"Mrs Parker, what do you think makes a woman doubt a man's love for her even though he has done everything to assure her that he is all hers?" Joanna asked, peering into Mrs Parker's calm eyeballs.
"I know he loves me a lot. He has spent five years proving this fact to me so how could I not know how he truly feels?" She mumbled with her lowered gaze centred on the floor.
"Despite his assurance, you keep thinking why did he choose me when there are over a thousand ladies out there who deserve him more than you do?".
Mrs Parker asked as she caressed the diamond ring around her finger.
"It will even get to a stage where everything around you scares you. You will doubt everything around you including yours and his feelings," Mrs Parker added in a sad tone.
"How do you know exactly how I feel?... You talk as if you have experienced the same thing," Joanna made a wild guess not knowing that her guess was accurate.
"Because I have been there before that is why I understand how you feel a hundred per cent," Mrs Parker replied in a meek tone.
Silence engulfed the locker room after Mrs Parker confirmed Joanna's suspicions.
"And were you able to overcome your fears and get rid of your doubts?" Joanna asked seriously.
"No, and I learned my lesson in the hardest way you can ever imagine...,"
"Did he leave you for someone else?" Joanna raised an eyebrow, her gaze not shifting from Mrs Parker's face.
"No, to prove that my fears were irrelevant he paid the ultimate price with his life," Mrs Parker sniffed to fight back the tears attempting to pour.
Although she tries not to think about her tragic past, she always ends up recalling those painful days she tried to erase from her memory.
"What do you mean by he paid the price with his life?" Joanna asked despite already guessing what Mrs Parker's words meant.
"Just like you and him, we were so in love with each other. The day we got married was the happiest day of my life. Although we were married, my fears got the best of me. I became paranoid and insecure because of this...," Mrs Parker paused to control her emotions.
"Mrs Parker, you don't have to say it if it's a painful past you don't want to recall...,"
"No matter how painful it is I will say it. This is because I don't want you to ever make the mistake I made back then," Mrs Parker forced on a smile.
Her painful smile made the once curious Joanna regret prying for answers.
"On the day of our anniversary, we went out of town to celebrate. It was quite dark when we returned...," Mrs Parker trailed. She walked to the brown wooden box that served as a seat and sat down.
"We encountered robbers on our way back. I got extremely furious when they started harassing my husband and as a result, a fight broke out. In the process of fighting I didn't notice that one of the rogues pointed a pistol about to shoot me," Mrs Parker covered her face when she recalled her late husband's blood that soaked her clothes after the guy fired the gun.
His blood flowed like a river that day. Despite being so powerful she wasn't able to save him. And her vampire instinct made the issue worse.
She loathes herself anytime she recalls that dreadful night.
"He jumped and stood in front of me the instant the guy in a brown shirt released the bullets. He was aware that as a vampire bullets wouldn't harm him but he still did it. And this proved how much he loved me...,"
"Since he was a vampire too bullets wouldn't have harmed him right...,"
"He was a human," Mrs Parker announced to Joanna's astonishment.
The dumbfounded lady covered her mouth with her palms to prevent any word from coming out.
"Yes, he proved his undying love for me beyond any reasonable doubt that night; however, it was too late to make amends. He died in my arms that night. And do you know the most painful thing...," Mrs Parker paused to clean the teardrop from her eyes.
"I was lusting after his blood in his last moments. Do you think I am so pathetic?" Mrs Parker chuckled.
It broke Joanna's heart to see the ever-lively woman so sad.
She thought her case was bad but through Mrs Parker's story, she got to realise that her problem was nothing.
And that others have gone through worst scenarios.
"I don't think you are," Joanna replied. She stood up and walked to where Mrs Parker sat.
"Because you lust after his blood doesn't mean that you didn't love him enough neither does it make you pathetic. Also, longing after human blood was how you and your kind were built, it was never your fault," Joanna said meekly.
She patted Mrs Parker's right shoulder affectionately.
Joanna continued comforting Mrs Parker to make sure that the hurting lady was alright.
"Actually, I know that Kay loves me very much. What I am scared of is not about his love waxing cold because I know that is not something that will happen anytime soon...,"
"If you are so sure of his love for you then what is making you doubt him huh?" Mrs Parker who was now feeling a lot better questioned.
"I am scared that those around us might tear us apart. As you know he is not like any regular guy out there. Before he does anything he needs to weigh the pros and cons. That is what his position entails. His people come first...,"
"And who tells you that huh?" Mrs Parker demanded as she stood up from where she sat.
"Yes, he loves his people very much but the Kayden I know is not the type to abandon his woman to please the others. He will not hesitate to be the villain when it comes to matters concerning you. Take what he did to the Minister's sons as an example," Mrs Parker explained.