Seven
Erin
Six Months Later
I hear Oscar shut the bedroom door behind him while I lay here with my eyes closed trying to fall asleep. Charlie woke up an hour ago and I only just got him back to bed not that long ago.
Like he does every night he climbs into bed reeking of perfume which makes me hold in my gag. I hate the over the top smelling perfume.
Every day he says nothing but hateful comments my way but then every night he holds onto me like he wants me. Or maybe it's that his dick wants me. I want to say I held out on having sex with him as long as I could but when he told me he either fucked me or I wouldn’t be allowed to see Charlie, I had no choice.
I wasn’t willing to risk that he would follow through, so I shut my head off and just let my body react to his touch. Sure, physically I enjoy it, but mentally I hate every touch from him.
I close my eyes hoping he will fall asleep soon so I can scrub him and his woman off of my skin, every time I go through this it makes my skin crawl.
Thankfully the booze he drank helps him fall asleep faster. Once I can, I carefully lift his arm and slide from the bed. I place my pillow under his arm before heading to the bathroom.
I turn the water on as hot as it will go before, I strip and stand under the water. Not sure why but today all of this is just hitting harder and the darkness is seeping in. Usually, I can push it back, but today it's too difficult, I hate knowing I will never be happy.
I’m not going to change who I am. I am who I am, and obviously the first night Oscar slept with me he saw something he liked, or at least his dick did.
I crumbled to the ground and let it out. Everything I have been bottling up, the nightmares from me being kidnapped, being forced to be married just so I can stay in Charlie’s life, being married to Oscar, the hell my honeymoon was.
I never took a vacation ever and was hoping we could go somewhere, and we could at least be friendly with each other, but that wasn’t the case. We went to his penthouse because in Oscar’s words. I wasn’t worth the money to travel. And the worst part was we weren’t even alone. Each day he had a different bed buddy come over and I had to listen to him fuck them. I knew he didn’t love me, but sitting in the living room and listening to them go at for hours was a hard pill to swallow. It also showed me that he has no respect for me.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of what he did. I was treated like the maid, he would come out after and tell me. “Put fresh sheets on the bed,”
Then he would take her into the shower or a different part of the penthouse and fuck her. It was a fuck fest all week and between the cleaning, and cooking for them, I was so exhausted. I would collapse on the couch while they went at it in the bedroom until they got loud enough to wake me up again.
When we got home, the family thought I was exhausted from Oscar. They were right but they had no idea what really happened. I will say this, even though he treats me like shit behind closed doors, at least he never brings his “dates” here.
I close my eyes and finish my shower before getting out.
When I climb in the chair in Charlie’s room, I cry myself to sleep.
***
The next day, I’m sitting with Bia as we watch Brayden and Charlie play together. She has been trying to get me to talk.
“Erin, you can tell me. I understand the pain and feeling alone when you are unhappy in your marriage.”
“What? But you look so happy. Are you not?”
“I am now, but the first year was hard.”
“I can’t believe it. Cillian dotes on you.”
“He didn’t always, the first year he left me in his penthouse and isolated me from the O'Sullivan's when he believed I cheated on him but I was actually being raped by his friend.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah we had to hit rock bottom and he had to grovel.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah as I said I understand it. I may be happily married to Cillian now but if Oscar isn’t treating you right. I am the one person here who understands, and you can lean on. Even if you don’t want to say anything, just know I am here.”
“Thanks, I’m not-.”
“Oh my god. Is that your son? He is precious, Oscar.”
I watch as a blonde bombshell walks in with Oscar a few steps behind her.
“I see,”
Bia whispers, and I just nod.
“Sarah you can stay here with Erin and Bia I will be right back.”
She nods and places her hand on his chest and gives him a smile. I look away from the couple, but unfortunately, she is quickly walks up to me.
“Oscar keeps avoiding doing this but I know what I want, and I will do whatever I need to get it,”
she states before retrieving an envelope from her purse and handing it to me. I open it and my heart falls to the floor. The first set of documents are divorce papers, which, in a way, I am relieved about but when I see the second set and has adoption.
