Monster (19 page)

“I asked you to leave it alone, Jenna. If I had wanted him to know where I was working, I would’ve told him. It wasn’t your secret to tell. I didn’t realize I had to tell you not to interfere in my relationship with him.”

“Okay.” She stretched out the word, not at all accustomed to this caustic side of her friend, who typically wasn’t bothered by much and simply brushed things off with ease. The silence that stretched between them was awkward enough without the weird look the maid was tossing between them. “Alright, I’m sorry. Maybe I overstepped my boundaries a little bit. It was an accident, we were in the pool and I—”

“Wait, you were in the pool? Together?” Eden asked slowly, the incredulous look on her face would’ve been comical if she wasn’t so serious. “What the hell, Jenna?”

Jenna was beginning to regret the conversation. It wasn’t going at all like she’d expected, and the more she revealed, the angrier Eden became. “Excuse us for a minute.” Reaching out to take a hold of Eden’s elbow, she drew her away from the nosy maid. When they were a considerable distance away, Jenna looked at her friend. “Eden—” she began, but was immediately cut off.

“Tell me I’m wrong in what I’m thinking. Tell me you’re not trying to start something with him.”

“I’m not!” she protested sharply, even though the heightened color in her cheeks indicated otherwise. “It was hot, he was in the pool with Liam, and I joined them. Nothing happened. I wasn’t
trying
anything. My God, you know me—”

Eden pulled her arm away. “Yes, I know you and I know how opportunistic you can be!”

“Why are you so angry? For someone who says she wants a divorce, you’re sure as hell possessive of someone you claim you don’t want,” Jenna fired back accusingly, holding that mirror right up to Eden so that she could see her hypocrisy reflecting back at her. “Look, Eden, I’m sorry for telling him where you worked and for trying to interfere with your life. It was an accident and shouldn’t have happened. And I know you probably think I’m trying to start something with Dominic, but you couldn’t be more wrong about that. I would never betray our friendship like that.” Jenna wasn’t being one-hundred percent honest, and although she could pretty much bullshit a lot of people, convincing herself to swallow the crap she was spewing was a little harder. Okay, so maybe she
had
attempted to seduce Eden’s husband, and maybe she’d believed, for just one insane moment, that if Eden divorced Dominic she could expertly position herself to take her place in his life when Eden was gone, if as nothing else than someone to warm his bed. But really, those thoughts had been conjured by sheer lunacy, nothing worth entertaining for longer than the moment it had lasted. Aside from the fact that Dominic had clearly seen through her advances in the pool and had immediately shot her down, it had dawned on Jenna that she couldn’t possibly jeopardize her friendship with Eden for a shot at nothing. Eden mattered too much to her.

Eden released a drawn out sigh and threaded her fingers through her layered shoulder length hair. “What Dominic and I have is…it’s complicated. There are things he’s done to me that I’m not sure I can forgive, but I’m still married to him and until he and I sign those divorce papers, he’s still my husband. He can do whatever or whoever he wants after we’re divorced.”

“Do you… care about him?” Jenna asked slowly, knowing the sensitivity of the subject.

Eden didn’t answer immediately, but rather took her time to ponder on that question. Did she care about Dominic? The answer should’ve been a resounding “No”, but it was more complicated than that, more complex than the slight shade of grey in their otherwise black and white world, making it difficult for her to answer so abruptly. How could she care for someone who’d treated her so abominably? Someone who had kept her at arm’s length, rarely ever displaying a side of himself that hadn’t been steeped in cruelty? But then one could argue that he’d been rather cordial as of late, the slight glimpses of gentleness he’d recently displayed towards her could count for something. But wasn’t he quick in turning into the contemptible ape at the drop of a hat?

The truth was that Eden simply had no idea how she felt towards Dominic. Every moment she was in his company, she teetered precariously on that line of contempt for him, but it never shoved her quite over to hatred. She hated, with every fiber of her being, how he’d treated her, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate the man. Wasn’t it said that the ones you care about are the ones capable of hurting you the most? If there wasn’t one minuscule part of her that cared for Dominic then his actions would not have cut her this deeply, where the hurt sank to the marrow.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly, her hushed tone conveying her confusion and frustration with the matter. “Like I said, it’s complicated. The sad part is we’ve been married for five years, and we don’t even know each other.”

