Celeste didn't see Owen anywhere in the Hotel Cortez for the next several weeks. She wasn't sure if he went to the hospital after James had stabbed him to save her or if he was lying in a ditch somewhere. She didn't really particularly care which it was, she just hoped he didn't go to the police and bring them here. It wasn't like they could arrest James anyway, he was dead after all and couldn't set foot outside of the hotel. She didn't even care if she never saw her 'husband' ever again. She did, however, get divorce papers so she could do what she should have done years ago after the first time that Owen ever struck her. She had been naive to believe him when he said that he was sorry and would never do it again. He did do it again, and again and again over the course of five years. And it didn't stop with just his fists either. He often times would use his belt, or what was in easy reach. She had numerous trips to the emergency room to prove it, but he had always had a story and for all those years he got away with it.
When she had told James of the stories of the things that Owen had done to her over the years, she saw the fire in his eyes as he became enraged and he swore that if Owen ever set one foot even an inch into his hotel again, he was going to kill him. Somehow, that actually comforted Celeste, to have someone willing to do anything to protect her. She knew she should object to him killing someone, she found that she couldn't. Owen had never paid any price for the pain and scars he had caused her and he should. No man should get away with beating on a woman like that. She had been his personal punching bag for too long and it was time it stopped.
Celeste sat in the chair in her room, filling out the divorce papers when James appeared. He seemed to come and go as he pleased, but she didn't mind. She enjoyed his company, and he was always sweet to her. He never touched her without permission, he had yet to even kiss her and she could tell that he wanted to. She wasn't sure why he hadn't yet and she wasn't sure if she wanted to ask. She did appreciate the things he did for her, like having dinner prepared every night and they even dined together. It wasn't fancy, just simple dinner with some drinks and conversation so they could get to know one another. He also would bring her a single rose every time he came to visit, which he handed her as he sat on the arm of the chair. She smiled, taking it and giving it a smell as she always did. She wasn't sure where he got them from, nor did she care.
"What are you working on darling?" James asked her curiously.
"Divorce papers. I'm going to do what I should have done the first time that bastard laid a hand on me. Hell, I should've never married him to begin with." said Celeste.
"Pardon my asking, but why did you marry him? Did you love him?" asked James.
"I thought I could, but that wasn't why we got married. It was my father's doing. Owen and I had just met when my father put the whole wedding together."
"So this man didn't even woo you, your father just forced you into marriage."
"Yeah, and I couldn't exactly tell my father no either."
"Why not dear?"
"My father never took no for an answer. He is a mean son of a bitch who did whatever he saw fit to ensure that he got his way."
