Man Forbids Everyone From Entering Cellar, Lets Maid Unlock It Only Before Death

Gregory had kept his cellar off-limits for years, a secret he closely guarded. But upon being hospitalized, he had a change of heart, allowing only their newest maid, Donna, to enter. What she found there prompted her to do something kind for Gregory.

“Stay away from the cellar! How many times have I told you?” Gregory reprimanded his children, who were determined to find out what lay beyond the locked door.

“Dad! But we only want a look!” his son, Olly, insisted.

“I said no. Now you both go back inside before I get really cross!” he continued, sternly.

“But Dad!” his daughter, Julie, moaned.

“GO!” he nearly shouted, sending them reluctantly back indoors.

“This is madness! You’ve gone mad! We’ve been together so long and I have a right to know what’s in my house!”

He didn’t regret being so firm. What was in that cellar was too important for anyone else to see. But his wife, Mirtha, wasn’t pleased.

“I thought it was just your little hideaway, Gregory. Why won’t you let the kids in?” she pressed while they prepared for bed.

“It’s not a place for kids, Mirtha. Do you want them to see something unsuitable? Get hurt or break something valuable?” he argued, waving his hands.

“Well, if it’s so dangerous, I should see it too. I have a right to know what’s in my own home,” Mirtha declared, applying her hand lotion.

“Listen, Mirtha, it’s my personal space, the one thing I asked for before we married. If you can’t respect that, I’ll just move out. I mean it,” Gregory said with a solemn look.

“Fine,” she huffed, getting under the covers in a huff.

Gregory didn’t pay much mind to her attitude. His private space was sacred, and that was that.

***

Mirtha wasn’t ready to let it go. Though the kids eventually lost interest and moved out, her curiosity endured. Once the kids were gone, Gregory brought in help so Mirtha wouldn’t have to overwork herself at home. Enter Rose, their new maid. Gregory explained she could clean everywhere but the cellar.

But Mirtha wasn’t finished. Gregory caught Rose rifling through his desk one day when he came home early. Rose had been with them for a whileโ€”she was reliable and meticulous. But having her in his office like that, with nothing to clean, was cause for concern. She turned pale as he stepped in, and she offered a shaky little smile.

“Rose, what are you doing?” he asked quietly yet firmly.

“Only cleaning, Mr. White,” she replied nervously, betraying her guilt.

“Really? You clean drawer interiors without any cleaning supplies?” he observed.

She couldn’t continue lying. “I’m sorry, Mr. White! Mrs. White promised me a bonus to find the cellar key. I needed the money and didn’t think it was wrong,” Rose confessed, teary-eyed.

Gregory sighed. “Move, please.” He got his checkbook out of a drawer she had searched, wrote her a check. “Here’s your bonus and severance, Rose. You’re fired,” he stated gently.

“Mr. White, I’m really sorry,” she cried.

“I understand that, and it wasn’t all your fault. But I need someone I trust working here.”

When Mirtha got back, she was furious. “I can’t believe you fired her over this! It was my fault! The poor girl didn’t deserve it,” she shouted.

Fortunately, Donna came by and helped smooth things over. That was when Gregory made a choice.

“Yes, it was your fault. Apologize to Rose. Luckily, I made arrangements. She has a new job with a friend’s recommendation. I’ll interview for a new maid who understands the rule,” Gregory asserted.

“Madness! We’ve been together decades, Gregory. I should know what’s in there!” Mirtha cried.

“Very well. I’ll move out and we’ll separate, and you won’t have to worry about it anymore,” he declared coolly.

“No! Are you serious? That’s not what I meant!” she protested, stopping short of tears.

“I see what you want, but it’s the one thing I can’t give. I asked for one thing when we got married. So I’ll be in my office tonight. You think on whether you can accept not knowing.” He retired to his office, leaving Mirtha to her thoughts. The next day, she offered an apology, realizing she didn’t want to lose him over a secret. She agreed never to ask again.

Surprised, Gregory hugged her. They moved on.

Soon Donna joined the household. She was reliable, didn’t pry, and made an excellent addition. With new cameras placed discreetly, Gregory monitored the cellarโ€™s surroundings initially. But Donna never snooped or gave the entrance a second glance…

***

Years flitted by, and the cellar’s mystery faded from the family’s minds. Mirtha accepted the situation as Gregory hardly ever visited his ‘mancave.’ They moved on with life, cherishing moments together.