Oscar wants this woman to adopt my son.
NO!
Charlie is my son! Mine!
I feel like a metal band is tightening around my chest.
“Breathe Erin,”
I hear Bia tell me, but it feels like I am underwater.
“I-I.”
“I know. You aren’t giving Charlie up. I promise, but you need to breathe.”
“I can’t. I-I,”
I say standing up and racing out of the room.
I hear my name being shouted and someone chasing me but I can’t be here, if he really wants to take my son, I can’t watch Oscar’s smug face as he gets his way.
OSCAR
I watch as Erin races past me. “Erin!”
I yell her name and chase after her but Daidí stops me.
“Let go.”
I snarl and try to continue after her.
“No, you have put that girl through enough and she needs space to breathe. I have guards following her.”
“What do you mean I have done enough? I married her, she should be grateful.”
“Grateful? She should be grateful to her husband who can’t remain faithful to her? Tell me, when you stumble in here drunk every night, do you at least have the respect to wash the alcohol and the whore’s scent off of you before you crawl into bed?”
I stay quiet.
“Thought so. Tell me, Oscar, what reason do you have for being so disrespectful to her?”
“She kept Charlie away from me.”
He stares at me and he blinks. “Are you seriously still mad about that? It was over a year ago and if anything. I’m proud of what she did to protect him from a possible threat.”
“I’m not a threat!”
I yell at him.
“And she didn’t know that. She only knew you from the first night. Add what she saw you do and the rumors that circle around our family. She did what she thought was the best for Charlie. What would you do if you were in her position?”
“Fuck,”
I mumble, thinking of being in her position. She literally had no one to turn to and she saw me kill that dumb fuck.
“Exactly. I was hoping after you married her you would treat her like she deserved. But, if anything, you started treating her worse, and I have a feeling it has to do with the woman who is currently being thrown out of my home.”
“I fucked up. I will fix it,”
I tell him and go to stand up and leave but Daidí stops me.
“You will give her the space she needs.”
“She is my wife; we can’t fix things if she is running.”
“Is she though? This is not how you treat your wife. She has guards that will protect her, but she needs time to know what she wants. I will tell you this, if she wants a divorce, you will give it to her and anything else she wants. She has suffered enough, and you will not make her suffer anymore.”
“We are not getting a divorce. She wants to be mad at me? Fine, but no one will take my angel from me.”
Daidí goes to interrupt me but stopped by a text from his phone.
“She is safe. She is at her old roommate's apartment.”
“Her old roommate. What do we know about him?”
“I will find out more, all they know is his name is Brian Gallagher.”
“She is at a man’s home,”
I snarl and go to march for the door.
“Leave her alone, Oscar.”
“She is at a man’s home.”
“So? You were entertaining women for months. Why can’t she entertain a man?”
“She can’t! No man will touch m'aingeal.”
“Being betrayed isn’t a good feeling, is it?”
“You're fucking with me.”
Fucking old man.
“I’m not.”
I stare at him trying to judge if he is but fuck he isn’t.
“You tell the guards to let Brian know each finger he lays on her, I will personally remove it.”
I snarl before storming out of his office. I decided to go to mine and try get some work done while I wait for Erin to come home. If she wants to spread the rest of the day away so she can think, that’s fine, but tonight she will be home. Fuck, I need to think of a way to apologize to her. I need to become the king of groveling. I have been a fucking dickhead. Daidí was right, she did what she thought was right to keep Charlie safe.
What does she like? What is her favorite flower? Favorite meal? Fuck I don’t know anything about her.
I get up from my desk and go find Bia. I know they were always together because the boys were playing together. I walk into the playroom, and I see Bia sitting on one of the couches while Charlie and Brayden both play with cars, zooming around on the carpet.
I sit next to her. “Hey, Bia.”
She looks over at me and gives me a cold greeting. “Hi, Oscar.”
“Are you okay?”
Did Cillian do something to her?
“I’m fine. Why are you here?”
