To Capture a Clown

Little Wife

In the morning you entered your house. Somewhere deep down you expected your husband to be waiting for you to come home. You pictured him asking where you've been for the entire night and being furious about it.The idea that he cared made you smile ear to ear. But, of course, you were disappointed when you walked upstairs and saw him passed out in your bedroom. His female "friend" was gone but traces of her were stained in the bedroom, never to be forgotten or ignored. You never wanted to sleep in the bed again.

"I'm so sorry Miss Beckett" Your housekeeper, Michael, was there most of the night forced to listen to the party above his head. Michael bore witness to countless accounts of your husband's adultery. He didn't deserve to have to stand here and feel sorry for you. "Also Miss, the Waynes, and your parents will be here soon." He was hinting towards your passed out husband. You gave him a small smile and he walked away. Never have you felt so low in your life. Everything around filled you with so much pain and darkness and you remembered why you wanted to die last night. But you also remembered Arthur. The man who was so mysterious yet intriguing. You wanted to be near him again because it seemed like he was your only source of happiness. You had to try to do something about his horrible living conditions, he deserved at least that.

"Henry, get up!" You shoved your husband on his back as hard as you could, over and over again. Once he awoke Henry sharply turned around and grabbed your arms.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! I have such a bad hangover and this is how you wake me up?! You're so damn annoying." He shoved your hands away from him like you were garbage. But you remained composed and waited for him to sit up and take his headache medicine. He soon noticed you quietly looking at him.

"What are you staring at?" He said with irritation.

"I'm waiting for you to get ready. Thomas Wayne and his family will be here soon and you don't want them to see you like this." You said with the softest voice, trying your best not to provoke him. Henry sighed, slowly stood up, and started walking towards you. He grabbed you by the sides of your arms and brought you close to him. So close, you could smell his horrible morning breath.

"See? I like when you are soft. Good little wife." He looked at your lips and gave you an open mouth kiss, but you didn't dare kiss him back. You tried your hardest not to think about where his mouth had been just last night. "You know I hate when you have that bitchy attitude of yours." He let you go and brushed past you, clearly unsatisfied with the one sided kiss.

Right when he left the room you ran into the bathroom and threw up. But because you hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning it was mostly bile and continuous gagging. This is how Henry makes you feel. Not one single moment of the staged marriage have you felt loved or appreciated, just disgust and heartbreak. You took your wedding ring off and threw it in the bathroom trash can. It was time to get rid of that thing anyway. After that, you went into the hot shower in an attempt to make yourself feel clean again. The hot running water warmed your skin and loosen up your muscles. You started to remember your dance from last night. You felt so graceful and free. You wanted to feel that way again. You graciously lifted your arms up and slowly back down, letting the water run down your fingertips. You put one foot in front of the other and twirled around as slowly as possible. As you are about to put your leg up you hear banging at the door.

"What the hell is taking you so long, I got to get in there woman!" Henry opened the door that you could've sworn was locked. Your hand quickly covered your privates and you ran out the shower grabbing your towel and leaving the bathroom.

"Jesus, you could've stayed. There is enough space for two." He winked at you and began to undress. You said nothing but slammed the door right in his face. How dare he barge in on you and then try to get you to have sex with him. Who the hell does he think he is?

You put on a simple floral dress to look presentable in front of your guests when they arrived, even though you never spoke in the family meetings. Thomas Wayne brings his wife and children with him everywhere he goes as props. Their only purpose is to make him look better as he runs for the campaign. The same thing applies to you as the daughter of the current Mayor. You just have to sit still and look pretty, while they deal with everything. That's why you were so surprised when Martha Wayne asked you how you were feeling today in front of everyone.

"I'm doing just fine, Martha. Just fine." Although she acted so concerned, you knew better. You knew that woman saw you as a threat even though you had no interest in becoming the mayor of Gotham. You could barely even take care of yourself, imagine having to take care of an entire city.

"Ok, as I was saying, you need to look like the perfect couple which shouldn't be hard to do. You and Martha represent the ideal marriage of the city, Thomas. And that little Bruce over there puts the icing on the cake. You are sure to with the campaign and take over my place as Mayor. And I wouldn't want it any other way." Your father boasted about Thomas like he was a god. But you never really saw him as an exceptional man, he was just like everybody else in this crappy city.

"That means a lot coming from you, I greatly appreciate it." They shook hands, said their goodbyes and they left as quickly as they came. Your dad completely ignored your presence while mom simply hugged you and whispered in your ear.

"You know, if you want to please your father, you and Henry should have a child to secure your marriage for the public. That would make him so happy, sweetheart. You know he cares a lot about appearances." Never in a million fucking years.

"I'll think about it, mom." Both of you knew that wasn't true.

After they left, you and Henry parted ways, as you guys usually do. You took your spot next to the window seal. In your opinion, it's the best seat in the house. You loved the way the sun rays tickled your skin and the serene view of nature outside made the perfect view. You looked outside and saw a figure standing far away, but you couldn't quite make out who or what it was. You turn around to see if anyone else noticed the figure, but no one else was in the room. You look back out the window and the figure was gone. You didn't think much about it, maybe it was just an animal.