Daddy’s Little Pet

RENEE

My heart broke like bricks tumbling down a wall. It shattered into pieces like an ice cube in the middle of December’s snow, and I couldn’t string it back together.

My soul had taken a back seat in my body, and my entire existence was now dependent on my legs moving, but I remained stiff.

The pain grew stronger and sharper with each word this woman said. It was like a punch to my guts.

It felt like someone was squeezing my heart until it was as hollow as the pit of my stomach. There was nothing left inside. And maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if I’d had something to hold onto, but now, I could only stare blankly at the wall behind her.

Everything in my line of sight was jumbled and the words ‘Mrs. Amanda Clarke’ kept echoing in my head over and over.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t block it out, and it hurt so damn much.

The things she was saying. The way she laughed as she spewed out the trash made me want to scream, but I couldn’t.

“I believe I’ve gotten you exactly where I want you.” She said after a few moments of silence.

The strange woman who’d accosted me in the restroom resumed her speech, her eyes glinting as she stepped forward.

“You don’t have any questions, huh? Perhaps you could start by asking how I have Robert’s prestigious surname attached to mine. How about that?” She asked with a wink.

My jaw dropped as I parted my lips, willing the questions to escape my throat, but they didn’t.

“Now you’re mute, eh? You were ready to leave just now. So what’s stopping you?” She mocked, a sickly sweet smile plastered on her botched face, and I grimaced.

Thankfully, she was no longer walking in my direction. Instead, she began to pace around, her hands clasped behind her back with a twisted grin.

With every sound her heels made, I could only stare. I wanted to look away, but I didn’t know how. It was as though I was paralyzed in place, and all my energy had dissipated, leaving me exhausted and defeated.

“I’m sure you’ve already figured it out in your head, but I’ll go over it again.” She said after a moment of eerie silence. She cleared her throat and continued. “By the stricken expression on your face, it’s clear you have no idea that the man you’re currently fucking has a wife and a son nearly your age, if not older.”

I gasped, shocked. Tears welled in my eyes as I tried to understand everything this woman said, but nothing made sense. Or did it?

Robert was married. This wasn’t just any random ex or woman he’d fucked. This woman was his wife and his child’s mother. His child. His son.

Suddenly it all clicked in my head, and my mind went into overdrive as a torrent of information overwhelmed everything I could focus on.

The pieces were all coming together, bit by bit, or so I thought.

I thought back to the unknown phone number calling him-the same number I’d stolen but hadn’t gotten any tangible information about. Then there was the case of the strange woman he’d refused to tell me about. The secrets Robert kept from me and how tense he was whenever I pressed him for information. This clarified it all.

“You’re such a shameless young woman. Do you know that? You’re sleeping with a married man and someone twice your age. Someone who could be your father. How filthy are you? How revolting.” She spat, venom seething in her voice as she stared at me.

She opened her mouth to continue, but the door to the restroom opened, and the noise startled us.

My gaze darted to the entrance, where I saw a slew of women from the party rush in, chattering loudly amongst themselves.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

They quickly arranged themselves in front of the mirror. They removed their masks without looking at us and went about their business, much to my relief.

However, that relief was short-lived when the evil woman in front of me said aloud, “I bet we could use some company, innit? What better way to introduce the city’s new slut and gold digger to everyone in the room?” he spoke, her tongue dripping with malice while my cheeks flushed with embarrassment and shame.

The ladies’ collective gasps and murmurs erupted as if on cue, and I watched as their heads turned toward us.

I tried to look elsewhere, hoping to avoid their critical and probing gaze and ignore the suffocating sensation building inside me.

Suffocating anger and rage. Unprecedented fury that I couldn’t control, and suddenly I decided to stand up and save myself from this humiliation before it got any worse.

I couldn’t let these women see me cry or crumble into a weak mess. Whatever the reason, I had to remain calm and collected for my sanity and my pride.

“I can’t take this anymore….” I muttered as I straightened up.

Lifting my chin, I blinked back the tears threatening to spill down my face and squared my shoulders. I faced the woman who claimed to be Robert’s wife and said, “Your lies and tantrums won’t fool me. I believe this is all some mistake. You’re probably just a jealous ex trying to ruin our lives. I give you credit because your story sounds true. But I’m not buying it.”

