"Monroe, darling you made it."
I looked between both of them before acknowledging her. "Yvette." I looked at her emotionlessly.
"Wyatt." I looked at him with an ounce of malice in my voice as if that would even get his attention.
He didn't peer up from his phone, not once. "You know Monroe -" he started with a smug tone in his voice. " - we gave you everything you have, including that monthly allowance we still put in your account every month." He finally looked up at me with a look of disdain on his face.
"The least you could do is call us your mother and father." I shook my head, knowing that I shouldn't have come to this dinner. He couldn't even hold back until I sat down. "Well when I called you mummy and daddy as a child, no-one answered."
I said finally taking a seat and pulling my chair in. Yvette looked a little shocked by our exchange, her eyes widened and I could see her searching the table for something. Her wine glass.
She soon noticed I was watching her every move before she could reach for it. She gulped looking over to my father and putting her hand on top of his. "Wyatt, Monroe. Please? Let's all settle down and just enjoy dinner okay?" He pulled his hand from underneath hers and immediately I saw the same marriage I saw as a child.
Her head bowed and her body sunk into her chair ever so discreetly. I closed my eyes trying to force away the sorrowful feeling I had for her. I shouldn't feel sorry for her, I shouldn't feel bad, but yet here I am with my big heart going out to the woman that never loved me.
I was taken out of my thoughts when the waiter came over with a bottle of red wine. My mothers eyes lit up and she stood up from her chair as she gestured to the wine. "Oh, look we got your favourite wine too."
I shook my head looking at the label on the bottle. I had never taken a sip of that wine in my life but I knew the name enough to know that she was extremely familiar with it. I waited for the waiter to leave the table. "That's your favourite wine, mother."
Her face washed over in complete embarrassment and shock. She looked around to make sure that no-one had heard my comment before composing herself and sitting back down. Her face was now stern and no longer showcasing her thespian attributes.
"Clarise has definitely been rubbing off on you." She mumbled as she looked down fixing her dress. I rolled my eyes not even willing to entertain the argument she wanted to have. "Moving swiftly on. What's this dinner really about?"
She looked over to me before looking at my father whose head was still looking down at his phone. "We just wanted to catch up. We haven't spoken for a while and Chase said -"
I rolled my eyes before cutting her off. "Chase said what? Mother. I thought this dinner was about me and catching up with me." I emphasised the word me at every attempt. "Well honey, he said you were having some problems. Talk to us sweetie, we can help -" she placed her hand on top of mine, giving it a gentle squeeze.
I immediately cringed at the words she spoke. "Some problems?!?! Are you fucking kidding me right now?" My voice began to raise as I felt the anger build up within me. My father slammed his phone down on the table loud enough to stop me in my tracks but low enough to not make people look around. "Lower your fucking voice, Monroe."
My eyes widened at my fathers tone of voice. My hands curled into fists as I tried to control my anger, he wasn't going to talk to me like this anymore. As a child this was his usual tone whenever we had a conversation which was rare.
However, as an adult he had no right, I felt my anger almost falter into fear but I didn't want him to see it, he didn't deserve to see it. He didn't get to belittle me into being the weak woman he thought I was.
"Wyatt. You dont get to talk to me like that. Not now, not fucking ever. And your little allowance you give me goes untouched because I stopped using that card a long time ago. Because father dearest I figured out that that was another way you could try and control me." I watched as his knuckles whitened and his neck began to colour in a hot red.
"Control you?!?! Yvette are you hearing this? You're going to allow her to talk to us like this? I fucking public." She gulped heavily and flinched as the violent tone of voice hit her skin. "Please Monroe. People are beginning to stare. Your father, he - he didn't mean it. Did you Wyatt?"
She looked at him pleadingly and he gave her an angered look back before looking back over to me emotionlessly. "No. I didn't mean it."
She blew out an uneasy breath, holding onto the table for dear life. Was she scared of him? My father picked up his tumbler and threw back the last of his golden coloured courage. "Now that we're past that." She looked around the table once more.
I held myself back from rolling my eyes. "Yes, past it. You were talking about my soon-to-be ex-husband and how he was lying to you about problems we allegedly have." Her mouth opened agape as she tried to speak but I cut her off once again. "He was correct about us having problems. But he missed out a very big part. We are getting divorced."
My mother's eyes widened in complete horror. Nonchalantly I gestured to the waiter to ask where our meal was, I knew my mother had already ordered me a salad or something but that wouldn't be enough so I ordered something hearty on top.
I wasn't about to deal with either of them without having some food in my system. "Right away, ma'am." The waiter scampered off and fetched our dishes in record time. "Would that be all?"
I looked at my mother and father with a sarcastic smile before digging into my steak. My father forked his food so forcefully, I could hear the screech of the knife against the plate. I could feel the anger radiating off of him.
My mother gulped before finally snapping, she quickly reached for her glass, pouring the liquid down her throat before slamming her glass back down on the table. Her eyes immediately darkened before she looked over to me.
