I Rented a Beach House to Cope With My Father's Death, but the Owner Knew Too Much About Me and It Started to Scare Me – Story of the Day

After my father's death, I rented a quiet beach house to escape and find some peace. But the owner seemed to know far too much about me, things I never told him. His strange behavior and unsettling knowledge made me question everything and left me feeling more afraid than ever.

Why is loss so hard? Why does it hurt so much? And you know that pain will never go away, it’ll dull, but it’ll always be with you. I lost my father, the person who’d been my role model my whole life, the person who’d been closest to me.

Dad lived a good life, and I knew he didn’t regret anything, at least he never talked about his regrets.

But the thought that I’d never see him again, never hear his silly jokes, and he’d never make me breakfast again, it felt awful.

To make it easier to deal with, I decided to go to a place my father had visited many times, a place he promised we’d go to together one day.

We never managed to go there together, and now it was too late. It was a beach house by the sea.

Dad went there to relax whenever he needed to escape the city hustle and wanted to be alone. Even Mom didn’t go with him.

She’d say she didn’t like swimming, and that they wouldn’t have been married for as long as they were if they didn’t spend some time apart.

I suggested Mom come with me, but she refused. “Everyone grieves in their own way, and I need to stay home to say goodbye to him here,” Mom said.

“But there’s a part of him there that you might not even know about,” I said.

“Honey, we were married for over forty years. No one knew your father better than I did,” Mom said.

“Yeah, but—”Mom took my hand. “Go. He always wanted to take you there one day,” she said.

“But if you change your mind, let me know,” I said.

“I won’t change my mind. Go,” Mom said.

So, I left. I packed my things, boarded a plane, and the next day, I was standing, watching the waves crash against the rocks.

I took a taxi and went to the address of the house where my father had spent so many years relaxing.

When I arrived, I saw a small but beautiful house in front of me, just the kind you imagine when you hear “beach house.” Around the house, there were many colorful flowers planted, which added to its charm.

I looked around, waiting for the owner to meet me, but there was no one. Then I spotted a local guy a few years younger than me.

He walked up to me with a big smile. “Hi, you must be Kate,” he said.

“Yeah, that’s me,” I said.

“Nikolas. Nice to meet you,” he said, shaking my hand.

Nikolas showed me the house, explaining every detail, then gave me a list of local places where I could eat well, which was very kind of him.

“I hope your stay goes well,” Nikolas said.

“I came to say goodbye to my father, but thank you,” I said.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite understand,” Nikolas said.

“My father used to come here often. His name was Max,” I said.

“Oh,” Nikolas said, looking shocked. “My condolences.”

“Thank you,” I said, and Nikolas left, leaving me alone.

The next day, I walked around the town, seeing in person the places my father had shown me in pictures.

I remembered how many stories he’d told me about those places, and it felt like I could finally experience it all myself.

I returned to the beach house for lunch to wait out the heat and saw Nikolas there, with a bouquet of blue irises on the table.

“I brought you flowers for your mood,” Nikolas said.

“Thank you, these are my favorites. Can you read minds or something?” I asked.

“Something like that,” Nikolas said.

At first, I thought it was just a sweet coincidence, but as time went on, the coincidences kept happening.

Nikolas knew I was allergic to pollen and replaced all the pillows in the house, even though I hadn’t mentioned it.

He knew I could drive a boat and rented one for me for the day. He even knew which fruits I liked and brought them to me, bananas, grapes, and apples, just like Dad used to.

It started to freak me out. How could he know all this? Was it just a coincidence?

I could’ve brushed it off, telling myself that maybe Dad had mentioned these things to him. But when Dad used to come here, the owner was a woman. It didn’t make sense.

Every time I turned around, there was something else that made me uncomfortable.

I thought about asking him directly, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to hear the answer.

My heart raced whenever I saw him, unsure of whether he was just being kind or if something darker was happening.

One day, after running into Nikolas, I finally decided to ask him. “Nikolas, did you know my father?”

“Uhh... no,” he answered, looking puzzled. “I’ve only been the owner of the house for a year. Before, it was managed by my mom, but she passed away, unfortunately.”

