Chapter 86 - I broke the contract

Vanessa.

He has not let me out of his sight since we got back home. He even took days away from work so that he could watch me go to bed and wake up, eat, and go about the day–unsurprising because of how obsessed he has gotten. A week has passed since he brought me back and we still have not spoken about anything and it has me on edge. He avoids talking about anything related to my time away. Including his mother. It's like nothing happened before and it does not sit well with me. Even right now as we have dinner, it is very hard for me to sit still and relax. It would be crazy to say that I do not expect any punishment. I breached the contract. I went against our marital vows. It was faked at the time but we said them in the presence of witnesses.

“Do you like it?" He speaks suddenly.

“What?"

“The food. Do you like it?" Is that a trick question? Am I supposed to say something else? Is there a particular answer he wants me to give?

“Is that a trick question?"

“What do you mean?"

“Your question."

“What is wrong with my question?"

“Let's not pretend there isn't an elephant in the room."

“Seems like I am not aware. Can you please, tell me?" I am fed up of waiting to see if he will do anything to me.

“I left you. For more than a month. And you have said nothing. I broke the contract."

“I told you before, the contract means nothing to me. I have come to accept the fact that I am at fault for your leaving. The only thing that matters is your health."

“But..."

“The doctor said not to stress yourself. You are lucky I let you come down for dinner. I didn't mind bringing it up to you. Nothing else matters."

“And your mother? You haven't said a word about her since we got back."

There is a loud clang as he forcefully hits his fork on the plate. His annoyance is well-pronounced on his face. Bold letters might not be able to tell the tale as much as the shift in his energy. This is his mother we are talking about. Not an outsider.

“She is dead."

“You and I both know that she isn't." I hold his hand and caress it to maybe soothe him “You know you have to face her."

He stands up abruptly letting my hand fall to the table “I do not want to speak about it. She is dead to me. Stop insisting."

“She is still your mother. Can you at least try to listen to her?"

“Whatever she has to say is of no importance to me. You are going to stay away from her. She is supposed to be dead. I don't want them close to you."

“You cannot dictate for me."

“As a matter of fact, I can and I will."

“And you wonder why I left." I should not have said that because he is right beside me in the next minute.

“That was a mistake on my part. I let you out of my sight for too long. It's a mistake that would never repeat itself." He is still failing to see the reasons why I left.

I get up from my seat and look him in the eyes, matching his anger “Is that why you tripled your guards? To pass a clear message that I am a prisoner in this house. You are still failing to see that the only reason I left is because you are too controlling. Nothing is about you anymore. How it all started is of no importance what matters is that we are husband and wife. At least that's how people see us. We are supposed to be a team but what do you do? We were both attacked. I know I was, three times, and when I asked for you to come clean what did you do?" His facial expression morphs from angry to his default poker face.

“You refused to tell me the truth and when I found out what did you tell me? That you will condemn my child to the same life that you have had. That life of violence and bloodshed. I left because I wanted better for my child and I still am convinced that it is away from you."

“And how did your previous lifestyle of peace work out for you? You were quick to sell yourself to me. Is that what you would prefer to condemn our child to? A life without dignity that they wouldn't think twice about selling himself or herself to the highest bidder." The insult hits me so hard that I have to force my legs not to give up.

Here I was thinking that everything changed but he would never see me as anything more than a purchased object. That is what I am. That is what I have always been. It was so stupid of me to have given my heart to this man.

I try to control the tears falling and I make my way out of the formal dining room but his hand prevents me from going.

“Vanessa, I didn't mean..."

I force my hand out of his. “I know exactly what you meant. It was stupid of me to think that we had gotten past it. I'm sorry for breaching your contract. I'll be in my room if you need me to jump into a fire next." I head for my room. Thankfully, he does not follow. I lock the room from the inside but when has that ever kept him away?

Soon, I hear a knock on the door. He has never been known for being polite. He is the master of the house and does not need the permission of anyone to go into a room so that is probably not him. But I do not answer. I want to be left alone to think about my life's choices.

“Vanessa, darling. Open up, it's mom." The sound of her voice makes me hurry to the door even though my belly makes it a bit hard.

“Mom!" I dash into her arms when she comes into my view. I pull her inside and attempt to close the door but it is kept open by Dimitri who walks in with a tray. I give him the stink eye as he walks in. If he thinks that starting a pretense in the presence of my mother is enough to make up for the insult then he should think twice. I check the time and it is the same time he brings fruits to me every day.

“I brought you dessert among others since you didn't have any earlier." I make no move to look at him or accept what he brought. I only pretend that my ears do not work. I go to my bed without looking at him.

“I will make sure she has them. Thank you for taking care of her Dimitri." Take care? Sure. That's if accidents, bombs, and gunshots are the new ways of romance.

“It is my pleasure ma'am. You can call me if you need anything else." One would think he is the sweetest husband. At least he shut the door after leaving.

“How have you been Mom? I really wanted to come over." But Dimitri made sure to cut me off from the outside world. I'm not even allowed to breathe because he paid for me and I have to take permission before I can breathe.

“I'm sensing that you both haven't worked things out."

“Why would you say that? We're okay."

“And that's why he looked worried and you looked like you were one word away from blowing up on him." You could not have guessed any more wrong than this. It's more like the other way around.

“Mom, you are getting it all wrong."

“I am not. I may not know what exactly happened but I know my daughter. I know what you are like. He may look like that but I don't think he is one to act without being provoked, but you on the other hand. He just stared at you with remorse in his eyes but you looked like you wanted to throw him out of the room." More like out of the house. But why the hell is she siding with him? I am her daughter. We are supposed to have each other's backs.

“Mom! You are taking his side."

“I am not taking anyone's side. You left him. You had issues and you left instead of sorting it out with him."

“Mom, I tried."

“If I had left every time I ‘tried' to work out issues with your father, then maybe you and your brother would never have been born."

“You don't understand anything." I try to lie down back on the bed but she stops me.