25. Chapter Twenty-Five
I’m fucking engaged!
I can’t stop staring at the ring from Viktor. Every time I think about the love this ring has witnessed it brings tears to my eyes. The sentiment behind it is even more gorgeous than the actual ring itself.
To say I’m distracted from work today is the understatement of the century. Although it isn’t all due to my newfound engagement and the social media craze over the Gazette’s article.
A big part of my distraction is the constant messages from Thad. He’s unhinged since the news of our engagement and the confirmation of our pregnancy, on my terms, has him unhinged.
Thad: I swear to fucking God Calliope, I told you how to handle this. You are going to regret this.
Thad: How the fuck are you going to choose him over me? We have years together. You’ve known him for what? Five minutes?
Thad: Fuck you, Calliope. You don’t get to do this shit to me.
Thad: Answer me, you fucking bitch!!
That last one has me blocking his number. I do not need to put up with him, and he doesn’t get to ruin my day. Because I’m engaged to the best man I’ve ever met. A man that Thad could never even dream of coming close to.
Sighing, I close my laptop and walk over to the wall of windows in the living room. I spot the stadium, and my mind is brought to Viktor.
Me: I can’t wait to be your wife. photo of my hand with my ring and the stadium in the background
He is at practice, play-offs are coming up, and his schedule is about to get really intense.
Probably a good thing. I need to get some work done.
Sighing, I head back to my desk to work. Opening my laptop and pulling up the new logo I’m designing for Claire and the Golden Foundation.
Me: Working on your logo! Sneak peek photo
Claire: Yesss! Are you up for some company? I can come hang out and help you!
Me: Absolutely, come whenever you’re ready!
Claire: K. Stopping for donuts first, I’ll get your fav!
I love having pregnant friends. I love Joy too, but she’d offer to bring me a fruit tray for my sweet tooth.
I’m finishing up the logo when the doorman calls up to let me know that Claire is here.
The door opens and she has a donut hanging from her mouth as she juggles her bag, the very large bakery box, and her belly.
“Can I help you?” I rush over to her .
“Thave the donuth!”
Giggling at her, I grab the donut in her mouth and she lets it go. I take the box next, placing her donut on the top of it.
“Thanks!” She plops down on the couch, out of breath. “I can’t wait to not be pregnant anymore.” She rolls her eyes.
I always feel like I can’t get any bigger, and then I do. I can’t imagine being as big as Claire is, even though I know it’s coming.
“Okay, hit me with this logo. It looked absolutely stunning in the photo.”
I run over to the desk, and grab my laptop to sit next to her on the couch.
“So I made this one for general use,” I show her the first photo, “and this one for the gala next year, a more elegant logo for the invites and social media.” I swap to the next photo.
“I’m obsessed with that!” She uses her fingers to expand the photo. “This will be gorgeous for all the media and advertising next year!”
I smile at her enthusiasm for my work. “Now I also set up this website.” I take my laptop back and show her the website I set up the other day. “I used your existing website, and just added to it. I set up a testimonials page from some of the parents that we reached out to at the gala, even some video testimonials from the kids. I linked the goal tracker for the gala, and started a new one until the next gala. I even added a players page where they have submitted their own experiences with the children, and the non-profit.”
Claire has tears streaming down her face. “Calliope, how can I repay you for this? This is absolutely the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me! I love it! The thought you put into this, it’s out of this world.”
Her tears bring tears to my own eyes, and we sit together crying over a website on the couch, eating donuts until Viktor & Craig come through the door.
Both stare at us, completely lost as to why we’re crying over donuts. But even in his clueless state, Viktor simply grabs the tissues and brings them over to us.
After a rough couple weeks of practices and games, the Havocs are playing in their first play-off game of the season.
We all have glass seats on the center line and I’m excited to see Viktor in the playoffs. They’ve all been working hard to be ready for this.
I glance around the stadium, taking in the energy of the crowd, but I can’t shake a bad feeling I have. And it’s certainly not about the Havoc’s win .
Then I spot the source of my bad feeling.
Thad. Two sections over, three rows back.
He smirks at me, that evil smirk, it’s back. The messages haven’t stopped despite me blocking him. He finds new ways of getting to me. Viktor’s lawyer sent a cease and desist and that only seemed to make things worse. Make him angrier.
I’m surprised that security even let him in tonight, but I’m not sure that anyone thought he’d try anything in such a public place, or that he would actually try anything at all.
So far he’s just verbally attacked us, and mostly through use of the media, acting as their source . Setting up a snowball effect until Harry ended that for us.
Throughout the first period I keep glancing over at him, making sure he’s staying in his seat.
But then he isn’t there. And the buzzer sounds for the end of the first.
I tap Claire on the shoulder, “Hey, I’m going to go grab a drink, you want anything?”
“I’m good! But hurry back! Intermission is short!”