“My condolences,” I said, feeling a little awkward. “But my father used to come here all the time. He spent so much time here.”

Nikolas seemed to hesitate. “Yeah, I heard stories about him from my mom. She said he was a good man.”

I felt a strange knot in my stomach. "Did she ever mention anything else? Anything about... his life here?"

Nikolas shook his head. "No, nothing like that."

That night, I woke up to strange noises, like someone was in the house. I grabbed my phone and went to check, but after looking around the whole place, I didn’t find anyone, just an open window in the kitchen, which I was sure I had closed. I went back to bed, deciding it was just my imagination.

But in the morning, on the kitchen table, I saw something that hadn’t been there the night before.

A photo of my father sitting on the beach with some woman. It wasn’t labeled, just sitting there.

A shiver ran down my spine. Had Nikolas come into the house while I was asleep? This was getting really weird, and I even considered moving to another house.

One day, while walking along the beach, I felt a strange sensation, like someone was watching me.

But when I looked around, I didn’t see anyone. I kept walking until I heard rustling in the bushes. I turned around and saw Nikolas there!

“WHAT THE—??” I yelled.

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.

“Are you stalking me?!” I yelled.

“It’s not what it seems,” Nikolas said.

“This is too much! I need to know the truth! How do you know so much about me? Why are you watching me?!” I yelled.

“Did you find the photo I left?” Nikolas asked.

“Yeah, I found the damn photo! Do you understand how not normal this is? Coming into the house at night while I’m sleeping?!” I yelled.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to scare you. I just thought you’d be happy to see a photo of your father,” Nikolas said.

“How did you know it was my father? You said you didn’t know him, and the photo wasn’t labeled,” I said.

“Umm… well… uh,” Nikolas hesitated.

“So, you did know him?” I asked.

“He wouldn’t want me to tell you this, he wanted to tell you himself,” Nikolas said.

“Guess what, Nikolas? He can’t tell me anything anymore!” I yelled.

“Okay, let’s sit somewhere, and I’ll explain everything,” Nikolas said.

We sat on a bench by the seafront, and Nikolas sighed heavily. “Max came here before I was born. He became friends with my mom,” he said.

“So, he was a family friend?” I asked.

“Not exactly. Eventually, the friendship turned into something more,” Nikolas said.

“What? Are you saying my dad had an affair? I don’t believe you, he loved my mom so much,” I said.

“That’s why the affair didn’t last long. Max realized he couldn’t do that to his wife, and they separated,” Nikolas said.

“But he kept coming here?” I asked.

Nikolas nodded. “Soon after they separated, my mom found out she was pregnant,” he said.

“With you?” I asked.

Nikolas nodded. “That’s why he kept coming here, to help raise me,” he said.

I sat there in shock, staring at the sea, unable to find the words. “So, you’re my brother?” I finally asked.

“Half-brother, but yeah. That's why I was acting so weird,” Nikolas said.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Your dad talked so much about you, I felt like I already knew you,” Nikolas said.

“And he never told me anything about you,” I said.

“Yeah, I know,” Nikolas said.

“I can’t believe it! What a jerk! He lived here with another family while my mom waited for him at home!” I screamed.

“He was afraid it would ruin his marriage,” Nikolas said.

“But that’s not fair to you!” I yelled. “You didn’t deserve to be someone’s secret your whole life.”

“My life wasn’t that bad,” Nikolas said.

“This is unreal. I thought I knew my father, but it turns out he had this whole secret life,” I said.

“He still loved you very much,” Nikolas said.

“Maybe you’re right, but this... it all feels like a made-up story,” I said.

“I’ve lived like this, so it’s hard for me to judge. What will you do? Will you tell your mom?” Nikolas asked.

“Probably not. Let her think she had a good husband and knew all his secrets,” I said.

“I see,” Nikolas said.

“But I’d like to stay in touch with you. You can even come visit me,” I said.

“Really?” Nikolas asked, hope in his voice.

“Yeah, you’re my younger brother,” I said, and he smiled.

We sat there, watching the calm sea, the sea where my father had hidden so many secrets, and they had finally come to the surface.

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