Douleur

Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Three

The real world.

It came fast and it hit hard. The couple wrapped up their last few days in Las Vegas and immediately went back home. Work never stopped for Quincy, who needed to make up for all of the time that he had taken off. It wasn't like him to take prolonged breaks and actually enjoy them.

"Babe?" Quincy spoke into the receiver of his iPhone.

Heaven was on the other end. She had been at home, sitting in front of her computer. "Yes, love?"

Quincy released a deep breath. His eyes traveled over to the clock on the wall of his office. The time read 6:45pm. "I'm going to be working a little late tonight."

She didn't say anything. It was the third night this week that he had done it. She couldn't understand exactly what was happening. They had been back from their honeymoon for four months now. The first week back, Heaven removed herself from the company dealings.

While in Las Vegas, she met a woman that she was so drawn to. It had never happened to her before. The woman was so easy to talk to, so that's what Heaven did. She talked. The woman encourages Heaven to write about her experiences. Many people had gone through similar things without hope that things get better, she said.

It's your purpose to give hope.

"Heaven?" Quincy spoke up. "Are you there?"

"I'm here," she responded softly. "What exactly are you doing?"

Q expected it. When Heaven removed herself from the business, it wasn't the biggest loss in the world. Granted, she was his wife, but she also hadn't done much with the company for a while. As soon as she left, he appointed Christi as second in command. It was his way of thanking her for running the company and showing his appreciation for everything she'd done while he was away.

Models were getting deals left and right. Christi made him realize that not all models were the same. Not everyone wanted to do Vogue. Hell, not everyone wanted to do magazine shoots. Some women wanted to walk runways. Some women wanted to model for fashion brands. It was Quincy's job to figure his models out. It was his job to rebrand his entire company.

"I'm working, babe. I know you wanted to go to that movie tonight, but I really have to get this work done."

"We've rescheduled this movie three times now, Q."

"I know, but Heaven, you have to understand that I'm doing something big. I've been gone from working for a while and I would really love to get back into the groove."

"You promised me that time would be made for our marriage."

Quincy began to speak, but stopped himself. He removed the phone away from his ear for a moment. He didn't wish to argue. He didn't wish to cause her any sadness, but he wished that she was more understanding.

"Okay. I'm wrapping it up now and I'll leave at 7. We can make the movie."

"Okay," she replied. She wasn't convinced, but she would definitely go along with it.

Heaven hung the phone up and saved her document. She was nearing the end of her book and everyday was taking a toll on her. She was having to relive moments that she didn't wish to relive. She was having to open up about her deepest, darkest thoughts when it came to things such as her husband's alcoholism, her suicide attempts, being raped and her daughter's death. Some of these things Quincy didn't even know about.

She stood to her feet and walked into her bedroom. Clarity was what she needed. Was she being too harsh?

"Hello?" The woman on the other end of the phone answered. She sounded cheerful, as usual, which made Heaven's heart happy.