"Chase loves you Monroe. He would do anything for you. Who else is going to love you like him?" I closed my eyes feeling the blow of her manipulations attempting to scramble my mind. "Chase cheated on me from the start of our relationship and all the way through."
My father's knife hit the table aggressively. "Considering you married him and spent nearly a decade with him, clearly you had no problem with it. So, why is it an issue now?" My heart raced as I felt the stream come from my ears.
"Are you fucking kidding me? It's always been a problem. Da-ddy." I emphasised the name I used to call him. "But it's all I've ever known. You taught that very well. To love him you must accept all of him Monroe. Isn't that what you told me. Mother?" I snapped my head to look at her.
She shook her head at me as if to say don't go there. "All Chase wants to do is love you like no other and this is how you treat him. He has been nothing but good to you from the start and this is how you repay that. He gives you everything that you could possibly want in life. How could you be so ungrateful?"
"Ungrateful?!?! Yvette, ungrateful? What do I have to be grateful for? He doesn't love me. He cheats on me and he fucking hurt me. Do you see these?" I whisper yelled at her before pulling up the long sleeves of my dress up. She didn't look surprised, she didn't even look upset for me. Her eyes were nothing but cold.
"You obviously did something to deserve it." My father firmly announced. I couldn't believe my ears, he truly believed that. I was bewildered, my head snapped to look at my mother.
"Mum -" I stopped myself as I quickly realised that she wasn't Clarise. Yvette Harris would never take her own flesh and bloods side, that's just who she was. "You need discipline Monroe. He's good for you. No-one will love you like he will. You need to stay will him. He's your husband."
"I can't believe this. I tell my parents that my husband has physically hurt me and you tell me I have to stay with him. You're supposed to love me. You're supposed to take care of me. What kind of parents are you? You should love me enough to want me to be happy. Clarise would never -"
She grabbed her glass once more and gulped the rest of it down as if it were her last. "You ungrateful little bitch. We introduce you to this extraordinary man and at the first sign of trouble, you run. What kind of woman are you?"
I abruptly stood up, I didn't need this, I didn't deserve this. I came here because they asked me to and this is what I get. I knew I shouldn't have come and their despicable behaviour was the exact evidence I needed to ensure my theories were true. "You know what, I'm leaving -"
But as soon as I said that I felt my blood run cold as a hand was now placed almost painfully around my waist. I felt a body next to mine leaving no space between us. I felt his breath fan my neck as I closed my eyes in attempt to hold down the bile at the top of my throat I heard. "Hello, beautiful."
I knew who it was before I heard his voice. I could smell his vile cologne as he leaned into my neck to place a kiss on my skin. I immediately moved out of his grasp with every bit of force I had. My breathing was erratic, I looked at him with disgust realising that I wasn't in a nightmare but rather, hell on earth.
My first instinct should have been to run but I was frozen on the spot not knowing what to do. How to feel? How to act? He was here. How?
My head spun to look at my mother who was now kissing Chase on the cheek greeting him and my father putting out his hand to shake his. My eyes widened as I realised what had happened. I spoke louder than I should have "You - planned this?"
I was completely bewildered at my realisation. Chase sat now continuing to talk to my parents without acknowledging me. "I should have known this was all a ploy to get me to stay with him." I turned on my heel to leave but I felt Chase's hand wrap around my already bruised wrist halting me in place. "Don't. Make. A scene."
He spoke wickedly looking down at the menu. I tugged my arm out of his grip, he turned to look at me. His expression was sinister and villainous. My heart began to thud in panic.
"You know exactly what I'm capable of." He mouthed only loud enough for me to hear.
"Now sit down and let's enjoy dinner." He emphasised every letter he sounded. I felt every letter hit my like a tonne of bricks. I didn't want to be like this, I didn't want to be his housetrained little housewife and act accordingly.
I wanted to be strong, I wanted my strength to shine through like the sun at its brightest but I couldn't because he was right. I knew what he was capable of and I had a sinking feeling that his threat from the other day was in no way empty.
I slowly sat down in my chair, as far away from him as I could be. I watched as he gracefully interacted with my parents, they laughed and joked for what felt like forever.
We sat like a normal happy couple having dinner with the in-laws, but that wasn't what it was. To the outside world he looked like the perfect husband but this just showed me, watching him in this moment how much he had completely fooled me.
I saw as he generously tipped the waiter, I saw at how he bought another expensive bottle of wine, I saw the way he gifted my mother with a single white rose as a loving gesture from her son-in-law and how he gifted my father with yet another Rolex for a belated birthday present.
Both pairs of eyes were completely enthralled by his money, generosity, and status. They loved him more than they loved me, and I could see it in their eyes when they lit up in his presence.
I pitied them, I pitied Luxe, I pitied myself because it was so easy to think we had all fallen in love with him. His charm in public was out of this world, his charismatics allowed him to talk to any and everyone, and his sleek style masked the unloving man who only ever loved himself.
