"W-What do you mean?" I hate that I stuttered when I responded to her.
She looks at me with a knowing smirk, the frown that graced her face no longer there. I hate that she intimidates me, she makes me feel so inadequate with just one look, one raised eyebrow. I wish that they liked me or at the very least tolerated me because Nash and I are married. He's going to have to tell them when the time is right, I know they're going to hate me. They're going to blame me for Nash's divorce. They're very conservative and I know they will never accept me as Nash's spouse.
"You are in love with my son. I imagine you have not told him or else he would have gotten rid of you." She states flatly and I swallow because I wasn't expecting this at all. I can't help the way I react when I'm watching Nash. He's my everything. She's more perceptive than I could have ever imagined but I suppose it comes from being high class. They know how to say the most egregious, offensive things in a way that makes it hard for you to react harshly. That kind of attitude is all over Capitol Hill, Nash up is very good at masking his emotions but clearly I need to work on mine.
I don't even know what to say to her because I'm nervous now, my hand is trembling slightly and I hope she doesn't notice how much she's affected me.
She doesn't move her critical gaze from me as she waits for my response.
"I don't understand what you're talking about," I say moments later when I feel more composed.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Charles. You are a homosexual and you are in love with my son who is your boss. You have to know that there's no chance with my son, don't you?" She asks and I want to smack that smirk off of her face but I know that would be completely wrong. I'm so tempted to show her my wedding ring and to point out the matching ring Nash has hanging from his neck. It's tucked behind his shirt but just the knowledge that she's absolutely wrong and that man speaking at the podium is 100% mine calms me down.
I take in deep breaths because I know she's calling me Charles on purpose to make me upset but I can't allow her to make me lose my cool because then she wins.
"Nash has always had a beautiful woman by his side, did you meet his ex-wife Lea? Those are the kind of women he gravitates to. I'd feel sorry for you but really you fell for my son knowing the reality of the situation. You will always only be his assistant if that, I will be speaking to my son and advising him that he should pay close attention to your behaviors. He can't have a homosexual working closely with him, if that gets out it will harm his reelection campaign. He will lose votes because of you, he would never want to jeopardize his position, especially not for someone like you." She finishes with a superior smile in her face.
She's a truly despicable woman, she's loving what she's trying to do to me. She likes bringing me down, breaking down my self-esteem because in her eyes I'm just a lowly assistant. It just seems like she's been waiting for the perfect opportunity to let loose on me. Nash was around constantly when I met them during our last trip to North Carolina. His father is off talking to some people across the room and it's just her and I at the table.
Does she even know who her son is? He's never had the attitude of superiority that she has, he's demanding and he has a short fuse but he doesn't treat any of his workers like servants.
She's pushing my buttons and I want to tell her that I'm his husband just to wipe that smirk off of her face. I take in deep breaths because when I get really angry then I start to cry, I can't let this vile woman see me cry.
How did such an evil woman raise the love of my life? I'm so glad Nash came out nothing like her.
"I'm sure you're only interested because of Nash's status and wealth." Her eyes trail down my body and the expression on her face tells me she's judging my outfit. It's a nice tux but it's clearly not designer, wearing those kinds of clothes isn't me anyway. I could never afford them and I won't ask Nash to spend money on vain things because then I won't be any better than that money-grubbing whore Lea.
I'm practically shaking with rage, I can feel my eyes start to burn with tears because she knows exactly how to cut me down, how to make me feel bad about myself. I didn't grow up in a wealthy family but we were comfortable and honestly I'm glad for that because my family is so much more genuine than Nash's family. But it still hurts to hear those words coming from the woman who gave birth to my husband.
"What's wrong, Charles? You don't know what to say because everything I said was true?" She asks mockingly, I can't talk because if I do I know my voice will break and I'll cry, I don't want to be humiliated by this witch. I can't let her win.
Nash loves me, he married me and we're going to build a family together. No matter what she says, I married the love of my life. He divorced his wife for me,miso that we could be together and be happy. Nothing she says is true, her words are a lie and she has no idea what kind of man her son is.
I keep repeating that in my head and she stares at me, waiting for my reaction as I fight not to give her one.
Nash is off the stage but he's being approached by some of the guests. He talks to them and my eyes flicker back to his mother who watches me with a look of fascination on her face.
"Are you a mute now, Charles? I find it amazing that an assistant actually believes he could have a chance with a U.S. senator. What did you major in university? I'm sure it was something easy like liberal arts. I would really love to know how you were hired in the first place. You must have known someone, maybe you gave someone sexual favors to get in," she laughs again. She literally just called me a fucking prostitute. Someone who will let someone fuck them in order to gain something.
I can't take any more of her verbal abuse, I feel like I'm going to explode. I wish so much that Nash would finish his conversation but I'm sure even if he does that someone else will approach him. He has to be open and available, especially if he wants them to donate to his campaign.
I stand abruptly and walk away from the table. My nails dig into the palm of my hand from how tight I've clenched my fists. Tears burn my eyes and make my vision blurry. When I'm finally outside, I walk to the garden where I can have some privacy.
