In Love at Christmas

Chapter 1

Chapter One

“Mommy! Mommy!” My daughter crying and screaming my name jarred me from my sleep. I quickly sat up and caught her just in time as she jumped into my arms.

“Ava, what’s wrong, sweetie?” I asked, one of my arms wrapped around her body while my hand rested on the back of her head as I tried calming her down.

She just buried her head deeper in my chest as she pointed behind her. I looked up to the door to find my husband standing there with a belt in his hands. My brows furrowed at the sight because we didn’t discipline Ava that way, so I wasn’t sure why he had a belt.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“She’s hardheaded,” he barked, “and that’s the reason why!” he used the belt to point. “You coddle her too much.”

“She’s six, Aldrick.” I frowned. “She’s a baby so she sensitive, and she processes things diff—”

“She’s not a baby, Leila, and she doesn’t listen. I asked her four different times to turn the damn T.V. down and that fucking song that she plays over and over off, and she acted as if I wasn’t saying anything to her.”

“Did you say it to her like that?” I frowned.

I didn’t curse at my child, and I didn’t put my hands on her. Aldrick didn’t either, at least I didn’t think that he did, but him standing there with a belt in hand recalling what Ava had done told me differently.

She’d never told me that he hit her or cursed at her, but it was also very rare that she was alone with him.

The only reason she was today was because I laid down to take a quick nap after being up since five getting the tree up and making breakfast for Aldrick and his team.

He was the foreman for Atlyn City Construction, and they came by to have breakfast this morning.

Ava stayed home because she’d been complaining about a stomachache and had a slight fever. I was exhausted by the time I laid down because on top of everything, I had pulled the decorations out to get our house ready for the upcoming Christmas holiday.

“It doesn’t matter how I said it. I’m an adult and her father. She needs to mind when I tell her to do something.”

“Yes, she does, but that can be solved by the three of us having a conversation.”

“No, it’s going to be solved by her getting her ass whooped,” he countered. “We both got whippings when we were kids, and we turned out just fine. She’ll be okay too.”

“You are not hitting her with that belt, Aldrick.”

Ignoring me, he said, “Get over here, Ava.”

My baby’s hold on my neck tightened and I returned the gesture by holding onto her tighter too. When he realized that she wasn’t coming willingly and I wasn’t letting her go, he came over and tried hitting her while I was holding her.

When he swung the belt, I did my best to grab it while trying to protect our child, but he was able to swing it and hit me a couple of times before I finally got a good hold on it.

“Are you out of your mind?!” I roared, snatching the belt away from him. “She’s six! And you were going to hit her like that?! She’s a child! Our child!”

He stood over us, staring menacingly before he scoffed. “I can’t do this anymore.”

My eyes narrowed at his back since he’d turned to walk away. “Do what? What can’t you do, Aldrick?”

“This! This marriage! This mess!” he pointed to me and Ava. “I don’t even fit into this and honestly, I’m tired of dealing with it, Leila.”

“Dealing with what, exactly, Aldrick?” My frown deepened. “Surely not anything concerning our child because you don’t deal with that. No appointments. No meetings. No specialists. Nothing with her schooling. I do all of that alone!”

“I didn’t sign up for this shit.”

“And I did?!” I exclaimed.

“I told you to terminate when the doctors told us that it was something wrong with her,” he shrugged. “You’re the one that wanted to keep her.”

“Because she was our child that we made out of love!” I fired back. “At least that’s what I thought.”

“Well, you thought wrong.” He mumbled and walked over to the nightstand on his side of the bed, going inside and pulling a stack of papers out.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while and tonight is just the confirmation that I needed…

” Petition for Divorce stood tall while everything else seemed to blur when he handed them to me.

“We haven’t loved each other in a very long time, Leila, and I’m sick of pretending that we do. ”

“Y-you want a divorce?” I whispered, glancing up at him. “After ten years—you’re leaving?”

“I’m not happy, Leila, and you aren’t either. All of your time and attention goes to her…” He pointed to Ava. “We don’t do anything together. Everything is literally about her.”

“She’s our child.” I frowned. “And it’s not a competition, Aldrick.”