A chorus of snickers rang through the restroom. I cowered under the attention focused on us. I knew better than to be distracted by it.

The smug-looking woman in front of me narrowed her eyes, and for a split second, I thought I’d gotten through to her, but then she burst out laughing.

“Do you think I made up this story? How delusional and foolish can you be?”

“Perhaps I’m delusional and insane, but you? You’re a shameless liar. You have a lot of time on your hands for someone your age, don’t you? Following women into restrooms and scaring them away with empty threats. What do you want? Is it money? Oh, I’m sure Robert has plenty of that. If you want, I could get you a hefty wad of cash.” I smirked back, suddenly feeling confident.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! You probably don’t even know Robert, yet here I am. Were you paid for this? I mean, come on… I saw so many of you old ladies point accusing and pointing gossiping fingers at me all night. I won’t-”

“How about you stop talking and explain this.” She interrupted, thrusting a cell phone in front of my face, and I froze.

“Take a look at those photos and tell me what you see. Still think I don’t know Robert? Well, these pictures prove it.”

For a split second, I considered calling her bluff and not taking the cell phone, but my curiosity won out. With shaky hands, I took the phone and began flipping through the photos.

My heartbeat quickened with each image I saw. Tears rose again at the corners of my eyes. Blood left my face, making me pale, and my vision distorted.

I saw pictures of her and Robert in a restaurant, and even though they sat opposite each other, they appeared to be in an intimate situation.

Again, I saw another photo of her with him in his office, and…

“No… This is a lie. This isn’t possible.” I muttered under my breath.

Tears streamed down my cheeks in torrents as I stared at the screen with wide, horrified eyes. This time, I didn’t hold them back.

Robert knew this woman. He’d been seeing her recently, maybe even sleeping with her, and… No! Robert would never cheat on me. He loved me too much to do that… Right? Right?! The question screamed in my head.

My chest heaved, and the lump in my throat grew larger and larger, making it hard to speak.

“I won’t believe anything you say until Robert tells me himself. All of this nonsense about you being his wife and having his son. I’m not going to listen to it. Take your phone, and please excuse me.”

“You want to leave now? You can’t handle the heat, can you?” She snickered, but I didn’t respond.

Instead, I shoved her cell phone back at her and exited the restroom amidst the gossip erupting among the women.

“Oh, just wait. Robert has a lot of explaining to do. I can’t wait to see when he reveals everything. Do you want to meet his son as well? I brought him along and…”

I could hear her taunts trailing behind me. This woman wasn’t backing down. She was right on my tail, making me move faster with my desire to flee.

My vision was blurry, and I couldn’t see anything, but I kept walking, and when I got into the hall, I pushed past the crowd to get to him.

I needed to see Robert and…

A hand shot out and tightly gripped my arm, stopping me.

Warm, strong hands snaked around my waist, preventing me from falling over. As I steadied myself, my nose sniffed, catching the familiar musky scent I’d come to love and cherish.

The scent of the only man who could be my savior and undoing now.

The man with secrets, I knew, could shatter me and break me into a thousand pieces.

In a matter of months, I’d given him my entire heart, and with him, I felt safe. But was I really?

“Oh, Robert…” I mumbled, voice breaking as I clung onto him as if my life depended on it.

As I stood there, with my body pressed against his and a slew of emotions coursing through me, I only wanted to stop time and stay in this moment forever. Or perhaps I could pull away. Hide? Flee? Run? Run away from this situation and everything in it.

Run home with Robert and forget everything that happened in the restroom between that woman and me.

But I couldn’t do that. I needed answers and wanted to hear his side of the story. I wanted him to look me in the eyes and tell me the truth, no matter how painful it was.

So I slowly raised my head and looked into Robert’s eyes. We were still trapped in an embrace, and I was frozen with fear.

It was as if time stood still as our gazes locked on each other, and nothing else existed around us.

His blue eyes were filled with shock, concern, and something else-it looked like pain, confusion, and hesitation mixed together.

And then his jaw dropped as he softly asked me the question I couldn’t even answer.

“What’s the matter, Renee? What happened? Who the fuck hurt you?”