I needed to get out of here before he scrambled my mind and I knew I needed to quickly because he would pick up my distressed signals from a mile away. I stood up quickly "Excuse me for a moment. I need to go and freshen up."
I expected someone to argue but none of them really acknowledged me which was good, call me naive but I had hoped that I would get to leave unnoticed and call Tobias. The ladies was in the opposite direction to the exit and I could feel someone watching me so I played it safely and rushed off to the bathroom. Once I got to the bathroom, I checked that all of the cubicles were empty and they were so I locked myself inside of one.
I quickly got my phone out and dialed. The phone went straight to voicemail and I felt like crying. I just needed to hear his voice to soothe me. I managed a hushed scream into my hands, I was frustrated, angry, upset. and scared.
My own parents welcomed Chase with open arms after they had just found out about the abuse, I knew that they would never be in my life but this just gave me every reason to keep them out permanently.
I was taken out of my thoughts when I heard my phone chime.
Chase:
You're taking an awfully long in the bathroom. We are just finishing up our food. Your family aren't too impressed by your behaviour tonight. I wouldn't want to have to spank that tight behind of yours ;)
I was fuming reading his message and just as I began to start composing a message back I stopped myself knowing that this was stupid and he was doing it to get a rise out of me and I was playing into it at an alarming rate. I breathed deeply before hearing my phone chime once more.
Oh wait, Tobias already did. And wouldn't want this to get out, would we?
Below the message was a picture of Tobias and I on the balcony naked in France as he took me from behind, it was dark but you could definitely see it was me and him.
I gasped as the tears formed in my eyes. I knew his threats were real but to see them live and in the flesh made everything so much more real.
My body felt every bit constricted, my bones were brittle, my mind was racing uncontrollably, and my heart was being pulled every which way. Chase was doing this to me, to Tobias, to us. He was really willing to take us down with no shadow of a doubt.
Better get out here quickly, Monroe.
I quickly wiped away my tears, readjusting myself and finding my composure before I walked out. His eyes were already trained on me as I exited and walked towards our table.
"There she is." He gestured to me in a larger than life manner.
I held back a scoff as I approached my chair, choosing to stand behind it rather than to sit down. Chase's eyes were now so much more menaching, so much more cold. His eyes were empty unlike his threats and that was the only thing on my mind.
My parents stood up as they set up to leave, clearly they had accomplished what they had set out to do. "I couldn't have my wife's parents paying the bill could I."
He looked at my mother endearingly and she mirrored his look. He held her hands in his with a smile. "You are a sweetheart. Thank you for treating us to this meal, my dear son-in-law."
"Always so generous Chase." My father smirked smugly as he nodded his head assuringly. This was as much as I could take, so I turned on my heel and hurried to the entrance as stealthily as I could.
As I soon reached the outside I released the breath I had been unknowingly holding. I looked through my handbag for my car key before turning to walk to the valet parking. I was halted with his hand tightly around my arm. "You'll be mine again, Monroe. I promise you that. I'll be in touch."
I ripped my arm out of his hand, I didn't even look back before I started speed-walking to my car. As soon as I sat in the front seat, I locked all of the doors and checked that he wasn't anywhere near.
My head fell to the steering wheel as my hands tightened around the wheel. I inhaled and exhaled loudly, I was struggling to breathe feeling everything hit me at once. This was all too much.
The tears began to fall and I swiftly swiped them with the back of my hands before putting my seatbelt on and starting the engine. I needed to get out of here.
I was driving with only one destination in mind, home.
As if my heart and body knew every left, every right and every forward to where I needed to be. I just drove. I soon found myself putting in the passcode to a wrought iron gate. The gates opened, I swiftly drove through and pulled up to the front door. I searched through my bag, and finally ran up the stairs. I fluidly put the key in the door.
I pulled my heels off of my feet and ran to the bedroom with them in hand. I felt the tears stream down my face, as soon as the door opened the tears fell at an uncontrollable rate.
He wasn't here but everything around me smelled, felt, and screamed Tobias. All I needed was him to fill this beautiful fantasy. I threw my heels aside before crawling along the contours of the bed until I found myself tucking into his side.
I could smell him on the pillow. It hurt that he wasn't here but if this was the closest I could be to him then I would accept it. I whimpered into his pillow, letting his intoxicating scent wipe away my drying tears.
My body shivered and quaked until I finally felt myself fall into an exhausted sleep.
...
I stirred in my sleep as I heard a few noises in the house. I slowly woke up out of my sleep, I slipped out of bed and walked over to the bedroom door, I creaked open the door not trying to alert whoever was here.
But as soon as I saw his stature, I gasped before running over to him. He looked happily shocked when he saw me running to him, immediately his arms went outwards and I jumped into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his torso, dipping my head into the crook of his neck and his hands curling around my back.
Bittersweet tears formed in my eyes. I knew what was coming and somewhere deep down I think he did too. So, I thanked every single higher power for giving me this last moment with him. "Shhhh baby. I'm home."