My fingers trembled as I peeled back the wallpaper, an uneasy feeling creeping up my spine. What I uncovered made my heart race with dread and disbelief.
Underneath the wallpaper, I found the wall covered with a painting, Mathias holding Nathalia in his arms, a picture of perfect devotion. The words written beside it were like daggers.
‘Nathalia, this is our first home. I will never leave.
Every night, I hold Irene in my arms, but the only person I think about is you.
Will you ever come back?
I have everything now, so why haven’t you returned?
Irene wants to marry me, but I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone other than you.
Nathalia, I really… I can’t hold on much longer…’
Each sentence felt like a flame searing through my chest, burning my heart alive as it fought to keep beating.
Now, it all made sense. No wonder Mathias had kept me from touching the renovations. This wall, this damn wall, had been filled with his longing for Nathalia.
How laughable. The wallpaper I’d so carefully chosen had only served to blind me to the truth.
Mathias wasn’t sentimental; he’d been holding onto her all along.
And? I had never been anything but a punchline in his story.