“It’s not?” His brows dipped. “Because me and you could be in the middle of something and as soon as she makes the slightest noise you go racing to her aide. She does something that normal six years olds do, you’re shouting for joy like she cracked Da Vinci’s code.”

“Normal six year olds?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you kidding me right now?”

“Yes normal, Leila,” he replied nastily. “We both know that she has issues, so please don’t play dumb. It’s exhausting enough seeing you fawn after her for doing something as simple as tying her shoe.”

“Fuck you!” I spat. I really wanted to slap fire from his ass, but I’d already done enough in front of my terrified child.

“Another thing we both know isn’t happening.” He mumbled then sighed. “Just sign the papers, Leila, and go.”

“Go? What do you mean go?”

“I mean, get what you can for you both and leave.”

“And go where?” I snapped. “This is our home, and you know damn well we don’t have anywhere else to go!”

My parents had both passed years ago, and I stupidly allowed him to talk me into selling the house that they’d left behind for me.

I didn’t have any other family, at least none that I was in communication with, and no friends.

Being the parent of a special needs child and a stay at home wife had consumed all of my time.

I didn’t get to go out and enjoy myself, I shopped online and cooked most of the time because Aldrick didn’t like to eat out unless he was going out with his friends.

That was why it him saying that I didn’t ever want to go places and do things was a slap in the face.

He made it impossible for me to. He barely dealt with Ava and keeping her while I went anywhere was out of the question.

When I had my own doctor’s appointments, had to go grocery shopping or get things for the house, I had to take her with me.

“That’s not my problem, Leila.” He shrugged. “I want you to sign the papers and be done with this tonight. I don’t want to take this situation, or you, into the next day or new year.”

“Wow.” I scoffed, unable to hold back my tears.

He was talking as if I hadn’t given up everything to be with him.

I dropped out of school to be with him, despite my father begging me not to.

All of my friends walked away claiming he hovered too much and became controlling.

I didn’t have siblings to rely on like he did.

“It’s Christmas, Aldrick. Where do you expect us to go? ”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care anymore, Leila. I’m tired of being miserable in my own house. I want to wake up and finally feel relieved and happy. I know that won’t happen with you here.”

I was truly flabbergasted. He was really talking about us like we weren’t his wife and child.

“You know what, fine.” I chuckled angrily. “If we cause you that much misery, and you want us to leave that badly, we will.”

Ava had fallen asleep in my arms, so I laid her on the bed before searching the side table and dresser for a pen. When I found one, I scribbled my name on the line then tossed the papers at Aldrick’s feet.

After that, I stalked to the closet to grab a suitcase then started to throw everything that would fit inside. I went to the ensuite bathroom to get my toiletry bag along with my makeup.

Once I had all of my things together, I grabbed Ava and went to her room to do the same.

I’d gotten my keys, so I pointed the fob out of the window to start my car.

It was freezing out and I didn’t want to put my baby in a cold car.

I packed her suitcase and a duffle bag to the brim.

I wanted to make sure that she had everything she’d need to keep her comfortable.

Part of me thought that Aldrick would find some sense and maybe have a heart when he saw his wife and daughter preparing to leave and maybe try to stop us, but he didn’t budge. Instead, he stood guard and watched as I got us both ready then he watched me carry our daughter and things to the car.

As I got ready to get in the driver’s seat, I paused and looked to the door where he was standing, still watching us with a blank expression on his face.

I chuckled humorlessly. He’d followed us around the house making sure that we left—the thought infuriated me while also crushing me inside, but I refused to let him see me broken.

“I hope this makes you happy, Aldrick,” I said.

“Throwing your wife and special needs daughter out in the cold. I truly hope you feel like the man that your cowardly ass thinks you are. One day you’ll realize that you didn’t free yourself tonight.

You just proved that you were too small for the life I’ve helped you build.

And when that hits you, I hope the silence feels exactly the way you’ve made me feel tonight.

Have the life that you deserve, Aldrick Montgomery. ”

I wasn’t able to stop the tears from flowing, but with my baby in the back seat sleeping peacefully, I still held my head high as I backed out of the driveway.

I didn’t have anyone that I could depend on other than Ava, but she was all that I needed to keep going, so that’s what I was going to do.

I would take whatever money I had in my account to get us a room until I figured something out and keep going.

I had to.