“Do you want to know him? I mean with all that’s happened between you two, do you think there could ever be anything there?”

Eden bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know, Jenna.” She sighed again. “All I know is that Dominic scares me. He scares me because he has this horrible ability to hurt me so badly and I can’t trust myself around him. Opening myself up, even just a little bit, is like inviting him in to break me again. I’m not changing my mind about the divorce; I think it’s the best thing to do for me and for him.”

“Well, whatever you decide to do, I’m here for you. Are we…are we good, Eden?” she asked hesitantly.

Eden smiled slowly. “I overreacted. I’m sorry. And I should’ve told you I was the one who paid for your little day of fun.”

Jenna grinned. “Thank you, by the way. You really shouldn’t have done it, but I appreciate it. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“So should I start looking for apartments for us, since we only have, like, four months left here?”

“Yeah, sure. Something small and affordable for now, I guess.”

The devil was in his head, banging with incessant relish at his skull, until Dominic felt like ripping off his own head would be the only way to gain reprieve. Plagued by exhumed memories that played out in nightmares, sleep eluded him. Fatigue made him ill-tempered, and his lack of focus made it impossible to concentrate on work, but stubbornness kept him going, determined to read through the necessary portfolios on his desk and make the proper calls to neglected investors. But by midafternoon the banging morphed into a scraping sort of agony that occurred only on the right side of his head, and it was only then, unable to withstand the pain that Dominic decided to forfeit the day and haul his ass home.

What he needed was sleep and either a very strong drink or a painkiller that would knock him out for days. What he got instead was a call from Bruce’s wife while he was being chauffeured home, urging him to come to their home. Now. It was only the urgency in her voice that had curbed the impulse to hang up on her, but not by much. And Dominic was beginning to regret that decision more and more as each second ticked away. He watched Cassie Barrett pace the length of her perfectly decorated living room, her bare feet stifled by the undoubtedly expensive beige carpet, while she talked in circles.

“Please, do take your time in getting to the point,” he bit out caustically, cutting her off in the middle of her tangent. She was well into her fourth glass of wine now, the alcohol not having far to go for a woman her size. She was diminutive, frail almost, with pale, almost translucent skin, and large blue eyes that made her look younger than her thirty-six years. Cassie prided in appearances, whether it was with herself or the lavish life that she’d born into, appearing perfect was always her goal. So to see her this way, her dark wavy black hair in disarray, face devoid of make-up, and appearing as though she’d slept in her designer clothes, was quite the sight. Not once since he’d known her had he seen her so...unhinged. Dominic would’ve felt moved to feel sorry for her, except his irritable mood and the damn headache didn’t allow him an iota of compassion.

“Did you know?” she asked in the silence, her voice soft and needy.

“Did I know what?”

She regarded him with dark blue eyes that appeared far too lucid considering the nearly empty bottle of wine on the coffee table. “Please don’t treat me like I’m stupid.”

“Then I would suggest you stop asking stupid questions,” he supplied coolly, not at all in the mood to deal with another one of Bruce’s fuck-ups. “Why am I here?” And more pressingly where the hell was
Bruce? This was his responsibility. He had assured Dominic he would take care of the matter, yet it appeared said matter was still very much unhandled. “Where is Bruce?”

“Do you know what I always wondered?” she went on with complete disregard to his questions. She raised her glass to her mouth and peered at him over the rim. “Do you hand select them for him and have them delivered to his hotel room? I know you’re his puppet master, but are his pimp, too?”

“Cassie,” Bruce took that exact moment to appear from where, Dominic hadn’t the slightest, but his disheveled appearance was indication enough. Dominic suppressed a groan. It was as though the other man
wanted
to get caught. He watched as Bruce quickly assessed the situation, his gaze flying first from his wife to Dominic and back again. With the tension in the room thick enough to choke, dawning swept over his features and a fine sheen of sweat formed on his skin. “Cass…” he took two steps towards her but stopped instantly as he saw her arm rear back and hurl the glass at him. Bruce managed to duck, but just barely, as some of the wine splashed him but the glass luckily shattered against the floor, missing its intended mark.

