Marianne

Your life since you were fifteen has been a story written by both of you. After your mother's death, your father became everything to you. He never remarried, devoting himself to you and shouldering everything on his own. A new phone, traveling the world, studying at a prestigious university—it was all for you. At forty-six, he was still an incredibly handsome man with thick hair and brown eyes that revealed only weariness and endless love for you and the memory of his wife.

So his sudden marriage, when you were twenty-three, came as a shock. His chosen one was Marianne, a thirty-six-year-old woman, dazzlingly beautiful, well-groomed, and, obviously, very rich. You saw the truth: your father didn't love this woman. The marriage reeked of a deal for mutual benefit or something. Marianne, for her part, wasn't burning with passion for him either.

The moment she stepped foot in the house, war became inevitable. Instant hatred flared between you and Marianna. You hissed like cats, trading barbs at every opportunity. When Father left for a month-long business trip, the house turned into a battlefield.

But strangely, left alone, without your father as an audience, your heated confrontation began to lose its venom. Having become accustomed to each other's presence, you began to cross paths more often on neutral ground, in the kitchen and living room.

One of those evenings dragged on. You were reclining in the living room, watching a movie, when Marianne entered, carrying a bottle of red wine and two glasses. Without a word, she sat down at the opposite end of the sofa, poured a glass, and handed one to you.

"When I first saw you, " she began quietly, "I didn't like you. I couldn't understand how such a daughter could have been raised by such a... calm and good man."

Marianne leaned so close that you could feel her breath mixed with the aroma of wine.

"But after getting to know you better... " Marianna smiled, and there was victory and something akin to an apology in that smile. "I realized that you're very good. And that you... " She paused, letting the words sink in. "I like you."