The Clock Is Ticking – Episode 28

Sequence 28

 

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‘Hey my love,’ Van’s husband welcomed her with opened arms when she walked into her mother’s house.

 

Her mother had asked him to wait for them at her house.

 

Vanessa shot him a disgusted look.

 

His arms wrapped her holding her close but she pushed him away. She walked past him to her sister’s bedroom and shut the door behind her without a glance back or another word spoken.

 

‘Vanessa!’ her mother called after her but she simply ignored her.

 

For a long moment, Davis stood in silence wondering why his wife would humiliate him like that in front of her mother.

 

‘Forgive her for behaving like that, I am sure it’s the hormones,’ her mother said ‘What do you mean?’

 

She smiled, ‘Your wife is pregnant.’

 

‘Pregnant!’

 

‘Wow.’

 

***

 

As she lay on Christina’s bed, Vanessa suddenly felt a wave of sadness wash over her and she began to cry silently.

 

She wanted out of the marriage but her mother would never hear of it, her mother was against divorce, her mother had told her the only out of her marriage would be death.

 

‘One of us will have to die then,’ she thought to herself.

 

Shortly afterwards, her husband peeped his head around the door, ‘Can I come in.’ She shook her head and turned her head to face the other way. He walked in and silently closed the door behind him.

 

He took a step towards the bed‘You are pregnant?’ he asked She responded with silence.

 

‘Answer me!’ he snapped

 

‘Yes,’ she answered softly

 

‘And you didn’t think I had the right to know about this?’

 

‘You don’t have the right to know about my child Davis.’

 

‘Oh.’

 

‘Vanessa!’

 

She sniffed, ‘I want a divorce.’

 

He felt a rush of anger, ‘I am never granting you a divorce.’ She rose from the bed and went to stand before him.

 

‘Please Davis, let’s get divorced before we hurt each other more. This marriage is not working besides I don’t love you anymore.’

 

Davis saw red he clenched his fist-tight to keep from hitting her.

 

‘Please!’ she pleaded

 

He looked straight into her eyes and said through clenched teeth, ‘I am never letting you go.’

 

‘This is ridiculous, for the sake of my baby please let m go.’

 

‘I know what your plan is; you want to run into the arms of another man. You think I will allow your boyfriends to raise my child?’

 

‘We don’t have to be together to raise this child together we can agree on terms and conditions.’

 

‘That’s bullshit and we both fu.cking know it,’ he screamed at her ‘Please,’ she said taking a few steps away from her.

 

He looked at her before he grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him. ‘So you don’t love me anymore?’

 

Her heart began to beat faster and she could feel a lump in her throat. ‘I hate it when you don’t answer me.’

 

Tears began streaming down her agonized face.

 

‘Davis get out of my life, just leave me alone,’ she screamed at the top of her voice.

 

Rage filled him; he twisted her arm behind her back.

 

Van writhed around, struggling to get free as he wrenched her arm tighter. ‘You are hurting me,’ she cried

 

He let her arm go after a few minutes, ‘You see what you make me do,’ he snapped at her.

 

‘I love you a lot Van, it would kill me to let you go,’ he said

 

More tears raced down her cheeks, there were no words that needed to be spoken.

 

She just needed a way out of this marriage.

 

 

‘We are going back home now, freshen up, I will be waiting for you in the living,’ he said before he walked out.

 

Vanessa fell down to the floor as her grief poured out in a flood of tears, her husband was going to be the death of her she could feel it. ***

 

Chard felt like throwing his phone. Why wasn’t Mattie answering? Two days he had dialed her number and it continued to ring then roll over to voicemail.

 

He was frustrated, he knew enough about her to know what she was trying to do.

 

She was pushing him away because of that one kiss they had shared.

 

She was thinking he was going to use her and discard her like he had done with the other women he had been with.

 

Frustrated he snatched the keys off the top of his table and stood up. He grabbed his jacket from behind his chair and stormed out of his office slamming the door behind him.

 

He went straight to the car park, got into his car and drove off. He pulled up on front of her work place some minutes later.

 

He burst into the reception area and walked straight to Mattie’s office. Gracie just watched as he walked right past her and she didn’t even attempt to stop him even though Mattie had told her, she didn’t want to see him.

 

Mattie was on the phone when he burst into her office, she looked up and froze. She had been avoiding him the past two days she was trying to erase the feelings that were developing for him.

 

That kiss had been a mistake nothing would ever come out of it. Mattie could never fit into his lifestyle besides, she was nothing compared to the women he slept with.

 

He didn’t sit, he was pacing back and forth, his heart felt like it was about to explode.

 

‘Hey, I am gonna have to call you back, I need to attend to something,’ Mattie said.

 

‘We are not done here so you better call back,’ the person on the other end said. ‘I will call back I swear,’ she laughed into the phone ‘Okay.’

 

‘Later.’

 

She hung up and placed her phone on the table. There was a short uncomfortable silence between them.

 

‘So,’ they said in unison.

 

He drew in a sharp breath, ‘You go first.’

 

‘How are you?’ she asked

 

‘Upset,’ he said

 

‘Why?’

 

‘You have been avoiding me,’ he said

 

She sensed his disappointment.

 

‘I have been busy.’

 

He laughed, ‘That’s a lie.’

 

‘Chard!’

 

‘We kissed Mattie and I know you felt what I felt, stop trying to avoid me.’ She kept quiet.

 

He walked towards her and cupped her cheek, forcing her to look at him.

 

‘I know you think I just wanna use you for sex but that’s not it, you are different, you are special Mattie, I would never hurt you.’

 

‘I am sorry, I didn’t mean to avoid you I just wanted a little time to myself I just

 

wanted to think.’

 

‘The kiss?’

 

‘Let’s just forget about the kiss, yes I enjoyed it but nothing good could ever come out of it.’

 

He looked at her for a while.

 

‘Okay.’

 

‘Thank you for understanding,’ she smiled

 

He was angry but he didn’t want to show it, he had hoped she would see things from his angle and perhaps agree to take things a little further.

 

He smiled back at her he didn’t want to mess up what they had because of his desires and needs.

 

He took her arm and she squeezed it.

 

‘We are good?’ she asked

 

‘Yes.’

 

‘How about I treat you to lunch so I can make up for the past two days?’

 

‘Lunch sounds exciting.’

 

‘Then lunch it is,’ she stood up.

 

*******”

 

TBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Clock is Ticking

 

 

Ella❣