Shaken but undoubtedly okay, Bruce found his footing once more and raised his hands up in surrender to the seething woman across from him. “Cass, I need you to listen to me—”

But she flew at him before he could finish, her weight alone paled in comparison to Bruce’s substantial size, but her anger combined with her fists, kicks, and sharp fingernails went a long way in doing some damage. She was like a banshee and bearing witness to this scene, Dominic was at advantage to pry her off Bruce, but some twisted part of him delighted in his friend’s temporary agony. It was almost worth the migraine. He stood on the sidelines for another minute or so before finally intervening. She was a snarling thing, fiercer than a poodle but Dominic managed to subdue her without much effort, grabbing her by the waist and hauling her off Bruce. “Enough,” he said with brevity when she made to lunge for Bruce again. “Get a hold of yourself.” Holding her arms at her side, she was forced to look up at him, and the scowl on her face indicated her displeasure at doing so.

“Let go of me.” Despite her harsh breaths, the gravity of her tone had Dominic relinquishing his grasp, but he prudently remained close.

Bruce looked worse for wear, through the countless scratch marks on his face and neck, there was a genuine look of remorse on his face as he looked at his wife. Oblivious to the possible dangers he faced as he came around to Dominic’s side and approached her, he stopped just in front of her, raising his hands once again. “Cassie, baby, please—”

“I’m done,” she whispered on a shuddering breath, tears welling in her blue eyes. “It hurts too much to have you treat me this way. I don’t care about this marriage. I don’t care what happens to me, but I want out.”

“Do you care about what happens to your children?” Dominic intruded, keeping his tone light enough, but the menacing undertone was not lost on the other two occupants of the room, Bruce especially.

He turned a sharp eye to Dominic and shook his head. “I can handle this,” he said resolutely, forcing Dominic to back off. “Cassie, please listen to me, please. I…I have a problem, okay, and I promise, baby, I’ll do whatever it takes to make this better.” Voice tinged with a crazed desperation Dominic had never heard in his friend, he watched the play of emotions on his face, all in the neighborhood of pure despair. “I’ll get help, Cass, I promise. I’ll take a break from it all, resign from office if I have to, just please don’t leave. I need you too damn much.”

It was a surreal moment for Dominic. Awkward on so many levels but no less surreal, yet somehow he understood how crucial this moment was for Bruce. He knew he needed to leave them, but something compelled him to stay. As he watched Bruce take a tentative step towards a stagnant Cassie, she did not recoil when he reached for her.

“Damn you,” she muttered. It was only when she moved into Bruce’s embrace that Dominic finally forced himself to leave.

* * *

It was with the strangest feeling lying heavy on his chest that Dominic continued his journey home. His migraine had abated and was bearable now, but as he reclined his head back against the leather seat, he could still feel the echoing thud at the back of his skull. Somewhere between introspection and sleep, his thoughts inevitably touched the dire state of his own marriage. After witnessing the display with Bruce and Cassie, he wasn’t fool enough to believe that his and Eden’s problems could easily be rectified. Bruce had a sex addiction; Dominic’s issues…well his issues were much more inexact and Eden would not forgive so easily. For a moment he imagined what it would be like if he revealed it all to her, told her of the innate darkness that laid in him that compelled his own mother to treat him with such cruelty. He imagined telling her of the fear, the pain, and the debilitating humiliation of pissing himself just because he’d been too much of a coward to face the darkness like she should’ve. Even still Dominic imagined telling her about the consuming rage and the hatred for everything around him that had wrapped around his bones like another layer of flesh. His mind, however, instantly rebelled, showing
Dominic how quickly she would reject him, how disgusted and indifferent she would be if he dared to expose his demons to her. And who could blame her after all he’d done to her?

It would be over in a few short months; she would leave him, and the desolate part was that he had no clue where to begin to rectify his wrongs.

* * *

Eden didn’t know why she found his spending time with Liam so disheartening, but the more she found her child growing attached, the more morose she became. Liam had only ever had her to rely on. She was the only parent he knew. The thought that she may very well have to share custody made her uneasy. Three more months and she would be free of him. Divorced, finally without contest. But he would not allow her to take Liam; she’d known this tentative truth since the beginning and now the reality of it was filtering into her delusion. The more time he spent with Liam, the closer they became, forming a father and son bond that far eclipsed any sort of connections she’d ever made with Dominic. Liam’s laughter and squeals had Eden raising her head and glancing just to the side of her to find a
sight that further added to her discomfort. It seemed nearly incomprehensible to find business mogul Dominic Armstrong lying on a carpeted floor with a toothless infant pinning him down and if Eden hadn’t seen this for herself, she wouldn’t have believed it.