As soon as I sit down on the bench, I bury my face in my hands as tears start to fall. She brought up every insecurity I have. I know I practically have nothing, just student loan debt and my position as Nash's assistant. Most people my age have their life's together, Nash is younger than me and he's a United States Senator. It took me long to graduate because I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I was definitely a late bloomer. My grades were always good, it was just a matter of figuring out what I was passionate about.
My degree is psychology did nothing for me today, I realize how much her words affected me and they still are. I know Nash doesn't care about any of those things. He's so supportive and he happily shares his wealth with me. He didn't even want to sign a pre-nup, I brought it up but he refused to do it. I love the fact that he trusts me so much, that he's secure in our love and relationship. He made Lea sign one and it was iron-clad, she just made it easy because she cheated. She was never going to get anything from him through their divorce.
I know I don't bring in any material things into our marriage, some days it weighs in me more than others. She knew exactly what button to push.
I feel so inadequate to be Nash's husband.
I don't know how much time passes but my cheeks are dry when I hear Nash calling my name. I make sure my eyes are dry, I'm sure they're red but that can easily be explained away. I'll tell him I'm just tired.
I want to get myself together before I stand and go to him but he finds me before I can.
"Baby," he breathes out as he comes up to me. He kneels in front of me and forces me to meet his eyes. "What the fuck did she do?"
"Nothing," I whisper. I don't want to cause any drama or problems between Nash and his parents.
"Don't lie to me, Cameron." He says firmly and I bite my lip as I look down at my lap. He places his hands on my cheek and makes me look up at him.
"It's fine, Nash. I just want to go home, I can call a taxi though. I know you need to stay," I say quietly and his eyes search mine.
"It's not fine, Cameron. Talk to me, you need to communicate with me, baby. I don't want you to keep anything from me." He tells me softly but firmly. He strokes my cheeks gently and my eyes well up with tears again as I think about the things she said to me.
He wipes the tears as his worry increases, I don't want to stress him out by keeping it from him but I also don't want to make him lose control and lash out at his mother because of what she said.
I don't even know why I'm contemplating protecting their relationship. She just has no clue how close Nash and I are, how much we love each other and are devoted to each other. She probably never imagined that Nash would react harshly at her. In her mind she's his mother and I'm just some random assistant who can easily be replaced.
"Baby, talk to me. Please, tell me what's wrong, what did she say to make you cry?" He murmurs urgently and I sniffle sadly. My tears affect Nash so much that he looks like he's on the brink of crying as well. "Your pain is my pain, baby. I can't stand to see you like this."
I swallow nervously and I open my mouth and softly tell him everything she said to me. Nash's face turns from worry to pure anger, I knew he was going to react this way and that's why I wanted to keep it from him.
"Everything she said is a lie, Cameron. You're the light of my life, I can't imagine living without you. You make me so happy, baby. You've made my life so much better just by being in it. You're everything I could ever want or need." He says fervently, he pulls out his necklace with his wedding ring on it. "This is a symbol of my commitment to you and only you, you are it for me. I never truly knew what love was until I met you. Nothing else matters, money is not important. Status is not important. None of those things bring me happiness, only you."
He stands and pulls me up with him, he wraps his arms around my tightly and I bury my face in his neck. He rubs my back and presses soft kisses on my temple. His words, his touch and his kisses make me feel so much better. It truly doesn't matter what his mother thinks, this man that's holding me in his arms loves me despite my shortcomings and flaws. Just like I love him and all of his flaws.
She's a sick person who gets off on bring others down, I can't let it work on me. I'll just have to calm myself and not react to any of her words. Nash is my husband for life, I'm going to have to deal with her so I need to learn how to block out her hateful words.
"I love you so much, baby." He murmurs and he lifts my head up, we kiss gently and I finally relax completely. I was so tense and it gave me a headache. When we pull away Nash looks at me and smiles softly when he sees I'm feeling much better.
"I love you more," I reply softly and he grins as he leans in and presses another kiss on my lips.
"Let's go, I need to have a long discussion with my mother. I'll wait until we're at their house, I'm going to make it very clear that you are the most important person in the world to me, that you're my husband and I'm proud of that fact. I lucked out in getting such an amazing partner," he says. I really contemplate leaving and letting Nash deal with her alone but I know I should not run, I can't let her win. She would definitely see the fact that I left as a victory.
"You're coming out to your parents?" I ask him just to clarify his intentions. We didn't plan on coming out just yet but honestly I'm not going to fight him on this. He's made it clear that his career as a senator is second only to me, we can live a perfectly happy life even if it gets out that Nash is bisexual and married to me.
We head back inside, his mother and father are sitting at the table. They look at us when we join them and sit down. They're serving the dinner now, I picked out the items that would be served tonight. Before I was nervous because I wanted everyone to like my choices but now I'm just worried about the confrontation that is inevitably coming.
We eat quietly and I know this is the calm before the storm.
A/n - updated for wedontbelieveinyou because i fan girl at the fact she reads my inferior books. 😍😍😍😍
Unedited because why not?