THE DESPISED SON-IN-LAW { RISE TO POWER}

chapter two

The Unseen Affection

Daniel couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling he had ever since he saw the message from Andrew on Sarah’s phone. He tried to ignore it, telling himself he was overthinking and being excessively cautious. Sarah had always been focused on her job, with late nights at the office.

But as the days passed, subtle changes in her behavior became harder to overlook. Daniel at time wondered what was going on and why she was paying him little attention or no attention at all.

One evening, as they sat on the couch watching TV, Daniel turned to her. “You’ve been coming home late a lot lately. Everything okay at work?”

Sarah didn’t look up from her phone. “Yeah, just the usual. A lot of deadlines.”

“Deadlines that keep you out until midnight?” Daniel pressed, his voice tinged with concern.

She finally looked at him, her eyes tired but guarded. “It’s not like I’m out partying, Daniel. It’s work. You know how demanding Andrew can be.”

Daniel hesitated, not wanting to push too hard. “I know. I just… I miss you.”

Her lips curved into a small smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m here now, aren’t I?” she said lightly before returning to her phone.

That empty response gnawed at him. The warmth that used to be visible in their conversations seemed to have vanished.

As the days turned into weeks, Sarah’s late nights became more frequent. When she did come home, she was distracted, glued to her phone or lost in her thoughts. Dinner conversations had become almost nonexistent.

One evening, Daniel decided to address it again. “Sarah, can we talk?”

She sighed, setting her fork down. “What about?”

“You’ve been distant. It’s like… you’re not really here anymore,” Daniel said, his voice cracking slightly. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Her expression hardened. “Daniel, not this again. I’ve told you, everything is fine. Work is just stressful right now.”

“But it’s not just work,” Daniel argued. “You barely talk to me anymore. You’re always with your phone, always…”

“Always what?” she interrupted, her tone sharp. “What are you trying to say?”

Daniel hesitated, unsure if he should voice his growing fears. “I’m just saying I feel like I’m losing you, Sarah.”

She laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “You’re imagining things. Stop overthinking, Daniel. It’s exhausting.”

At work, Daniel’s unease only grew. He noticed how Andrew, Sarah’s boss, seemed to take a special interest in her. During company events, Daniel would overhear snippets of conversations between them.

“Sarah, you were incredible in the presentation today,” Andrew would say, his tone dripping with admiration.

“Thank you, Andrew. It means a lot coming from you,” Sarah replied, her smile brightening in a way Daniel hadn’t seen in months.

The way she lit up around Andrew was unmistakable, and it made Daniel felt worthless.

One evening, after another late night, Sarah walked into the living room where Daniel sat staring at the TV.

“Hey,” she said casually, dropping her bag by the door.

“Hey,” Daniel replied, not looking up.

She frowned. “What’s wrong now?”

“What’s wrong?” he repeated, his voice low. “You’ve barely been home all week, Sarah. I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, Daniel. You’re being dramatic.”

“Am I?” He stood up, his frustration bubbling over. “Because I don’t think I am. I see how you are around Andrew. The way you smile at him, the way you talk about him… You don’t look at me like that anymore.”

Her face hardened. “Andrew is my boss. That’s it. Stop making something out of nothing.”

“Is it nothing?” Daniel challenged. “Because it doesn’t feel like nothing when you’re never here, when you look at your phone more than you look at me.”

Sarah crossed her arms. “You know what your problem is, Daniel? You’re insecure. You’ve always been insecure, and it’s exhausting.”

“Insecure?” he repeated, his voice rising. “Maybe I wouldn’t feel this way if you actually cared about us—about me.”

“Maybe if you were more ambitious, I wouldn’t have to work so hard!” she snapped, the words cutting deep.

The room fell silent, her words hanging in the air like a weight.

The next day at work, Daniel’s friend James noticed his dejection.

“Hey, man,” James said, pulling him aside. “You look like you’ve been hit by a truck. What’s going on?”

Daniel sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s Sarah. Things have been… tense.”

James frowned. “Tense how?”

Daniel hesitated before saying, “I think there’s someone else. Her boss, Andrew. She denies it, but… I don’t know. She’s not the same anymore.”

James nodded slowly. “Look, I don’t know Sarah, but I do know you. You’re a good guy, Daniel. Don’t let this eat you alive. Talk to her, really talk to her.”

Daniel forced a weak smile. “I’ve tried. She just shuts me down.”

James clapped him on the shoulder. “Then maybe it’s time you stopped trying to fix everything alone.”

That night, as Sarah sat across from him at dinner, Daniel tried one last time.

“Sarah,” he said quietly, “do you even want this anymore?”

She looked up, startled. “What are you talking about?”

“This. Us. Do you even want to be with me?”

Her eyes flickered with something he couldn’t quite place. “Of course I do. Why would you even ask that?”

“Because I don’t feel it,” he admitted, his voice breaking. “I don’t feel like I’m enough for you anymore.”

Sarah stared at him for a long moment, then looked away. “Maybe… maybe we both need to figure out what we really want.”

Her words felt like a final blow, leaving Daniel staring at the woman he had once known so well, now a stranger sitting across the table.