From her vantage point across the way, she watched them play, when Dominic jerked his body up, raising both his chest and Liam in unison, it provoked the infant’s infectious laughter. On and on it went, every giggle tugging Dominic’s lips into an imperceptible smile that Eden would’ve missed if she wasn’t looking as hard as she was. It was the most perplexing thing, seeing this change in him. They were subtle, the changes that she saw, but no less disconcerting. It was such an opposing image of what Eden was accustomed to from him.

He appeared so relaxed, the naked joy peeking through the austerity was something to behold. He was gentle and attentive, and though sweet wasn’t a word Eden would have ever attributed to Dominic, he accomplished it with Liam. He was sweet and tender when he needed to be, mindful of his son’s infancy but handling Liam with a sturdy hand of a father who wanted to test the limits of his son. He wore fatherly pride like armor; Liam’s accomplishments, laughter and cries, the helmet that he poised on his head. It was with a heavy heart that Eden silently acknowledged to herself that fatherhood looked good on him. He may have been a shit husband, but at least he made efforts to be a good father. It was what Liam deserved. Their son hadn’t asked to be born at the center of their mess, and Eden would be damned if she allowed him to end up there. Her issues with Dominic were
her
issues with Dominic, not her child’s. Liam deserved love and devotion from them both and if Dominic found that he could provide it, then who was she to stand in the way? What it all came down to was Eden’s own unshakable fear that Dominic would disappoint and hurt Liam in the long run. Like he’d disappointed her.

When she heard the deep, throaty sound of his laughter—laughter that wasn’t steeped with derision or contempt—her heart lurched, twisting painfully in her chest, driving in the fact that he’d never allowed her close enough to elicit such a sound. Putting in much more effort than necessary in folding Liam’s laundered clothes, she did not want to put too much thought on
that
subject. It didn’t matter now anyway. Their marriage had started off corrupted and had only grown worse in the ensuing years, the decaying layers of lies, distrust, humiliation, animosity and resentment had poisoned the very foundation of their union, making it impossible for anything else to flourish there. The only undeniable truth between them was the uncontainable lust that drew them together with such cataclysmic force that it nearly always maimed her not to be touched by him. But what was lust without love? What was soul searing, body melting sex without the enduring love to sustain it? Building a life on solely money and sex had been their downfall. It was better that it ended now; they needed to cut ties and walk away, it was the only decent thing they could do for each other.

“He needs a change.” Eden drew in a sharp breath and tensed not having realized he’d come so close. He stood at her side, the scent of his cologne not helping the sudden effect he had on her as he moved to set Liam on the changing table. He didn’t wait for her but rather gathered the items he needed before he continued on his task. Eden watched silently as he carried on with a methodical thoroughness of a determined male and as opposed to the prior times he’d attempted to change Liam, where clumsiness and cursing had been prevalent, he was doing a great job now, showing much progress in Eden’s opinion. She saw him struggling a little with the diaper’s side closing flap and though instinct compelled her to move forward and help, she remained where she was. It was only when she heard Liam’s slight cry of discomfort that she was moved to walk forward.

“This is what I get for buying bargain brand diapers,” she mused, reaching over to help him. In doing so, their hands touched, a slight bit of unexpected intimacy sent a jolt through Eden. She didn’t dare look up at him as she was tempted to do, but rather continued on as though nothing had happened, although her heart raced so fast in her chest that she knew he probably heard standing as close as he was. “It also doesn’t help that Liam is growing like a weed. But there’s a trick to get the diaper to close.” In saying so, she demonstrated, gathering Liam’s chubby feet in one hand and lifting his bum up slightly so that she could slip the diaper beneath him, making sure it did not go all the way up his back. She folded the front panel over his penis and gently detached the Velcro on each side to close it. It still appeared a little snug but at least it was better than having one side of his butt sticking out.