Donna was a presence in Gregoryโ€™s life when Mirtha passed away after falling ill in her 60s. Gregory, a few years her senior, had retired. After the funeral, with family returning to their lives, he found solace in Donna’s companionship. She, in turn, became his confidante, a role she filled with grace and sentiment.

But little did Gregory know, on her last days, Mirtha confided a secret longing to Donna.

***

Donna was unsure about digging into Gregoryโ€™s secret. But Mirthaโ€™s last wish echoed in her mind: see the cellar’s contents. With Gregory on his morning walk, Donna searched for and found the cellar key on his vanity mirror. Hastening outside, she struggled with the rusty lock, but with effort, it yielded. Stark and dusty was the cellar she entered; yet a shadow crossed behind her.

“What are you doing down here?” Gregoryโ€™s voice, stern at the entrance, made her flinch.

“Mr. White, I’m sorry, but Mrs. White said never seeing inside was her only regret…” Donna confessed with trepidation.

Gregory’s stern face softened. He nodded, silent, and she left him to his reflections amid his past relics.

The next day at the hospital, Gregory offered the key to Donna again. “Take a proper look this time,” he pleaded. “My last request: keep or discard it, but donโ€™t tell my kids.”

Donna agreed. Returning alone to the mysterious cellar, she found items: a suitcase with womenโ€™s clothes, jewelry, photos, and letters.

Could this be it? She wondered, scrutinizing their contents. Returning to Gregory, she listened to the story unravel from his memories. This suitcase held pieces of his first love, Ruth, lost to time and circumstances long past, but never forgotten.

As Gregory explained Ruthโ€™s family, elopement plans undone, and the remnants he cherishedโ€”all kept unsharedโ€”Donna realized why he kept them hidden. Not shame but perhaps a bittersweet memory unshared with Mirtha, it was his pain masked as mystery.

“It’s a secret everyone held their first love dear,” Donna said, trying to console.

“True. But with Ruth gone mysteriously, I hid the reminder. It seemed perfect to preserve,” Gregory sighed. “But I am at peace now. Dispose of it, if you please.”

Donna consulted her daughter, debating the right to dispose. In turn, her daughter posed that perhaps they could find Ruth and bring closure to Gregory. Their search began with photographs and derived names until social media suggested a match.

“Look, Mum! A woman who matches Ruth… could be her kin,” her daughter shared, initiating contact with a tale that soon connected them to Opal, Ruth’s daughter.

Opal responded, expressing her mother’s longing, restricted by a father’s will long ago but never seeking what was lost. Distance separated, but they resolved to bridge it, bringing closure full circle.

On a sunny hospital room day, they reunited Ruth and Gregory. Knowing their past but living in their present, they wept with what-ifs and might-haves becoming a testament to their timeless bond. Opal, too, was privy to love stories told often but lived seldom. As love found a way to outshine and reunite two souls, it became a celebration of life and the love Gregory carried quietly in his heart.

The stoic Gregory shed tears of hope and reunion as Ruth embraced him, signaling that love lingered like a whisper from their past, meeting the present with compassion. Opal and Donna witnessed, then retreated, leaving the two to reminisce the love Eugene never forgot, and perhaps Ruth never abandoned.

Not only did Opal and Donna surprise, for Gregory and Ruth then resolved, with a simple ceremony and closest by, to marry, transforming loveโ€™s dream into memoryโ€™s resolve.

“Mum? Is this real?” Opal cautioned, yet hopeful for her own kin.

“Gregory, shouldn’t your children stand as witness?” But questioned, the children embraced, as did their parents, with vows tender yet profoundly binding.

In a single room, vows affirmed dreams mending. Gregory smiled, knowing his heartโ€™s secret was now open, freeing him to love anew. Becoming a husband once again, Gregory rested peacefully forever, with Donna and his children carrying forward his stories, smiles, and secrets.

In the end, their decision relieved hearts, Mirthaโ€™s spirit rejoiced in truth discovered, and Gregoryโ€™s heart fulfilled wholly at last.