I give her a tight smile and head off to find Thad. He needs to go home and leave us alone. Once and for all.
Stepping out into the main hallway, I turn left to go toward his section. When I get close I spot his shoe sticking out from the edge of the wall. I turn into the entrance of his section, walking to the doorway, past him.
“Go home Thad,” I say without actually looking at him.
“I told you what would happen, C. You didn’t listen. You went and got engaged to Viktor. What did I tell you was going to happen if you didn’t come back to me?” He's so close to my face as he talks I can feel each drop hitting my cheek.
“What else could you do? You’ve already been trying to drag us through the mud with your little tabloid articles.” I straighten my spine, squaring up with him. “But that didn’t really work for you, did it?”
“Oh, C. That’s just child’s play. You want to know what I can do to you and your lover boy?” He hands me his phone.
I blanch at what I’m seeing. It’s a whole thread of messages from someone, but my name is the contact for the thread. Message after message pleading to Thad to help me, telling him how Viktor is blackmailing me to keep me quiet about his abuse. Photos of bruises on non-descript bodies are peppered into the messages.
“These aren’t from me,” I stammer out quietly.
“That’s the thing, C. Who is going to know? It says it’s from you. It has your photo, details from our relationship that friends can corroborate. Who is going to believe you and Viktor over me? Does it even matter? I can make this such a media shit storm for him that he leaves you, and takes this whole fairytale life from you. Better yet, the Havocs let him go and he resents you so much he makes your life hell until you leave him.” He smirks at me. “And then you come back to me. Because what are you going to do with a baby on your own? You’ll need me. Need my money. And then you’ll be back under my control as the perfect little wife and family to show off.”
But I catch the echo of that last statement. The echo of the speakers in the stadium to his words, the silence radiating through a normally rowdy stadium. When I look over his shoulder I spot the cameraman, giving me thumbs up, and then Claire standing behind him, with three security members and Ken.
“You’ll never get away with it, Thad. You’ll never be able to get Viktor to resent me, you’ll never come between us.” I cross my arms and he laughs that sardonic laugh again.
“And what the hell makes you so delusional to think that he’ll choose you over all this?” He gestures his arms out wide, as if the stadium holds all of Viktor’s happiness.
“He would choose me everyday, over anything. And I know that because he shows me how much he loves me every single day. There is no doubt when it comes to Viktor. Ever. Not like with you. I never have to worry who he’s hanging out with. I never have to worry who he’s looking at, or texting, because it’s me. Every single time. You’re the delusional one! Thinking that I’d risk the best thing to ever happen to me for you!”
Thad lunges for me, pissed off by my confidence in our relationship. I back up, prepared for his physical anger this time. But his moves are stopped by the security team.
The boisterous cheering from the stadium is deafening, and then the players start coming back to the ice again based on the announcer’s calls.
I’m shaking. Staring straight ahead at Thad’s body being escorted from the stadium.
“Calliope, are you okay?” Claire’s voice barely registers through my shock at the very public confrontation.
I manage to shake my head no .
“Okay, come on, sweetie. Follow me.” She grasps my hand in hers and leans in to whisper something to the security guard who stayed with us.
Then we’re on the move, I follow behind her robotically. Being led through the busy hallways and into a quiet suite where the significant others usually watch the game. It’s blissfully empty. I’m sat down on the couch.
“Calliope, sweetie, I need you to talk to me. Here, have some water.”
“Mrs. Golden, should I call medical? ”
“No, no. Just give her a minute, she’s okay. She’s just in shock at what a badass she is.”
I take a sip of the water that Claire placed in my hand. Then another. The situation finally processing.
“Who. The. Actual. Fuck. Does. He. Think. He. Is?” I seethe.
“That’s right, babes, let it out!”
“Seriously! He just thinks he can come here and ruin the fucking playoffs for Viktor, or blackmail me into going back to him? Why the fuck would I pick him over Viktor? I’d never pick anyone over Viktor!” I stand, pacing back and forth in front of the window.
“He’d never want you to fall victim to that asshole again. I know for a fact that he’d chase you down and change your mind.” She stands in front of me, stopping my pacing.
“He would. Because he loves me. And I love him. He would be proud of me for standing up to Thad.”
“One hundred percent, babes. You got this.”
I nod emphatically. “I do!”
“Ready to go back to watch the game?” She asks me now that I’m calm and back to Earth from the shock.
“Yes. Let’s go watch our guys win this thing. I’m not letting Thad take one more thing from me.”
The security guard leads us back to the entrance of the section where we are sitting .
“Enjoy the rest of the game, and Ms. Miller, he’s gone and has been blacklisted, he won’t be allowed back into the stadium.” The security guard tells me.
“Thank you so much.” I reach out and give him a quick hug. He stiffens under my touch and then I jump back, remembering how everything I do is taken differently these days.
Claire chuckles at me as we walk back down to support our men.