs hovering over his contact name .

He was on an important business trip and the time zone was a huge constract . Here it was already late at night but over there, it would probably be early in the morning and she knew he would be entrenched in meetings and phone calls, too busy to idle away.

So she gave up on phoning him , not wanting to disturb him but her eyes were glued to the contact info on the screen on her phone then she sighed, fighting away the urge to call him as she tapped away on her phone to edit the contact's name to "Hubby."

After that, she placed the phone back on the nightstand and slipped into her nightgown, the silky fabric cool against her skin, and she slid under the covers, hoping sleep would come quickly.

But she was destined to not have it easy that night.

As she lay there, staring up at the ceiling, the emptiness in the room felt more pronounced. Even time seemed to stretch longer, and no matter how hard she tried, her mind wouldn't settle. She tossed and turned restlessly on the bed unable to sleep.

Finally, with a frustrated sigh, she threw off the covers and padded barefoot down the stairs, seeking something, anything to distract her restless mind.

As she passed the living room, her eyes fell on the writing desk near the window, and a thought suddenly sparked in her mind, something she hadn't thought of in months. Her pen pal.

She hadn't written to him in ages, not since the whirlwind of events surrounding her bachelorette party, her wedding, and everything that followed.

It had been quite long since she's received a letter from this penpal of her's, she could remember keeping it away, meaning to reply but life had swept her along and now months had passed without a single word. She felt the pang of guilt settling in her chest.

Her pen pal had been a constant fixture in her life since she was sixteen. The person's identity was unknown to her even to this very moment. All she knew about it was that the person was a male and not a female as he had stated in the first letter they'd exchanged.

He even mentioned that he lived in a different country and was an orphan looking for a friend and the letter had arrived at her mail so since then they became friends.

Sharing everything together, dreams, fears, the highs and lows of their lives through written letter that had long become a source of comfort. But since the last few months, she had slowly drifted away caught in her own new life and forgetting to reply and she hasn't received another letter from him also.

Yvette pulled out the chair and sat down at the desk, pulling out a paper and a pen from it's drawers. She hesitated for a moment unsure of where to begin.

But as the memories of the past few months flooded her mind, the words began to flow.

""Dear Friend"" . She began,the familiar rhythm of writing bringing a sense of peace as her pen danced over the paper.

"It's been far too long since I've written to you, and I'm sincerely sorry for that. Life has been a whirlwind, to say the least . . ."

She went on telling him everything. About her relationship and wedding with Manuel, the occurrence with Zeke and her new life, about her initial reluctance towards him had now melted away and how she's started growing to care for him .

She even wrote about every little moments that made her happy , the laughters and moments they've shared and how much she missed him now that he was away.

"I never thought I'd miss him this much"." She confessed on the second page, a smile tugging at her lips. "Marriage is funny like that, I suppose. It sneaks up on you, and suddenly this person becomes such a part of your life that their absence feels almost unbearable."

She even mentioned what had happened on set at work, the small frustrations, the triumphs, and the exhaustion that came with balancing her career and her personal life.

That was how close they were, talking about anything with no care in the world. It felt good to pour it all out onto the page, like slipping back into an old routine.

By the time she finished, her restlessness has eased and she felt lighter somehow as if reconnecting with this old friend had also helped her reconnect with herself and now she was feeling extremely sleepy and couldn't wait to bury herself under the sheets.

She folded the letter neatly, placing it in an envelope, and sealing it with a satisfied grin then she headed back to the bedroom, falling asleep immediately she hit the bed.

The next morning, after a night of finally restful sleep, She made her way to the mailbox, the envelope in hand.

As she slipped the letter into the slot, her phone buzzed in her shoulder bag and it was exactly who she'd expected it to be. Zeke.

The couple spent several minutes on the phone discussing happily and before he ended the call, he reminded her to be careful on set and she did the same.

After she ended the call, a satisfied smile spread across her face as she felt a small sense of contentment wash over her.

Perhaps this was what it felt to have everything.