“Came to ask you a question.”
“What question do you have for me?”
“Bia, why are you pissed?”
“I like Erin, and what you're doing to her is wrong, Oscar. She wasn’t raised like us. She had to scrape for everything she had and she said her time in the different foster homes was hell.”
“What do you mean?”
“All I know is she told me she was afraid to sleep at night.”
“Fucking hell, and I didn’t make anything better.”
“No, she never said anything but I know the look of hiding your misery.”
“I know I fucked up.”
“Shhh,”
she says, motioning toward the boys.
“Sorry,. Help me please. I want to make it up to her.”
She stares at me. “Are you done with Sarah?”
“Yes.”
“But does she mean anything to you?”
“No.”
“Then why did she have divorce and adoption papers?”
“What?”
“She handed them to Erin saying that you had been avoiding it, but she wasn’t afraid to do what she needed to get what she wanted. So, I’m not going to help you until you deal with the Sarah situation. I won’t help bring another heartbreak for Erin. When you are serious about it, then I will help you.”
“I am serious.”
“No, you just feel guilty. That is completely different.”
She says as she goes to get Brayden.
“Do I need to put Charlie down for a nap or can you handle that?”
“No, I got him,”
I say. I watch Charlie play for a bit longer but when he sees me, his face lights up before he toddles his way over to me. I pick him up in my arms and snuggle him to my chest.
“I f-messed up bad, buddy. Daidí has a lot of groveling to do to make it up to Mamaí.”
He babbles at me.
“Yes Mamaí will be home later. Let’s go put you down for a nap we don’t need a cranky Charlie,”
I say and blow a raspberry on his cheek.
***
After Charlie woke up from his nap, I had the nanny watch him as I had a meeting I couldn’t get out of. Even though I would rather be at home someone just bought a plot of land and plans on building a shopping plaza on it.
Thankfully the owner of the land was just as eager as me to finish the meeting and I rushed out of the office back to the mansion.
Ring…Ring…Ring…
What the fuck? Why aren’t her guards picking up the phone? I try again.
Ring…Ring…Ring.
Fuck this I’m not listening to Daidí.
Oscar: I need Brian’s address.
Peter: I told you to give her space.
Oscar: I was, but when her guards aren’t picking up the phone, and I’m not going to sit back with my thumb up my ass when she could possibly be in danger.
Peter: Fuck, I will text you the address. I will meet you there.
I hang up the phone, and a few seconds later, I had the message with the address. I push my car, breaking probably almost every speed limit, but I don’t give a flying fuck.
Ten minutes later, I am running up the stairs of Brian’s apartment. I get to his floor, and I see one of the guards on the ground.
Fuck. I look at him and he has a bullet between his eyes.
“Thank you for giving your life for her,”
I whisper, but keep running toward Brian’s apartment. I pull my gun out of the back of my pants and release the safety. The door is cracked open, I slowly push it the rest of the way.
“You’re too late,”
I hear a chuckle as I step inside.
A man in his thirties with black hair and green eyes is lounging on the couch with a beer in his hand.
“Where is Erin?”
“Gone.”
“Gone?”
“Yes, gone. She made me a good chunk of change.”
I see red and grab him by the collar of his shirt and slam him into the wall. Before he can react my fist connects with his jaw.
“Fuck,”
he says as he tries to push me off him, but I don’t let up. I move him from the wall and toss him into the heart of the room. I watch as he stumbles and falls through his coffee table. I straddled him and landed one punch after another on him.
“Oscar, let up,”
I hear my name being called but I don’t stop. This mother fucker is going to die for selling m'aingeal.
“Oscar,”
I hear my name again and I feel hands pulling me away from Brian.
“Get the fuck off me. This motherfucker needs to pay.”
“And he will, but we won’t get any answers from him if you kill him before we can question him,”
Cillian barks at me. He motions to the guards to take him out of here. I stand in front of them, panting, with my fists clenched at my sides.
Brian will suffer a fate so painful he will be wishing his mother would have swallowed him.